Profane Ascendant-Chapter 61: Energy lines

Keiiik! Cyn opened the door leading to the Male Consorts' wing.

The spacious living room was empty. Cyn let out a muffled chuckle.

"Seems they're working!"

I wonder if Miguel is in his chambers?

Cyn moved toward Miguel's room, but the scar forced him to stop.

"Stop right there!!"

Cyn halted immediately, as if waiting for an explanation.

The scar of pride spoke:

"He's not alone. There are people with him in the room. I'll obscure your presence—they won't sense you. Move closer quietly and don't make a sound."

Cyn followed the scar's instructions, and shortly after, he was standing near the door to Miguel's room. He heard voices inside. They were talking.

"So, Miguel? What's going on? Why do you want to return to the church? Have you grown tired of life here in the palace?"

Cyn listened closely to Miguel's reply.

"It's not that. The calm life in the palace has affected me. I've grown used to a harsher life—as you know, the life of the night and carrying out missions."

Cyn thought:

These must be church men planted in the palace for surveillance and espionage!

"You're an idiot for doing that, honestly! Things outside aren't going well. I have a friend working under Bishop Higuain, and he happened to overhear a conversation between him and one of the Seven Holy Knights. They say a war is coming, and many will die because of one of the cursed Pacts of the Immortality collection."

Miguel asked, "And then?"

The man replied,

"The church will send several people to investigate. So far, there's no confirmed information proving that one of the Seven Cursed Pacts has truly appeared, as the rumors claim.

The real big news is that the weapon's mentioned location is most likely a decoy. Even more than that, there's another location mentioned—but it's completely unknown in the circles.

That's where the trick lies. The two locations are merely false covers, and the church has already moved to expose this farce orchestrated by someone operating from the shadows—someone trying to stir the powers within Geustral into fighting each other!"

Miguel said in a surprised tone,

"Can't the church just refute the rumor and make the other forces withdraw without any losses?"

Another voice intervened,

"That's impossible! No one would trust the church again. In the past, the same strategy was used, and weeks later, the church announced it had recovered a weapon from one of the Seven Cursed Pacts."

"So everyone will go verify it themselves when the time comes. That means the church will also send its own men to investigate. Everyone will move.

It will be another war for another weapon—and no one knows how many will die!"

Cyn listened carefully.

What are my chances of survival if everyone gathers? It seems the dream of reclaiming a cursed Pact weapon is hard to achieve!

The scar's voice echoed in his mind:

"You won't fight everyone alone. Everyone will be fighting everyone. That means if a weapon truly exists, I'll detect it the moment we reach the location. Everyone will have equal chances—if they manage their approach correctly."

Cyn had no room to object. What the scar said was true. Still, gaining strength was also an excellent plan.

There were two locations.

I roughly know the fake one—but how do I get there? When? And with whom? Should I talk to Xyrene about this? Perhaps she already has a plan.

Cyn knew how difficult this would be. This wasn't a matter for a guild like his to intervene in. This was big—big talk among the elites, not only in Corvanis, but across the entire land of Geustral.

Things are starting to get interesting… and tense as well.

The scar told him to retreat, and that's what he did. Cyn entered his room. When he sensed that the others had left, he came out and headed toward Miguel's room. He didn't want Miguel to know he had been eavesdropping.

Miguel—whose face was a mesh of threads, fragments, and iron nails—showed a different expression when he saw Cyn at his door. They had parted not long ago, yet here he was again.

Miguel invited him inside. From the doorway, Cyn noticed the state of the room—Miguel was packing his belongings.

"So, there's really no chance of staying here."

Miguel tried to smile but failed. He looked at Cyn.

"You were listening, weren't you?"

Cyn looked back at him.

"I couldn't resist. Church people and their chatter always make me curious—it's like they live in a different world from ours."

Miguel countered,

"Don't exclude yourself. You've started living in that world too… no, actually, you've been living in it since the very first days of founding the Ravenline Guild."

