Amon remained motionless for a while, thoughts slowly catching up with him. Wait… I have an arm.
He flexed his fingers, testing the muscles. The limb was whole, strong, as if it had never been lost. Did Luna… heal me?
With all the panic about corruption, the strange dream, and the overwhelming gains, he hadn't even paid attention.
Luna was still hovering beside him.
"When will you stop?" he muttered.
She froze mid-motion. It was the fourth time she had checked him already. Amon was fine, yet her fussing was starting to annoy him. In some ways, it reminded him of his mother. Sure, it was pleasant and warm, but… half an hour of checking would get on anyone's nerves if they were fine.
Catching his look, Luna gave a sheepish smile. She licked her dry, scarlet lips and lowered herself onto the edge of the bed.
"Sorry… I got carried away."
Her gaze lingered on him, restless. She opened her mouth, closed it. Tried again, faltered. Over and over, until Amon finally gave her a faint smile.
"What are you curious about?"
Luna's eyes widened, crystal blue and deep as an ocean. For a fleeting moment, Amon saw his own reflection staring back at him. She coughed, then words spilled out in a rush, leaving him dizzy just trying to follow.
"So what happened? What the hell was that explosion? You never told me a thing! Wait, are you hiding more secrets? Amon, seriously, I'll get pissed if you are. And your body, what was that? Corruption, right? But then your wound healed after you shattered those shards, and those creepy, horrifying maggots just disappeared. Tell me! There's no way you thought of it all on the spot. Meaning you planned this for a long time and-"
"For the sake of dead gods…" Amon raised his hands, eyes wide in disbelief. "If you let me speak, then I'll tell you."
Luna faltered, then laughed awkwardly. Her brow furrowed, and she stuck her tongue out at him with annoyance.
"What? Since when are you so boring? That's kinda lame, dude."
Amon sighed, leaning back into the bed with a tired look. His mental strength wasn't fully recovered, and his soul cores were cracked, though slowly healing. He had barely survived… and yet, it felt exciting. He felt powerful. It was an ecstatic feeling, his blood was boiling with anticipation and elation. Even now, after all this time, the sensation hadn't completely faded. His gambit had been that dangerous and... Thrilling.
Sacrificing sanity for strength…
His mouth twisted into a grin before he caught himself, hand shooting up to clutch his face. Shit… oh no. I'm… mentally ill? Nah… nah. Yeah, no way.
He inhaled slowly and looked at Luna. Her curious, unyielding eyes pinned him in place.
"…Fine, fine. I'll tell you."
He grimaced.
"I was corrupted, yes. I misunderstood the effects of my flaw. It wasn't about blasphemy… it was about madness. It's called Blasphemer's Gambit. And I am the Blasphemer, so… this was my gambit. The pawn I sacrificed was my own sanity."
Luna blinked, then her eyes dimmed. As a Cryptologist, Amon could now discern her feelings even more clearly. Worry, anxiety, panic, and fear, all crowding in at once. She glanced at him, then looked down, chewing on her nail. It was a bad habit of hers.
"Wait… whoa… does that mean…?"
Amon nodded, his expression tightening with irritation. His flaw was a damn tricky one. The Awakening had burned away the madness and corruption, but if he let his guard down and allowed it to fester like before… he would face the same danger he had only a few days ago. He really needed to see a therapist.
"Yeah. But it's fine now," he said flatly. "I've already decrypted how it works."
Luna's eyes narrowed. She gave him a long, piercing look, and after a few seconds she sighed and reached out, seizing his arm. With surprising force, she yanked him forward until his head rested against her chest.
Amon blinked, caught off guard. For a few seconds, they said nothing. Well, she said nothing. He stayed silent because, if he was honest, he'd missed this feeling.
When she finally let go, it was with a soft kiss on his lips before she leaned back with a mischievous smile, as if reading his thoughts. She flopped onto the bed, resting her head against his stomach and rolling around until she found a comfortable spot.
"What about the other things I asked?"
Amon smiled. But to Luna, watching him from below, it felt strangely unsettling. His mouth curled up, the smile stretching almost to his eyes. If she was honest with herself, it was a little horrifying, enough to send a shiver down her spine.
"My plan started the moment I realized I was turning into a mindless beast. So I destroyed the city. Of course, it wasn't just to harvest memories and echoes. It was to raise the odds of success. Without any grand or flashy ability, I forced my will upon the world itself, left it with no choice but to acknowledge my existence."
Luna frowned, confusion creasing her features. She couldn't understand how that leap made sense, but Amon's eyes gleamed as he continued, his expression growing more thoughtful, as though he were analyzing his own performance. A flicker of displeasure lingered in his gaze, as if he were disappointed in himself for some reason.
"Then I shattered the last shard, absorbed the fragments, and began turning into a devil. At the same time, I used Little Helper to gain control over the essence in my body and forcefully triggered the process of Awakening. I turned the formation of a new core into the catalyst and started raising both my class and my rank at the same time. That created the perfect equilibrium between the two types of evolution I was undergoing. And as a result... I became an Awakened Devil."
He frowned, his gaze growing more hazy and unclear for a moment until he shook his head and continued explaining.
