Madness of the Ancients part 1

Confusion clouded the young man's mind, a dense mist that slowly but inevitably formed tiny sparks of doubt. He wanted to unveil those truths, yet Nihilir's mouth was tightly closed, leaving the young man with nothing to satisfy that profound desire.

Since there was no way to uncover the mystery behind his words, Atlas turned all his attention to the tiny but dreadful artifact that had almost taken his life.

Nihilir had told him that the Spirit residing inside was in a weakened state, so he didn't hold back. With the devouring power in full motion, he guided his consciousness closer and closer to the artifact.

He was the only one at home, so he didn't care about his bloody face or the narrow hole in his forehead. Instead, he calmly conquered the ancient Spirit, feeding his internal energy to that greedy fellow.

Grandma River had told him several stories about the Spirits that dwell in the artifacts. Clearly, they weren't simple tales but also profound knowledge related to them.

"Geez... it looks like a starved beast... How long has it been without a master?"

No matter how much energy Atlas was pouring toward the artifact, the Spirit didn't slow down even for a moment. In fact, the weak suction power grew more and more rapidly.

"Fine... I won't hold back anymore."

Obviously, with his current cultivation realm, Atlas couldn't feed that bottomless pit alone, so he took out more than one hundred pieces of Low-Grade Chaos Stones to sustain that growing and bottomless appetite.

With the Devourer of Chaos in full motion, the stones around him turned to dust one after the other rapidly. Still, Atlas didn't care and pulled out more stones from his pocket to sustain that incredulous flow of energy.

He couldn't and actually didn't want to miss such an excellent opportunity to conquer that precious artifact with a spirit.

"Almost there... I can feel it!"

It was a slim sensation, but it was there. A thin bond between them was gradually forming. A clear sign that Atlas was almost the new master.

More and more Chaos Stones appeared inside the room, saturating the air with a dense mist of pure energy.

The room was a simple bedroom, so it couldn't contain that tremendous amount of energy like the renowned martial cultivation chambers from the martial sects. In fact, the energy spread all around, invigorating every living being inside and then outside.

The small medicinal plants and the little garden in the backyard weren't excluded, and with that outburst of dense energy, they changed radically.

Atlas didn't care about the changes around him. After all, the bridge between the master and the artifact Spirit was finally concluded, making him the new master.

"Oh... I did it... I can't believe it!"

Finally, the pressure and vigilance eased, but he didn't calm down and instead waited for the response from the Spirit. After all, it was a sentient being, one with a conscience that could communicate with his master.

He waited, almost holding his breath, as if worried about scaring that fellow. Alas, nothing occurred even after a couple of minutes.

"What's going on?" Atlas was confused by the abnormal progression and recalled the knowledge about artifact Spirits.

"Grandma River told me that once a bond is created, a path of communication will automatically form. So, why is there no response? Could it be a fake spirit? Or maybe the weakened state spoken by Nihilir means that the Spirit is damaged and beyond salvation?"

Reaching this point, Atlas started to grow anxious. After all, the constant usage of the devouring power could have damaged the essence of the Spirit, making it worthless.

"No way... Did I really ruin such a precious entity?"

Clearly, he did what he did to save his life, but his greedy heart still considered it an unforgivable sin.

That could have been one reason, but the young man didn't let that thought conquer his heart. Instead, he started exploring his memories for a possible solution.

"No... no... there must be another reason... something that could explain this strange situation..."

He searched repeatedly, but he was still young and clearly not as knowledgeable as his grandparents.

"Dammit... Maybe... Maybe I should ask for help?"

Since he couldn't find an adequate solution alone, the only option was to ask his grandparents or Nihilir if they could resolve this problem.

In the end, he could do nothing other than wait patiently for an opportunity and hold back his ravenous interest.

Left empty hands and with a bit of remorse, Atlas pulled out a thick and small piece of cloth to clean up the condensed blood from his face.

It didn't take him long, and soon, the only problem left behind was the tiny hole between his eyebrow.

"Strange... I thought that there would have been more blood flowing out from the wound... And why do I not feel any pain from there?"

Indeed, the young man realized that small detail only now, as he had been entranced by his conquest before.

Inevitably, his finger touched the wound and stroked the skin around it, carefully feeling the tiny discrepancies created.

"It's warm... extremely warm..."

Attracted by that warm feeling, the tip of his finger fell right above the hole.

"It's so damn hot... why do I feel it only with my finger?"

It was bizarre event, undoubtedly. After all, his body should have felt that intense temperature.

"Hmm... Well?!"

Atlas could feel that warmth with his finger, so it wasn't an illusion, but suddenly, that feeling disappeared, leaving space for another bizarre situation.

"Oh... what?!"

There was no warmth or chilly sensation this time. Indeed, something unbelievable happened as the wound closed rapidly without causing the young man any discomfort.

His finger moved left and right, up and down, in close contact with its forehead, but the hole had disappeared, leaving behind no trace.

Atlas was confused, but before he could even take a step closer to the mirror on the other side of the room, something invaded his mind.

It was an intense and brutal flow of mysterious energy. Yet, it wasn't simply chaos energy but soul energy, a vast quantity mixed with a heavy load of information.

Tons of whispers, some even incomprehensible, reverberated across his mind. Atlas could barely hold back his screams, but he endured somehow and tried to catch every single detail.