Chapter 435: The truth behind the disturbance

**Author’s note: Do let me know if the Chapter is confusing.

This was bad news.

Julian’s eyes narrowed as the mist continued to eat at the golden creation energy.

This shouldn’t exist here,

he thought.

There was no explanation. None that made sense, at least.

This was the real death energy. The original corrosive force that could rot even his own.

How did it get in?

He thought again, fists clenched at his sides.

Who put it inside that pendant?

There were too many questions and no immediate answers.

He closed his eyes and teleported, reappearing in a familiar place—the gardens of Easvil Castle.

A cool wind drifted gently through the air, and the scent of flowers washed through him.

It was night.

Moonlight bathed the serene garden in a soft, pale glow, and distant lamps lit the courtyard paths.

Julian inhaled deeply.

"It’s really been a long time," he murmured to himself, glancing at the dark sky above. It really felt like forever since he had returned back to the real world.

A moment later, after noticing his presence, several guards stationed along the castle balconies and garden dropped to one knee.

"Welcome, Your Grace!" they called in unison.

Julian gave a slight nod, his heart still heavy with the image of that paper.

The castle was silent, except for the rattles of the guard’s armor and faint footsteps. Julian moved quickly through the hallways, and within minutes, he entered the familiar space of the Duke’s office.

He sat down in the chair behind the desk, the scent of papers and ink filling his lungs. He leaned back, resting his elbows on the side, before exhaling deeply.

Then he closed his eyes.

Without another thought, his consciousness drifted inward. There, he found three distinct rivers of energies flowing through him.

Creation. Death. Lightning.

The sight felt as if three different colors of water were merging side by side to form a big river.

He focused on them one at a time, scanning for any irregularities.

First, the golden stream—creation energy. It shimmered brightly, its light warm and vibrant. It gave off a sensation of life and stability.

There were no signs of disturbance.

Second, his attention turned toward the red-black stream—Death energy. This one immediately pulled more of his attention.

It was slightly unstable, its flow uneven in some places. But it wasn’t unexpected. After the incident with the pendant, he had fully expected some disruption.

Last, the purple stream—lightning energy. It crackled occasionally, but it too was undisturbed.

Julian rarely used his lightning as Death and Creation were simply too strong. However, it remained strong, ready to pounce if needed.

Besides, Julian still had another goal—something far more ambitious, far more dangerous. He had yet to fuse all seven elements into a singular energy.

But just as he was inspecting his energy, a subtle shift caught his attention.

It was faint—almost too faint for him to notice.

Like the ripple that spreads through a still pond when a single pebble is dropped into its center, something rippled inside him.

His golden Creation energy quivered, followed by a slight tremor in his Lightning energy. His eyes shot open briefly before he closed them again.

What was that?

He concentrated harder, trying to find the root cause behind the disturbance. Slowly, his awareness locked on the borders—the regions where the three energies met.

And that’s where he saw it.

The death energy was behaving unnaturally. It wasn’t just unstable anymore.

It was spreading.

The outer edges of the death energy were slowly creeping outward, disturbing the other two.

Julian’s jaw clenched, and a chill ran through his spine.

Is it corroding the other two?

he thought, now fully alert. His heartbeat quickened, but his focus sharpened like a blade.

He studied the flow again, and after a few long moments, he exhaled sharply.

Yes

. It really was corroding them.

But that shouldn’t be possible.

The energy of Death that flowed inside him wasn’t something that was being absorbed from the outer world. It was his, born from his own will.

Take mana, for example.

Mages absorb mana from the world around them. That mana circulates within them, nourishes their body, and strengthens them both physically and mentally.

The nature and quality of the mana influence everything—from magical spell to elemental control.

This was the foundation of mages.

A mage’s strength was greatly tied to the mana they absorbed. The more refined and stable the mana, the more stable the mage. But if the mana was polluted—tainted by poison, corrosion, or rot—it didn’t just weaken the mage.

It damaged them. It could drive them into madness, or worse, cause an incurable disease.

However,

The three supreme energies—Creation, Destruction (Death), and Preservation—were completely different. They existed beyond everything.

They were the supreme laws, cosmic forces that shaped the entire reality.

Unlike mana, they could not be absorbed from the environment. The only ones who were capable were the supreme beings themselves, and even they were born alongside these energies.

So, in a sense, these beings literally were conscious version of these energies.

Even Death, often feared and misunderstood, wasn’t evil. It was the principle of destruction, the one that maintained the balance against the other two principles.

In its correct state, Death was pure—not a rot, but a law that ensured the cycle of existence could continue.

Creation gives birth, preservation sustains, and destruction clears the path for the next cycle.

Julian knew this better than anyone.

He hadn’t "absorbed" these energies. He was granted fragments of them through the system. And even then, those fragments had fused with his will, his identity, and ultimately created his own version of them.

His Creation energy wasn’t the original one. It was his interpretation of what he thinks creation would be. Likewise, his Death energy was also his interpretation of what death looks like.

And this made his fear rise to maximum height.

Because what he had just seen within his body—the creeping corrosion—was not his.

Something had touched his death energy.

Had influenced it.

And Julian finally knew what had caused this, and this realization was even scarier than he had thought.