Felix and the white-robed men left, leaving only the Powerbearers and Kael Silverlight behind.
"Phew," Kael sighed, letting out a long breath. Though the immediate danger had passed, his remaining one day of life felt like a mountain on his head. How was he going to find a way to increase his lifespan?
Ugh...
Kael Silverlight sighed again, and sat down next to the wall, looking up at the sharp new moon in the sky.
A red moon.
It was no longer the same sky he used to know.
Surviving in this world had now become the most important question for Kael Silverlight.
"Mr. Kael, would you like something to eat?" One of the Powerbearers walked up to him, his face full of fake smiles.
Kael smiled inside. The Powerbearer who had been arrogant and looked down on him before was now acting so friendly. It was funny.
He suddenly thought of a line: "I actually prefer you when you were stubborn and wild."
"I am kind of hungry. Bring me some meat—more of it." Kael stayed optimistic. He didn't care how many days he had left; he just wanted to enjoy the moment.
"Sure." The Powerbearer ran off quickly.
Kael reminded him, "I don't want human meat, okay?"
At that moment, Aedrion spoke up: "Mr. Kael, we don't usually eat human meat."
Kael looked disgusted. He thought about the wild, primitive feast from last night and felt a little sick. He mocked, "I saw you all eating bones like it was a game."
Aedrion looked down at his hands and sighed, "If being a normal person could keep us alive, who would want to become this half-human, half-demon thing?"
Kael's mind suddenly lit up. He asked, "You all took the potion too, right?"
"The potion? The one you took?" Aedrion shook his head. "We didn't. But the Priest did give us some kind of medicine."
Kael pouted, thinking to himself: "That red-robed guy isn't some good guy at all. He's doing human experiments. What a beast."
He didn't say it out loud, but instead asked, "How strong are those white-robed guys?"
"You mean the Apostles?" Aedrion asked.
"Yes." Kael said.
"Uh... the Apostles were all mages before. Their power is definitely much stronger than ours." Aedrion answered honestly.
"Mages?" Kael's eyes widened. "Why would mages all follow that red-robed guy?"
With no time left and being the only one who had successfully used the potion, he felt more confident and even a little bold.
Aedrion's face turned pale. He said seriously, "Mr. Kael, the Priest gave us power and life. Following him is the will of the Lord, and it's our choice. We all chose to do it."
Kael opened his mouth slightly, shook his head, and said nothing more.
A little while later, a Powerbearer brought Kael a full meal. It was way better than the croissant from yesterday. There was a piece of unknown meat, red in color, with a sauce to dip it in, and some perfectly baked potatoes.
This meal was pretty good.
Kael Silverlight acted normal. After eating and drinking, he didn't feel full at all, so he asked, "Do you have any snacks I can eat?"
Aedrion pulled out a small bag from his pocket and said, "This is tilapia jerky. It's something we eat for fun sometimes."
"Thanks." Kael Silverlight took it, pulled out a piece of jerky, and put it in his mouth. He didn't even bother to chew. After taking the potion, he always felt a strange emptiness in his stomach, like he needed to eat all the time.
Time passed second by second.
Kael Silverlight's anxiety grew. As the clock struck midnight,
"Lifespan: One day."
"Huh---" Kael Silverlight said, frustrated. "Where's a place I can get some fresh air?"
The Powerbearers looked at each other, not daring to speak. What if Kael Silverlight ran away?
Kael Silverlight laughed. "The red-robed Priest is the legendary Master Mage. How far could I possibly run?"
Aedrion thought for a moment, then said, "There's a river nearby. I'll go with you to check it out."
"Sure thing." Kael Silverlight shrugged, put his sword on his hip, and followed Aedrion.
They walked out through a hidden passage, and the view opened up completely.
A mountain range stretched out, green and full of life. A stream flowed through the land, twisting and turning in many directions.
"Scalesplice Alley actually has a place like this?" Kael Silverlight was surprised. His old memories didn't have anything about this. Maybe the original Kael didn't want to come out here either.
Aedrion calmly replied, "The Bay River runs through Slagtown, which is why the docks are so busy. This river branching off into smaller streams isn't surprising."
"Are you from Slagtown?" Kael Silverlight picked up a flat, round stone, flipped it in his hand, and threw it. It made over ten nice skips across the water.
Aedrion nodded. "Yeah."
Kael Silverlight asked, "How did you join that Bloodline Cult?"
Aedrion paused for a moment, then said softly, "My parents were killed by a bully. I was alone, wandering around, and I met the Bloodline Cult recruiting. I joined, and after passing the test, I stayed."
The test?
Kael Silverlight blinked. If he passed the test, that meant others didn't.
It was clearly a wound for Aedrion, so Kael didn't push further. He threw away the blood-stained cloth on him, jumped into the stream, and laughed, "I haven't taken a bath in forever. I'm going to have a real one today."
Aedrion watched Kael Silverlight's smiling face, stunned. In the Bloodline Cult, he had never seen such a happy smile. He felt uncomfortable, almost blinded by it, and turned away, gripping his knife and watching the surroundings carefully.
Kael Silverlight played in the water, having a lot of fun. After about ten minutes, Aedrion sighed and asked, "Mr. Kael, are you done yet?"
"It's been forever since I had a chance like this. Why rush? You should come in and wash too. You're a mess." Kael only showed his head above the water, trying to persuade him.
Aedrion felt a little tempted, but in the end, he shook his head and said, "No thanks..."
Suddenly.
He spotted ripples on the water far away and quickly warned, "Mr. Kael, get out of the water. There's something under there."
Kael Silverlight blinked, then looked in the direction Aedrion was pointing. He saw a strange fish-like creature rushing toward them from the distance.
"Fuck." Kael cursed. "What the hell is that?"
The noise was huge, like a submarine was coming up from under the water. The closer it got, the more Kael could feel the waves coming from the monster below.
Kael was in the middle of the stream, about three or four meters from the shore. He tried to swim toward the bank but was already too late.
"Boom---"
The Water Beast broke the surface. It had a catfish mouth and big shark fins. Under Kael's mental senses, the creature had a strong presence.
Only a step away from the shore, it now seemed impossible to reach. Kael had no choice but to dive underwater and try to escape the attack.
"Boom---"
The Water Beast jumped out of the water again, then crashed back down, creating a huge wave.
Aedrion's heart nearly stopped. He shouted, "Mr. Kael!"
His stomach dropped. What if Mr. Kael got eaten?
If Kael died here, he probably wouldn't live long after that.
"Huff..." Kael suddenly popped up from the water far away, taking a big breath.
Shit.
He wasn't dead.
Aedrion suddenly felt a surge of excitement and yelled, "Mr. Kael, your sword!"
He kicked the sword on the shore, and it flew through the air, landing right in front of Kael.
Kael grabbed the sword, pulled it from the sheath, and calmly watched the water. Now that he had a weapon, he felt a bit calmer.
The strange Water Beast had dived back under the water and didn't make any more noise. He couldn't even feel the flow of the stream anymore.
Aedrion guessed, "That thing ran away?"
Kael's eyes twitched violently. He roared, "It didn't run. It's under me."
Sequence 1: The Feastbringer — The beast-like instinct kicked in. Kael didn't even think about it. His sword just instinctively plunged down into the water beneath him.