ALL NOVEL Chapter 14: Chapter 14 - A lost Pheonix
{ A/n: The day of Auction and previous chapter is same, Hope readers don't confuse themselves }
Jenny's body landed on the dry, cracked grass, her gaze fixed on the vast canvas of stars above. In a hushed breath, she uttered a single word,
"Ryuk"
Her eyes, glistening with tears, were locked on the majestic night sky, a breathtaking yet merciless beauty that mirrored the immense pain she was about to endure.
'Where did I make my mistake?'
Jenny's eyelids grew heavy under the weight of her thoughts.
'All I wanted was to be with my family,' and with these poignant thoughts, she surrendered to sleep, succumbing to her physical suffering and emotional torment.
Under the gentle glow of the moonlight, Jenny's prone form, with her disheveled pink hair sprawled on the ground, became a portrait of suffering. She neither slept peacefully nor remained fully awake; she was a prisoner to her exhaustion and agony.
WHOOSH
Then, out of nowhere, her body began to radiate an otherworldly luminance.
A spectral figure emerged from her, a woman-like soul, casting a radiant shimmer that outshone the moonlight, her Starlit eyes fixated on the wounded pink-haired girl resting below.
SWISH
With a graceful motion of woman's hands, the girl's body started to elevate in the air, figure's ethereal hands that aglow with a soothing aura, extended towards the injured child.
"R-ryuk, I...am...sorry,"
Jenny's faint voice echoed in that dark space.
Woman's eyes turned towards the little girl, who was still in pain, repeating the same name since her arrival.
⟨Is he the cause of your suffering⟩
Looking at the state of girl, she turned towards a certain direction with her gaze that seemed to pierce through all the obstacles between her and something far away from this place, before her figure vanished and moved towards in that direction.
Jenny's body gently descended to the ground, enveloped in an invisible, soothing aura, as the whip marks on her skin began to fade away, and she fell into a peaceful slumber.
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Far away from this place, in the capital city of Selvius Kingdom, inside a Palace's room.
'System, Extract kill points.' Ryuk looked toward the soul orb in his hands.
╔═══━━━──── • ─────━━━═══╗
EXTRACTION BEGINS
↺1%↺18%↺35%↺67%↺99%
Kill Points — 03 (- -» 10,003)
╚═══━━━──── • ─────━━━═══╝
His eyes settled on the screen in front of him, showing the increased number of Kill points he accumulated from the orb.
'It will be possible to see Adanyl's bloodline now,' his hands again moved toward the screen to utilize the points for his purpose.
BEEEEPPP!!!!!!
A ringing sound echoed in Ryuk's mind as a red window appeared in front of him.
━━━━━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
Warning!!!!!!!!
EXTERNAL INFILTRATION DETECTED
Nullifying the soul attack.
(10,003 - -» 6,790)
(6,790 - -» 3,450)
AUTO-DEFENSE ACTIVATING
(3,450 - -» 1,200)
━━━━━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
'!?!'
Ryuk's eyes widened as his eyes reflected the decreasing number of kill points before he swiftly turned toward a silhouette.
⟨You, What are you?⟩
An ethereal figure of a woman gazed toward him, feeling surprised due to the external force that was trying to stop her attack but still inefficient.
Ryuk's amber eyes reflected that woman's figure that seemed like an energy form of white and glowing in an ethereal hue, enhancing the already epitome beauty of her face.
But for Ryuk, her beauty didn't hold anything, as his eyes were wide open, seeing something he had never experienced in his past life, 'Is she a ghost?'
[AFFIRMATIVE _ It's indeed a celestial form, but it is connected to a physical body. It can be considered as spatial projection.]
Ryuk, hearing the system's words, couldn't hold his surprise, as projecting one's soul out of the body is already something he never experienced before but right now his major concern was figure infront of him.
⟨ Boy, your eyes saved you today ⟩
The mysterious figure's voice reverberated in his consciousness, leaving him with more questions than answers. He could only watch in perplexity as her presence shattered.
[ The Soul Gate has been severed (1200 - -» 0000) ]
Hearing system's voice Ryuk came out of his state, ' What was she', he can't help but feel chill as if that thing was trying to look at his soul.
[ The origin is from different continent, it was a celestial projection of ********, ‹ Level is inefficient to know ›, Update the System ]
After seeing all this situation, Ryuk felt frustrated, remembering the second reason he didn't used system, 'again this leveling thing', whenever he wanted to look at heroines status window, it always showed him to Level Up, and the problem was, it didn't update with Kill Points.
'How many Leveling Points I have'
Ryuk looked towards the system's window that was showing insufficient number of points, as he needed 6000 points for next level but he had only 200.
This unique system consisted of five levels, each offering distinct capabilities, but the common currency was Kill Points.
Levels didn't enhance individual strength but rather acted as keys to unlock hidden aspects or purchase concealed knowledge, bound by the world's will.
For instance, Adanyl's formidable bloodline, veiled due to its innate strength, could be unveiled with Kill Points. However, information regarding figures like Heroines or the Son of Heaven required Leveling Points.
This point is calculated based on Emotional or Physical influence Ryuk had on others, either hatred, love or sufferings.
Even in previous life, this point automatically increased, making him already realize the betrayal he was soon going to face and making him mentally prepared as everytime he has some hands in such events, a bubble with + or - added to a number popped up representing positive or negative effect of his actions that's why he closed this feature due to annoying bubbles popping up around him, whenever he killed others.
And without doing much at the end his leveling points reached its peak on its own, updating his System and unlocking Regression Talisman's Purchase.
