Upon arriving at Empyrean Citadel, Charlie was immediately greeted by Kei, who had been waiting at the entrance.
The main door of the Citadel had just closed with a soft sound when Kei was already standing behind it, hands on her hips, her gaze a mixture of relief and annoyance. She immediately showered him with questions about where they had gone all night without telling her a thing.
"It's already 10 AM! You left without a single word, Charlie-san. I woke up and this house was empty, just me alone. I... I was worried."
With Astraea still unconscious in his arms, Charlie could only offer a weary smile.
"Sorry, Kei. This... was an emergency. Help me bring her to her room first, okay? I promise I'll explain everything."
Seeing the extremely exhausted expression on Charlie's face and Astraea's condition, Kei let out a long sigh, then immediately helped guide them to the room. Her annoyance was swallowed by concern.
After laying Astraea in her room, Charlie briefly explained what had happened.
In the main sitting room, with two cups of hot tea brewed by Kei, Charlie told her everything.
The journey to the Elsos Ruins, the threat of the ancient monster Antares, the threat of the Divine Arrow targeting the planet, and so on. He simplified the most horrifying details, but the core of his story remained intact: the world nearly ended!
Clearly, Kei was extremely shocked to learn the world had almost been destroyed while she was sleeping, and by the time she woke up, the world had already been saved. The story was too surreal to believe. If it weren't her boyfriend telling her about this, she would never have believed it.
"..."
Kei fell silent for a long time, her hands gripping tightly the teacup that had begun to cool. Her eyes widened, staring at Charlie as if seeing him for the first time.
"So... while I was thinking about the breakfast menu, you... you died? And then came back to life? And fought something that could devour stars?" Her voice was full of complaint.
Seeing the deep exhaustion on Charlie's face, Kei didn't want to burden the man further. As an understanding woman, she pushed him toward his own room and told him to get complete rest without any disturbance.
"That's enough, Charlie-san. Your explanation is more than sufficient. What you need now isn't storytelling, but sleep. You look like you've just been through an intense battle."
Charlie was indeed tired both physically and mentally.
Not sleeping all night wasn't a big problem for a Level 6 like himself. What truly drained him mentally was his death caused by Artemis's Divine Arrow and manipulating its causality which cost him one million years of his lifespan, his resurrection from death thanks to the Noble Phantasm God Hand, and severing the causality between Antares and Artemis which cost him his lifespan once again—ten thousand years this time.
The combination of all the above factors was truly exhausting.
In essence, Charlie just wanted to quickly close his eyes and sink into the darkness of sleep to forget the burden of over one million years of life lost from his existence.
His bedroom door closed.
Charlie barely removed his clothes before his body collapsed onto the bed. Consciousness immediately sank into darkness.
As for Aishia and Est, the two spirit girls had already gone to their room and fallen asleep as soon as they arrived at Empyrean Citadel.
Silence descended upon Empyrean Citadel, a tranquility earned after the storm.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Charlie slept until afternoon; he even missed lunch.
The sun moved across the sky. The sound of the wall clock ticked softly. Charlie didn't move at all, sunk in deep restorative sleep. The dining table in the dining room, where Kei had prepared a simple but nutritious lunch, was ultimately left untouched.
Knowing how exhausted the man was, Kei considerately didn't wake him.
Kei occasionally peeked into his room, making sure his breathing was steady. She chatted with Astraea about the Elsos Ruins incident in more detail.
When Charlie finally opened his eyes, he found the sky outside the window had already turned the orange hues of dusk.
"It's already evening? It's been a long time since I slept this long. Huuhhh..." Exhaling a long breath, Charlie sat on the edge of the bed and massaged his throbbing forehead. "Sleeping too long actually causes headaches."
"In the future, if the situation isn't truly urgent, I should abandon the intention to use Hundred Gauntlets if the price isn't just magical essence, but lifespan."
Although he was an immortal being with unlimited time, Charlie still felt uncomfortable every time his "time" was drained as fuel for Hundred Gauntlets.
There was a difference between having unlimited time and willingly burning part of it. It felt like losing something very fundamental, even if the amount was relatively small compared to the total.
"Only when truly necessary will I be willing to use my lifespan. If it's not that important, better think of a different method."
That was a promise to himself. A new boundary. Hundred Gauntlets would be an ultimate weapon, not just an option.
Setting limits on himself, Charlie took out a small bottle containing red liquid—Hera's blood—from his Space-Time Cache.
With careful movements, a small crystal bottle appeared in his hand. The liquid inside was dark red, shimmering with a dim divine light even in the dusk light.
"Divine blood is truly magical. Even after such a long time has passed, the blood doesn't coagulate like normal blood—it remains liquid without needing to be mixed with anticoagulants."
Marveling for a moment, Charlie dripped the blood onto his forehead. At the same time, he activated the skill The Chosen Savior in his mind.
One drop of dim-golden liquid touched the skin of his forehead. Cold, then warm.
*BUZZ!*
The next second, the Falna on his back glowed, the Sacred Texts moved like snakes composing new letters.
After the light phenomenon subsided, Charlie took a blank sheet of parchment. With fine control of Wind Spirit Art, he directed the parchment to press against his back, copying the latest status that had been updated by the divine blood.
A few moments later, he pulled the parchment away and began to read the details of his latest status carefully.
⊰✧⊱
Charlie Avalon
Level 6
Strength: F (368) ➝ B (777)
Endurance: F (355) ➝ S (999)
Dexterity: F (309) ➝ A (856)
Agility: F (399) ➝ S (923)
Magic Power: ∞
Magic:
✧[Spirit Art]
✧[Spirit Contractor]
✧[Aithra Athanatos]
Skill:
✧[The Chosen Savior]
✧[Prodigy Swordsman]
✧[Infinite Essence]
✧[Triptolemus Arc]
✧[Dragon Slayer]
✧[Armor of Fafnir]
✧[Crystallized Wisdom]
✧[Six Eyes]
✧[Immortality]
✧[Senrigan]
✧[God Hand]
✧[Nine Lives]
✧[Hundred Gauntlets]
Development Abilities:
Luck: G
Mystery: F
Chain Attack: F
Strong Body: H
Nexus: I
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