Chapter 105: Source Code!

Chapter 105: Source Code!

With that conversation finished, Albedo quickly headed back to Zephyr Academy. The environment was hushed, while classes had restarted, there was still an incredibly sombre mood.

Albedo arrived in the administration building and headed to the top floor where Raphaeline’s Office was, quickly entering it.

He spotted her looking out the window, and she immediately turned to look at him with a piercing gaze, "You’ve returned rather quickly. Speak,"

"We investigated Colin’s home. It was laced with a-lot of abyssal residue. If Luna’s assessment is correct, all of them are long term sleeper agents, passing abyssal missions down as inheritance. The entire bloodline may have been compromised."

Raphaeline did not blink, instead she calmly rested her chin lightly against her clasped hands, crimson gaze never leaving Albedo, "Go on."

Albedo continued, "The ground floor and upper rooms were cleansed. Almost sterile. But one bedroom bore conjuration marks, Abyssal anchors, likely meant to tether a monster or conduit. The true discovery was in the basement: a teleportation circle, recently used."

Her eyes narrowed, though her expression remained otherwise unreadable, "Destination?"

Albedo shook his head slightly, "It was erased, but Luna intervened. She reversed the scar of the circle and recognized 3 figures fleeing through it, Colin was the primary one, his mana signature had been there so much it lingered,"

"Luna is currently following the trail and would like to meet up with you," Albedo said, and Raphaeline nodded, her gaze sharpening as she used her abilities to sense where Luna was.

~WHOOSH!~

Her majestic wings unfurled, their silhouette stretching long across the room, "I’ll take over from here,"

Albedo frowned faintly, "If you need me, "

"I will contact you," she cut him off smoothly, her gaze locking into his like sharpened blades. "Until then, just relax, you still need to prepare for the exchange and too many classes already got missed due to the impromptu break."

The finality in her voice left no room for further argument. In the next breath, shadows folded around her like a cloak and a rush of cold air swept across the room, the windows rattling faintly.

And then, in a flash, she was gone, erased from Albedo’s sight as thought she had never been standing there at all.

The office was silent once more, the faint silver light of the moon spilling across the obsidian desk where she had been seated moments earlier.

Albedo let out a slow exhale, "Of course..."

He turned and left the Office and made his way out of the Administration Building, deep in thought. This entire event with the Hollowed Ones was completely unique to this timeline, never happening in the Novel.

Not only that, it revealed a-lot of information that were never revealed in the Novel, such as the Abyss having Sleeper Agents through generations, raised to be worshippers.

In hindsight, it made sense. It even made Albedo wonder if there was sleeper agents back at the village who relayed information in their preparation to take Gwen.

All of these thoughts swirled in Albedo’s mind as he took the SkyRail back to Pantheon and arrived back at the villa, spotting Seraphyne and the assassins training as he headed inside, expecting to find Gwen and Diona reading or watching TV.

Instead, silence.

"Gwen?" Albedo called lightly, stepping inside.

A soft patter of feet came from the stairs, and his little sister appeared, her silver hair messy from sitting too long on her bed. She blinked at him, emerald eyes tired but brightening at the sight of her brother.

"You’re back."

Albedo nodded, setting his coat aside, "Where’s Diona?"

Gwen tilted her head."Oh, she went out. Her friend came by a little while ago."

Albedo’s brow furrowed. "Friend?"

"Yeah," Gwen said with a small smile, "He said his name was Lucian. He said they were going to walk together for a bit, so she left with him."

"Oh, makes sense," Albedo said.

"Brother... are you okay?" She then asked with a bit of nervousness in her voice, fidgeting with her fingers.

Albedo paused, glancing over at her, "Why do you ask?"

"I heard about what happened on the news." Her voice wavered faintly, the weight of it clear despite her attempt to sound casual, "They said it was really dangerous. That... people died."

For just a heartbeat, silence hung in the air. Then Albedo’s expression softened. He stepped forward and, with one hand, reached down to ruffle her silver hair.

"Do I look like someone who can die that easily?" he said with a faint smile tugging at his lips, "Your brother is too strong for that."

