We reached the laboratory section of the massive Crestban Mansion.
The corridors here were quieter, colder, filled with a faint medicinal scent.
As soon as the doors opened, I saw them—
Asher and Aunt Anaya.
Both stood before a wide viewing window overlooking the isolated medical chamber.
The moment Asher turned, I saw his trembling eyes—wet, swollen, desperate.
My chest tightened painfully.
I followed his gaze inside the room.
And there she was…
Mother.
Lying silently on a crisp white bed.
Her once radiant raven hair spread lifelessly across the pillow.
Her skin was pale—almost translucent.
Her eyelashes rested weakly against her cheeks.
From where I stood, I could see faint waves of chaotic, corrupted energy spiraling around her like a suffocating mist.
Abyss Corruption.
The thing that stole her life.
The reason our home had lost its warmth.
Not this time…
I clenched my fist so hard my nails dug into my palm.
Then, gently, I placed a reassuring hand on Asher's trembling shoulder.
"Don't worry, Asher. Uncle found a way to cure Mother. She'll be fine."
The room fell utterly silent.
Aunt Anaya's breath hitched.
The healers and alchemists paused mid-motion, turning toward us with wide eyes.
Asher's reaction was immediate.
He launched himself into my arms, crying loudly.
"R-Really, brother? You're not lying? You're not joking, right?"
I stroked his hair gently, giving him the calmest smile I could muster.
"How could I ever lie about Mother? If you don't trust my words… then ask Uncle."
As if on cue, Uncle was speaking to the Grandmaster-rank alchemist.
I had already given him the entire recipe—ingredients, quantities, and preparation method.
With a Grandmaster handling it, the chances of failure were almost zero.
Normally, brewing something like this would take a full day…
But Uncle had said something unbelievable earlier:
"Arthur, the Akashic Record is recognizing the recipe. It's marked as complete."
That confirmed everything.
The Tower itself acknowledged the potion.
It wasn't a guess, nor a theory—
it was a recognized cure.
Aunt Anaya and Asher both turned toward Uncle, barely breathing.
After a few tense minutes, he approached with a bright—almost youthful—smile.
"She will be alright. The potion will be ready in twenty minutes."
Asher cried even harder—but this time, it was relief.
Pure, overwhelming relief.
Aunt Anaya covered her trembling lips, tears glittering in her eyes.
Aldric arrived moments later, breathless and confused, only to freeze when he saw the scene.
Then, realizing Mother had a cure, he hugged Asher, cheering and even doing a small victory dance.
But throughout all of that, he kept shooting glances at me…
Too sharp. Too focused. Too frequent.
Did his system detect something about me?
That could be a problem.
Aldric's system was terrifying—it could detect changes in fate, anomalies in souls, deviations in timelines.
If it created a quest around me…
I needed to be careful until I knew how much it sensed.
Time passed slowly, painfully.
The tension built with every second as we waited outside the brewing chamber.
The alchemists inside worked with frantic precision.
Finally—
Twenty-two minutes later—
The doors opened.
The Grandmaster alchemist stepped out, his face stretched into a wide, ecstatic grin.
He bowed deeply to Uncle.
"Hahaha!! It's real! The potion is truly complete! For the first time in history… we have created a cure for Abyss Corruption! And because of this breakthrough, I received several World Points from the Akashic Record!"
His excitement was contagious.
He held out a vial glowing with deep shades of red and black—colors that twisted and swirled like living shadows within a gem.
Uncle accepted it carefully, reverently.
Then he paused.
His gaze drifted into empty air—
The unmistakable sign that he was checking the potion's data through the Akashic Record.
The room held its breath as he read.
Then—
A single tear escaped the eyes of the Duke of Crestban.
"This… With this, Valeri will return. Our Valeri… will come back to us."
Aunt Anaya sobbed quietly, hands trembling against her lips.
Asher gripped my hand so tightly it almost hurt.
Aldric's eyes shimmered with awe.
And then Uncle whispered the details aloud:
========================================
Name:Dew of Soul Purifier
Type: Consumable
Rank: Epic (Peak)
Effects:
• Cures Abyss Corruption
• Stabilizes chaotic soul energy
• Permanently increases spiritual power by +20%
Description:
A miraculous dew brewed from a Soul Pear and the blood of a Soul-Devouring Serpent.
It strengthens and stabilizes the soul, cleanses corruption, and removes epic-grade curses or diseases.
Cannot be consumed twice.
=======================================
Mother's cure…
Was finally in our hands.