Return of the Youngest Son with SSS-Rank Talent-Chapter 194: Child

After an hour, Kael looked out the window.

In the distance, an all-white carriage slowly made its way down the main road. Its wheels made no sound as they rolled over the cobblestones, and the three-horned albino horses pulling it. On the side of the carriage, the symbol of a cross gleamed.

Upon seeing it, Kael understood immediately. The time had come: the Rank 4 Sacred Inheritance was about to begin.

For a moment, he remained silent, watching as the carriage stopped in front of the mansion. The breeze gently moved the curtains, and the sound of hooves echoed with a steady cadence.

Kael turned and took one last look at the three cardinals accompanying him. None of them spoke. There was no need. Their faces showed a mixture of respect, curiosity, and caution that they could not hide.

With a calm step, Kael left the mansion. The door closed behind him, and the air seemed to grow heavier.

In front of the carriage, one of the drivers bowed his head in reverence. Kael climbed in without saying a word. As soon as he took his seat, the carriage began to move, slowly advancing along the wide streets paved with white stone.

The road to the Sacred Heritage.

...

After half an hour, the carriage stopped on the outskirts of the great city of San Martín.

The air there was thick, heavy with solemnity. Several priests and cardinals were gathered in formation, waiting silently. Among them stood imposing figures:

Seven-star Aura Masters, third-circle magicians, and even some high clergymen in robes that radiated power.

The carriage came to a complete stop. All eyes turned toward the door, expectant.

When Kael stepped down, the sound of his footsteps on the stone floor echoed softly, almost harmoniously.

He was smiling. It was not a broad or forced smile, but a slight curve of the lips, enough to project confidence and mastery.

Those present watched him in silence, with a mixture of respect, curiosity, and caution. Everyone knew who he was.

Amid the hushed murmurs, a few voices began to rise:

"That’s Saint Rasen... it seems the rumors were true. He already had a mana core."

"He’s already at rank 6..." whispered another, unable to hide his disbelief.

"So young and already at rank 6..." added a third, with a tone somewhere between admiration and envy. "As expected of our Lord’s chosen one... he is built differently from us."

The murmur spread like a gentle wave through the crowd as Kael walked calmly forward. Every step he took seemed to draw the attention of everyone present, as if the air itself recognized his presence.

There was no pride in his eyes, but rather a serenity, that of someone who understood his role on the board perfectly.

Kael leaned against the trunk of a withered tree, closing his eyes. His breathing became slow and deep, as if he were trying to synchronize with the pulse of the earth.

Inside him, an invisible tension crackled: that was the legacy of a demigod, a fragment of will that had transcended the flesh.

The silence of the forest grew heavy. Then, the ground began to vibrate with a dull tremor, as if something colossal beneath the earth were awakening from a long slumber. The roots shook, the insects fled, and the birds fell silent in unison.

Kael opened his eyes. His gaze became sharp.

Then, the impossible happened: the earth split open with an abysmal roar, and a completely white mountain emerged from the depths, growing with violence and majesty. The rock glowed like ivory, and from it emanated a divine essence so dense that it distorted the air around it.

The pressure released by that mountain was so overwhelming that even the nearby trees began to wither, unable to withstand it.

When the mountain finished rising, an unnatural silence enveloped everything, and then, from its summit, three pillars of light shot up into the heavens.

One was white, pure, and radiant, as if it condensed the will of the gods.

The second was golden, heavy, majestic, filled with an authority that made the soul tremble.

The last one was purple, deep and unfathomable, with a glow that evoked mystery, destiny, and destruction.

The three intertwined lights formed a pattern that divided the sky, and under their glow, the ground lost its power of attraction.

One by one, the living beings around began to float, drawn by an invisible force that separated them from the earth.

Kael was also lifted, but his face remained calm. While the others screamed, fighting in vain against the inevitable, he watched calmly.

In the eyes of many, there was confusion; in others, fear. In his, there was only a cold light.

This was not just any opportunity. It was his first rank four inheritance since his rebirth.

...

..

.

Smelling an unfamiliar herb, Kael opened his eyes. Still disoriented, he was leaning against the trunk of an unreal tree. It was jet black, and its leaves, a deep scarlet red, looked as if they were stained with blood.

Water dripped from the scarlet leaves of the colossal tree as a soft drizzle fell. The persistent smell of dampness was familiar to him.

Kael watched everything calmly. Red and black crystal trees rose toward the sky like sharp fangs, reflecting the golden light of the sun with crimson flashes. The grass was a beautiful cyan color.

At that moment, his vision became a strange mixture of blurred pastel colors, as if someone had poured water on a still-wet canvas. The breeze brushed his face, restoring his mental clarity.

Suddenly, a bird the size of a stray dog flew past him. Its wings, with a soft gradient of greens, purples, and blues, would put any peacock to shame.

Kael followed its trajectory as it flew toward the distant line of red and black crystal trees.

Kael stood up from the tree he had been leaning against and looked around, not knowing where to go.

Suddenly, he realized something: there was a deathly silence. What’s more, he hadn’t heard the huge bird that had flown past him!

The silence was so thick that Kael was almost certain the forest concealed hidden threats. A dense canopy of trees blocked out almost all the sunlight, creating an eerie mosaic of light and shadow on the bluish grass.

Then Kael began to hear amused, mocking, and disturbing laughter coming from all directions.

He felt neither fear nor terror. Although the laughter echoed incessantly in his head, what was happening now was much worse.

From the beginning, something was wrong in that forest. When his vision returned, he saw a large bird with the most beautiful feathers.

However, he had not heard a single chirp from that bird, even when its wings beat the air loudly.

Just as he was about to move, he noticed something else: he had lost his sense of smell!

He couldn’t smell anything but the earthy scent of flowers and damp soil!

Not only had he failed to notice that his hearing had probably been affected, but now he was unable to smell the countless flowers scattered across the meadow. He watched them, swaying merrily in the wind, unable to comprehend the situation he found himself in.

Kael looked around and saw strange strands of skin slithering across his body like snakes. They twisted and curled around his feet and torso, while others slid down his stomach and back.

He was about to scream when, suddenly, all the emotions he had been holding back left his body.

"I see..."

Kael immediately understood what had happened. The "Entity" clinging to him had consumed his emotions; he felt nothing but emptiness, as if he were a passive spectator of his own body and soul. An indifferent observer who could not identify with any of the characters on stage... and yet that character was himself.

Kael slowly turned his neck and saw the face of the monster behind him. It was the silhouette of a large "child," no more than eleven years old, with pale skin and completely black eyes, filled with a deep emptiness.

Beyond the head, the rest of its body was a tangle of skin tentacles that clung to Kael, some piercing him as if he were a ghoul.

The entity stared intently into his eyes with an amused, almost mocking expression.

Kael looked back at those abyssal eyes with a blank expression. Although his emotions had disappeared, his ability to think had not yet been lost, though he doubted it would last long.

As a mere spectator, he carefully examined the "child’s" face and other features. In addition to the abnormal paleness of his skin, some other significant characteristics caught his attention. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Both ears were pointed, similar to those of an elf, but they were also marked by countless imperfections.

A black, viscous liquid slowly oozed from the left ear, similar to that dripping from the entity’s eyes. The other ear appeared to be severely damaged or injured; scars visible from a distance could be seen, as if someone had tried to tear it off.

Then, a childish giggle echoed through the forest.

"#$%&%$##$"