Published at 21st of June 2026 6:08 am

Chapter 1821 From the Ashes I Rise

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The first thing Wagner noticed was the pristine blue sky.

If he harbored any lingering doubts about Adam's claim of having adapted to the corruption of the Beyond, they were completely dispelled after witnessing the scene within the youth's spirit sea.

Wagner's own spirit sea had always been dark and gloomy. There was not a moment of peace as the mad whispers from the Beyond relentlessly reverberated inside it.

But here inside Adam's spirit sea, everything was tranquil.

Wagner almost couldn't believe his eyes. He felt no sense of accomplishment or triumph after luring the deceitful youth into his trap and infiltrating his spirit sea.

No. What he truly felt was shock beyond his wildest imagination.

How had the youth managed to counter the corruption from the Beyond?

What kind of spiritual constitution did he possess?

What kind of miraculous artifact could possibly allow such a thing?

Endless questions emerged, but in the end, none of that mattered. After all, whatever Adam possessed now belonged to him. Thousands of years of planning had borne fruit, and he had finally acquired the perfect vessel.

"Welcome."

A calm, gentle voice echoed in the surroundings, pulling Wagner from his train of thought.

Wagner's body trembled involuntarily. The familiar voice sounded far too composed given the current situation. He quickly turned toward the source of the voice. What greeted him left him even more stunned.

A vast expanse of grassy land stretched across the dimension. In the distance, a solitary oak tree stood beside a pond. At the center of the pond floated an unassuming white lotus, surrounded by three verdant leaves.

Beneath the shade of the oak tree stood a dashing young man. Long, raven hair cascaded over his shoulders, while a patch near his temple had turned bone-white, lending him an enigmatic air.

He wore a plain tunic and trousers. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his gaze never left the pristine white flower drifting upon the still waters.

"I discovered that I could alter the appearance of my spirit sea after I had become a Mana Core Magus," Adam said softly.

"I find this more pleasing to the eye," he added. "What do you think?"

He finally turned toward Aldo Wagner. His eyes were so calm, and his demeanor was so relaxed that it truly frightened the latter.

When Adam's gaze landed upon Wagner, he couldn't help but frown.

"So this is your true appearance…"

A person's spirit body reflected their true appearance. Nothing could hide what the soul truly looked like.

Aldo Wagner's spirit body was grotesque. Tumors bulged from his flesh, while faint outlines of tendrils squirmed beneath his skin. At times, they writhed visibly, as though trying to break free.

Such was the result of the corruption from the Beyond.

"You…" Wagner said in a trembling voice. "Why do you look like this? What… are you?"

A hint of pity flickered in Adam's tenebrous eyes. From a simple glance at Wagner, he understood what his fate would have been if he hadn't come across the lotus in his youth. Perhaps, he never would have even reached the Mana Core Rank.

"I'm… fortunate," he said sincerely.

Then his eyes hardened, and he continued in an even voice:

"It's over, Wagner."

Aldo Wagner snapped out of his senses. His fear and shock were quickly replaced by eagerness and joy.

"Over? Over?!" He laughed boisterously. "I've finally found the method to deal with the corruption! You are living proof of it! I have succeeded, at last!"

"Do you truly think this was your idea?" Adam asked, raising his arms and gesturing to his spirit sea. "You coming here, I mean."

"Quit playing mind games, Constantine," Wagner roared menacingly. "It's over for you! There is nothing you can do to best me while in my spirit body form. A Necromancer's soul is not something you can simply deal with!"

Adam replied calmly, "Do you know what happens when a word is repeated often enough?"

His lips slowly curled into a smile, and he continued:

"Hear a word often enough and your mind begins to revolve around it. Consciously or not, you begin paying attention to it. In our conversation, I spoke of many things. Yet there was one word I kept returning to…"

Slowly, the confidence in Wagner's hideous face started to crumble.

"Soul."

Adam's smile deepened.

"And just as I expected, you fixated on it above all else. There wasn't even a need to cast enchantment magic. This is basic psychology."

He calmly took a step forward.

And Wagner subconsciously took a step back.

"You've studied my every move, every spell, every ability, haven't you?" Adam asked.

"Then you should already know what happened to that Mana Vortex Magus from your Cult. You know… the one who attacked me right after I revealed the Duskfall couple's human trafficking ring."

Wagner retreated one step after another.

Yes. He remembered the reports of the Duskfall Incident. The man in question was found with his soul gone. At the time, Adam had only been a Mana Liquefaction Magus. And yet, he had somehow managed to erase the soul of someone one arcane station above him.

The memory sent a chill down Wagner's spine.

"You should have fled the moment you saw me on Coral Island." Adam's cold words thundered in Wagner's ears.

Aldo Wagner gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with rage and denial.

"Even if it's true, it proves nothing!" he snarled. "That fool was weak. I am not. I am Aldo Wagner! I have studied the soul for thousands of years!"

With that said, he roared and thrust his hands forward. Darkness flowed from his corrupted being, turning into thick tendrils as they shot toward the youth.

But Adam's power was darker than his own. A magic more ominous than his.

A giant arched gate materialized behind Adam. Its doors burst open, revealing a mind-shattering canvas of transcendent colors, blinding radiance, and stygian darkness all at once.

Several tentacles and tendrils shot forth from its depths. Wagner instinctively summoned his own tendrils to resist, but they were effortlessly shredded apart. The appendages continued onward, coiling around his limbs and torso before violently dragging him toward Adam.

A moment later, the two stood face-to-face.

But Wagner's horrified gaze was glued to the arched gate behind the youth.

"Impossible…" he muttered in sheer disbelief. "I-It's the same… it's the same as…."

"That's right," Adam said calmly as the Eternal Soul Lotus materialized in his hands. "You were merely corrupted by the Beyond, but I…"

His dark eyes gleamed, and he declared:

"I made its power my own."

Wagner's eyes widened in terror and shock. The weight of Adam's words completely shattered his understanding.

"And so," Adam whispered coldly as he raised the Lotus.

"From the ashes I rise and end your cursed name."

A vortex bloomed around the Lotus. Wagner's spirit body was violently torn apart.

"No! NO—"

He screamed as chunks of his soul were ripped away. Tumors burst across his body, while the tendrils squirming beneath his skin were dragged out in the open and shredded into nothingness.

Cracks rapidly spread across Wagner's spirit body. His torso was unsnarled. And finally, the vortex reached his face.

Terror filled Wagner's eyes as his very consciousness was torn apart.

His screams abruptly ceased.

And a moment later…

Nothing remained.

***

Adam opened his eyes.

He tossed Wagner's body aside and dusted the fragments of the phylactery from his hand.

His face was visibly pale. Destroying Wagner's soul had taken far more effort than he had estimated. Adam suspected that the soul had a connection with a devil from Hell, which might explain why it had been so difficult to eradicate.

It was also the reason he had not dared to devour Wagner's soul.

Instead, he destroyed the Will and the Vessel, allowing the Spark to disperse naturally.

He dragged his exhausted body to the riverbank and stared into the night. His lips curled into a faint smile, and he whispered:

"I did it…"

A gentle gust of wind swept through the area. Leaves rustled softly, and the petals of nearby flowers drifted into the air before showering down around Adam, as though celebrating his hard-earned victory.

Adam closed his eyes and smiled knowingly.

Unbeknownst to him…

The shadow cast by Wagner's corpse stirred.

It stretched and twisted unnaturally. The darkness slowly peeled away from the ground and began to take shape.

Until finally, it formed the outline of a shadowy humanoid face crowned with two horns.

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