"Of course, I didn't take such a risk just to awaken or create a new core. I knew Ascension toward divinity would burn away the corruption spreading through my mind and soul. So I used Awakening itself as a weapon to annihilate the madness, and save myself from becoming a corrupted abomination."
Luna's smile froze, then withered away. Shock and concern settled over her features as she stared into Amon's calm eyes. This wasn't just reckless, it was insane. No, scratch that; it was more than just insane. No one had ever accomplished such a thing before.
Amon had become the first natural Awakened of the world… without any training or guidance.
It feels like he cheated, she thought in disbelief. Like he found some backdoor the Spell never intended to exist. And he's explaining it as if it's perfectly reasonable. Hmm… now I'm concerned. Is he really okay?
Noticing the confusion in her eyes, Amon chuckled lightly. His expression softened, at least a little before he reached over and pinched her cheeks.
"Well, that's all there is to it. Nothing hard to understand." His voice humorous and calm. "Natural Awakening takes years of training, while the Spell just hands out abilities, memories, echoes, aspects... Skipping the grind entirely. That difference meant there had to be a loophole. And I found it."
He sighed and continued, his expression somehow still unsatisfied, even though he had done something so outrageous.
"So I cheated," he said. "I forced my way through the process without any of that boring training or a return to the waking world. All thanks to Little Helper. Honestly, any memory that refines essence control can be exploited as a tool to Awaken."
He licked his upper teeth absentmindedly, then stretched, bones popping as he cracked his neck. "Hnh. I've been lying in this bed too long…"
He yawned and gently laid Luna's head back on the bed, then stood to fetch a bucket of water. He splashed the cold liquid over his face, clearing his mind. Luna huffed, propping herself up on one elbow and watching him grab clothes, her arms folded under her chin like a pillow.
Amon pulled on casual clothes rather than armor or robes. He wanted something comfortable, and then asked curiously, "By the way, who healed my arm? Was that you?"
Luna hopped off the bed and bounced onto his back as he finished buttoning his shirt. She smiled, bright and almost cheerful. "Nope. It was Nephis."
Amon nodded absentmindedly, then froze. "Pardon?"
"Yep. It was her." Luna's grin never faltered. "Oh, and since your wound had sealed after the Awakening, I had to cut a piece off. Around your brachialis. One or two centimeters, maybe. So Nephis's flames could regrow it."
Amon's smile twitched, growing more forced. I can understand that, my dear lady, but… why do you sound so cheerful about that? he thought, shivering.
"And why would she help me?" he asked, voice rough.
Luna blinked, puzzled, then draped her chin over his shoulder. "She didn't have a choice. Medici was about to kill her and everyone she cared about if she refused. I forced her to help as well."
Hmm... Heh, that's funny.
After that, they left the chambers and made their way toward the war room. Medici was already there, thinking about strategies he would use, anticipating what the Crimson Terror might do, and reinforcing the castle's defenses before starting the siege. A week had passed since the battle, and Amon was curious about everything: what had happened in the castle while he slept, who had survived, and who hadn't. He had decrypted the general state of things but didn't know the full details.
"So… care to explain?" he asked.
Luna shrugged, walking alongside him casually.
"Lot of things happened. Medici's now the new lord. After Tessai died, his authority solidified. No one questions him anymore. And now that you've become Awakened, nobody's going to try pulling any tricks either."
Amon nodded. That's good... Nephis wasn't plotting rebellion. At least, that was reassuring.
As they walked, a few sleepers crossed their path. Castle guards, if Amon remembered correctly. They nodded at Luna politely and started to continue their patrol.
Amon returned the gesture with a gentlemanly bow, his smile polite. But the moment the guards got a proper look at him, their reactions left him in disbelief. Their faces drained of color, hair stood on end, and sweat formed on their brows as they trembled.
Amon's smile twitched faintly. The guards quickly straightened, bowed even more deeply, and vanished from his path, as if he were some kind of abominable horror.
What the hell was that? Amon thought, disbelief flickering across his features.
Luna laughed softly at his confused expression but didn't explain anything, walking ahead of him.
Amon frowned, utterly bewildered. What did I do? I was just polite… Wait, did I steal something from them? No… I don't remember, and even if I did, there's no way they'd figure it out.
Curious, he began decrypting their emotional states, but… wait a second… they're afraid of me, huh? That's surprising. Most likely because of what I did. Amon didn't need to use decryption to figure out why.
Meanwhile, Luna stopped and glanced back at him, her eyes curious and unblinking. She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Heeeyyy… you never said what your Awakened ability is."
Amon paused. Oh… I never told her that, huh? He smiled, sliding his hands into his pockets, than raised eyebrow in surprise.
"Oh, we're here."
She blinked, then her eyes widened as realization dawned. They had reached the war room, it wasn't the time to talk about his ability now. Sighing, she turned to open the door, only to crash face-first into the wall.
"Amon! That's not funny, bastard!"
Amon laughed, pointing a finger at her. After enjoying his little trick, he clasped his hands behind his head and continued walking.
Awakened Ability: [Deceit]