Meski terlihat seolah-olah Azaron selalu berada di ruang belajar ketika ada di Kediaman Wargrave, sebenarnya ia menghabiskan kebanyakan waktunya berlatar luar Wilayah Kadipaten Wargrave. Sebagaimana mana pun ia tumbuh kuat jika tidak berlatar?
Inilah juga sebabnya FatelessPen senang karena Asher memberinya ide dari Kamar Pelaratan Waktu.
'Setidaknya, aku tidak akan tumbang sebelum berundakan dengan Malrik dan Asher,' pikir Azaron saat berjalan.
Ia dan Ayahnya seharusnya akan bertarung, tetapi lakiataka sudah tiada. Kini, ia dan anak-anaknya seharusnya melakukan hal yang sama. Tiada jalan ia akan tumbang sebelum mencapainya. Ia tidak akan meninggalkan dunia ini sebelum mencapai tujuannya.
Meskipun bisa dikatakan Azaron terlalu banyak memikirkan kematiannya, hingga sepertinya akan terwujud, Azaron tidak delusional. Ia tahu bahwa sejak lahir, kematian menanti semua orang, tak ada yang kekal abadi. Meskipun Cindralis memiliki keahlian Takdir yang memanjang umurnya, memungkinkan ia hidup lebih dari sembilan ribu tahun dan seterusnya, namun keahlian serupa pun memiliki batas.
Bahkan Sinvaira yang sudah hidup bertahun-tahun tak terhitung pun masih memiliki batas umur. Namun, kapan batas itu akan tiba, tidak ada yang tahu, tidak bahkan mereka sendiri.
Jadi, kematian memang menanti semua orang. Yang penting adalah apa yang kita tinggalkan dan apa yang berhasil kita capai sebelum hari yang tak terelakkan itu tiba.
Namun dunia tidak tahu bahwa Cindralis sebenarnya tidak memiliki keahlian Takdir yang sejati. Namun, ia tetap memiliki keahlian yang berkaitan dengan memperpanjang umurnya.
Cindralis adalah salah satu dari sedikit orang yang memiliki lebih dari satu keahlian. Lebih tepatnya, ia memiliki tiga keahlian.
Pertama adalah Anak Ruang, keahlian yang memberinya kontrol hampir tak tertandingi atas ruang itu sendiri. Hingga kini, hanya Azaron yang bisa menyaingi penguasaannya atas manipulasi spasial, sementara orang lain yang lahir dengan afinitas yang sama hanya bisa menghormatinya.
Kedua adalah Indra Jenius, keahlian lainnya yang memberi tahu ia setiap kali ada seseorang dengan bakat di atas rata-rata dilahirkan. Berdasarkan seberapa kuat "notifikasinya," ia bisa membedakan antara jenius biasa, monster sejati, dan anak yang hanya cakap atau sedikit di atas rata-rata.
Ketiga adalah Pemakan Umur, keahlian terakhirnya yang memungkinkannya mencuri umur hidup siapa pun asalkan mereka tidak bisa melawan.
Justru karena keahlian Pemakan Umur itu, ia berhasil hidup sampai sejauh ini. Sepanjang hidupnya, ia terus-menerus mencuri umur orang yang dikalahkannya dan menambahkannya ke dirinya.
Setelah mencuri umur seseorang dengan sekuku jari, korban akan langsung menjadi mayat yang kekeringan. Namun, Cindralis biasanya menghilangkan mayat itu untuk menyimpan keahlian ini dari dunia. Meskipun keahlian ini pernah diketahui orang, tak akan terjadi apa-apa, dan tak seorang pun akan menyebutnya sebagai seorang iblis, karena pada akhirnya, di Crymora, tidak ada keahlian yang benar-benar jahat atau suci.
Tapi Cindralis menyukai salah faham yang orang miliki tentang keahliannya. Apa gunanya mengoreksi orang ketika mereka salah mengira tentangmu jika tidak ada dampak negatifnya?
Keahlian Cindralis tidak memaksanya untuk menunggu sampai dia mendekati akhir umurnya sebelum mencuri umur lagi. Ia bisa terus menambah lebih banyak umur tanpa batas numerik. Tapi persis seperti setiap keahlian lain, keahliannya juga memiliki beberapa keterbatasan, seperti membutuhkan kontak fisik langsung.