'I need more points,'
His mind was already in turmoil due to the thing he just saw, as he knew that at least that thing, without him being sensed, tried to attack him, and it could have definitely given a fatal blow to his soul too. If not for kill points, he doesn't know what would have happened to him.
'Guess, I have to start with her'
"Johan!"
He called to his butler, as a man opened the room's door, looking towards a boy standing in the middle of the room.
The moonlight added more shine to boy's features, and his cold gaze, combined with shiny amber eyes, enhanced them further.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Johan bowed and waited patiently for his master's orders.
"Inform Baroness Carlien, I am visiting her in morning"
Ryuk looked out of the window at the vast sky, understanding there are still many things he doesn't know about this world.
It was as if he were in a pond, detached from the vast ocean, awaiting his arrival.
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*******
Across the vast ocean, far from the Heindal Continent, lies a continent known as Jade Dominion untouched by the knowledge of Heindal's residents.
In the centre of this enchanting place lies a city full of colossal pagodas rising proudly at the heart of the continent, encircled by serene gardens.
A grand palace with emerald-tinted roofs, intricate dragon motifs, and glistening jade tiles takes center stage.
Tall stone walls adorned with serpentine patterns envelop the palace, offering a tranquil, traditional ambiance with only one monarch at reign that sharply contrasts with Heindal's Feudal power structure.
Within the Jade Dominion, two dominant factions rally around their revered Monarch, ruling over the entire continent.
Miles away from the palace and the core of the Jade Dominion, you'll find one of these faction's strongholds.
The landscape stretches as far as the eye can see, with mist-shrouded mountains at the epicenter of the Celestial Phoenix Order —one of the two principal factions.
At the heart of this expanse stands a magnificent edifice, resplendent with carvings of a Phoenix emerging from the ashes.
Inside this grand structure, numerous figures kneel in reverence around a woman exuding an aura of dominance and immense pressure, capable of humbling even the mightiest beings
Her body is shimmering with an ethereal aura, and slowly, her long eyelashes give way to starlight eyes that seem to hold a depth vast enough to absorb Gaia's light.
"M-mother, did you find Meiyue?"
A trembling voice reaches the woman sitting in the middle as her eyes turn towards the young woman standing among dozens of figures, anxiety in her eyes for the answers she needs.
⟨I found her⟩
As her words reach the ears of those assembled in the hall, dozens of auras surge as figures place their hands on their chests in supplication.
"Order Patriarch, we will retrieve the young miss immediately."
⟨No need, she is fine⟩
Her words bewilder all present, their gazes turning toward the woman, yearning for clarification. None dare speak except a young woman whose maternal instincts override her fear.
"B-but, Mother."
The woman's eyes turn to her daughter, who lowers her gaze in trepidation, and then to the figures kneeling before her.
⟨I encountered a boy with amber eyes there⟩
GASP
The hall resounds with gasps, and a fiery aura envelops them as a figure kneeling on the ground speaks, "We are unburdened by our lives, Patriarch. Please give us your command."
His words seem normal, meant for a face-to-face talk, but they hold vast meaning. It wad a declaration of war — a war that's result has already been decided before it can even begin.
The woman, looking towards all of the people's reactions, calmly speaks, ⟨I will visit Ardoros Continent Myself⟩
"'"Understood"'"
In unison, all bow before the woman, and her figure vanishes from the hall.
As the Patriarch's absence is noted, a collective sigh of relief permeates the room, dispelling the tension that had lingered for hours as they avoided disturbing her.
"M-my child is safe "
Tears well up in the young woman's eyes as she collapses to her knees, overwhelmed by the memory of losing her child the moment she was born.
Everyone knows who is responsible, but the Monarch's influence restrains them from retaliating against the opposing faction.
***********
In the Heindal Continent, within the bustling capital city of the Selvius Kingdom, the mansion that belonged to Baron Carlo was abuzz with activity.
The news of Ryuk Von Selvius, the crown prince of the Selvius Kingdom, arriving had set the household into a frenzy.
BANG
The tranquility of the stable room was abruptly shattered as the gate was forcefully kicked open by one of the servants.
His impatience and frustration were evident as he barked at a little girl who had been peacefully sleeping, jolting her awake.
"Hey, you pest, wake up!" he hollered, his anger palpable.
The little girl, startled and shaken from her slumber, blinked up at the servant.
"Tch...here I am, running errands since morning because of the crown prince's arrival, and this pest is sleeping," he grumbled, his face etched with annoyance.
The servant's gaze then fell upon the girl, who was now standing and dusting off her dress.
He couldn't help but remember the beating she had received the previous day and almost dismissed her.
"Wait! I can do tasks for you,"
Jenny, perked up at the opportunity. This was her chance.
Hearing her words a satisfied smile come in servants face,"You can help by giving water to the flowers in the garden."
Jenny watched him disappear, and her eyes welled up with determination.
'I need to leave this place'
She clenched her dress tightly, realizing that her only hope for survival was to leave this place.
She knew that if she were to stay, she might not make it through another day of abuse.
'Ryuk will definitely help me'
Her mind was set on seeking help from Ryuk as her only way out of this dire situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There would be several questions arising in readers mind, I wanted to reveal them in future but knew, you guys will break comment section.
1. Jenny is a heroine afterall, so she must have a background story, right?
2. Jenny's mind needed to be at it's lowest level , Emotionally she was broken after knowing about her family and physically exhausted due to beating making her dormant bloodline reveal itself for moment to allow the Patriarch of Pheonix Order, to pinpoint her Bloodline's location.
3. Isn't Ryuk killed Jenny in the end then why didn't she arrived at that time, cause she was mentally and physically exhausted after good beating?
I can't eloborate as it is for my future chapters but there was a WAR going on, outside the Heindal Continent...