Chapter 380: Xue Lian’s Successor

The following morning arrived in silence. The mansion seemed much calmer than it had over the last few days, but that tranquility was artificial. The servants moved slowly through the corridors, careful not to raise their voices. The knights remained at their posts as usual, but now they examined every visitor twice before allowing them inside. After Seraphine’s arrival, no one treated security as a mere formality anymore.

Damon woke before sunrise.

He had slept little.

Not because he was in pain. His body had finally stopped protesting with every movement, although he was still far from fully recovered. The problem was something else. Ever since waking from the coma, his sleep had never been completely deep. There was always the impression that part of his consciousness remained awake, listening to something far away. It was not exactly the Heart. Nor was it Xue Lian’s memories. It was only the constant feeling that something was waiting for him to make a mistake.

He remained seated on the bed for several minutes, watching the light slowly filter through the curtains.

His still completely white hair fell over his shoulders. His eyes retained the faint bluish glow they had acquired after the transformation, although it was now subtle enough to go unnoticed by anyone who was not paying attention.

Damon took a deep breath.

The root remained completely silent.

That was good.

Silence meant control.

Or at least that was what he hoped.

A few minutes later, a soft knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly.

Elizabeth entered first, carrying several documents under one arm. Aria and Morgana followed close behind. All three looked tired, but none of them showed the tension of the previous day.

Damon noticed immediately.

"Did she leave?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"The delegation departed about an hour ago."

"And Seraphine?"

"Her too."

Damon quietly let out a breath.

It was not relief.

It was merely the end of the first round.

Morgana walked toward the window and remained there, looking out at the garden.

"She did not try anything at all during the night."

"She did."

Everyone looked at Damon.

He continued.

"She just didn’t try it here."

Elizabeth frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Damon rested his elbows on his knees.

"She came to measure our responses."

"We already know that."

"But now she also knows exactly how we react."

Aria pulled over a chair and sat down in a completely relaxed manner.

"The same applies to us."

"It does."

"Then we’re still even."

Damon gave a crooked smile.

"Not exactly."

Elizabeth immediately understood his reasoning.

"She lost Havelock."

"Yes."

"She lost the mine."

"Yes."

"She lost the bells."

"That too."

Morgana completed the line of thought.

"But she left satisfied."

The room fell silent.

That was precisely the problem.

A woman like Seraphine did not seem like someone who accepted defeat calmly.

So why had she left so peacefully?

...

Elizabeth slowly spread several documents across the small table beside the bed.

"While you were resting, we received new information."

Damon leaned a little closer.

"What?"

"Havelock started talking."

That truly caught his attention.

"Voluntarily?"

"No."

Aria let out a small laugh.

"He discovered that Morgana’s prison is much less comfortable than he imagined."

Morgana remained completely serious.

"He realized Seraphine would not try to rescue him."

Elizabeth nodded.

"And that made him change his mind."

She handed Damon a sheet of paper.

"Names."

He began to read.

Merchants.

Minor nobles.

Administrators.

Officials.

He recognized some of the names.

Others he had never heard before.

But one detail immediately caught his attention.

"There aren’t many of them."

"Exactly."

Elizabeth crossed her arms.

"Havelock was not part of the core group."

"He was only an intermediary."

"Probably."

Damon slowly placed the paper on the table.

"Then we are still very far from reaching her."

"Yes."

Morgana finally turned toward the others.

"But we gained an advantage."

Everyone looked at her.

"For the first time."

She took a deep breath.

"Now we know Seraphine also has things she needs to hide."

...

The conversation continued for several more minutes as they analyzed every small detail of the delegation’s visit.

None of the information seemed significant enough to completely change the situation.

But several small pieces of information together...

Were beginning to form a picture.

Seraphine had avoided looking directly at certain documents.

She had completely ignored Havelock’s name.

She had shown a disproportionate interest in Damon.

She had reacted to Nera’s name.

And she had accepted the loss of the bell without any resistance.

None of it seemed decisive on its own.

But Damon knew people like her.

She was constantly assessing risks.

And when someone like that concealed an emotion...

It usually meant that emotion truly mattered.

...

Shortly before lunch, Ingrivid appeared at the door.

She knocked only once.

