Dimensional Descent

Seltin's gaze narrowed, but even after she looked back up to meet Leonel's, he didn't flinch a single time. In fact, it was she who felt her throat suddenly constrict as though just a thought of acting against Leonel would lead to her death.

This was, of course, ridiculous, or at the very least, she thought that it should be. Even with the strength she only showed on the surface, it should be enough to deal with a Tier 1 Leonel, let alone her true strength... So why did she feel so uncomfortable?

"… What do you want to know?" Seltin finally spoke.

"The obvious," Leonel replied without missing a beat. "Why did you leave the Three Finger Cult? How did you leave them? Why are you all stuck at the Shadow Tail level of the Lineage Factors? What is the true depth of your strength… The obvious," Leonel repeated.

Seltin's jaw set and she leaned back into her chair.

Radlis, who was still standing by Leonel's side, coughed slightly, pulling at his color.

"Is it just me or is it a bit hot in here?"

This time, Radlis' antics didn't get any laughs. In fact, the atmosphere only became heavier until Seltin finally spoke.

"Believe it or not, the Three Finger Cult wasn't always like this. The original intention of the Three Finger Cult was to save humanity. I'm sure that those who remain still believe that that's what they're doing, but as far as we are concerned, they've strayed from that path long ago. The moment they began to target fellow humans for the supposed "greater good", they had already lost their way."

Leonel's gaze narrowed, but he didn't interrupt.

"The Three Finger Cult gained its name from its three founders. Oddly enough, only two of them were human, and the third… was a demon. The other two founders, one is likely one you have never heard of, a man who called himself King, and the second was a true Emperor… the first ruler of the Silver Empire, Emperor Silver the First.

"One would think that it would be the demon who betrayed the other two, but the one who did was the second human, King. Without wasting time getting into the weeds, King turned the Human race against the Silver Empire, leading to their destruction. It was said that the reason for this was a love triangle between the three as it was probably more accurate to say that their third member wasn't a demon, but rather…. A demoness.

"The details of that period are murky to many, but in the annals of history, it had always been written that the Silver Empire betrayed the human race, turning into unrecognizable demons. One could only guess that the demoness of the Three Finger Cult chose Emperor Silver and King was enraged by this."

Leonel frowned. Something wasn't adding up.

"If the founders of the Three Finger Cult involved the founder of the Silver Empire, how is it that this grudge led to the destruction of the Empire?"

It didn't make any sense. No matter what, the Silver Empire was a powerful dynasty and it had many Emperors. By the time the Silver Empire fell, the founders of the Three Finger Cult should have long been dead. From what Leonel understood about lifespans, this shouldn't be possible. Even Wise Star Order, who was supposedly Immortal, had a cap to his lifespan.

"This is an answer I cannot give you. All I know is that these words are most definitely the truth, because even now, King is still alive."

Leonel's pupils constricted, his heart palpitating. If Seltin wasn't lying, then this wasn't just a small matter. What level of strength did someone who had lived for so long have? How did this make any sense at all?

Seltin took a breath and exhaled. It was obvious that this was also something she thought about a lot.

"Our Umbra family is made of individuals whose hearts turned cold due to this decision and the few members that remain of the Silver Empire. We hope to make it back one, but for now we live in the shadows. This is why we've taken on the name Umbra."

Seltin shook her head.

"We cannot tell you the true depth of our power as it does matter regardless. We will never show the world more than this level of strength, and even if you give us the Bronze Tablet to meditate upon and regain our Lineage Factor, we will never show it to the outside world either, not until we are ready to strike back against the Three Finger Cult.

"Ultimately, the reason we only have the Shadow Tail Lineage Factor is because for us, it doesn't manifest like a Lineage Factor at all. Instead, it manifests like an Ability Index, it is not inherited, it's instead passed down to us.

"The original Three Finger Cult didn't have strong familial ties so it was difficult to maintain the Lineage Factor across many generations, and even when it did appear, it was becoming so scarce that it was difficult to display good results.

"In addition, since the Cult only had one tablet, it wasn't feasible to allow everyone a chance to meditate on it, especially as the organization expanded.

"So, as a result of this, the demoness created this method of Lineage Factor transfer. Only by contributing to the cause could we then gain an opportunity to meditate on the tablet and thus progress.

"But, obviously, after our escape, we forever lost this chance and have been trying to find new methods of progression. I can only say that… this tablet is indeed very valuable to us. You are correct in your original assessment…"

As Seltin's words echoed, flashes of lightning were sparking through Leonel's Dreamscape. He felt like he was making connections faster and faster between things that had previously seemed entirely disconnected, even some things related to his Grandpa Morales. But before he could even focus on those things, Leonel's mind suddenly snapped toward the demoness.

A demoness… capable of passing down Lineage Factors as though they were Ability Indexes… The Silver Tablet was also somewhat similar to this, was it not? Just who was this demoness? And why was it that she was the only one Setlin left unnamed?

For some reason, Leonel had a feeling that this demoness was far more important than Emperor Silver or King. In fact, she may very well be the reason behind it all.

But this only left more questions than answers.

The Void Library had no explanations of a demon race, it seemed that the only instance occurred within the Human Domain itself, something that made absolutely no sense.

Where was that demoness during the conflict? Why did Seltin gloss over her as though she wasn't a big deal at all? And why was it that the more Leonel thought about this demoness, the vaguer his conclusions about her became, almost as though someone was trying to mess with his memory?

The most fear inducing part was that Leonel could feel the movements in his Dream Force, almost as though a pair of slender hands was shifting his synapses and stopping them from firing properly.

This person… their Dream Force affinity was leagues beyond his own.