SSS Awakening: All My Clones Have Divine Bloodlines!

[Lost City of the Dead]

In the castle at the center of the city, the situation had changed drastically since last time.

So much so that Elena and the rest of her group were now afraid to approach the girl, unsure of what exactly she was trying to do.

They stood at the back of the hall, even the two members of Elena’s team who’d fainted earlier were now awake, watching as the girl, no longer in her transformed shape, carried the massive sword, its size utterly disproportionate to hers, making the whole scene look almost absurd, toward the cocoon in front of the throne.

The cocoon had changed. It was no longer silent as before, now it pulsed with a slow, steady rhythm they could faintly feel, one that grew almost imperceptibly stronger with every beat. Barely noticeable at first, it became far easier to detect as the sword drew closer.

It was as though it were responding to the sword’s presence, and the sword, in turn, seemed to respond in kind.

The girl knelt down, hands outstretched, resting the massive blade before her.

The sword itself began to tremble too, and soon burst into countless sparks of light before condensing into a single small, thin spark, impossibly intense, its aura terrifying enough to reach everyone present.

The two members of Elena’s group found themselves on the verge of fainting once again, as did Elena herself, while even Venom seemed to struggle, straining against the force of that tiny, delicate spark that hovered in place for a moment before shooting straight into the cocoon, striking it and slipping inside without resistance.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Even the cocoon itself appeared to settle.

Then, as though something had been triggered, it began to glow, faintly at first, then brighter and brighter, until the entire hall was engulfed in blinding light and an overwhelming presence descended on the spot, so suffocating that Elena’s group, this time including Elena herself, lost consciousness.

Venom found herself in nearly the same state, but unlike what one might expect, she seemed extremely excited, a wide, toothy grin spreading across her face and an unnatural flush coloring her cheeks as she watched the scene unfolding before her.

"He is here," she said, her voice barely containing her excitement.

The light was beginning to calm, but not like a flame simply dying out. It was withdrawing, and at a certain point, it began to take shape. Strands of light seemed to regain form, swirling around the center, and then, like strange strands of white silk, began to wind themselves around something that was steadily taking on a human shape.

The strands of light continued winding around one another, intertwining and overlapping until the figure within became increasingly defined.

First the shoulders, then the torso. The arms. The legs. And finally, the head.

The light slowly thinned, like white silk being drawn away from the figure, finally revealing its true appearance.

It was a young man.

Or at least, he had once been one.

His body was entirely different from the one they had known. He was taller, his figure flawlessly proportioned, his appearance so refined it seemed almost unreal.

Long white hair fell over his shoulders and down his back, swaying faintly despite the complete absence of wind.

His face was devoid of any imperfection, and yet, what drew the eye most were his eyes.

Two golden irises gleamed through the dim light of the hall, radiating a soft glow that was nonetheless impossible to ignore.

There was no emotion in his gaze.

No curiosity, no surprise.

Only absolute calm, an almost divine indifference.

It was the look of a god gazing down upon mortals.

Evan stood motionless for a few seconds, silently taking in his surroundings.

He seemed to be in no hurry.

He didn’t even seem particularly interested in what lay before him.

And yet his presence alone was enough to make the hall suddenly feel too small to contain him.

Then his gaze shifted.

His golden eyes settled on the girl standing before him, and for the first time, something changed in his expression.

It wasn’t quite an emotion.

Only a faint flicker of recognition.

But unlike him, the girl wore a completely different expression, strange, uncertain, as she stared at the figure with doubtful eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" she finally said, simple words that nonetheless shattered the solemn atmosphere of the moment entirely.

She rose to her feet, anger written across her face as she jabbed a finger toward Evan.

"Y-you, cant be him... no, he wasn’t this handsome, he was terrifying, scary, nothing like this," she said, gesturing at all of him as though she couldn’t find the right words to describe it, but the anger remained, and then, without warning, she lunged at him, claws bared, ready to strike.

"Bastard, give me back my Master," she screamed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. But right at that moment, Evan’s hand moved, and with a sharp strike to the head, he stopped the girl cold, pinning her to the ground.

She clutched her head furiously, tears welling in her eyes as she glared at him with a wounded expression.

"Y-you dared hit me?!" but the words died in her throat as Evan’s eyes shifted color in an instant, going from gold to deep violet, almost black, like ash.

"My dear little Venom, I don’t remember ever teaching you to swear. And certainly not at me," Evan said, his voice calm but heavy and oppressive as he looked down at the girl before him, who seemed to freeze on the spot.

Her expression turned rigid, not from fear, though. No, it was something else. She stared at him, half in disbelief, then looked again, as if to confirm it, but no matter how hard she searched, those eyes were unmistakably familiar, and that tone of reproach, there was no doubt left.

It was him.

Joy broke across her face as, without a moment’s hesitation, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace, already starting to cry.

"Master, it’s really you! Y-you’re finally back..."

Her words were slightly muffled by the tears, but still loud enough for Elena to hear.

Elena, who had just regained consciousness, looked around in confusion, trying to understand what had happened.

The only thing she saw was the terrifying girl crying tears of joy while clinging to a divinely handsome man like a koala.

She stared at the scene, then pinched her own cheek.

’Yeah... I’m definitely still dreaming.’