The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 1056: Wake Up After So Long
After sending a strong curse, Aldrian waited for a few moments, and he could not help but smile. He could sense that the darkness on the surface of Duke Vareden’s soul had lost its karmic connection with the caster entirely.
That meant the one who cast the possession technique was dead.
The darkness that was still left on the duke’s soul slowly dissipated, albeit slowly. Because the caster of the technique was now dead, Duke Vareden was in a state as if a puppet had been cut from its strings.
Since his real consciousness was still covered in darkness and had not yet reconnected to his body, the body did not give any reaction. What he needed to do now was to purify the remaining darkness, which still carried a strong curse that slowed down the normalization process.
He could also sense that the noble bodies under the devils’ possession had also collapsed in the hall, and they were in the middle of being brought to this place.
"You could light the room, Advisor Ceraz," Aldrian said.
A moment later, the entire room lit up, illuminating the whole space clearly. The room was actually only a large training room.
The king’s advisor, Advisor Ceraz, approached Aldrian while looking at Duke Vareden’s body.
"How is it, Your Excellency?" Advisor Ceraz asked.
Aldrian nodded with a smile. "It succeeded, and I think it is just like I already guessed. The one who cast the possession technique was only one devil. All the bodies that were possessed by that devil have collapsed for now."
Advisor Ceraz sighed in relief. "Thank heavens."
After saying that, the door to the training room opened and King Darius entered with three bodies floating behind him. The king brought them using his energy and placed them right beside Duke Vareden.
"How is it, Your Excellency? Did we succeed?" King Darius asked.
Aldrian nodded. "It succeeded, Your Majesty. I sent a counterattack to the devil who cast the possession technique, and they are most likely dead."
King Darius released a sigh of relief before he looked at the four unconscious bodies.
"Are they alright, Your Excellency? When I checked their souls, I could sense strong darkness covering them. It contains a powerful curse which I think is embedded in their souls. If we recklessly erase the curse, I am afraid it will threaten the soul itself. I think because of that darkness, they are still unconscious."
Aldrian nodded. "You are correct, Your Majesty. It is true that we must be careful when dealing with a curse embedded in a soul. However, you do not need to worry, as I have my own way to purify them without endangering their lives."
Aldrian then took one knee and touched Duke Vareden’s forehead. A moment later, his golden energy began to do its work. A golden hue exuded from his palm, and King Darius and Advisor Ceraz could clearly see and sense it.
They were sensing Aldrian’s golden energy for the first time, and they were truly astonished, as they had never felt anything like this from someone’s energy before.
What they sensed from the energy was a kind of feeling that made them feel as if they were standing before holy energy, yet this one was far more overbearing.
They could not help but feel a growing urge to revere Aldrian because of the existence of that golden energy, to the point that they almost wanted to kneel.
It was a truly strange feeling that they pushed aside as they continued watching Aldrian work.
The darkness on the duke’s soul quickly disappeared, revealing the soul’s normal white color once more after so long.
After almost half a minute, Aldrian stopped and lifted his hand. He watched Duke Vareden for a few moments, and after fifteen seconds, he could see the duke’s eyes slowly regaining clarity.
The duke blinked a few times and looked upward when he saw Aldrian, then he turned to the side where he saw King Darius and Advisor Ceraz. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
He blinked several times before opening his lips.
"Your Majesty?" he said in a slightly confused tone. He still seemed disoriented.
King Darius smiled. "Duke Vareden, how are you feeling?"
The duke, who still seemed confused, did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at his surroundings. He felt a headache, which made him narrow his eyes.
After a few moments of processing his surroundings, he suddenly widened his eyes and sat up.
"Be careful, Duke Vareden. Do not push yourself," King Darius said.
"Wait... these memories, are they mine? What the hell happened to me?" the duke’s voice trembled.
"You were possessed by a devil, Duke Vareden. Your consciousness was trapped inside your own soul all this time while that devil possessed your body and did things outside of your control," Aldrian explained.
"The memories appearing in your mind are your own memories, or more specifically, the memories of your body while it was being controlled by a devil all this time," he added, which caused Duke Vareden’s eyes to widen further.
