His transformation didn't slow down as his face began to peel and turn skeletal. Kharon gripped the Tombkeeper's Ring more tightly as he said, "I will take on your pain and exact revenge in your place. Killing me wouldn't lessen your pain... So let's make a vow; I will find the religious zealots who killed you and your daughter and I will make them suffer. If I don't carry out my promise, you can kill me. I wouldn't take off this ring until I do this."
As he finished his sentence, Kharon could feel the sensation of touch. His exposed nose returned to its usual state as he took in a deep breath, he could hear the steady sound of his heartbeat, he could see the bright runes on the Tombkeeper's Ring. He stood up as a stream of aether surrounded him.
Suddenly, a tall, ethereal figure came out of the ring. The man's body was pale white and he was beginning to dissipate bit by bit. He looked at Kharon with his sunken eyes, there were still faint traces of eye bags underneath them. His long, pale hair seemed to ripple through the air as he floated closer to Kharon as he said in a soft, melodious voice.
"I will trust you. I hope you don't deceive me, son of Mysteries..."
The ghost completely dissipated as the purple runes on the ring vanished. Kharon looked at it and smiled.
"I promise I wouldn't... Cyrus Otto."
Kharon stayed motionless for a few minutes as information slowly flowed into his mind. He sorted through his thoughts and evaluated the abilities that had just been unsealed.
'Death Aura creates a radius in which all things begin to deteriorate and eventually die. Even the user can get affected by this ability after a certain amount of time. And Transfiguration turned the target into an undead skeleton. Once the transformation is complete they become a servant to the user...'
Kharon shuddered at the thought of becoming a skeletal servant as he put on the ring. It fit perfectly on his finger as a coil of aether wrapped around his arm and became connected to his very soul.
'These abilities are truly terrifying. But Necromancy still remains the strongest. The undead brought back can still use their abilities and can even share memories unlike Transfiguration. Furthermore they are indestructible unless their souls are destroyed.'
Putting his head unto the polished desk, Kharon fell into deep concentration as memories of the past few days flashed before his exhausted mind. He stood up from the desk and climbed into bed as he fell into a long slumber.
...
Kharon was awakened by the sound of knocking as he groggily got off his bed and unlocked his door. Standing in front of him was a young man of average stature. He was easily dwarfed by Kharon who had increased his height from 184cm to 190cm after discarding his appearance as Raven Duskveil.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No sir, I am just here to ask if you would like to come have breakfast in the hall. Or I could bring it to you if you would prefer."
Kharon yawned as he said, "Bring it to me."
The man nodded as he said, "I will be back in a bit sir." before walking away. Kharon closed his door and lay back down in his soft, cozy bed. He remained like this until he heard another knock on the door. He stood up and opened his door as he saw the young man holding a tray filled with various meals.
"This is today's special breakfast, is Emberroot Noodles. At the sides are Flickerbean Stir-Fry and Swampglow Hash. If you don't want this meal, then something else can be made for you. All you have to do is ask."
Kharon took the tray as he muttered, "Thank you."
The young man smiled as he said, "I am just doing my job sir. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. There are several facilities such as hotsprings, saunas, mudbaths, massages, and more." He handed Kharon a leaflet as he continued, "If you need help finding them then you can press the button next to your bed and someone will come to you. We will try to help you in anyway we can."
Looking at him with a blank stare, Kharon only nodded as he once again muttered "Thank you." before slowly closing his door.
'I should quickly eat and get to work. The Null Order's headquarter wouldn't make itself... This meal looks quite good. The Aetherbloom Conservatory must have access to some of the rarest ingredients in Cael'ruhn.'
Kharon froze as he realised something.
'Now that I think about it, the mega-continent's name can be written with ancient runes to mean heaven or sky and ruin or fall. Would saying it's runic name evoke a continent wide effect?'
As he thought about this, Kharon subconsciously muttered, "Heaven's Ruin..."
'Whoever named it must have been quite poetic... I wonder what the old world was like. Aidan said it didn't have any aether or supernatural aspects. The world was just highly advanced technologically. Before the Obelisk's Crash during the year 2150..."
Kharon slowly ate his meal mechanically as he thought.
'We are currently in the year 3161 or as many refer to it year 1011. Between that time and now, I was born. But how old was I before I was sealed? How much of the world did I explore? There are far too many things to consider. I was so focused on learning arcana and studying the different types of beasts I failed to learn about the formation of the world...'
Kharon face-palmed as he finished his meal. He looked at the empty plates of food and sighed. As he was about to take them outside, he paused as he looked at the nightstand next to his bed. He went over to it as he saw a gold button and clicked on it. A minute after he heard a knock of his door as he opened it to see the same young man.
"You called sir?"
Kharon didn't say anything as he handed him the empty tray of food. The young man took it as he asked, "Is there anything else sir?"
After a long pause, he asked the bellboy, "Does the Conservatory have a library?"
Caught off guard by the question, the bellboy stuttered over his words as he finally answered, "Yes, we do sir. Would you like me to escort you there?"
"Please do."
"Then just follow me."
Kharon looked down at himself and said, "Actually, could you come back a bit later. I haven't bathed yet and wearing this clothing doesn't seem appropriate. I will call you when I am ready.
The young man nodded before walking away with the tray. Kharon locked his door and changed. He had a very short shower before changing into a light shirt with flowery patterns with corresponding shorts. He put on his pair of sandals before clicking the button.
He walked out of his room as he waited. The bellboy arrived in just thirty seconds as he led Kharon through several facilities.
'There are sport facilities? This is meant to be a retreat centre isn't it? But I guess physical activities can be relaxing to some. I am really wasting such a good opportunity aren't I?'
Kharon sighed as he watched various guests receiving massages and relaxing in pools. They walked for several minutes before arriving at a pair of large, bronze doors. The bellboy used his bracelet to open the door as they swung open. Inside was a large room filled with various types of books. In a corner were several runic tablets. There were a few people reading magazines under an artificial sun.
The young man said, "This is the Conservatory's library. It has a wide range of genres from fiction to history. I hope you enjoy your read sir."
"Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for."
The bellboy left the room as Kharon walked around. He spent a few minutes looking collecting books on world history before looking for a place to sit. He didn't want to read on the sun, so he went to a secluded part of the library and placed the books on the floor. He leaned on a shelf and slid onto the floor as he opened the first book.
"The History of Lunaris Haven, by Leonard Regane."
Kharon sighed as he thought, 'That name sounds familiar... It's the name of one of the founding families of arcana. They really have a monopoly on knowledge and information. I wonder what type of secrets they keep... I should interact with one of them and look into their memories. With a bit of luck I will find out something significant.'
Kharon pushed these thoughts out of his head as he refocused on the book.
"Lunaris Haven is considered to have been founded in the year 850, but the truth is that it was formed much earlier than that. In the year 550 to be exact. Why the 300 year gap you ask? Well that is because of a catastrophic event known as the Great Purge."