"Lady Morgana."

"What is it?"

"The prisoner asked to speak."

"Nera?"

Ingrivid confirmed it.

"She said she will only talk if Damon is present."

The entire room fell silent.

Aria was the first to break the mood.

"She chose an excellent time."

Ester, who had just entered carrying a tray of medicine, heard only the final part of the conversation.

"No one is going anywhere."

Damon did not even try to answer immediately.

Ester approached the bed and placed the tray on the table.

"You have not been discharged yet."

"Ester..."

"No."

"You don’t even know what I was going to say."

"If it involves walking to an underground prison, the answer is still no."

Aria rested her face in one hand.

"She really has become more authoritarian."

"I learned from Elizabeth."

Elizabeth pretended not to hear.

Morgana watched Damon in silence.

She knew exactly what his decision would be.

Even so, she asked.

"What do you think?"

Damon spent several seconds thinking.

Then he answered calmly.

"She waited until Seraphine left."

"Yes."

"Then the subject is probably related to her."

Elizabeth agreed.

"I think so too."

"And that is precisely why..."

He looked at Ester.

"...I need to hear her."

Ester closed her eyes for several seconds.

She took a deep breath.

When she looked at him again, she seemed very close to abandoning the argument.

"Can you walk there?"

"I can."

"Without using Qi."

"Yes."

"Without fighting."

"That too."

She spent several more seconds studying his face.

Then she sighed in defeat.

"I hate it when you answer everything correctly."

Aria smiled.

"Does that mean we can go?"

Ester immediately pointed at Damon.

"Slowly."

Then she pointed at Aria.

"You help him."

Next, she looked at Elizabeth.

"If he tries anything stupid..."

Elizabeth finished naturally.

"I’ll hit him."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Did you two arrange this?"

"The last six months gave us enough time."

He decided it was better not to ask anything else.

...

A short while later, the small group slowly made its way through the mansion’s lower corridors.

Damon walked normally, but there was still a certain stiffness in his movements. His body responded well, yet it still felt strange to him. It was like using muscles different from the ones he was accustomed to.

As they walked, Damon noticed something curious.

The servants were smiling again.

The gardens were being rebuilt.

Some of the broken windows had already been replaced.

Life was slowly returning to Arven Mansion.

That seemed important to him.

For weeks...

Everything had revolved around survival.

Now they were finally beginning to live again.

Even though their problems were far from over.

When they reached the heavy door of the underground prison, Ingrivid naturally took the lead.

She slowly opened the lock.

"Nera is calm."

Aria smiled.

"That worries me."

"It worries me too."

Damon looked at Morgana.

"Did she try to escape?"

"Never."

"Did she try to negotiate?"

"No."

"And what does she do all day?"

Morgana shrugged.

"She reads."

"She asked for books," Elizabeth replied.

"History."

"Botany."

"Architecture."

"Even poetry."

Damon blinked several times.

"She really is strange."

Aria laughed.

"You say that as though you were completely normal."

"I’m much more handsome."

The answer even made Ingrivid hide a small smile.

The door was finally opened.

The cell remained exactly as Damon remembered it.

Simple.

Clean.

Without any luxury.

Nera sat near the small barred window, calmly reading one of the books she had received.

She raised her eyes before anyone spoke.

Then carefully closed the book.

"Took you long enough."

Damon crossed his arms.

"I was in a coma for six months."

"That was a reasonable excuse."

He let out a small laugh.

"Thank you."

Nera slowly stood.

Her gaze quickly moved across everyone present.

Then returned directly to Damon.

"She was here."

"She was."

"And she saw you."

"She did."

Nera remained silent for several seconds.

Then she asked a completely unexpected question.

"Did she say Xue Lian’s name?"

Damon’s smile immediately disappeared.

Behind him, Elizabeth noticed the change in his expression.

And she noticed something else as well.

Nera knew exactly who Xue Lian was.

The conversation they had been waiting for had finally begun.

Damon remained completely motionless for several seconds. Nera’s question had not surprised him only because of its content. The real problem was the natural way she had spoken that name. There had been no hesitation, doubt, or attempt to confirm a suspicion. She said "Xue Lian" like someone mentioning an old acquaintance. That meant she was not guessing. She knew.

