"Young Master!"
Belinda screamed as she grabbed Ghislain. The people around them were equally shocked.
The Iron-Blooded Lord, Ghislain, had collapsed while working. It was an unbelievable sight.
Belinda and Gillian immediately carried Ghislain to his bedroom. Soon, others were summoned and gathered around.
Parniel and Piote poured holy power into Ghislain. Jerome and Vanessa examined his body with magic.
Despite their efforts, those tending to Ghislain frowned and shook their heads.
"There's... nothing wrong…"
"His mana is intact."
"There's no visible injury to his body."
"He just… seems to be sleeping?"
Ghislain appeared to be in a deep slumber, completely at ease.
And that was the problem. Someone as powerful as Ghislain wouldn't fall into such a deep sleep without cause.
The only times he had ever been unconscious were after sustaining severe injuries.
Belinda urgently turned to Dark.
"Dark! Check Young Master's consciousness—"
She couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes widened in shock at the unexpected sight.
"Something's wrong… Something's… being pulled away…"
Dark's mana, which formed its existence, was scattering. Such an occurrence was impossible unless a great deal of time had passed or Ghislain had dismissed it himself.
Yulian hurriedly grasped Dark's dissolving form and infused his mana into it, but it was no use.
Rustle…
Dark crumbled into nothing without explanation.
Feeling the sensation of Dark's fading presence, Yulian murmured, "…It seems he was forcibly taken."
Whether it was Ghislain's will or due to some other reason, no one knew.
They tried holy power and magic multiple times to wake Ghislain, but every attempt failed. Even hitting him produced no response.
"It must have been that so-called Saintess who took him."
Belinda ground her teeth, her voice cold. It was a comment made out of anger, but there was no better explanation.
"For that, he's sleeping far too peacefully."
Vanessa examined Ghislain's face closely.
He looked utterly at peace, as though he was finally getting some much-needed rest. It was so serene that they almost hesitated to wake him.
Yulian, who had been silently observing, offered another suggestion.
"We need to speak with Erenes."
Perhaps she would have some answers.
When they summoned her, Erenes arrived shortly afterward. Yulian briefly explained the situation before asking,
"Do you know what this phenomenon is?"
"No. I'll need to investigate."
"Could the Saintess really have influenced him?"
Erenes let out a sigh.
"Whatever he saw there, it's sealed away. That place will remain untouched forever. It cannot affect anything."
"But we all saw him enter that place. Ghislain even recounted his experiences there."
"I don't understand how that's possible."
Erenes furrowed her brows. The impossible had happened. Too many had witnessed it for it to be mere illusion.
If the seal was compromised, it would be a major issue. She resolved to inspect it personally.
'I'll look into it later. It's important to me as well.'
Yulian nodded. Erenes didn't seem to be lying, though the feeling that she was hiding something lingered.
Erenes stepped closer to Ghislain and raised her hand.
"Spirits of Sleep and Dreams, hear my call. Open the gates of hidden worlds, and traverse eternity and moments alike."
Shimmering lights appeared and danced around her hand before seeping into Ghislain's head.
Using the spirits, Erenes attempted to enter Ghislain's consciousness.
Ordinarily, such a feat would be impossible, but Ghislain was currently defenseless.
Rustle…
With her eyes closed, she continued to move her hand over him.
Everyone watched anxiously. They needed answers.
Erenes, who had been examining Ghislain's consciousness using the spirits, frowned.
'What is this…?'
It was unbelievable. Ghislain's consciousness was completely empty.
It was as if his soul had been extracted, leaving behind a lifeless shell.
Only darkness remained, revealing nothing.
Could the entity Ghislain encountered inside the seal have caused this?
Erenes dismissed the thought.
'That's impossible. A being of Ghislain's caliber wouldn't lose consciousness so easily.'
Superhumans defined their own worlds. For someone to forcibly take his consciousness was nearly impossible.
'Then…'
The more likely explanation was that Ghislain had willingly emptied his consciousness. It wasn't something ordinary humans could do, but with external assistance, it wasn't out of the question.
Erenes refocused, pouring more power into the spirits.
Rumble…
The air trembled as greater energy surged into the spirits, pushing deeper into Ghislain's consciousness.
'Found it.'
Consciousness resembled an infinite, cosmic void.
In the depths of that darkness, Erenes spotted a faint light. Something was occupying Ghislain's consciousness.
Erenes fused her awareness with the spirits and approached the light.
'Reveal yourself.'
As she drew closer, unease crept in. The light held an unfamiliar energy.
'Holy power? Why holy power…?'
Suddenly, Ghislain's earlier words echoed in her mind.
— After obtaining this necklace, I saw the Saintess in a dream. I think she's from a thousand years ago.
'Could it be…?'
Erenes's heart pounded. She pushed further, strengthening her connection.
The light shifted, revealing its true form.
It was a black sphere floating in the void.
Despite its distant position, its immense size made Erenes feel like a mere speck.
Blue and purple hues danced around its edges, while the darkness at its core felt like an endless abyss.
