A scene appeared within Shion Lan's mind, where he saw his body slowly turning into something rotten and corrupted. Its color became a mixture of gray and blue, until a pulse emerged from the Third Vein carrying a power that froze Shion's consciousness completely. He could not see, hear, or speak. Images appeared and voices echoed around him, yet he could only observe from afar, like a spectator watching a play unfold.
He saw a heart beating within the remains of the corpse that had attacked him, engraved with strange symbols and marks. It resembled exactly what the books described as:
"The Key of Inheritance."
A voice echoed through the place. It belonged to a black-haired man with abyss-like dark eyes that radiated instinctive terror. Even with his consciousness frozen and incapable of reacting, Shion felt fear deep inside himself, as though he were seeing Shi Yun Lan for the first time… as though he were facing death itself for the very first time in his life.
Shi Yun Lan spoke calmly,
"Do you really want Shion to inherit such garbage?"
On the other side, a twisted spirit of corrupted energy stood, a shadowy form woven from black mist and glowing crimson strands, with no clear features except for two terrifying eyes shining within the darkness, as if his entire existence had become a living curse.
Roto Night stared in disbelief.
"This is impossible! There shouldn't be another inheritance here! How did I fail to sense your presence?!"
Without a trace of emotion, Shi Yun Lan replied,
"And who exactly do you think you are to be capable of sensing me?"
Roto shouted,
"I am Roto Night! The greatest Corruption Mage! I possess overwhelming regenerative power and an energy capable of planting terror into the hearts of all who witness it—enough to turn unborn children gray in their mothers' wombs!"
Shi Yun Lan closed his eyes.
"You wish to sense my existence?"
Roto became furious, believing he was being mocked. Yet no matter how desperately he tried to perceive him, he could not. Had Shi Yun Lan not been standing directly before him, Roto would have believed no one existed there at all.
Shi Yun Lan continued,
"If your wish is to feel my presence… then so be it."
It was as though an invisible barrier had vanished.
In that instant, Roto sensed everything.
Yet before a single second passed, his knees collapsed to the ground. His face turned pale, and his entire body trembled violently. Seeing this, Shi Yun Lan said,
"I suppose I overdid it a little. I'll return things to normal."
With a snap of his fingers, the horrifying sensation disappeared.
But its mark remained deeply carved into Roto's face. He continued trembling before finally speaking in a barely audible voice,
"W… who are you…?"
Shi Yun Lan looked at him expressionlessly.
"So even 'Corruption of Instinct' cannot erase humanity's instinctive fear of death… is that correct?"
Roto could not respond. He could only listen silently.
Shi Yun Lan pulled out the heart and said,
"This is the Key of Inheritance, correct? I mean, inheritance keys can take many forms depending on their owner. Some use actual keys, others rings or necklaces, and some hide their inheritance within a specific location… but you created something like this?"
Terror consumed Roto completely.
"Am's heart! Give it back to me!"
The madness on Roto's face melted away, revealing what seemed to be the man he once was—a father worried for his daughter and family. His desperate pleas spread through the deadly emptiness around them, but no answer came.
Only silence ruled the space.
Shi Yun Lan asked,
"Do you even understand what you have done?"
Roto could not answer, because he genuinely remembered nothing.
Seeing this, Shi Yun Lan said,
"I can sense countless dead souls surrounding this body. So why don't you look through them and learn what truly happened?"
All the dead spirits from the Kito Family mansion were summoned into the Veins Domain.
Shi Yun Lan declared:
"(Personal Domain: Summoning of the Dead)."
Bodies formed from death energy appeared, taking the shapes of children no older than twelve years old. When they saw Roto, they failed to recognize him.
But Roto remembered everything.
The children he murdered.
The dolls he transformed them into.
The corrupted energy he fed them.
The tears he witnessed.
The screams he heard.
The desperate pleas he ignored so he could continue his inhuman work.
Every face he saw forced him further backward in horror.
"No… no… impossible…!"
The miserable images relentlessly assaulted his mind until he finally screamed from unbearable agony.
The children, however, did not understand what was happening.
Shi Yun Lan spoke gently,
"It seems the Pure Spirit helped you. You no longer carry burdens or hatred, even though your memories were erased."
The children asked innocently,
"Who are you, mister?"
"..."
For the first time, Shi Yun Lan smiled—a perfect, flawless smile.
"I suppose I'm someone who should not exist… but how about going on a little trip?"
"Okay!!"
The children cheered happily.
With a wave of his hand, all of them disappeared laughing and smiling, carrying none of the miserable memories they once suffered from.
Shi Yun Lan watched them quietly and sighed.
"It seems Solan Neumann did an excellent job this time by ensuring those children remembered nothing of what they endured… wouldn't you agree?"
Roto was in no condition to speak anymore. He was beginning to fade away.
"I don't know who you are, sir… but I'll tell you everything. Please… save my family."
Shi Yun Lan listened silently.
Roto continued,
"I finally remember now. A strange man bypassed the family's defenses and guards. I was broken after losing both my wife and daughter, but that stranger brought me a scroll containing a forbidden spell. The moment I learned it could resurrect the dead, I lost all reason and accepted it without hesitation."
He trembled,
"I was already accustomed to experimenting with strange spells and corrupting myself with foul energy, but my wife always saved me before. That time, however, I was alone… and insane.
I continued experimenting with the spell, corrupting my body and soul with every failure, until I finally created a soulless doll in the image of my daughter using the remains of my wife."
He fell in silence for a while and asked,
"But was I sane by then?"
