The hexagonal cube slowly emitted a golden light. It floated in front of Nolan, then split in two to form a purplish-black portal.
Nolan closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was no longer in his room. He was standing in a large hall surrounded by towering pillars. Large mirrors lined the sides of the pillars. The space outside the hall was pitch black and illuminated only by faint specks of light. In contrast, the inside was filled with a soft glow.
Nolan gradually began to understand the function of the Hexagonal Chain in his hand.
"A Class S magic artifact," he murmured softly. "It can create a storage space far larger than a normal storage bracelet, even allowing humans to enter it. Furthermore, it can form an external domain using magic."
He paused for a moment.
"Caelthorn may seem weak, and his talent is mediocre. But his knowledge of creating magic artifacts is invaluable."
Nolan waved his hand toward one of the mirrors. Its surface rippled gently, and he stepped inside.
Beyond the mirror was another room much like his private space. The cabinets were neatly arranged and filled with silver tablets that appeared to function as e-books, similar to technology on Earth.
Nolan opened a small cabinet. Inside was a pure white crystal the size of an adult's fist:
It was the same crystal he had obtained during the Transcendence Trial.
It was essential for the Sentinels' fusion process, which allowed them to increase their power level.
The crystal floated in the center of the room. Nolan had studied the mechanics of a Sentinel's power increase. He stretched his hands forward. At the same time, the crystal emitted a soft glow. A burst of white light flowed from his palms and spread like creeping roots.
Slowly, the light entered his body, flowing gently toward his heart—right to the deepest layer where his mana energy core resided.
"If Caelthorn's heart is truly destroyed, his mana energy core should be destroyed as well," Nolan murmured softly.
His brow furrowed.
"Then how did the heart and energy core recover? Was this the result of my soul transmigrating into his body?"
Nolan remained in position with his hands outstretched toward the white crystal. He barely moved for over an hour. He exhaled softly several times.
Fusing mana energy with the crystal took a long time. Succeeding in a single day and advancing in rank was impossible. Many Sentinels encountered bottlenecks during this process, and quite a few failed completely.
Nolan exhaled again, this time with a hint of boredom.
"Am I going to fail again?" he muttered under his breath.
The mana fusion had been going on for quite some time. Nolan remained in the same spot, exhaling softly and repeatedly. In his heart, he began to feel that he might fail again. Moreover, he sensed that Caelthorn's mana was flowing slowly during the fusion process with the white crystal.
"His mana core is weak," he muttered softly. "Caelthorn is weak in terms of strength. His talent is mediocre. He has failed many times, and only his intellectual knowledge is vast."
Nolan exhaled again, this time for a longer time. Boredom and frustration set in, but he persisted. However, as time went on, he began to sense that something was amiss.
Suddenly, the white crystal vibrated.
At the same time, his mana core became unstable.
"Could I fail?" Nolan asked, furrowing his brows.
Cold sweat trickled down his face, and his complexion grew paler. Nevertheless, his hands remained stretched forward, unwavering.
Suddenly, the white light burst transformed into thick black smoke.
The smoke flowed rapidly through his body and was instantly absorbed into his mana core. Nolan instinctively grabbed his head. A violent, throbbing pain struck him as if a giant hand were trying to crush his head from the inside out.
At that moment, an invisible memory suddenly surfaced.
Black hands reached from the deepest abyss and pulled him roughly. It was a familiar feeling—just like when he died on Earth and his soul fell into a dark abyss and was pulled by pitch-black hands.
Nolan could no longer hold onto the white crystal. He now clutched his head, enduring excruciating pain as if his skull were about to shatter.
One of his eyes opened slightly.
He saw that the jet of pitch-black shadow wasn't coming from the white crystal but from his own body. The dark aura enveloped the crystal, turning it black and causing it to vibrate violently as if rejecting the dark mana energy emanating from Nolan.
Finally, the crystal shattered into tiny fragments, completely enveloped in the dark aura.
Now, Nolan's entire body was enveloped in a massive amount of dark mana. Pain spread throughout his body as if his bones were being crushed and broken one by one.
