Chapter 39

Nathan was deep in though about the wonders of Soul Cultivation, as he turned to Nitis, "We will go meet Supervisor Ezra as soon as our operations start to slow down. The Awakening Ceremony also draws close. We will be too busy after the ceremony is done. That, is where our struggle will truly begin."

The Awakening Ceremony… a ritual held in the presence of The Gods. Anyone of age can attend this ceremony that takes place every 3 years. It also signifies the start the cultivation path of a new generation. The reason why this ceremony is so important, and that Nathan had also waited for it, is same for everyone: an opportunity!

Those who attend the ceremony to pay their respects have a slim chance of receiving a small blessing by a God who favor them, granting them a leap in talent and aptitude regarding the specialty of said God. The only limitation of the ceremony is that only mortals can attend them. Those on the path of cultivation must search for opportunities elsewhere.

Nathan intended to use this ceremony as message: The Path of Darkness is back, and the sinners will soon burn within the pits of The Underworld!

He was also not hoping for luck during the ceremony, far from it. He never believed in luck to begin with. He was sure that the Dark Gods would rise to support him.

Indeed, it will mark the beginning of a great conflict. Many will perish, lost within The River of Time forever, while many will rise, like a Phoenix from the ashes…

Grandpa's face turned grim, "Indeed, it will be a bloodbath… we still have some time left to make preparations, but I fear there is little we can do alone…"

"We still have two more years. No need to worry. Besides, we are not alone." Nathan smiled confidently. They were far from helpless.

"I will get started on my Soul Cultivation immediately. Grandpa, inform me once the operations start meeting resistance. In the meanwhile, Aunty, help me find something to practice my Curse Arts. Curing the cursed should be a good practice. It would also help spread my reputation."

"Understood, Your Highness."

"I will see to it, little Nate."

After saying goodbye to everyone, Nathan returned to his room, excited for a monumental moment!

[Name: Nathan Netherstar]

[Species: Juvenile Royal Dragonborn]

[Title: Crown Prince of Darkness]

[Level 11]

Energy Cultivation Technique: None

Soul Cultivation Technique: None

Divine Abilities: [Eighteen Gates of Hell](Locked)

Bloodline Abilities: [Partial Transformation (Lv 1)]

Secondary Professions: [Apprentice Curse Master]

[Stats]

HP: 1400/1400

Strength: 60

Agility: 60

Stamina: 140

Toughness: 60

[Skills: Trial of Darkness (Lv 2), Stealth(Lv 3)]

[Passive Skills: Blessing of Darkness (Lv Max), Enhanced Senses (Mastered), Focus (Mastered), Accuracy(Lv 2)]

Stat Points: 60 >>> 210

Skill Points: 7 >>> 67

[Items: Moon Rock Necklace, Eye of Odin, Soul Essence Droplets 100x]

[Soul Bound Items: Sigil of Authority(Crown Prince), Mark of Inheritance(???), Unchained Abyssal True Reaper Manual]

'Huh… [Accuracy] is so hard to level up, yet its effects are also very significant. It has helped me learn thing faster and smoother… I wonder what will it turn to… all that training, yet it merely increased by a level…' Nathan lamented the slow progression, but he was also happy to see the increasing number of his Stat and Skill Points. It signified his direct increase in strength!

He tapped on the [Unchained Abyssal True Reaper] manual, and information flashed through his mind,

[Death is Silent Death is Supreme]

By Life, The Universe was born…

By Death, it shall Perish!

Break free from The shackles that weigh you down!

Become The Reaper that embodies Death itself! 

Let them know The Justice of The Fallen…

For in Death… WE ARE ONE!

Nathan heard an mysterious Ancient voice chant within his Sea of Consciousness, causing it to become restless, as invisible waves reverberated across his soul, when his soul was struck with agonizing pain!

His body immediately became drenched in cold sweat as pain overwhelmed his senses, yet he could still hear it…

[[[By Life, The Universe was born…]]]

He felt his soul tearing apart and stitching itself back together, but he refused to let out a sound of pain!

[[[By Death, it shall Perish!]]]

He felt his soul be pricked by hundreds- no thousands of needles, causing him extreme frustration, but he endured! Fighting desperately to keep his emotions in check!

[[[Break free from The shackles that weigh you down!]]]

