Chapter 772: There is a cost

Damon said nothing.

The old man scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That’s the part I can’t quite figure out." His gaze sharpened slightly. "Do you really not have any side-effects?"

"What side-effects?"

"Oh, come on. Do you really think that you can possess an ancient bloodline so powerful that it outdates the entire system architecture and walk around like a perfectly normal person?"

The old man shook his head slowly, almost pityingly. "Kid... do you even understand what kind of thing you’re carrying? Are you still in control of your mind?"

The crimson droplet continued to hover silently between them. Damon remained still. The old man continued.

"That bloodline you’re chasing?" He tapped the air lightly. "Power like that always comes with a price. Most people who inherit even a fraction of it break. The gain power beyond their means but at the cost of their mind."

"It’s not your fault or their fault. That is how the bloodline works. You turn into a true devourer and the only thought in your mind is hunger. No matter how much you devour, it would never be enough. You will not stop until you devour everything in your path. You will not stop until you are the only thing that exists in this entire cosmos. Do you understand?"

Damon’s eyes widened. He was not naive enough to think that there would be no repercussions to this mysterious bloodline. It was too good to be true. But when someone else actually spelled it out for him, everything just became very real.

Several thoughts ran in his mind but he calmly asked. "Again, why are you telling me all of this and how do you even know about these things?"

"Ba ha ha ha. I guess you do need a little bit of explanation. I did just pop out of nowhere and threw out a bunch of heavy shit on you. But in my defense, you are the first person in thousands of years give or take to make me come out of my cave."

"What? You didn’t honestly think you were the first person to come all the way here, did you?" The old man laughed. "There were countless freaks before you. They all came here for the same reason. Unfortunately, they did not make the right decision. You did and that is why I am still talking to you."

The blood clone walked a slow circle around Damon, his footsteps making no sound in the frozen world. "They didn’t care that he had a wife. They didn’t care that he had a daughter. They didn’t care that this world didn’t even have mana." His eyes narrowed slightly.

"To them, he was just food. That’s how devourers think. That’s just how they are." The man stopped in front of Damon again. "But you..." He tilted his head. "...you walked away. Your mind is still yours. Very impressive. Color me "...surprised."

The old man chuckled softly, clearly amused by his own choice of words. "Actually, no. That’s not quite right." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Surprised isn’t the word." His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Damon more carefully.

"...interested."

So this was a test? Damon still did not understand who this person was or why they were having this conversation right now. Why was he explaining all of these things to him?

"Nope. This is not a test." The old man immediately chuckled as if he had read Damon’s mind. "I have no inheritance to pass on over to you. This vial of a small fraction of that cursed bloodline is all I have to offer to you. As for why..."

"You see... devourers are an amazing target for farming karma. They reek of innocent blood and death and this little vial of bloodline was the bait I used. You will not believe the amount of karma I have harvested over the years. I would have continued to do it too but you kid changed everything. A devourer who still hasn’t lost his mind. Interesting..."

Inwardly, Damon was thinking a lot of things. He had a lot of questions. He knew he would have to deal with things like this the moment he decided to focus on bloodline but he didn’t think it would happen this soon. Was it his good luck or bad luck? 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Eitherways this person in front of him knew a lot more than what he was saying and he needed to learn everything from him.

Damon’s gaze sharpened slightly. Even under that crushing, absolute suppression, his mind was moving faster than ever. This wasn’t just some random old monster. He was somehow connected to the bloodline. This was his chance to get ahead of what was waiting for him.

"Kid, stop plotting something elaborate in your head. I don’t have all the time in the world to have a relaxed leisurely chat with you and explain everything in detail. In fact, I have already overstayed my welcome."

Fuck. This old man. Damon cursed inwardly. The guy was simply reading him like an open book.

"A few more breaths," the old man chuckled. "That’s about all I’ve got. Ask me one question and I can give you the answer to that. That’s all I can do for you. With that our karma will be severed. There will be no connection between you and me and those old monsters will not come looking for me through you."

Damon didn’t hesitate. Of all the questions racing through his mind, about the bloodline, the fragments, the other devourers, the old man himself, he chose only one.

"The way to not lose myself," Damon said calmly. "What is it?"

"Heh," the old man exhaled softly. "Straight to the point." His fading form stabilized just a little, as if that question alone forced him to hold on a moment longer. "Good," he muttered. "You asked the right one."

Damon listened carefully.

"The answer... kid... is very simple..." The old man smiled. "If you do not want to lose your mind, then don’t." The next moment the blood clone disappeared from the place and the world started moving again.