CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 608: Solaris’ And Malrik’s Bickering

Malrik remained seated in quiet stillness; upon his arrival two days earlier, his first action had been to personally examine Asher, disregarding Jennifer and Yveric's assurances that he was unharmed. Afterward, he sought answers from Virelass about the incident, though unable to speak with her directly, Solaris, his katana, bridged the gap between them.

Yet Virelass stayed silent; she wouldn't utter a word until Asher awoke. After all, she was unsure what her master wished to reveal or keep hidden. Though her master rarely concealed his abilities, she understood she must wait for him to regain consciousness and decide for himself.

In those two days, Malrik bombarded Solaris with relentless questions, never letting up. If Solaris had the chance, he would've smacked Malrik without a second thought during that time.

The cause?

As mentioned before, Solaris’ power enabled Malrik to detect when any loved one faced imminent death or an irreversible injury beyond healing's reach. It offered partial details on the culprit behind the assault, demise, or harm, along with complete data on the battle's location and precise timing.

This ability had drawn Malrik to Wuthenya’s clash against the Sinvaira known as Orvak, as she was destined for certain doom that day with no chance of survival.

Typically, Malrik observed from afar, intervening only when death loomed for the loved one; after all, true growth came from battling through desperate life-or-death crises. That’s why he let Wuthenya face Orvak alone before stepping in at the absolute last instant.

However, Solaris provided no warnings to Malrik about Asher’s fight this time. Didn’t that prove Asher was never in mortal danger? Solaris had argued this over the past two days, pointing to Asher’s current healthy state as irrefutable evidence, yet Malrik refused to accept it, not even a little.

If he could, Malrik might’ve tossed Solaris into flames to burn briefly just to ease his anger. He’d even threatened Solaris that if Asher didn’t awaken within a week, he’d bench the katana for their next two major fights. Thus, the pair spent those days in constant squabbling, though it was merely playful ribbing between close comrades who knew each other inside out.

"What are you thinking about so much?" Malrik asked as he stood from his chair and approached the window where Asher gazed outside.

"Nothing really," Asher answered with a faint head shake, his voice steady and relaxed.

After a brief silence, Malrik continued, "Tell me what happened and who was responsible." Though his words appeared casual, Asher detected a darker, more menacing undercurrent in Malrik’s voice.

Asher recalled well that Malrik was notorious for eradicating whole bloodlines without remorse. This very trait had driven Knight Hillary to become an assassin, stalking Asher during the True Awakening event.

’Is he planning to annihilate this group?’ Asher wondered inwardly, as it felt like something Malrik could do on a whim, like any ordinary errand. Moments later, Asher shook his head with a quiet sigh; it didn’t concern him. If Malrik eliminated them, so be it—those individuals were twisted and insane anyway.

Thus, Asher opened his mouth and recounted everything from the start: the straightforward Star Academy task to rescue villagers, the search for hints, his discovery of the horrifying experiments, the depraved organization members, and his confrontation with Debro. He spared no details on Debro’s declarations or the man’s warped affection professed with eerie conviction.

While narrating, a thought struck Asher. Why just tell when he could demonstrate as well?

Seizing the idea, he shaped light photons in the atmosphere into an illusion. This time, however, he avoided tampering with the photons reaching Malrik’s eyes; such a trick would fail regardless. Malrik commanded the Sun itself, wielding light and fire as sub-elements.

Instead, it was a standard illusion formed through conventional means; with it, Asher revealed the full story. Thanks to his flawless recall, every tiny detail emerged perfectly, from his duel with Debro and the abhorrent experiments to all that transpired without skipping a beat.

Soon after, the illusion faded, concluding with his collapse into unconsciousness.

Malrik stood quiet for a beat, then let out a sigh while shaking his head slowly. True, he’d been ready to obliterate those behind Asher’s blackout. But given it stemmed from a Star Academy mission and Debro was already slain, Malrik saw no urgency to act right away. Missions carried risks, and the group hadn’t deliberately targeted Asher by dispatching Debro.

Should they later pursue vengeance for Debro and send assassins after Asher, Malrik would gladly chase them across the globe. A chilly smirk flickered on his face at the notion, brief and gone in an instant as though it never appeared.

His mind turned to his younger brother, Asher. Their eyes—blue and purple—met in the air, holding for a second before he sighed once more and said, "To think you are simply this ridiculous at the age of eighteen, not even I was that talented," he paused briefly, then continued, "nor did I possess such overwhelming power at your age," his voice laced with pride and astonishment.

A grin tugged at Asher’s lips, but Malrik pressed on, "And to think you have also created your own technique, you are simply more monstrous than we give you credit for." He lifted his hand to tousle Asher’s purple hair softly, "Song Of Virelass, truly a fitting name," he declared firmly, tone resolute.

"Thank you, Big Brother," Asher responded. He’d shared every detail with Malrik, though he kept Star Energy secret for now; during the Debro fight, it had masqueraded as Astra energy.

Asher anticipated questions about his Star Form, Lightning Armour, or anything else, but Malrik was merely thrilled to see his prodigious brother advancing. Not even Apollo Wargrave, the Fourth Sun, had progressed this rapidly, despite his soul-devouring cheats to hasten growth.

"It seems you will be beating my record; after all, I became a Crownstar Life Ranker by age twenty-nine," Malrik remarked further, "when you get to the Crownstar Life Rank, we might have an all-out battle," he added with a subtle smile brimming with eagerness.

Yet inwardly, he pondered; how could he safeguard his little brother if the younger one grew stronger, fully eclipsing him?