Chapter 79: Waking Up
Chapter 79: Waking Up
Rhain’s eyelids twitched once before they opened.
The wooden ceiling of his private quarters came into focus.
His body felt heavy, as though his bones had been filled with lead, but the sharp, dangerous emptiness that had consumed his body after unleashing the Heavenly Flame was gone.
The Abyssal Sovereign Physique had done its work while he was unconscious.
He attempted to shift his right arm, only to find it pinned down by a soft weight.
He turned his head to the right.
Seris was sitting on a wooden stool right beside his bed.
The upper half of her delicate body was leaning over the mattress, her face resting peacefully against his forearm, her silver-blue hair spilling across the sheets like a river of moonlight.
She had fallen asleep beside him.
Her breathing was soft and rhythmic, her delicate features completely relaxed in a way he rarely saw when she was awake. The faint shadows beneath her eyes, however, told a different story. She had clearly been sitting here for a long time, watching over him, refusing to leave until exhaustion had physically dragged her under.
A trace of warmth stirred in Rhain’s chest.
He slowly shifted his arm, careful not to jostle her, and reached out with his free hand.
His fingers gently brushed a strand of silver-blue hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
"Seris," he called softly.
Her eyelashes trembled.
A small, incoherent murmur escaped her lips.
For a fraction of a second, she looked disoriented.
Then, her pale purple eyes slowly opened, blinking against the morning light spilling into the room.
Her gaze met his open, dark grey eyes.
Seris looked stunned.
"Rhain!" she gasped, instantly bolting upright. "You’re awake!"
"Are you hurt anywhere? Does your body still ache?
Her eyes, already reddening, glistened with a thin film of moisture she was clearly fighting to hold back.
"I’m fine. I’m sorry for worrying you," Rhain gently held her slender wrist.
The sincerity in those few words undid whatever remained of her composure.
A single tear slipped free, tracing a glistening line down her cheek before she hurriedly wiped it away with the back of her hand.
"You always do this," she murmured, sniffing once. "You always say something so simple, and it makes it impossible for me to stay angry at you."
Rhain smiled bitterly as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, leaning his back against the headboard.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"Exactly one day," Seris spoke, visibly composing herself before she answered. "When you collapsed in the plaza, Sect Master and others nearly lost their minds in panic. But thankfully you were just over-drained. We brought you back to your courtyard immediately."
Rhain’s dark grey eyes narrowed slightly as he processed her words.
A whole day.
Orion had clearly warned that the Ashvele
family would return with their full force, and they would leave no one alive.
Mirravele City was far, but for a major clan, traversing that distance wouldn’t take very long.
They could be mobilizing right now.
"Seris," Rhain looked at her, "Go and find Sect Master for me."
Seris wanted to tell him to rest, but looking at his solemn face, she just nodded heavily.
"I’ll come soon." After a careful look, she turned around and hurried out of the bedroom.
Right then, the system prompt rang out.
[Ding! Daily Sign-In available. Sign In?]
"Sign-In," Rhain commanded inwardly.
[Daily Sign-In Successful!]
[Reward: Uncommon-Grade Artifact — Illusionary Mist Array Flags.]
[Item automatically sent to System Inventory.]
Rhain’s expression didn’t ripple.
An Uncommon-Grade reward.
Compared to the Epic-Grade Faceless Emperor Mask or the Heaven-Grade Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame, it was completely unremarkable.
Still, a reward was a reward.
He didn’t even bother taking it out to inspect it, casually leaving it in the System Inventory.
After a few minutes, hurried footsteps came from the courtyard outside.
Harmon stepped in with wide strides, followed closely by Seris.
His face looked visibly haggard, clearly worried about the disaster looming over his sect.
Harmon’s cloudy eyes swept over Rhain’s complexion with undisguised relief.
"Thank God you’re awake, Rhain," Harmon breathed.
But the deep anxiety etched into the lines of his face could not be hidden.
Rhain looked at him, his dark grey eyes completely calm.
"You are worried about the Ashvele Clan," he asked.
Harmon gave a heavy, bitter nod.
"How could I not be?" Harmon sighed, "One of their Core Formation Realm expert is dead. They will never stop until our sect is completely uprooted."
Harmon stopped and looked at Rhain with a hopeful gaze, "Rhain, our small sect simply cannot defend against a behemoth from Mirravele City. What should we do next?"
Rhain didn’t answer immediately.
His brows knitted tightly as he fell in deep thought.
"It is not possible for me to give you a certain answer right now," Rhain said after thinking for a while.
Harmon blinked, clearly not expecting that answer.
Rhain met his gaze steadily. "Before I can make any decisions, I need to understand the true strength of the Ashvele family.
"I need to know exactly how many Core Formation experts they have, what their internal power structure looks like, what alliances they hold in Mirravele City, who are their enemies, and how quickly they can realistically mobilize a force to reach Greymist Town."
Rhain’s eyes sharpened.
"Without that information, any plan I make would be no better than a blind man swinging a sword."
Harmon slowly nodded, the logic sinking in. "Then we need someone who truly understands Mirravele City from the inside."
The same name surfaced in both their minds simultaneously.
"Fenwick Luo," Rhain said.
Harmon’s eyes flickered with recognition. "If anyone in this region has firsthand knowledge of the Ashvele family’s true depth, it would be him."
Rhain gave a slight nod. "Invite him here. Tell him I would like to have a private conversation with him."
"I’ll send someone right away." Harmon turned on his heel and strode out of the room.
Seris, who had been standing quietly by the doorway throughout the entire exchange, looked at Rhain with a worried gaze.
"Rhain, could we survive Ashvele family?" She bit her pink lip.
Rhain shifted his gaze back to her.
"Don’t you trust me?" He asked.
Seris didn’t hesitate for a single fraction of a second.
"I do," She gave a firm, heavy nod, "More than anyone."
The corners of Rhain’s lips curved into a faint smile.
"Then you do not need to worry," Rhain said with a resolute tone, "I will not let anything happen to you. Or to this sect."
Hearing his unwavering promise, the heavy stone of dread pressing down on Seris’s heart lifted.
As long as he was here, she was not afraid of anything.
____________
An hour later.
"S-Supreme Elder Rhain!" Fenwick greeted, almost throwing himself into a deep bow, ""This humble one came as fast as his legs could carry him! I received the Sect Master’s message and didn’t even stop to change my shoes — please forgive the disheveled appearance!"
He straightened up, still panting, and his small, cunning eyes quickly swept over the room — there was no one except Rhain.
A private conversation, just as requested.
Rhain looked at Fenwick’s shrewd eyes, knowing fully well that this man was not as simple as he tried to appear on the surface.
"Please, sit," He said, gesturing toward a chair across the room.
"Thank you, thank you!" Fenwick practically collapsed into the wooden chair, which groaned ominously under his weight.
"Supreme Elder Rhain," Fenwick said, his breathing finally steadying, "whatever you need from this humble one, you need only ask. Fenwick Luo is entirely at your service."
"I believe that you already know the reason why I called you here." Rhain said calmly, his sharp eyes entirely locked on Fenwick’s face, "I want to know about Ashvele family, as explicitly as possible."