Behind him, Elizabeth slowly crossed her arms as she carefully watched their expressions. Morgana also noticed the shift in the atmosphere. Until that moment, Nera had answered every question in a controlled manner, always carefully choosing how much she would reveal. Now, for the first time, she seemed to have taken the initiative in the conversation.

Damon took a deep breath before answering.

"No."

Nera frowned slightly.

"Then she still hasn’t appeared."

"That depends on what you mean by appeared."

She remained silent.

Damon continued.

"I met her."

Nera’s eyes changed subtly.

"In a dream?"

"No."

"In a vision?"

"Not that either."

He took several seconds to find the right words.

"It was... a memory."

Now Nera became truly interested.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

Elizabeth glanced at Damon, allowing him to lead the conversation. For the first time since they had imprisoned Nera, it seemed as though she genuinely wanted answers rather than merely bargaining with information.

Damon slowly walked to the small wooden table inside the cell and pulled out a chair. He sat calmly, completely ignoring the fact that he was speaking with a former member of the organization that had nearly destroyed Arven.

"When I fell into the coma..."

He rested his elbows on his knees.

"...I woke in a completely frozen world."

Nera remained completely still.

"There was no sky. No sun. Only snow."

She did not interrupt.

"There was a woman walking alone."

Elizabeth noticed something interesting.

Every detail seemed to confirm something for Nera.

"...She wore white robes with jade-green details. Completely white hair. Blue eyes. Her entire body was slowly freezing."

Nera closed her eyes for several seconds.

When she opened them again, there was something close to nostalgia in them.

"Then it truly was her."

Damon nodded slowly.

"She introduced herself as Xue Lian."

"She didn’t need to."

"What do you mean?"

Nera smiled faintly.

"You would never find anyone else like her."

Aria tilted her head slightly.

"Do you really know this woman?"

Nera looked at her.

"No."

"You just said you did."

"I know her story."

The answer left everyone silent.

Morgana stepped closer.

"Then explain."

Nera breathed slowly before answering.

"First..."

She looked back at Damon.

"...did she tell you her own name?"

"Yes."

"And did she speak to you normally?"

"Yes."

"She seemed... conscious."

Nera released a long sigh.

"Then that changes a great deal."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.

"What exactly?"

Nera remained silent for several seconds as she organized her thoughts.

"For hundreds of years, a story has circulated among certain very old organizations."

"What story?"

"One concerning the strongest woman ever to use glacial techniques."

Aria gave a small smile.

"That explains quite a lot."

"No."

Nera shook her head.

"It explains very little."

She looked at Damon again.

"Because no one knows whether that story truly happened."

Damon slowly leaned back in his chair.

"Continue."

Nera walked toward the small window of the cell.

Outside, the afternoon light slowly passed through the bars.

"Many names have been attributed to her."

"The Ice Empress."

"The Glacial Saint."

"The Sovereign of the North."

"The White Phantom."

She paused briefly.

"But only one name appears in every version."

She turned and looked directly at Damon.

"Heavenly Ice Demon."

The silence inside the cell became absolute.

Even Ester seemed to forget to breathe for a moment.

Damon remained completely motionless.

That was the exact title that had appeared when he woke in that strange world.

Nera noticed immediately.

"You have heard that name before."

"Yes."

"Where?"

Damon hesitated for only an instant.

"When I entered that memory."

Nera slowly closed her eyes.

"Then it really happened."

Elizabeth finally decided to interrupt.

"Nera."

The prisoner turned her attention toward her.

"Are you saying Damon literally entered that woman’s memories?"

Nera remained silent for several seconds.

"No."

The answer confused everyone.

Then she continued.

"I’m saying the memories allowed him to enter."

Damon frowned.

"What’s the difference?"

"A great deal."

She slowly returned to the chair.

"Ordinary memories do not ask questions."

"They do not improvise."

"They do not hold conversations."

"They do not show curiosity."

She looked directly at Damon.

"But Xue Lian spoke to you."

"Yes."

"And threatened to cut off your head."

Aria blinked.

"She did that?"

Damon answered naturally.

"It was practically the first thing she did."

"Fair."

Aria shrugged.

"Seems reasonable."

