Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Ultimate Skill

Chapter 163 – Ultimate Skill

The pain lasted for an amount of time completely lost to Cassius’s scorched and burning mind.

His entire body was emitting steam that rose skyward, the result of skin that had taken the deep red shade of steel sitting in a blacksmith’s forge.

It was all crimson, looking as though it would explode at any moment. However, just as the pain finally granted him mercy by dissipating, Cassius’s body began to cool as his First Skill — Bloodflame — completed its evolution.

He lay on the ground, hugging himself so tightly he had curled into a ball, shaking hard as the phantom pain of the process lingered inside his psyche.

Ananke watched the scene with concern in her eyes. The evolution of a Skill was naturally difficult and involved some pain...but not to this degree.

’It is because the eye forced the evolution.’ She thought, knowing she was right.

She let out a quiet sigh and observed Cassius in silence, giving him the time to recover.

It did not take long.

Eventually, Cassius forcefully stilled his trembling, aware that all of this was his mind playing tricks on him, and that if he did not pull himself out of this state, he risked carrying a genuine trauma from it.

But he was the same person who had willingly stood inside a burning room from the Butler just to obtain a Fire Adaptation. The mental fortitude he had forged in those moments helped him now, anchoring his sense of self.

He coughed, then rolled onto his back and lay there, eyes facing upward.

[Oh my...] Ananke exclaimed immediately, looking at her Blessed’s eyes. His left eye, specifically.

”Something has changed, hasn’t it.” He breathed with a crooked smile. Even without being able to see it himself, he could feel it.

His left eye and Bloodflame had evolved in some strange, deeply intertwined way.

His left eye was redder than his right, its pupil made of literal crimson fire, shaped like a reptile’s slit.

The new eye gave him a strange appearance and a distinctly inhuman aura, despite being fully human in every other respect.

[Are you feeling anything different from your left eye?] Ananke asked, genuinely curious.

It was not unheard of for humans to gain characteristics of other races. It happened often enough. However, the Dragon race was a rare exception. Not only because they were difficult to find, but because of how powerful and tightly unified they tended to be, making it nearly impossible to absorb their nature without consequence.

Added to that, it was an entirely different level of difficulty to incorporate Dragon characteristics into a human without triggering a Berserk state and dying in the process.

Amate Desdemona, however, had managed it. She had taken everything from the Dragons of the Fire Path and reshaped it to suit her own nature.

Her talent was as terrifying as her ruthlessness.

”I see better.” Cassius answered. ”I also seem to be seeing crimson particles in the air all around me. And just a moment ago I thought I saw a small creature made of fire buzzing nearby, but it disappeared the moment it seemed to notice I could see it.”

[That is likely a Spirit.] Ananke replied. [Dragons are among the few beings capable of seeing and communicating with Spirits directly.]

”Like Klaus’s family?”

[For that family, it is more that their bloodline was specifically chosen by the Spirits. Which is quite remarkable, actually, Spirits typically despise humans.] The Queen tilted her head. [Your friend Klaus could become something frightening if he ever stopped holding back.]

”I know that well...” Cassius forced a smile onto his tired face. ”He was the strongest man after Emrys, especially when he was angry. I am genuinely curious to see what he becomes now that I have disrupted the plot this deeply.”

[Hopefully something that benefits you.]

”Aye. Hopefully.”

Cassius exhaled shakily, his mind returning now to the meeting with his ancestor.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had come out of it even more lost and confused than before.

New questions had been born.

Were his ancestors truly dead? If not, where were they? Why was Amate in chains, and who had placed them there? Their enemies? Were all his ancestors in the same state?

What had she meant by the Book?

Was the Game truly a game, or was that just a manner of speaking? And who created the rules? Who had made it so that gods could only attack them from the Fifth rank onward? The System? His ancestors themselves? And if so, how had they been strong enough to make gods accept such a rule?

The questions were endless, each new one spawning another until a loop with no visible end formed.

What caught his attention most, however, was the rank restriction placed on the gods.

If gods could only directly attack those at the Fifth rank, and none of his family had been attacked until now...

’Does that mean father and mother are at the Fourth rank?’

That made no sense. His parents were far too talented and powerful to still be at Fourth rank at their age.

But there was no other explanation.

Had they intentionally limited themselves, knowing what awaited them if they advanced?

’Queen’s breath... I have a terrible headache.’

The situation was too tangled and too confusing.

So tangled and confusing that the only thing he could do to contain his anxiety was focus on the new strength he had gained, finding comfort in the simple fact that he was still growing stronger, and that he was not alone.

’No matter what it is. No matter what I must do to protect my family and those I love...I can do it and I will do it. That is my will. That is my goal. I will not falter. I will not let fear lead me.’ He repeated those words again and again inside himself, forcing his mind to remember them and believe them.

Afterward, Cassius finally turned his attention to the notifications he had ignored throughout everything.

[Your Skill Bloodflame has evolved.]

[Bloodflame: This Skill was created through the corpses of red dragons and a technique only the Worldburner could have conceived.

Bloodflame is now revealing its deeper nature to you.