The sphere rotated slowly, rippling the space around it like waves.
Particles of light shimmered nearby, resembling stars in a galaxy.
Occasionally, flashes of light erupted from its core.
Seeing this, Erenes's eyes trembled.
'What is that…?'
She inched closer, sensing her consciousness being pulled toward it.
Beyond the dark void, faint glimpses of something appeared.
'Don't go.'
A step closer, and her consciousness might be consumed.
Yet curiosity burned—what was this thing inside Ghislain?
Suddenly—
Crash!
A powerful shock knocked Erenes backward. Blood trickled from her nose.
"Wh-what is this…?"
Everyone panicked at the sight of her pale face.
Belinda rushed to support her.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
Erenes's face was drained of color. The others exchanged uneasy glances.
She was among the strongest present. Her growing power was undeniable.
For her to look like this—what had she seen?
"You…"
Erenes opened her mouth but quickly covered it with her hands.
Yulian stepped closer and pressed her.
"What is it?"
"It's… nothing."
"Speak."
Yulian's gaze grew colder as his hand gripped his sword.
He had respected her secrets before, but hiding something now was unacceptable.
Erenes glared back.
"Are you threatening me with force?"
"If necessary."
The tension escalated as the two locked eyes, neither willing to yield.
Yulian's aura sharpened. Once committed, he never backed down—even against Erenes.
And she knew it.
Erenes prepared herself. She would not be intimidated so easily.
"How Dare You..."
Erenes's eyes also grew sharp. Did they truly believe the Guardian of the World Tree and Grand Chieftain of the Elves could be forced into submission?
The tension between the two began spreading outward.
At that moment, Piote stepped between them and shouted.
"Why! Why can't you just resolve this with words?"
"......."
"......."
Neither said a word. After a brief silence, Erenes let out a sigh.
She had to admit she had been on edge ever since Artherion's death.
"Ghislain's consciousness… is gone."
Yulian furrowed his brow.
"Gone?"
"Yes. I have no idea what's happened, but there was holy power inside his consciousness."
"Holy power?"
The others looked confused. Ghislain had spoken about the necklace and dreams involving the Saintess, but he had never mentioned holy power.
After a moment of hesitation, Erenes continued.
"I don't know why holy power is there, but it seems to have affected him. There was a strange 'door' inside his consciousness."
No one could make sense of what she was saying. A door? What did that even mean within someone's consciousness?
Regardless, Erenes described what she had witnessed.
"It seems that Ghislain's consciousness was drawn into that place. Even as I say it, I can hardly believe it."
Even someone as old as Erenes had never encountered anything like this. She couldn't fathom how it was possible.
In the end, no clear cause was found. All they knew was that Ghislain's consciousness had truly disappeared.
Belinda stroked Ghislain's forehead, tears falling.
"What is this…? We won the war, and now we could finally live peacefully… Why did this have to happen?"
They shouldn't have gone to the Forest of Demonic Beasts. That damned Saintess or the war from a thousand years ago—they didn't need to get involved.
They could've ended everything and simply lived happily.
She should've stopped him. She let him do what he wanted, and now this disaster had struck.
The others also wore grim expressions.
Erenes, still gazing at Ghislain, finally spoke.
"We have no choice but to wait until he wakes up on his own. There's no record of anyone losing their consciousness like this."
With those words, she left.
A heavy silence lingered. No one could find anything to say.
Yulian stood there for a long time, looking down at Ghislain.
'Ghislain…'
The friend who was always bright and full of energy now lay there, exhausted and frail. It had happened so suddenly.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.
'I need to find out why.'
Everything had a cause. There was no such thing as an effect without one.
If he could discover the cause, there had to be a way to save Ghislain.
'Perhaps Gartros might know something…'
Gartros was the leader of the Church of Salvation. He might hold secrets about the curtain or Ghislain's condition.
Yulian's instincts kept pointing to him. His eyes turned cold.
***
"Huh?"
Ghislain, who had briefly lost consciousness, opened his eyes and let out a puzzled sound.
He clearly remembered collapsing in his office, yet he was now in an unfamiliar place.
The area was in chaos.
"Damn it! Run!"
"Why are these brats so strong?!"
"Ahhh!"
The screams of people rang out around him.
Looking around, it seemed like some sort of bandit hideout.
Bodies were scattered everywhere, and parts of the hideout had collapsed.
Ghislain tilted his head in confusion.
"Where am I? Why am I here? Did someone move me while I was asleep?"
As he was pondering, someone suddenly shouted beside him.
"Astion! What are you doing? Snap out of it!"
Turning his head toward the voice, Ghislain's eyes widened.
"You…"
The boy had stunning blue hair that rippled like waves, a truly mesmerizing color.
Ghislain didn't know anyone with hair like that.
But the boy's face looked strikingly familiar.
"Yulian?"
The Hero from his dream, Yulian, was shouting at Ghislain—just much younger.
[T/L: I need your support, dear readers. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]