Chapter 527: Praises (2)
Chapter 525
"....."
"Is that all you want?" the old woman asked as she was helped into a sitting position.
Elyon nodded erratically before bowing his head toward her with a small smile on his face.
The old woman thought for a moment, then shrugged before gently patting his head.
"You did a good job, Elyon. You are wonderful, amazing, and powerful. You are kind, lovely, and incredibly fun. You have done a wonderful job, and may the heavens bless you."
The corners of Elyon’s lips widened into a satisfied smile.
His eyes practically flashed with delight for a few moments as the woman continued stroking his head.
At the same time, those he had healed simply shrugged at the strange request and began repeating everything the old woman had said.
The more they praised him, the brighter the gleam in Elyon’s golden eyes became.
His fingers trembled slightly as well, as if a rush of emotion was flooding through his veins.
Ray was confused by this.
Why did the Celestial want to be praised all the time?
He recalled the time at the Aspirant Corps when Ray had graciously given control to the Celestial, only for Elyon to enter the canteen and start demanding that the other Aspirants praise him.
Of course, they hadn’t.
They had simply stared at him like he was a madman before walking away.
Back then, Ray’s reputation had suffered a few cracks because of the incident, and afterward, he refused to let the Celestial take control unless he needed his incredible healing...
...or swimming ability.
The moment the old woman lifted her hand away from the Celestial’s head, a loud ding echoed inside Ray’s head, causing him to turn toward his System screen.
[DING!]
[Conditions have been met by Host. You have acquired praises and adoration from humans. You are favoured and loved by those you helped. Celestial Resonance has increased.]
[+200 Energy added to your bar.]
[Energy: 200/500]
Ray looked at the System before turning his attention back toward Elyon, who happily stood from the chair and began walking away.
All grins and smiles as he went to take his seat in a corner, leaving the chair empty.
’Wh-what is this?’
But then, it seemed as though the System hadn’t finished speaking.
[... Since Host is part Celestial, the Celestial bloodline has activated further. Fulfill these conditions to gain more power and become something the world has never seen before. A true Tribrid.]
’Eh? True what?’
[Condition 1: Evolve to the next stage and become a Tribrid Ascendant.]
[Condition 2: Build your own dedicated followers who will worship and sing your praises all the time.]
"...."
’A cult? I should build a fucking cult?’
Ray snapped his head toward Elyon and frowned.
"Oi! What does all this mean? What am I doing here?"
The Celestial simply raised a brow.
"I can’t see your System screen. I suppose that’s why you looked like you were deep in thought and didn’t hear your name being called out just now. So, what’s up?"
Ray turned his head toward the chair and quickly rushed to take his seat.
The moment he did, he could see the civilians being guided somewhere while Kai and Trisha stood worriedly over him.
Ever since he had been praised, he had remained on his knees, unmoving.
In the process, the duo had begun to suspect that he had either been hypnotized or that something had been done to him by the old woman.
No matter how many times they called out to him, he didn’t respond, causing Kai to raise his hand.
Crystals formed into a gauntlet that began wrapping around his knuckles.
"What do you want to do?" Trish asked with a glare.
"Wake him the fuck up!" Kai pushed his hand downward, sending it speeding toward the back of the boy’s head.
Swoooosh!
Ray’s hand blurred through the air, snatching Kai’s wrist out of its path.
Slowly turning his head to stare icily at his friend, he muttered:
"What was that?"
Wriggling his hand free, Kai scoffed and took a step back.
"Thought your soul was missing from your body, hence I wanted to knock it back in."
The purple crystals could be seen shattering and vanishing as the Legacy folded his arms across his chest, watching Ray slowly rise to his feet.
Dusting himself off, he twisted and turned to see the streets being evacuated.
Feeling a certain glare on him, he turned to look at Trish with a raised brow.
"What’s wrong?"
Tak. Tak. Tak.
Trisha stepped closer until she stood only an inch away from him, her head leaning closer and closer until their faces were almost touching.
Ray could feel her breath against his skin.
He could smell the shampoo from her pale-blue hair.
The mould of her chest was almost pressed against him, causing his heart to race in an instant.
His lower region beginning to grow uncomfortable as the Ice Queen stared deeply into his grey eyes, looking as though she wanted to search for something hidden within them.
"Uh... ahem... you know this is the part where the hero and heroine kiss in a movie, right? Especially when they’re this close to—"
"—I’m not your heroine. Don’t mistake me. I’m not in love with you, dumbass." Trisha coldly interrupted as she took a step back.
The Tribrid heaved a sigh of relief, his wildly beating heart gradually calming down.
"I was simply looking to see if it was really you back there."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ray inquired.
"A moment ago, you asked those people to call you ’Elyon.’ Unless I got my facts wrong, none of your names even start with the letter ’E,’ let alone Elyon. So I want to know what that is all about."
"Huh? And you say you aren’t in love with me? If you aren’t, why are you looking into me like an obsessed partner who doesn’t want her part—"
"I’m not in love with you!" Trisha shouted, throwing her head to the side.
Her cold expression cracked as the sides of her cheeks began to heat up.
"Van had rambled on about everything about you, hence I knew," she mumbled.
Kai simply stood to the side with his arms folded across his chest, watching the melodrama unfold.
After a few seconds, Trisha immediately regained her composure and turned to glare at him once more.
"So, what is going on? I think we all deserve the truth after everything we have been through together. So out with it already!"
«You still haven’t told me what you saw in your System.»
’Jeez. One at a time, for goodness’ sake.’
Rubbing his temples for a few seconds, he finally heaved a sigh.
"You’re right. There’s something."
Trish narrowed her eyes at him.
"Out with it."
Ray looked around for a moment before shaking his head.
"Not now."
"Then?"
"After the Wall Rose expedition. I promise to tell you all everything about myself the day we come back safely from retaking the Wall."
Trisha and Kai stared at him for a few more seconds before clicking their tongues.
"Lucky us, the expedition is in less than five days. Hopefully, we survive," Kai uttered with a tired sigh as the trio turned around and began heading toward the transport that would take them back to base.
The corner of Ray’s lips twitched as his eyes landed on a small tab.
’Oh, we will. Believe me, we will survive.’
====[ECHO REGISTRY]====
[Echo Slots: 3/5]
[Echo Essence: 0/300]
[Registered Echoes:
- Carapace Spider. (Advanced Rank)
- Spider Queen. (Emperor Rank)
- Ogre King. (Emperor Rank)
- Empty
- Empty]