Uninvited Guest

Due to the achievement of their ancestor, the founder of the Blaze lineage, the family possessed a unique bloodline that shaped the appearance of their Fire Thaumaturge Sigil. This differentiated them from other standard Fire Thaumaturge Sigils. Their family was known for their signature offensive attack method, the Blazing Lotus Arts, a technique created by the founder of their clan.

Even compared to other renowned aristocratic families on the continent, the Blaze Household was considered one of the strongest lineages, with military achievements that proved and solidified their status. Each member of the Blaze Household was held to the highest standards, and Elias Blaze, due to his misfortune in the recent Blood Oath Ritual held by aristocratic families, had permanently lost his Thaumaturge Sigil and was subsequently banished from the household.

Meanwhile, in the real world...

Inside the mortuary, the white-cloaked man was still observing Elias's motionless body with an expressionless gaze. Time seemed to flow slowly in the real world compared to the vivid graphic scenes unfolding in Elias's Mental Landscape.

Judging by the white-cloaked man's calm demeanor and composed posture, in contrast with his disheveled and maddened appearance inside Elias's Mental Landscape, it was safe to assume that the white-cloaked man was unaware of the situation unfolding inside Elias's mind. Had he known what was transpiring at this moment, the white-cloaked man would have immediately destroyed Elias's body in a fit of rage. 

Despite his calm demeanor suggesting he had no worries, the white-cloaked man still gazed down and used the bloodied club to poke at the unconscious Elias a few times, pondering how he had managed to resurrect from the dead. Such a feat should have been impossible, as he had verified that Elias was truly dead. However, recalling that he had initially trapped Elias's soul within his body to prolong his torment, to induce more despair before undergoing the ritual, the white-cloaked man suddenly felt enlightened.

Interesting. 

The white-cloaked man was pleasantly surprised.

It is remarkable to think his soul was strong enough to bring him back to life under such circumstances. If I turn him into my dark summon, it will yield better results than I'd initially anticipated.

The white-cloaked man smirked as he thought. Then, he bent down to carefully check the pulse of the unconscious Elias. Although it was weak, it confirmed that he was still alive.

Excellent! He's still alive. 

The smirk on the white-cloaked man's face deepened.

Such a tenacious survival instinct! A very good specimen indeed. I didn't waste all those years raising him in vain.

"Drakas! I know you're in there! Come out and accept your punishment!"

Suddenly, a boisterous voice echoed through the vicinity, interrupting his rumination.

Who dares interrupt me at such a crucial time? They must be seeking death! 

Drakas, the white-cloaked man, turned his head to stare into the void as if peering through the walls of the building. Outside, beneath the dark, gloomy sky, he saw a flying beast with a figure standing atop it. A terrifying power emanated from the figure above the flying beast, making Drakas scowl.

This energy signature… 

Drakas felt a sense of familiarity with the figure atop the flying beast. Suddenly, his eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

It can't be that persistent wench, can it?! No, it has to be her. She even mentioned my name directly. Not many people know my true name. Damn it! How did she locate my hideout? None of that matters right now. I have to deal with her before conducting the ritual, or else I'll lose everything I've devoted my life's research to once she starts attacking recklessly.

Coming to terms with his circumstances, Drakas glanced at the unconscious Elias for a moment before heading out to confront the uninvited guest who had come to ruin his plans.

…

Inside the Mental Landscape

Time had elapsed, and Elias had finally managed to extract and process the doctored memories of the white-cloaked man known as Drakas. After absorbing these useful memories, Elias learned much about the current state of the world, enough to cause his forehead to crease with worry.

According to the memories extracted from Drakas, troublesome outsiders seemed to be causing mayhem on Mystral. Elias hoped he wouldn't encounter these dangerous individuals before recovering his strength.

Setting that concern aside, he learned about the true identity of the white-cloaked man who had posed as the original Elias's boss. His name was Drakas Levington, and he also hailed from an aristocratic family—the Levington Household in Manera Kingdom, a neighboring kingdom to the Grand Lion Kingdom, where the original Elias came from.

From the original Elias's memories, Elias knew about the Levington Household because they were similar to the Blaze Household in that they both practiced survival of the fittest in their household. The weakest or most worthless members of their respective households were expelled when they proved useless.

Drakas Levington had suffered the same fate. Born unable to awaken his Thaumaturge Sigil, he grew frustrated by the denigration he received from his own family members. Desperate, he purchased forbidden dark arts from the Black Market and practiced them to finally awaken his Thaumaturge Sigil. However, his Sigil differed from that of his clan, causing many to doubt his lineage.

When they discovered he had been practicing dark arts, the Levington Household immediately exiled him, claiming that those who practiced such forbidden arts could affect the fortune of their clan.

Naturally, the Levington Household wanted him dead for breaking clan rules. However, they knew killing those who practiced dark arts could lead to the birth of evil spirits that would haunt the killer's lineage, which in this case would be the entire Levington Household. To prevent such an unfavorable outcome, they exiled Drakas instead and placed a bounty on his head to eliminate a potential calamity.

Drakas lived like a hunted animal, pursued wherever he went. Having no choice, he used dark arts to sacrifice an entire village to gather the strength to defeat his pursuers. Since then, he had become a notorious dark thaumaturgist and was even noticed by the Enigma race, who funded his exploits in exchange for the secrets of humanity. He acted as their spy in many kingdoms across the continent, selling human secrets to the Enigma Race.

Because of his betrayal, the human coalition lost many decisive wars, leading to unnecessary casualties. Drakas's actions were later exposed, and he was labeled the betrayer of humanity, but he couldn't care less. He remained indifferent to the plight of humans throughout his actions. 

After disguising himself and settling in Sun Kingdom's Light City for a while, he had planned on living peacefully until he encountered the original Elias, who still wore the clothes of his noble family. Seeing potential in the young man's lineage, Drakas took the original Elias back to his lair, and the rest was history.

Although Drakas's past was tragic, the same could be said about the original Elias. The ultimate truth in this whole discovery was that Mystral was a world focused on meritocracy and survival of the fittest. The weak were ignored, and the strong were held in high esteem. It was unfortunate, but that was the way of the world.

I should exit this Mental Landscape and check on my body before I truly die in reality.

Elias was about to exit the Mental Landscape when his eyes fell on the listless Drakas, a thought forming in his mind. He initially planned to eliminate Drakas's projected consciousness, but he changed his mind when he recalled his circumstances in the real world. 

It would be a waste to destroy his projected consciousness. Rather than destroying it, I should release it back to reality, enabling the projected consciousness to fuse its memories with Drakas's true consciousness in the real world.

This was one of the discoveries Elias had made when exploring the limits of the Mental Landscape. He had found that he could return projected consciousness to the source, in this case, Drakas, in the real world, making him relive the experiences in the Mental Landscape.

The nature of this ability could function as either a mental attack or experience transference, depending on its usage. This time, Elias intended to use it as a form of mental attack on Drakas, allowing him to easily gain control of the situation in the real world once he regained consciousness.