Gwen let out a small laugh, though her eyes still searched his face, as if to confirm the truth for herself.

Albedo gave her head one last playful rub before straightening. "Instead of worrying about me, you should be more worried about finishing your Math homework.

Her cheeks puffed slightly in protest. "Tch, I was almost done with it!"

"Almost," Albedo repeated with mock seriousness. "That’s what they all say before they fail."

"Meanie," Gwen huffed, crossing her arms.

Albedo chuckled softly, the faint tension in his chest easing just a little.

"Alright, back to your room," Albedo said softly, tapping Gwen on the forehead with the same hand he had ruffled her hair with.

She wrinkled her nose, pouting in protest, but obeyed without much resistance. "Fine... but don’t train too late, okay?"

"I’ll keep that in mind," Albedo said with a faint smile, watching her small form disappear up the stairs. The faint creak of her door closing lingered in the silence, and with it came the weight of his own thoughts pressing down once again.

The villa was quiet, save for the muffled sounds of Seraphyne barking sharp commands outside as the assassins practiced their drills.

He quickly head upstairs and entered the private training room, the door sealing shut behind him.

"Echo of Death," he whispered, and the air quivered.

A translucent interface bled into existence before him, flickering like an otherworldly script written in the marrow of his soul. Dozens of names, fragments, and powers scrolled across the space, each tied to a Hollowed One he had slain.

The Hollowed Ones were after all, Humans before what happened, so they had Gifts that Albedo could inherit using his own Gift.

Most were smaller Gifts, such as Minor Flame Resistance, Enhanced Smell, Quick Reflex, the sort of everyday enhancements people might awaken. Many bore grotesque distortions from Abyssal influence, unstable or outright useless.

But Albedo’s gaze filtered through them with practiced efficiency, discarding the junk as he searched for anything that might serve him in the future.

After around 10 minutes of filtering through all the Gifts, he pinpointed 4 of them that were incredibly useful, keeping those.

Twilight Tongue

This Gift was exceptionally useful. While at its base, it didn’t directly buff Albedo’s combat power or magic knowledge, it gave him access to a near limitless array of knowledge.

From ancient rituals, books and dead civilizations, now he’d be able to seek all of them out and learn from them.

Fractal Casting – Every time you cast a spell, a smaller variant of it may automatically replicate itself in proximity. With low mana, it may manifest as a barely visible spark, but with high mana, entire spellstorms could unfold from a single fire spell.

A grin tugged faintly at Albedo’s lips. This one resonated with him immediately. His Flames were immense after all, and he could imagine unleashing basic fire spells, only for them to fracture into a dozen echoes of fire.

Even a simple Arcane Bolt could transform into a web of death across a battlefield.

The third Gift was one that, similar to the first, didn’t directly buff his combat power, but would be immensely beneficial in the long term.

Perfect Adaptation – Can perfectly adapt to any environment without the need for mana, whether that be Celestial Frost, Eternal Hellfire, Endless Sand Dunes, or the deepest depths of the Sea.

This one was simply survival incarnate. It basically meant that terrain would no longer be a deterrent, he could plunge into an abyssal trench, lava fields or even tyrannical mana vacuums and still endure.

It was much more valuable than most forms of direct offense.

"...This one is a gift that ensures I don’t die stupidly," Albedo muttered, filing it away. "Which is exactly what I need."

He dismissed the lesser options, storing away the three that mattered. The rest would sit dormant within Echo of Death, fragments to be discarded or consumed later.

For a moment, he stood in silence, hands clasped behind his back as he considered.

Twilight Tongue gave him keys to valuable history and the knowledge of different civilizations.

Fractal Casting gave him another weapon to add to his ever growing combat arsenal for future battles. weapons for the future.

Perfect Adaptation gave him security for everything in between.

Each was subtle, not flashy. None would draw immediate attention from others the way something like Eternity or War God’s Power would from Miranda and Zeus.

However, there was one final Gift he received that trumped all the other 3. In fact, it was exceptionally overpowered, but it needed someone already powerful to maximize its potential.

"Source Code!"