Cyn replied,

"Maybe. But honestly, I live in my own world. As long as I haven't stepped out of my shell, I haven't really started living with you all yet. But that doesn't matter now… does it?"

Miguel asked,

"So… why did you come here? Did you miss me? It hasn't even been hours since we parted."

Cyn got straight to the point.

"Actually, I came to ask you about a guide for forming energy lines. I heard there's a schematic diagram that explains how to shape them."

Despite his rigid features, Miguel formed a dumbfounded, astonished look.

"Why do you need a guide to form energy lines?"

Cyn felt the question was obvious. Didn't Miguel know what energy lines were?

"Obviously—to form the energy lines?"

Now Miguel was truly shocked. A small nail in his jaw nearly shifted.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Why do you need to form energy lines? Haven't you already formed them?!"

Cyn knew exactly where this conversation was heading.

"Oh, okay—stop right there. Yes, I haven't formed energy lines yet. And yes, I've been using scar energy without energy lines and without shards. Yes."

Miguel said in disbelief,

"Cyn! Do you know what that means? I don't want to call you stupid or an idiot—but you're an idiot!

How have you not formed energy lines? And why are you using scar energy? You're killing yourself! Do you know your life force will decrease? You might have only five years left to live after your fight with that Valgean from the Raging Floods!"

Cyn chuckled lightly.

"Five years is enough for me to obtain a cursed Pact weapon and become immortal!"

Miguel placed a hand on the back of his head, clearly expressing his disappointment. He didn't know whether Cyn was pretending to be stupid or not—this wasn't the Cyn he knew.

Miguel said,

"The only explanation I have is that your scar is top-tier. Otherwise, you'd have been dead long ago."

Cyn smiled when he saw Miguel worried about him.

"No one told me!"

Miguel snapped back forcefully,

"No one told you?! Cyn, you're fucking Xyrene day and night—how were we supposed to tell you when you're nesting with Xyrene herself?! Didn't she tell you?! Please, guess what I thought about you!"

Cyn shook his head, saying he didn't know.

Miguel continued,

"I thought you were in the process of forming the tenth shard or something by now! But you haven't even formed energy lines?! Is Xyrene stupid for not telling you this? Any use of scar energy without energy lines exposes the scar bearer to life-force consumption—and here you are, still alive!"

Cyn thought deeply.

Is Xyrene trying to kill me by ignoring this?!

Cyn spoke,

"Alright, alright! Tell me now and let's put all that aside. Where can I get this schematic guide? Do you have it?"

Miguel sighed.

"Haaah… No—and yes. I had it, but I left it at the monastery near the church. The diagram is in my head and memory, but it's complex and takes time to draw, and I'm preparing to leave. However, I have a better solution for you."

Cyn asked,

"And that is?"

Miguel replied,

"The black market we used to go to. If you go there, you'll find it being sold. Ask specifically for the Madeland copy—it's the most accurate and closest version. The others have major flaws. But everything depends on how well you control your scar energy—and, of course, on your scar itself."

Cyn thought about the black market.

Do I really have to go back there after all the trouble we caused?

Two people surfaced in his memory—Russell Mundo, and that other person.

Cyn bid Miguel farewell.

"Alright, thanks for the answers. I guess I'll go check on the black market and see if they fixed what we wrecked last time. Hahaha!"

Miguel had a bad feeling about Cyn's potential visit to the black market.

"Oi! Remember—don't do anything stupid…"

The scar's voice echoed in Cyn's mind:

"We're going back there?!"

Cyn replied,

"Yes. You'd better point me toward cheap valuable items. Maybe there's a legendary weapon being sold as scrap, and no one knows its worth!"

The scar mocked him,

"If the world were that easy, there wouldn't be a war over a single weapon!"

Cyn thought,

Pfft… fine. What excuse should I come up with now so Kassal lets me leave the palace?