Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 407: A Dream?
Previously on Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power...
Chapter 407 – A Dream?
"Einar! What's going on?" Rea questioned with concern, her arms clutching the wounded Kaden tightly.
The incident unfolded with such sudden speed that it left her stunned, her mind spinning wildly at the view of Kaden's condition.
The man lay sprawled on the ground, his skin ashen like he'd lost every drop of blood. That wouldn't shock Rea at all, since the floor under them had turned into a pool of scarlet liquid in an instant.
She was covered in red, and against her gray attire, she resembled a bride who had just watched her spouse get slain on their wedding day. Her limbs and torso were all stained by the blood spurting from Kaden.
It wasn't just that—Kaden's lips trembled without stop, like he was gripped by intense chills, his mouth parting and shutting in futile efforts to speak.
"I don't know!" Einar replied, manifesting as a tiny pixie form of herself, observing Kaden's plight with furrowed brows.
"You must calm yourself first, my Rea! It all occurred so quickly that I hardly caught a glimpse of anything." She stopped for a moment, gazing at Rea's expression, then added, "The sole detail I spotted right before this chaos was him staring at the painting!"
"Huh?" Rea's mind froze suddenly, and then logic and serenity washed over her thoughts, helping her recall the sequence of events more sharply.
'It's true,' she reflected, struggling to preserve the heat from Kaden's form, 'he collapsed right after glancing at the painting. But why?'
Rea couldn't grasp the reason for that. And given Kaden's dire state, she realized there was no moment to dwell on it.
Kaden was fading away.
That realization drove her heart toward an unforeseen path.
In a realm where she'd severed all ties to her history and kin, choosing solitude as the wiser path—for defying a goddess was beyond even her full understanding.
Within such an existence where she felt empty in every way, Kaden alone connected her to what came before.
He alone reminded her that she hadn't always existed as this kind of entity—one capable of slaying and tormenting with delight in the act.
Moreover, though she loathed confessing it... Kaden brought her a sense of ease.
These tangled and opposing ideas raced through her head, leaving her lightheaded. Yet they all converged into a solitary conclusion...
'I don't want you to die, Kaden.' Rea pondered, gnawing her lower lip until blood welled up.
She peered closer at Kaden, noticing dark veins crawling across his frame. She started devising a method to aid him, to at least sustain his life until a proper solution emerged.
"Blood!" Einar suggested, snapping Rea from her swirling reflections, "Feed him your blood and bolster his form with your fear! It could make a difference!"
As soon as those words sank in, Rea sprang into motion, almost instinctively.
A gray dagger adorned with rings along its blade materialized from one of her rings. Without a flicker of doubt in her crimson gaze, she sliced open the veins on her left wrist—she flinched—and blood poured forth in a rushing torrent, bubbling and frothing.
She swiftly bent down, prying Kaden's mouth open with force and pouring her blood into it. Simultaneously, she infused her blood with enhancements, ensuring Kaden's body would heal.
This all transpired in a blur, and only once it was finished did Rea comprehend her actions.
Still, regret didn't touch her. She kept the flow going, ignoring the gradual frailty seeping through her limbs.
Obviously, she wouldn't last much longer.
...
At the same time, an entirely separate ordeal was playing out within Kaden's consciousness. He had no idea what had transpired or what was occurring now, but Prometheus sensed himself drawn into an odd dreamlike state.
He couldn't explain why he recognized it as a dream, yet he did. The bizarre twist was that it didn't belong to him.
It belonged to some other entity.
"But who?" Kaden muttered, scanning his surroundings. He stood amid a devastated battlefield, littered with blood and carnage everywhere.
The overwhelming reek of destruction and demise hit so hard that even Kaden staggered, fighting the urge to vomit.
He hardened his resolve, zeroing in on the present crisis. He sensed his physical form gradually perishing, tainted by the mysterious toxin flooding this infernal domain.
Divinity, he suspected.
"I have to escape this place," Kaden declared, moistening his lips deliberately, "but how?"
He extended his perception, searching for any hint that might help. Meanwhile, he started moving forward.
His footsteps created splashing echoes that reverberated strangely in the area. At times, he'd crush the heart of an odd creature underfoot, while other moments revealed mutilated remains so grotesque he had to look away.
Nevertheless, he pressed on, maintaining his senses wide open.
During his trek, he spotted corpses of dark-hued monsters. A faint frown creased his face, as if he vaguely knew these creatures.
But he dismissed it and kept going.
Kaden lost track of the distance he covered, yet eventually, he saw the effort as pointless.
The area around him twisted into an endless loop, where endless travel led to no progress, just repetition.
More than that, he detected a presence. It started faint, but now it felt certain.
Someone—or something—was watching him.
After wandering aimlessly for an unknowable stretch, Kaden finally located its source.
"Fine." Kaden yielded at last.
He'd tested his abilities before, discovering only those tied to blood and death functioned in this space. His flame of Prometheus proved utterly ineffective.
But he had no need for Blanche here.
Reditha would suffice.
He shut his eyes, drawing in a deep, intense breath that drained the surrounding atmosphere.
The eerie domain halted briefly, and Kaden's attention sharpened to an extreme level, his mind growing faint and clouded.
Right then, a fleeting presence darted through his awareness—so quick, almost too quick—but Kaden reacted even swifter.
Reditha required no handling. She existed independently.
Thus, Kaden simply conveyed his intent, and...
Reditha shattered the cranium of a shadowy skeleton.
Kaden's eyes snapped open once more, releasing the breath he'd held.
The vapor from his mouth emerged scarlet, streaked with darkness, and upon meeting the outer air,
It ignited like flames on fuel.
A series of blasts roared through the blood-soaked terrain, zeroing in on every skeleton present.
There were ten of them.
Once they crumbled to ashes, the surrounding illusion flickered and dissolved.
The battlefield vanished as if a veil had been lifted, unveiling an entirely new scene.
Kaden now stood in a world bathed in red, facing ahead. Before him loomed a figure bound in massive chains across its form. Those restraints varied in hues and pulsed with immense energy.
Merely beholding them caused blood to trickle from Kaden's left eye.
He swore under his breath, drawing on the scant strength available, and examined the bound entity.
Its flesh gleamed with an endless, profound blackness, while bony wings protruded from its back.
Its head hung low, but Kaden didn't require a view of its features to identify it.
The instant he stepped into this red domain, an inner tremor stirred within him.
It stemmed from a Trait. One he'd overlooked for ages.
[Corrosive Blood is acting.]
Kaden drew a sharp breath as a voice resounded in his mind,
"Ohohoho! I knew it was you. Oh, Kaden, Kaden, Kaden..."
He lifted his head and fixed Kaden with a wide, unsettling grin,
"You've grown so much, my dear favorite."
Kaden tsked, his mouth tightening into a grim line, eyeing the bound figure with clear revulsion.
"...Nocthar."
—End of Chapter 407—