The Villain Rising: Ascension of Arcane Trickster.-Chapter 235: The Reunion.

Meanwhile, deep within a treasury where only suffocating darkness reigned, two golden pupils slowly opened.

"Tsk... finally back."

A feminine voice echoed through the chamber as the darkness receded slightly around the woman’s hand as a bright blue flame ignited in her pale palm.

"But at least I secured Lucas’s soul from Vael’runn."

She was none other than the Spectator who had just returned to her mortal shell after negotiating with Vael’runn in his domain for the soul of one of her own kind.

A transmigrator.

But not just any either but one who once stood at the top of the game.

Lucas...

Or as he was known in this world as Lucien.

The soul in her palms flickered violently as she closed her palm.

"I guess I need to find a good enough vessel for you before the soul preservation magic of Vael’runn wears off, but thankfully for you... I have a great candidate in mind."

A smile appeared on her face, though it remained completely concealed by the surrounding darkness as she stepped forward, walking out of the shadows toward the man she had chosen to become Lucas’s vessel.

—

Meanwhile, in the deepest basement of Forgery, Winter kept pacing around the room, glancing at Rael’s unconscious body as a cloak fluttered within the cage beside him.

"Why isn’t he waking up...?"

He muttered.

"The Trickster did say it should all work... Did he lie? No, no, that can’t be."

He steadied his mind before it could spiral any further.

It had been ten hours in the treasury since Rael went unconscious, and there hadn’t been any movement except for the moment when the Cloak of the Trickster tried to attack Winter, believing he had betrayed Rael.

Winter found it incredible how a lowly artifact could dare go against him, the one called the God of Forgery, someone before whom even the mightiest sentient artifacts could do nothing but kneel.

He would have been impressed under normal circumstances, but this time, he was far too busy worrying about his father... and even Rael.

Although he hadn’t met Rael before, the anticipation and the stories he had heard from the Trickster had made him idealize Rael ever since he was just a kid.

He knew there was a lot of manipulation involved, but honestly, he didn’t mind. He, who had never had someone to share his pain or happiness with, needed a friend, a brother who could match his craziness, not just a subordinate who would nod mindlessly to whatever he said and from what he had seen of Rael... he was definitely the one who could.

So, he hoped desperately for Rael to be okay as well.

Just then, something in the air shifted.

Winter froze and even the Cloak of Trickster caged within the mana prison stopped fluttering violently in its attempt to break free as both of them stared at Rael, where a change was happening in real time.

A green flame erupted from his body as he was slowly lifted into the air, his eyes still closed.

The flames danced around him in a strangely mesmerising way before shifting colors slowly.

The green began turning into a pure orange, then deepened further and further until brilliant crimson flames surrounded Rael’s body.

The golden thread emerging from his body and connecting to Eidolon’s thickened significantly before vanishing into thin air... just as Rael opened his eyes.

Even in his terminally ill form, his hair white and his skin cracked, there was a subtle change as unlike before, when his eyes had been purely green, there was now a sharp crimson undertone within them.

—

Rael looked at Winter, who was standing there staring at him in surprise. Even his cloak, trapped inside the mana cage, was completely still.

Are they maybe surprised by my handsomeness?

He thought, before taking a single step forward, already preparing a cool line.

"Hope you didn’t miss me too much, you bastards...?"

He said it with a smirk or at least he tried to but the moment he opened his mouth, only an unrecognizable sound came out as his body tilted forward, lacking even the strength to stand, before he collapsed onto the ground like a hollow husk. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

What the fuck...?

He looked at his hands and they were completely dry.

For a moment, there was complete silence as Rael raised his head, only to see Winter and even his cloak trembling as if they were holding back laughter but after a single glare from him, both of them straightened immediately before Winter gave him an apologetic look.

"Ahh, sorry about that, big bro..." He muttered. "Although I did keep your body alive with mana, it seems there were some side effects from staying that long without any water."

Before Rael could say anything or even complain, a soft voice echoed through the cave.

"Winter... is that you...?"

Eidolon, who was standing behind Winter, opened his eyes, his expression was uncertain, yet firm, as he finally spoke to his son.

Normally, Rael would have had countless complaints to make about how even the Tribute skill he had received from Eidolon was trash and didn’t seem to have any effect, and about how Winter had practically left him to dry out but he was a humble and benevolent guy who knew better than to ruin a reunion.

So, he quietly took out a water container from his storage ring and began chugging it down, watching the father and son who clearly had too much to say... and yet too little they could actually express.

—

Eidolon looked at his son, who seemed to have grown so much and yet still carried the same innocent spark in his eyes.

He still remembered what a pathetic father he had been.

Winter had been blind ever since he was a child because of a curse... because of Eidolon and so, Eidolon had taken it upon himself to ease his guilt by creating an artifact that would allow his son to see.

He threw himself into the furnace time and time again, crafting one miraculous artifact after another but he never once asked if his son even wanted such eyesight... or if he simply wanted to be with his father.

To spend some time together.

And even now, he had almost repeated the same mistake but thankfully, a boy, someone far younger than him, yet for some reason far wiser, had advised him not to.

He had sensed the manipulative intent behind those words... but there had been sincerity in them as well... a sincerity which made Eidolon decide to be a proper father... in hopes that maybe this time, he wouldn’t be that pathetic man again.

But their reunion was cut short as before any of them could say a word, a loud rumbling spread through the Treasury as golden cracks started appearing.