Hanya bisa dibayangkan seberapa banyak umur yang dimiliki Cindralis saat ini.
tanpa harus dibunuh, Cindralis bisa secara harfiah bertahan lebih lama dari planet ini dengan keahlian Pemakan Umur-nya, karena ia bisa mencuri umur hewan, Binatang, Monster, bahkan Emovirae.
Jadi, meskipun dunia tahu bahwa ia memiliki tiga keahlian, mereka hanya memiliki pengetahuan rinci tentang Anak Ruang. Meskipun banyak yang menduga keberadaan Indra Jenius-nya, yang lain ragu dan percaya ia hanya bergantung pada suatu artefak ajaib. Lagi pula, Cindralis tidak pernah peduli memberi penjelasan.
Secara keseluruhan, Cindralis adalah pengecualian yang cukup, namun tidak sepenuhnya. Jika seseorang membunuhnya, ia tetap akan mati seperti wanita lain yang mengalirkan darah merah. Tapi jika dibiarkan, ia bisa terus hidup dalam waktu yang sangat lama.
Untuk kemampuan membuat gulungan teleportasi, cincin teleportasi, dan sebagainya, ia tidak memiliki keahlian sedemikian. Tapi sebagai seseorang yang sudah hidup sembilan ribu tahun, ia telah menghabiskan banyak waktunya untuk belajar, termasuk keterampilan membuat benda.
Asher memandang Ayahnya, bertanya-tanya apa yang sedang dipikirkan pria itu saat Emosi Persepsi-nya mendeteksi berbagai perasaan, mulai dari rindu sampai kemarahan, kebahagiaan sampai rasa ingin tahu, kesedihan sampai tekad. Tapi ia tidak berkata apa-apa, hanya membiarkan pria itu terus memikirkan apa yang ada di pikirannya. Sebagaimana, tidak ada yang berlalu dalam hitungan detik.
'Hingga kini, aku belum pernah benar-benar memahami keahlian Ayah,' pikir Azaron saat berjalan.
Morgana dan Damian pernah cerita bercerita tentang bagaimana Nazak dan Morthern bertarung untuk posisi Primarch karena bakatnya yang setara. Meskipun keahlian Calculator dari Damian ter impressive, ia kalah jauh dari keahlian Nazak dan Morthern.
Sementara keluarga Wargrave tahu nama keahlian asli Nazak, pria itu tak pernah benar-benar menjelaskan cara kerjanya. Menurut Morgana dan Damian, setelah Nazak, Morthern, dan Ayah mereka (kakek Azaron) tiba-tiba pergi dalam sebuah "ekspedisi," Morthern tiba-tiba mengundurkan diri dari persaingan warisan karena keduanya saling setara. Mereka kembali, dan Nazak menjadi Primarkh.
Azaron pernah bertanya kepada Morthern, ingin tahu apa yang terjadi selama ekspedisi itu dan mengapa ia rela mengundurkan diri dari persaingan warisan kadipaten.
Morthern hanya menjelaskan bahwa, selama perjalanan, ia dan Nazak bertarung dengan segala kekuatan untuk bunuh mati, dan tatkala salah satu dari mereka akan mengena kan pukulan mematikan, ayah mereka akan campak campur. Yang kalah akan secara permanen mengundurkan diri.
Jawaban itu membuat Azaron tercengang. Keahlian Morthern selalu luar biasa. Meskipun Azaron sendiri memiliki afinitas Nebula, orang tidak pernah memandangnya setiport menggila seperti keahlian Morthern karena pria itu bisa bangun besok dengan afinitas Nebula yang sama persis.
Azaron pernah mengikuti Nazak ke medan perang di Kekaisaran Thalvorn, tapi ia terlalu lemah untuk menyaksikan benturan antar pengguna Peringkat Kehidupan Crownstar. Bagaimana pun, ia pasti tidak bisa menyimpulkan keahlian Ayahnya saat bertarung pada kecepatan yang melebihi penglihatan bahkan pikiran.
Nama keahlian Nazak adalah Adaptasi Universal.