Ester looked at her.

"In what world does that seem reasonable?"

"In a world where Damon exists."

No one could disagree.

Nera returned to the main subject.

"She acknowledged your existence."

"She did."

"That means the memory was not merely a recording."

Elizabeth slowly began to understand.

"It was a preserved consciousness."

Nera nodded.

"Exactly."

The entire room fell silent again.

Because that raised a much larger question.

If it was a consciousness...

Then...

"Where is she now?"

The question came from Morgana.

Nera slowly turned her gaze toward her.

"I don’t know."

"I thought you knew this story."

"I do."

"Then?"

Nera breathed slowly.

"The story ends."

"How?"

"She disappears."

Everyone remained attentive.

"No one ever found her body."

"No one ever found her sect."

"No one ever found her fortress."

She looked back at Damon.

"Until today."

Damon felt a slight tightness in his chest.

Because he knew.

The fortress existed.

He had seen it.

The black mountains.

The palace.

The snow.

All of it was real.

Or at least it had seemed real.

Nera immediately noticed his expression.

"You saw the fortress."

It was not a question.

It was a statement.

Damon slowly confirmed it.

"Yes."

"What was there?"

"I haven’t reached it yet."

She seemed genuinely surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"The memory ended before then."

Nera became thoughtful.

"Interesting."

Elizabeth crossed her arms again.

"You keep using that word."

"Because it truly is."

She turned toward Damon.

"Was she leading you to the fortress?"

"We were walking toward it."

"And then?"

"Something appeared."

"What?"

Damon breathed slowly.

"A creature."

He calmly described the black fissure.

The faces trapped inside its body.

The sentence.

We finally found the flower.

As he spoke, Nera’s face became increasingly serious.

When Damon finished, she remained completely motionless for almost an entire minute.

No one dared interrupt her.

Finally, she spoke.

"Then they were already hunting her back then."

Damon frowned.

"Who are they?"

Nera answered in little more than a whisper.

"The First Ones."

Elizabeth immediately caught on.

"You know who they were."

"No."

She slowly shook her head.

"But I know what they were seeking."

"What?"

Nera looked directly at Damon.

"The Heavenly Ice Body."

The atmosphere seemed to freeze for several seconds.

Damon did not answer.

Because that expression was absurdly familiar to him.

He had already seen it.

At the end of the memory.

After they defeated that creature.

After Xue Lian disappeared.

The messages.

You have obtained the Heavenly Ice Body.

He remained completely motionless.

Elizabeth noticed immediately.

"Damon."

He took several seconds to answer.

"...I know that name."

Now it was Nera who froze.

"Where?"

Damon slowly raised his eyes.

"At the end of the memory."

The silence became absolute.

Nera seemed unable to believe what she had heard.

"Repeat that."

"When the memory ended..."

He breathed slowly.

"...several messages appeared."

"What messages?"

Damon closed his eyes for a moment.

As though trying to remember every word exactly.

"You have read Xue Lian’s sealed memories."

Nera remained motionless.

"You have changed a story already told."

She slowly began to lose her controlled expression.

"You have obtained an elemental root."

Now even Elizabeth seemed alarmed.

Damon opened his eyes again.

"And finally..."

He looked directly at Nera.

"...You have obtained the Heavenly Ice Body."

The chair behind Nera fell to the floor.

She did not even notice.

All color had drained from her face.

She slowly walked toward Damon.

Stopped in front of him.

Carefully examined his eyes.

His hair.

His skin.

Then she slowly raised one hand.

But stopped before touching him.

As though she were afraid.

"Impossible..."

Her voice came out much quieter than before.

"That simply..."

She took a deep breath.

"...should not exist."

Damon frowned.

"Do you know what it is?"

Nera remained silent for several seconds.

Then answered.

"No."

She gave a small, bitter smile.

"But now I understand why Seraphine came personally."

Elizabeth immediately turned her attention toward her.

"Explain."

Nera looked directly at Damon.

"Because she isn’t searching only for the Heart."

She took a deep breath.

"She is searching for Xue Lian’s successor."

The silence that followed was heavier than all the others.

Damon did not answer.

Because, for the first time since waking from that coma...

He began to suspect that the memory had never been an accident.