Awakening...

Eventually, the deadline came, and as Falerra announced, the young man woke up shortly after the set six months.

"Do you understand, little fellow?"

"Yes, Ancestor… I will do as you wish…"

"Good boy…"

Atlas could hear two different voices nearby. One was Falerra, and the other was a bit rough but with a youngster's tone.

"Hmm…"

His body was still aching, especially all over his head and the center of his chest, yet Atlas opened his eyes slowly and looked toward the side.

The room was well-illuminated, just like before, so the young man could clearly see the two figures standing far from him.

The most high-catching was Falerra since he was surrounded by a bright golden aura. Instead, the other figure was the Stony spirit.

It was evident that its transformation had ended, too.

Its form was still the same, with no significant changes, except for the color of some of the rocks forming its body.

Before his appearance was a little creepy, primarily because of those black rocks wrapped with long pulsating red veins, but now, those veins were gone and replaced by golden-colored lines.

This new appearance gave the creature a more holy presence, utterly different from the dark one surrounding it at the beginning.

"Hey… how long has it been?" 

The young man's voice attracted the two creatures standing afar.

"Little boy… you finally woke up… it took you more than expected..."

"Master… it's been more than six months and two weeks… how are you? Do you feel anything strange?"

The two creatures approached him and spoke one after the other.

"Hmm… indeed, it's a bit longer." Atlas mumbled, a bit peeved by the fact that the timing was a bit off: "Anyway, you gained the ability to speak… that's great!"

Seeing his Master so satisfied, the Stony Spirit laughed as he never did before: "Ha ha ha… it's indeed a great thing, but there are even more surprises, Master. The Celestial Golden Durian contained a high quantity of pure earth energy and allowed my power to grow by a bit!"

Atlas could feel the difference clearly. In fact, the Stony Spirit, who always stood in the same realm as him, was no way stronger than him. It wasn't a significant change that could create miracles in case of need, yet it was a joyous occasion.

"Hehehe… I noticed that, too. But surely this is not the only gain here, right?"

Atlas's remark was purely speculation, but the creature's following words confirmed it: "Mmm… you are right, but it's something related to my Ancestral Bloodline, so the effects are still dormant. Ancestor Falerra told me it will take some time to use those powers… alas."

"Well… don't worry about it... You just need some time."

Falerra let them speak for a while until he felt something from afar coming their way.

No one else noticed that, but since he was the owner of this strange space, detecting the presence of a little rat was simple.

He looked at the only passage for this cave with a strange grin and then started speaking as if it was nothing: "Well... he evolved just as I expected... As long as his realm grows higher, the benefits from the Ancestral Bloodline will awake."

Atlas agreed with his statement and commented, a bit jealously: "Right... I heard about Ancestral Bloodline, too... it's a tremendous advantage for Chaotical Creature."

"Well... since you two can communicate now. Why don't you introduce yourself? Child, even if your name is a bit strange by human standards, it's still a great name and deserves to be known."

The Stony spirit followed his ancestor's suggestion and introduced himself confidently: "Master... My name is Sarruma..."

"Sarruma... it's a bit particular, but at least I can stop calling you Stony Spirit..." Darke smiled happily and marked his name in his mind.

Falerra could see that their relationship was quite good and was glad of this, so he continued: "So... little boy, how do you feel your newly dual Divine Chaotical Core? It's great, right?"

"It's a marvelous feeling..." Atlas commented, scanning his internal body with his sense: "Earth and Fire elements merged perfectly even if it isn't a natural transformation. Those fruits are something unbelievable!"

Atlas couldn't help but sigh in amazement at the miracle that happened in his body.

The information about the Celestial Fruits was something he acquired thanks to the Chaotiss rather than something documented with actual facts. It was basically a rumor, a legend, and nothing more.

So, having an authentic experience of these legends shocked him to the core.

"Well... we are talking about the fruits from a legendary tree and not some random plant..." Falerra scoffed, marking Atlas's surprise as nothing strange: "Anyway, you should be careful from now on because a dual Chaotical Core operates differently from a normal one. I'm not an expert in human matters related to this, but you should adapt to the fire element for some time before using its power."

Hearing his words, Atlas closed his eyes and tried to operate the Godly Crafter Refiner from Old Mold, and sure enough, he felt a strange resistance from his core. It wasn't anything dangerous, yet as Falerra said, he needed some time to adapt.

He could still generate simple flames from Chaos Energy, but they were in the most basic form like he did before and not infuse with elemental power, a more power-refined version.

"Mmm... I was right..." Falerra mumbled, feeling the movement of energy around the young man, and then looked at him again with a different expression, a more serious one: "You gained no actual benefits right now, but in the long run, you will be glad of your new powers. The only unexpected side of this story is your Cultivation Realm... How is it possible that it's still the same?"

Falerra's questioning gaze put Atlas in a tight spot. He may know the reason, but what could he tell him?

The Devourer of Chaos's existence was a secret, so telling him about it was a problem, even after all Falerra had done for him.

Feeling a bit guilty about lying, Atlas shook his head slowly: "I don't know... maybe the transformation process of the Chaotical Core consumed all the energy..." 

Falerra was a bit suspicious and commented: "Well... it's a possibility, yet if it's true, your Chaotical Core is not so simple either..."

This case was also possible. After all, Atlas's Chaotical Core was destroyed for unknown reasons and then reformed by a Nihilir, something unheard of.

"Hmm..."

Once again, Atlas felt some pressure.

Fortunately, Falerra spared him from further investigation and changed the subject since he could feel the small rat coming closer to the cave: "Whatever... be ready because someone is coming..."

Atlas felt relieved that no more questions had come, yet his words surprised him, and he couldn't help but ask: "What are you talking about?"

"Oh... you would like him." Falerra responded in a bizarre tone and added with an even more peculiar one: "He is an old friend. It's just that his mouth is a bit too vicious... but he's a good guy, trust me."

As soon as Falerra's speech ended, a thunderous shout came from the entrance, attracting everyone's attention:

"I'm here bitches!"