Dead

In his cradle, Naro continued to squirm, breathe and engage his senses with every ounce of willpower remaining in him. He did not know how long he had been pushing himself for, but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle.

Fatigue was continuously creeping up on him. It overwhelmed him in sudden spurts, and made him feel lightheaded.

Without realizing it, his actions had slowed down to a sluggish speed.

However, his efforts were not without result.

Every time he took a breath, a large amount of air flooded into his lungs. When he moved, the motion was crisp. His muscles were operating much more efficiently than before, reducing the rate at which he was fatiguing and delaying the inevitable collapse of his bodily function. 

His five senses were sharper.

However, all of this improvement was masked by Naro's extreme tiredness, which made him feel exceptionally dull. His mind was moving through quicksand.

His vision began to fade, as the lightheadedness threatened to incapacitate him.

Naro bit his lip. Without teeth, the pain was not very fierce, but it still kept him awake.

His vision stabilized for a moment. He used the opportunity to take in another deep breath. He sensed that a point accumulated for 'breathing.'

He shifted his focus and stared intently at the cabin wall. A point accumulated for 'seeing.'

Naro had been forced to bite his lip to stay awake several times before. However, the effectiveness was fading away. The last time, he only managed to stave off his lightheadedness for a minute.

However, this time, it hardly worked at all.

A second later, the lightheadedness came back with a vengeance. He had no ability to fight it. If before, it was like a gentle push, coaxing him to sleep, this time it was a full force shove. His body could no longer tolerate the abuse. His vision gave out immediately.

Without noticing, Naro fell into a deep sleep.

If Mo Seris could not be bothered to appreciate the sights within Song Manor, then there was even less to be said of the rest of Brightsteel Town. He did not even notice what was passing by his window.

Outside of the territory of the five major powers, the whole place was a town full of beggars, as far as he was concerned.

The carriage moved forward at a breakneck pace, the Demonbeast horses running at a pace that was near their top speed. 

Mo Seris anticipated his arrival at the Mo Estate, a hero's welcome back to the Sixth House. Every moment, he drew closer.

He could hardly wait to see that look of approval in the Sixth Steward's eyes…those words that he was dreaming of…

'The higher ups have decided to reward you.'

Mo Seris suddenly noticed that it seemed a little quieter than usual. The small sounds that he had grown accustomed to had vanished. A feeling of dread crept up on him. He turned his head sharply.

The infant had stopped moving. It was such a stark change in behavior that the impact was felt doubly hard. He was suddenly overcome with panic.

No! Was the infant dead?

His heart leapt in his chest.

If it was dead, then it was never talented to begin with, but sick all along? That fraudulent medicine man!

An image of the Song medicine man came to his mind. He had never hated someone to such an extreme degree. 

And that Third Manager, who passed on his diseased child at an even higher price than usual!

In a moment, it felt like Mo Seris's dreams had melted away and been replaced with a living nightmare.