But he shook his head with a despaired smile,
"No… I was not.
I killed myself afterward and buried my inheritance within the heart you now hold."
Shi Yun Lan asked,
"This is my final question. Was everything you did caused by the corruption of your soul… or by the forbidden spell itself?"
As he started to fade away, Roto answered,
"Both. The spell carried hidden commands… and my corrupted soul welcomed them gladly."
"In that case," Shi Yun Lan said, "tell me where it is, and your family will not be harmed."
Unable to resist any longer, Roto confessed everything before vanishing completely.
After learning the location, Shi Yun Lan murmured,
"Although I practice an art tied to death… I believe I can still do something."
He absorbed a fragment of Roto's fading soul remnants and declared once more:
"(Personal Domain: Summoning of the Dead)."
Roto witnessed one final scene.
From his own memories appeared his wife and daughter, Am Night.
For a brief moment, Roto froze before collapsing into their embrace, crying endlessly.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! Please forgive me!"
His wife and daughter hugged him tightly.
"Don't worry, dear. I know you're a kind man."
"I'm okay, Father. Don't worry."
Their voices slowly faded away.
Roto looked toward Shi Yun Lan one last time.
"Great sir… thank you…"
Then he finally disappeared within the embrace of his family.
Shi Yun Lan gazed toward the distant horizon.
"Did you see that, Shion?"
At this moment, Shion existed only as a glowing point within that world, incapable of speaking.
Shi Yun Lan continued,
"I use my art in my own way. But you have yet to truly use yours. You relied on me too much… so we will separate for now."
Hearing this, Shion wanted to scream and stop him, yet no sound emerged.
Shi Yun Lan smiled perfectly and asked,
"Do you remember my question?
Do you have ideals you insist on upholding, even at the cost of your life?!"
Shion remembered as he wanted to live as he desired not as was supposed to do.
He remembered the reason for investigating that hard in the case. He didn't have the will to do that, but he accepted it as Shi Yun Lan asked him to do.
"When you reach the Fourth Level, you may meet me again. Until then, stop throwing yourself into troubles beyond your ability."
Before leaving, Shi Yun Lan suddenly remembered something.
"By the way… Sol Hart and Solan Neumann are the same person. They are not two separate identities."
Then he smiled perfectly once more.
"See you soon."
And with those words, he vanished.
Shion desperately tried to stop him, but could only watch helplessly as his companion disappeared before his eyes, until the entire place became consumed by darkness.
Slowly, sensation returned to Shion as he opened his eyes in the real world.
He saw red eyes and white hair belonging only to Sol.
Then Shi Yun Lan's final words echoed in his mind.
"Sol…an?"
And he lost consciousness once again.
...
Inside the mansion, Shion lay unconscious upon his bed. He had suffered no physical injuries, but what happened was far worse.
He had lost his companion.
Inside the Veins Domain, he shouted desperately,
"Shi Yun Lan?! Where are you?!"
No answer came.
All he could see was a massive pillar of black veins glowing crimson, six of them pulsing powerfully, alongside the manuals of techniques and spells he had acquired.
But Shi Yun Lan was gone.
No voice.
No presence.
Nothing.
Shion finally accepted that he had truly left.
He sat silently and thought,
"If I hadn't depended on him so much…"
Shion's personality had once been drifting toward a cold darkness where he felt nothing at all. But now he felt everything.
Life.
The concern of those around him.
The sorrow of losing his companion.
Yet despite that pain, he chose to keep moving forward.
He imagined the sword appearing in his hand within that world and began practicing his techniques there, trying to rediscover the sensation of his art within himself.
He decided not to awaken until he fully regained all of his senses.
He remained in that state for an entire week.
Meanwhile, his mother anxiously asked the royal physician,
"Will Shion be alright?"
"Physically, he is completely fine," the physician replied. "However, confronting the guardian spirit of Roto Night's inheritance was clearly far too difficult for him to endure. He has fallen into a deep slumber."
His mother paled.
"Are you saying he won't wake up?!"
The physician shook his head.
"He will awaken eventually, but not anytime soon. He should recover sometime within this month, so please do not worry, Lady Lan."
Then he added,
"I believe having a Spirit Mage nourish his soul would greatly benefit him."
Immediately, his mother thought of Sol Hart.
"So he requires a Spirit Mage… correct?"
The physician nodded.
When the message reached Solan, she became overjoyed. She had already been thinking about Shion constantly and was convinced he was safe, though she could not understand why he had yet to awaken.
So she immediately went to visit him.
"Welcome, dear!" his mother greeted warmly.
But the maid, Marie, protested:
"Lady Lan, I understand she is your acquaintance, but shouldn't you at least maintain some authority in front of me?"
"Oh, honestly," Shion's mother replied. "She's the one treating my son, isn't she?"
The maid sighed.
"Yes, my lady… but—"
"No 'but'! Come in, dear!"
She interrupted immediately and guided Solan toward Shion's room.
When Solan saw him lying there peacefully, she said softly,
"I think he looks fine."
"Yes," his mother replied, "but according to the physician, he needs a Spirit Mage to nourish his soul."
Solan nodded.
Yet from her perspective, the light shining within the endless dark void around Shion was unbelievably brilliant.
Though she did not understand what was happening, she resolved to help him regardless.
At that very moment, Shion continued training relentlessly inside that world, pushing his Star Power to its absolute limits while unleashing countless techniques over and over.
Then finally—
he regained the sensation of heat and cold flowing through both his sword and himself.
And with relief, he whispered:
"I found it."