NOVPUBThird Person's POV
The area was secluded and hidden under a tangle of brambles and leafy overgrowth.
Without hesitation, he slipped into the foliage and disappeared into the natural concealment.
A thin veil of dark mana expanded over his skin, like an invisible cloak, and faintly hummed with corrosive energy.
The moment it spread, the bugs and tiny crawling creatures near his path shriveled and withered, and their forms hissed into dust as if scorched by acid.
After sweeping the pit of creeping pests and damp decay, Ethan retrieved a thick mat from his spatial ring and laid it over the dirt.
He sat down cross-legged and let his breath slow as he felt the cold stillness of the underground nook settle over him.
The air was heavy, close, and tinged with the scent of soil and the faint copper tang of his own mana.
With practiced ease, he opened his hands, and the dark, ghostlike chain coiled tightly around Aram's neck and body shivered once before slithering back into Ethan's palm and vanishing like mist.
The prince's limp body sagged immediately after being released from its restraints.
But still, Ethan didn't relax, and in a heartbeat, his hand shot forward and gripped Aram's head firmly.
His fingers curled into the demon's scalp and ensured that even if he stirred awake, there would be no chance for him to retaliate or act.
He had no interest in giving this bastard the slightest window of opportunity.
Taking a deep breath, Ethan closed his eyes and dived into the depths of his mind space.
Unlike the earlier darkness that had been dimly lit by the hexagonal Eterna Nexus, the current landscape was entirely transformed.
It was now radiant, surreal, and breath-stealing in its beauty.
It now resembled a miniature galaxy, a boundless expanse where a sea of glittering silver runes flowed around a radiant, seven-colored star.
It was the dormant Eterna Nexus floating in his mind silently.
The light it radiated was soft yet profound as it cascaded across his mental landscape like divine stardust and bathed his consciousness in an ethereal glow.
Ethan's breath caught in awe while his senses were overwhelmed.
The luminous radiance didn't merely dazzle his sight, but it soothed something far deeper, and that was his soul.
A gentle peace settled over him, as if the turmoil, stress, and violent chaos of the outer world had no place here.
Even his thoughts slowed, softened, and mellowed beneath the tranquil silver tide.
In his mind space, his form had taken that of a silver jellyfish that glided effortlessly with its many tendrils trailing light through the silver runic sea.
Meanwhile, in the real world, his misty eyes shimmered with both wonder and an instinctive understanding.
As he drifted even deeper, he gradually grasped the true nature of this silver luminescence, they were not just specks of light, but silver runes that were ancient, powerful, and infinitely complex to him at the moment.
Yet no matter how hard he focused, their full structure, veiled beneath an otherworldly haze, eluded him.
Still, an instinct born from his blood whispered truth into his being that this silver sea was a manifestation of his DreamShroud Devil Bloodline awakening, and it was not merely a sight to behold but a domain to one day command.
As he swam within it, his perception began sharpening.
The chaotic feel of raw soul energy started to stabilize, and he could sense his influence over it subtly expanding.
Then suddenly, without warning, a brilliant and blinding seven-colored light flashed across his inner vision.
A jolt of fear surged through him, and in the next breath, Ethan awoke while gasping and drenched in cold sweat as his body tensed and trembled.
The clarity of his mind was consumed by the primal dread still coiled in his chest.
For a moment, he could hardly breathe.
His fingers trembled as they brushed the sweat from his brow while his heartbeat echoed in his ears like war drums.
He realized with a rush of horror that he had almost lost himself in that silver abyss after being lulled by its serenity and pulled into its deceptive depths.
It was the Eterna Nexus, that guiding beacon, which had intervened in the final moment and yanked him free from the seductive snare of the runic sea.
The danger hadn't come from an enemy or a spell, but it had come from within, from his own blood.
That realization shook him more than any blade or beast ever had.
'If not for the Eterna Nexus... I might have never returned,' he thought as the chill of that truth crawled across his spine.
He clenched his fists and let the breath out slowly while grounding himself.
The incident was a harsh reminder that this magical world was layered with both seen and unseen perils.
One misstep, even in the sanctuary of his own mind, could result in death or even worse.
His lips curled into a grim line as he thought again of the sea of silver and the mysterious huge phantom he had encountered in his vision during the battle with the Extra-Terrestrial Void Nihility Demon just ten days ago in the Dark Forest.
That unfathomable and majestic being had worn a silver crown that pulsed with the same ancient silver light.
It had similar shiny silver strands that were woven into something beyond his current mortal comprehension.
Even now, Ethan could hear that
distant yet unforgettable voice that seemingly proclaimed the existence of an "Eternal Throne" for him.
That declaration had lodged itself in his heart like an echo from destiny, but he had instinctively ignored that small detail.
Now, as he linked that vision with what he had just experienced, a bold, daring thought began to form in his mind.
It was a guess about the identity of the phantom that had haunted his dreams from that day till now.
'Is he that Dreamshroud Devil Emperor who was the so-called true progenitor of my devil bloodline?'