*Pa* *Pa* *Pa*

Nathan felt his bones snap into pieces, increasing the pain by another notch, taking him to the very brink of consciousness, but he held on, an unyielding spirit blossoming within him that refused to give up!

[[[Become The Reaper that embodies Death itself! ]]]

The Ancient voice echoed once more, causing a blanket of darkness to cover his soul, plunging him to the depth of Abyss, where there was no such a thing as directions, but it had little to no effect on Nathan.

[[[Let them know The Justice of The Fallen…]]]

Ghastly purplish-black tendrils appeared from the depths of the Abyss, entering his soul, and fusing with him! The process continued for an unknown amount of time, as here, time lost meaning…

The tendrils continued increasing in number until they covered him in a cocoon, with more and more tendrils joining in with each passing second!

Faced with unimaginable pain, and a hostile environment, one would expect Nathan to panic, but he was calm.

All until now, he had not detected a hint of danger. Even the Ancient voice was more like a guiding hand, like a grandparent guiding their grandchild on their very first steps. So he focused on fully enduring the pain.

[[[For in Death… WE ARE ONE!]]]

With a flash of purple-black light, the cocoon burst like a balloon, and the transformation was done! Nathan's soul returned to his body, like a bird freed from its cage, who spread his wings, and at that moment, a terrible pressure descended upon the soul of every living being in a radius of twenty meters around Nathan, causing Sophie, who was in her room, to suddenly feel as though a mountain was on her back!

Grandpa noticed the disturbance, and acted quickly to seal Nathan's room, trapping the ghastly Aura within. But inwardly, he was shocked!

'Soul Pressure!!! Impossible!' 

He dashed to Nathan's room, and found Sophie also running in the same direction.

"Grandpa! What happened?! Did something happen?!" Sophie cried out frantically.

"Calm down, little Sophie. Nothing happened. Nathan is safe. It seems like something unexpected has happened when he started his cultivation of the soul, nothing bad, of course." He reassured the panting girl. Turns out, she was scared out of her wits, thinking something happened to Nathan.

They both entered Nathan's room, not caring for etiquette at the moment, as they panicked, and what they saw, horrified them!

There sat Nathan on his bed in a lotus position, covered by an ethereal purple-black robe, that of a Reaper, to be exact, as a magnificent black scythe with intricate purple pattern floated in front of him, but that was not important,

Blood! Blood all over the walls! Even the ceiling! Nathan sat in a pool of his own blood, so much so that a normal human would have been drained of all their blood, turning into a husk!

Sophie ran up to Nathan, fearing the worst, but she was stopped by Grandpa, "If you go near him right now, you would, without a doubt, die."

"Let me go! Can't you see that he is injured?!" Sophie struggled fiercely, not caring one bit about her own safety, as she knew Nathan would do the same for her, even summoning her Golden Flame in retaliation, but it had no effect on Grandpa.

"Calm down, look. He is safe and sound, and would wake up soon. It seems the worst has already past." Grandpa sighed in relief. He truly didn't expect for things to turn so much violent and dangerous, yet it seems as if their Prince has managed to pull through!

Sophie forcefully calmed herself down, and closely observed Nathan, making sure that he was truly okay, "H-How is it possible? He has lost so much blood!"

Grandpa nodded, "I believe his race as a Dragonborn, was all that protected him this time. Not many races have the inherit trait capable of surviving such fatal conditions. "

The two silently waited for Nathan to wake up, and they didn't have to wait long.

Nathan opened his eyes, a flash of cyan light caused the pressure he emitted increase many fold, but Grandpa kept it contained in the room, while covering Sophie by a veil of his energy.

Nathan blinked, and the robe and the scythe disappeared, along with the pressure, as he looked around his room, and noticed blood everywhere,

"So, it was not an illusion… cleaning this is going to be troublesome…" Nathan muttered under his breath.

Grandpa heard his words, and with a wave of his hand, all the blood in the room vanished.

"NATE~~~" Sophie jumped on him, tackling him down as she cried.

"*sniff* I-I was so scared! Don't do that again! What if- what if something bad happened?!" Sophie scolded him with difficulty, her voice cracking as she cried.

Nathan patted her back, feeling bad to have scared her, but even he didn't know things would escalate to such a degree!

"I'm sorry you had to see such a scene." He continued giving her back rubs to calm her down, but he didn't give her any promises. 

"D-Dummy!" She didn't say anything else and just hugged him, prolonging the moment for as long as she could…