Keahliannya memungkinkannya untuk beradaptasi dengan segala sesuatu dan semua keadaan, namun itu bukan semua. Adaptasi Universal seriuslah sehingga secara otomatis mengembangkan kontra untuk keahlian atau serangan apa saja yang digunakan terhadapnya hanya setelah merasaknya sekali.
Artinya, jika seseorang menyerang Nazak dengan keahlian Api, Adaptasi Universal akan langsung aktif dan memberi Nazak kemampuan bertarung dengan Air. Bagian paling menakutkan adalah ia tidak harus terbatas pada afinitas elemen. Asalkan ada kontra untuk keahlian atau fenomena, Adaptasi Universal akan menciptakan kontra itu sebagai keahlian baru.
Dengan kata lain, pria itu terus-menerus beradaptasi dengan musuhnya.
Jika seseorang mematikan, bahkan melalui cara biasa seperti makanan yang di racuni, Adaptasi Universal akan segera membuatnya kebal terhadap racun. Masalah terselesaikan.
Dan akibatnya, setiap keahlian Morthern akhirnya berhasil dilawan saat mereka bertarung sampai mati.
Namun, Adaptasi Universal tidak beradaptasi hingga serangan tidak lagi bekerja. Misalnya, tidak akan membuatnya kebal terhadap api setelah terbakar. Alih-alih, ia mengembangkan cara efektif melawan api. Itulah keterbatasan terbesar keahliannya.
Keterbatasan itu tetap memungkinkan Morthern melukainya saat mereka bertarung, dan tidak hanya Morthern, melainkan juga Sinvaira yang pada akhirnya membunuhnya, yang mampu melukainya juga.
While it may have looked like Azaron was always in the study whenever he was at the Wargrave Estate, the man actually spent most of his time training outside the Wargrave Ducal Territory. After all, if he didn’t train, how was he supposed to grow stronger?
It was also the very reason FatelessPen had been happy that Asher had given him the idea of a Time Dilation Chamber.
’If anything, I won’t be kicking the bucket before I spar with Malrik and Asher,’ Azaron thought to himself as he walked.
He and his Father had been supposed to fight, but the man had died. Now, he and his sons were supposed to do that exact same thing. There was no way he would be kicking the bucket before that. He wasn’t going to leave this world before accomplishing it.
Although one might say that Azaron was thinking about his death far too much, to the point where it might actually come true, Azaron wasn’t delusional. He knew that just as life existed, death came for everyone, as no one was truly immortal. Although Cindralis possessed her Immortal ability that extended her lifespan, allowing her to live for well over nine thousand years and counting, even such an ability still had its limits.
Even the Sinvairas, who had been alive for an unknown number of years, still possessed a limit to their lifespans. But when that limit would finally arrive, no one knew, not even they themselves.
So, death truly came for everyone. What mattered was what you left behind and what you managed to accomplish before that inevitable day arrived.
But what the world didn’t know was that Cindralis didn’t actually possess a true Immortal ability. Nonetheless, she possessed an ability related to extending her lifespan.
Cindralis was one of the very few people who possessed more than one ability. To be precise, she possessed three.
The first was Space Child, an ability that granted her an almost incomprehensible level of control over space itself. Even to this day, only Azaron could match her mastery over spatial manipulation, while others born with the same affinity could only look up to her in admiration.
The second was Genius Sense, another ability of hers that simply notified her whenever someone with above-average talent was born. Depending on how intense this "notification" was, she could distinguish between ordinary geniuses, true monsters, and children who were merely talented or slightly above average.
The third was Lifespan Devourer, her final ability, one that allowed her to steal the lifespan of anybody so long as they were incapable of resisting.
It was precisely because of her Lifespan Devourer ability that she had managed to live for this long. Throughout her life, she had continuously taken the lifespans of people she had defeated and added them to her own.
After devouring a person’s lifespan with a single touch, the victim would immediately become a mummified corpse. However, Cindralis usually erased the corpse afterward to keep this particular ability hidden from the world. Even if this ability were ever made public, nothing significant would happen, nor would people label her a devil, because at the end of the day, within Crymora, there existed no such thing as an evil ability or a holy ability.
But Cindralis loved the misunderstanding the world had regarding her ability. After all, why correct people when they believed something inaccurate about you if it didn’t affect you in any negative way?