At the same time, memories of his past on Earth and of Nolan Caelthorn in the Earth Realm appeared, colliding and overlapping in his head.
Nolan ignored the strangeness happening to him. Even as his body slowly rose toward the ceiling and was enveloped in the dark mana aura, he could only hear the faint hum of a scream coming from his own mouth.
All he could see was a curtain of darkness sliding through the ceiling. Beyond that, a floating palace appeared to have crumbled and fallen to the ground. As the sunlight began to penetrate the mist, a black silhouette stood motionless and soundless with its back to the sun.
The shadow slowly faded.
In its place, another memory crept into his mind.
He recalled the moment Nolan Caelthorn faced a figure in a black robe with long white hair flowing down to his waist. The figure swung a large scythe and stabbed at something without hesitation. A blinding light exploded instantly, leaving only emptiness behind.
Amidst that emptiness, a cold voice echoed in his mind:
"The rules of the world have changed, and the laws of heaven seek to destroy it."
The words repeated endlessly until his consciousness sank into darkness.
***
As Nolan slowly regained consciousness, he realized he was lying on a bed. His head still throbbed faintly; the pain lingered. He remembered fainting in the chamber within the Hexagonal Chain, but now he was back in his room.
Memories of Caelthorn resurfaced, particularly those of the Transcendence Trial. The image of the black-robed, white-haired figure wielding a large scythe flashed vividly in his mind.
"Was that figure the Sequence 10 Primordial Daemon that killed Nolan Caelthorn?" Nolan muttered softly.
The pain in his head was still there, but something felt different in his body.
He quickly got up from the bed and stretched out his arms. Dark mana gathered in his palms and slowly began to rotate.
"How did my mana become dark mana?" Nolan furrowed his brows; shock was evident on his face. A moment later, however, he sensed something else. Something deeper. "Wait...did I move up a Sequence? To Sequence 2?"
Without further delay, Nolan officially confirmed his rank upgrade. He wanted to try it out at the Aurora Association.
He grabbed his robe and called Lucas to escort him.
His bodyguard was waiting for him in the courtyard. An elegant, black flying car was already at the ready, hovering low above the ground.
"Prince Nolan," Lucas said, looking at him worriedly. "Aren't you in a bit of a hurry to get back to work?"
"I just have some business that can't wait," Nolan replied, lying without hesitation.
He didn't want to beat around the bush or explain anything, even though Lucas was his trusted bodyguard and childhood friend. Right now, Nolan just wanted to confirm one thing.
The car slowly weaved through the busy streets. The Aurora Association building stood only two blocks away from Parliament and the Noble Council. The elegant, futuristic building towered over the city, a symbol of authority in the modern world.
Nolan was beginning to adjust to his new life, including his new identity as Nolan Caelthorn. However, he still found it difficult to completely shake off his coldness and aloofness as Nolan Steward.
The lobby doors, made of special glass, slid open automatically as Nolan stepped inside, splitting in two. The main hall of the building was filled with Sentinels milling about. The presence of Prince Nolan, reappearing alone in public again, instantly attracted attention from all directions.
Nolan heard faint whispers around him. Strange gazes focused on him as if he were a rare sight.
He frowned in annoyance and glanced sharply toward the source of the voices, especially when some of the whispers reached his ears quite clearly.
"He seems fine."
"But they say his heart is shattered and his chest is perforated. He was determined to save two of his friends."
"No matter what, Prince Nolan is the crown prince of Arathen. He will receive the best care."
Yes, even though he's untalented and weak, he's still a priority."
"Isn't he considered a failure by his mother's family? He'll only bring shame to the royal family."
"Of course. He's just a Sequence 1 Sentinel Master."
The people continued to whisper and make way for Nolan as if he were something to be avoided. Their gazes held a mix of curiosity, disdain, and barely concealed cynicism.
In the crowd, a young man and woman approached him. They both wore friendly smiles that felt fake—too subtle, too calculating.
"They're like sycophants," Nolan muttered to himself. "I know faces like that. Caelthorn, you're too easy to take advantage of."