"Me? Possessed by a devil? Wait..." He suddenly remembered something.
"I... I bought a few purple lotus pills from Duke Beriklas to increase my cultivation. After I consumed them, I suddenly felt something enter my mind. Something drowned my consciousness. Wait, yes. That voice and that energy, that was a devil!" he said in disbelief.
"That must have been the medium that allowed the devil to infiltrate your body. Those pills may have already been tampered with a curse seed that was embedded in your soul," Aldrian said.
Duke Vareden’s eyes trembled as he looked at his own hands.
"What have I done? Why..."
"Calm yourself, Duke Vareden. What was done was not by you but by a devil, so you do not have to blame yourself. I know you feel guilty, but you must not drown too deeply in it. There was nothing you could have done all this time," King Darius said.
"But... but..." Duke Vareden gritted his teeth as guilt filled his heart. The possession that had lasted for years gave him an overwhelming sense of remorse. He remembered all the things the devil had done using his body, and it made him angry at himself.
How could he do all of that? How could he allow himself to be possessed by a devil?
Aldrian did not wait for the duke to reach acceptance before moving on to the other bodies to remove the remaining darkness. The duke saw what Aldrian was doing, and his eyes widened as they reflected the golden hue from Aldrian’s palm.
He could sense what the king and his advisor had felt earlier, and it truly amazed him, which made him momentarily forget about his guilt.
Aldrian repeated his actions until all the bodies were cleansed of any trace of the devil. Not long after, one by one, they began to wake up. Just like Duke Vareden, they looked confused, and the moment they realized what had happened to them, they were astonished.
They felt the same guilt as Duke Vareden, and the only thing Aldrian and the others could do was calm them down. The damage caused by the devils who had possessed them was already done, and the only thing they could do now was mend the damage that had been left behind.
However, they soon began blaming one another because of it.
"Duke Beriklas, how could you fall into the devil’s scheme? To think that I trusted you so easily at that time. I truly regret it," Duke Vareden said.
"Wait, you are blaming me? I did not know that the artifact I obtained from the auction was a cursed item! I am also a victim in this matter," Duke Beriklas retorted.
"Duke Vareden, with all due respect, I was also possessed by a devil because you gave me that sword artifact, which turned out to be cursed, in exchange for more than five kilograms of Crimson Flame Mushroom," Marquess Beruin said.
"Marquess Beruin, you have no right to blame others. It was because of the Crimson Flame Mushroom you gave me that I was also possessed," Marchioness Iveline said.
Hearing their arguments escalate, King Darius sighed. Then, in a firm tone, he spoke.
"Enough, all of you."
They instantly fell silent and looked toward the king.
"I do not wish to see this kind of scene. It reminds me of the devils’ trick when they planted discord among us. That very trick caused us to lose many battles in the past," King Darius continued.
"This is not the time to point fingers at one another. What happened in the past remains in the past, and the damage has already been done. The only thing you can do now is repair the harm caused by the devil that possessed you."
"There is no benefit in blaming each other. We have already won the war against the devils within this kingdom, and you are still alive. Use your strength to fix your own problems instead."
"You must bury everything about this possession deep within your minds and never speak of it to others again. Hold no grudges because of it. If you continue to blame one another, it will cost you your future."
"It is already fortunate that I and His Excellency Aldrian chose a plan that allowed you to maintain your dignity and reputation. If I had chosen the other plan, where it became known that all of you were possessed by devils, do you think you would still be safe in this room, arguing with one another? Do you believe your families would survive the consequences?"
Hearing this, the four nobles lowered their heads in shame.
King Darius sighed. "Once again, do not bring up this matter among yourselves anymore. What I just saw must be the last time. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the four nobles replied.
King Darius nodded. "Good. Now, what you need to do after this is act normally. Do not ever bring up the possession if someone asks you about what happened. It would be suicide if you openly said you had been possessed. I believe you understand that as well."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the four of them replied again.
"Good. Now, can you walk? Let us return to the banquet hall first to calm the others. They must already be speculating about many things in their minds," King Darius said.