Cindralis’ ability didn’t force her to wait until she approached the end of her current lifespan before stealing another. She could simply continue adding more and more lifespans without any numerical limit. But just like every other ability in existence, hers also possessed several limitations, such as requiring direct physical contact, for example.
One could only imagine the sheer amount of lifespan Cindralis possessed at this very moment.
Without being killed, Cindralis could quite literally outlive the planet itself with her Lifespan Devourer ability, as she could steal the lifespans of animals, Beasts, Monsters, and even Emovirae.
So, while the world knew she possessed three abilities, they only possessed detailed knowledge regarding Space Child. Although many had guessed the existence of her Genius Sense ability, others doubted it, believing she merely relied on some extraordinary artifact. Once again, Cindralis never bothered offering an explanation.
All in all, Cindralis was something of an exception to the rule, but not entirely, in the sense that if you killed her, she would still die just like every other Human while bleeding red blood. But if left alone, she could simply continue living for an absurdly long time.
As for her ability to craft Teleportation scrolls, Teleportation Rings, and the like, she didn’t possess any such ability. But as someone who has lived for nine thousand years, she has spent a lot of her time learning a few things, crafting being one of them.
Asher stared at his Father, wondering what the man was thinking about as his Emotion Perception picked up a variety of emotions from him, ranging from nostalgia to anger, from happiness to curiosity, from sadness to determination. But he said nothing, merely allowing the man to continue thinking about whatever occupied his mind. After all, only a couple of seconds had passed.
’Till this day, I never truly understood Father’s ability,’ Azaron thought to himself as he walked.
Morgana and Damian had told him stories when he was little about how Nazak and Morthern had fought for the position of Primarch because they had both possessed equally monstrous talent. Although Damian’s Calculator ability was impressive, it paled in comparison to both Nazak’s and Morthern’s abilities.
While the Wargraves knew the name of Nazak’s innate ability, the man had never truly explained how it worked. According to Morgana and Damian, after Nazak, Morthern, and their Father (Azaron’s grandfather), had suddenly left on a "trip," Morthern had unexpectedly withdrawn from the succession race upon their return, allowing Nazak to become the Primarch.
Azaron had once asked Morthern about it, wanting to know exactly what had happened during that trip and why he had willingly dropped out of the Ducal succession race. Morthern had simply explained that, during the journey, he and Nazak had fought an all-out battle to the death, and the very instant one of them was about to land the killing blow, their Father would intervene. The loser would then permanently withdraw from the race for succession.
The answer had come as a tremendous shock to Azaron because Morthern’s ability had always been absurdly overpowered. Although Azaron himself possessed the Nebula affinity, people never considered it as outrageous as Morthern’s ability because the man could literally wake up the very next day possessing that exact same Nebula affinity himself.
Although Azaron had followed Nazak to the battle in the Thalvorn Empire, he had simply been far too weak to witness the clash between Crownstar Life Rankers properly. How could he possibly deduce his Father’s ability during a battle fought at speeds that surpassed not only the eye but even thought itself?
The name of Nazak’s ability was Universal Adaptation.
His ability allowed him to adapt to absolutely anything and everything, but that wasn’t all. Universal Adaptation was so unbelievably broken that it automatically developed a counter to any ability or attack used against him after experiencing it only once.
Meaning, if someone attacked Nazak with a Fire ability, Universal Adaptation would immediately activate and grant Nazak the ability to wield Water. The most terrifying part was that it didn’t have to be limited to elemental affinities. So long as a counter to an ability or phenomenon existed, Universal Adaptation would simply create that counter as a brand-new ability for Nazak.
In other words, the man continuously adapted to his enemies.
If someone poisoned him, even through ordinary means such as poisoned food rather than an ability, Universal Adaptation would immediately render him immune to poison. Problem solved.
And as a result, every single one of Morthern’s abilities had eventually been countered during their battle to the death.
However, Universal Adaptation didn’t adapt to attacks to the point where they no longer worked against him. For example, it wouldn’t make him completely immune to flames after being burned. Instead, it would simply develop an effective counter to fire. That was the greatest limitation of the ability.
That limitation still allowed Morthern to injure him during their battle, and not only Morthern, but even the Sinvairas who had ultimately killed him had been capable of wounding him as well.
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