In addition to the increased ability to burn flesh and blood and manipulate fire and blood, you now have the ability to heal and regenerate yourself through Bloodflame.]

Cassius’s eyes widened slightly, he had not expected a regenerative ability at all.

The ability to heal and regenerate himself was game-changing. No longer was he fully dependent on Healing Potions.

That not only increased his resilience and endurance but removed a significant limitation from his fighting.

He smiled, pleased.

’This is heaven-sent at this point. With my Snake of Adaptation combined with the ability to heal myself...I almost feel sorry for my opponents.’

Defeating him, let alone killing him, would grow so challenging it might eventually be impossible...except an opponent with an overwhelming difference in raw power.

Aside from that, Cassius was confident.

He was slowly beginning to believe it was possible to win against Emrys fair and square during the Academy Test — not through tricks, but through genuine strength. Just a hope. But a hope with a real foundation now that he possessed an Ultimate Skill.

He dismissed the panel and moved to the next.

[Rage of Dragons (Ultimate Skill): This Skill summons within you the hundreds of dragons slain by the Worldburner — in energy form — who descend from the heavens and unleash their hellish wrath upon the earth.

The angrier you are when activating this Skill, the more devastating the effect.

However, beware. The Rage of Dragons carries the wrath of every dragon killed by the Worldburner. If your Will is insufficient, you will enter a state of Madness.]

Cassius’s lips twitched faintly at the System’s last words.

’Of course the Ultimate Skill I obtain comes with a side effect.’ He complained inwardly, unamused.

He did not know what the state of Madness entailed, but it did not sound like somewhere he would want to be.

Still, side effects aside, he now had a genuine trump card for difficult battles. For that alone, he was grateful.

After examining his new gains, Cassius also noticed that his body had grown stronger through the Skill’s evolution.

Slowly but steadily, he was approaching the 300 stat limit. But that was only the first condition.

The next rank — Exalted rank — was where he would awaken his Soulblade. And the process required more than reaching 300 stat points.

A Soulblade was the manifestation of one’s soul and lived experiences. It could be anything and everything, not limited to a weapon despite what the name implied.

Each Soulblade typically came with one Manifestation. But some unique Soulblades carried more than one, reflecting a wielder whose profound nature could not be contained by a single definition.

’Like Emrys’s.’ Cassius mused. ’And to awaken a Soulblade, you must first know yourself fully. The most accessible method people of Sunu Gaal have found is the Mirror Dimension.’

A unique dimension that mirrored the world, and everyone inside it. Those ready to step into Exalted rank entered the Mirror Dimension to grasp their own inner Self.

It was not easy. The Dimension could be accessed by anyone in Sunu Gaal with the right coordinates and the power to open a portal. Many people died inside — either because their reflection was more wicked and stronger than they were, or because of encounters with people from other lands who had also entered — and never returned.

But those who succeeded would awaken their Soulblade, step into the next rank, and gain the ability to fuse their existing skills into one Ultimate Skill. It was the rank where power began reaching a genuinely dangerous new level.

Cassius wondered how that would work for him given his unique Aspect. Would he choose an Ultimate Skill from his ancestors? What of their Soulblades?

He could not wait to find out.

’In any case, the Academy Dean can open a door to the Mirror Dimension. She typically does so for Third and Fourth Year students. That is usually when people are ready to step into the next rank.’

Obviously, his generation would be different.

They would likely gain access in the final semester of the First Year, owing to how fast and terrifyingly talented they were.

’But that is not my concern right now.’ Cassius thought, slowly rising to his feet, bones cracking, body still bare. ’My immediate goals are to grow stronger, prepare for the Academy, and prepare for a future in which I stand exposed in the eyes of the gods. But strength alone is clearly not sufficient. My family is reclusive and accustomed to handling things on their own, but for what is coming, I will need both talented people and gods on our side.’

Cassius smiled coldly. ’And that must be accomplished before I reach the Fifth rank.’

Hopefully, no one in his family would reach that level before him.

His father and mother seemed to already know this, they had almost certainly been holding themselves at Fourth rank deliberately.

’Now I understand why the Stormblessed won against us in the game. It was not only because of the Elders of the Heavens and Emrys with his allied Chosen Ones.’

It was because his own family had been fighting while suppressing themselves, fully aware of what would happen if they did not.

His family had been living under oppression.

Cassius’s eyes went dead cold. His left eye literally caught fire as the anger spread through his heart.

In that instant, it looked like the eye of a snake on the verge of becoming a dragon, wanting nothing more than to devour everything in front of it.

[You may want to conceal your left eye, Cassius.] Ananke interrupted, making him snap out of it. [It is rare for humans to carry draconic characteristics. If a perceptive or powerful being notices it, you will attract problems you do not need right now.]

He drew a slow breath, steadying himself. Then, ”Really?”

[Aye.]

”How do I hide it?”

[I have an eyepatch with an anti-divination effect.] She said, smiling. [Would you like to try it?]

Cassius paused, then grinned.

”Why not?”

—End of Chapter 163—