Chapter 491: The Crownless King

════════ < ANALYSIS > ════════Name: Evangeline

True Name: The Unblemished Soul

Status: Undergoing Evolution

Evolution Progress: 38.72%

Remaining Time: 123 Years

Description:A pure soul born for greatness, yet denied the future that should have been hers. Feared by the wicked for the promise hidden within her existence, she was extinguished before her destiny could unfold. Yet the Forsaken One refused to abandon what fate had cast aside, tearing her from the grasp of oblivion, he gave her a new beginning.

Later, unwilling to let her brilliance remain incomplete, the Forsaken One use Sacred Rune Knowledge as a catalyst to initiate her Evolution, opening the path toward a destiny greater than the one stolen from her.

The moment the information appeared before him, Ash’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"123 years...?"

That number was far larger than he had expected.

Although it translated to only thirty-one days in the outside world and merely a few more years from the perspective of the Soul Space, it was still a considerable amount of time for Ash, who wished to accelerate his growth as quickly as possible.

His gaze lingered briefly on her True Name.

Description:A soul that remained pure despite witnessing cruelty, untouched by hatred despite suffering injustice, and uncorrupted despite death itself. One of the exceedingly rare souls in existence whose essence remains untouched by the impurities of existence, preserving its true nature regardless of suffering, temptation, or loss. A purity so profound that even Reality itself chose to acknowledge it.

Her True Name is same as before. The Evolution has caused no change in it.....

Ash thought with a faint smile on his face, and as he looked at those familiar words, he could not help but be reminded of the time when he had first learned about it.

Back then, it had been a completely foreign concept to him, something he had never encountered before. However, after going through the countless records stored within the Soul Library, he gradually came to understand what a Pure Soul truly meant.

Every person was born pure.

However, as time slowly passed, the body would gradually accumulate impurities from the world around it, whether through food, air, energy, or countless other external influences.

The Soul was no different.

Although material substances could not directly affect it, things such as actions, thoughts, desires, temptations, hatred, obsessions, karma, and countless other influences would slowly leave their marks upon it.

As those marks accumulated over the years, a person’s Soul would gradually become impure, and in turn, those impurities would slowly begin influencing the person themselves.

Their thoughts, behavior and mindset would change.

And eventually, even their very nature could change.

Meanwhile, a person possessing a Pure Soul was exceedingly rare.

Such individuals remained untouched by those impurities regardless of what they experienced throughout their lives. Hatred could not stain them, temptation could not corrupt them, and suffering could not twist their nature.

That did not mean they were naive, nor did it mean they were incapable of understanding evil.

Rather, even after witnessing darkness, experiencing cruelty, and suffering injustice, they refused to become part of it.

Because of this, individuals possessing Pure Souls were often naturally inclined toward righteousness, kindness, honesty, compassion, and empathy.

Just like an impure body would face obstructions during cultivation and require tremendous effort to remove those impurities, otherwise hindering future growth, the Soul was naturally no exception.

An impure Soul also faced countless invisible obstacles during cultivation.

The difference, however, was that removing impurities from the Soul was hundreds of times more difficult than cleansing the body.

After all, physical impurities could be removed through treasures, techniques, medicines, and tempering methods.

Soul impurities were different.

They were woven into a person’s thoughts, emotions, desires, memories, and even their sense of self.

As such, removing those impurities often meant confronting oneself.

And for most people, that was far more difficult than enduring any physical pain.

After learning about the nature of her Pure Soul, Ash also understood what Orien had originally intended to do with it.

Orien wanted to devour her Soul and use it as fuel to cleanse his own, allowing him to gradually obtain the properties possessed by a Pure Soul.

Although Ash had no idea whether a Pure Soul and an impure mind would affect one another, or which one would ultimately change the other at the end, that question was ultimately meaningless.

After all, Ash was never going to let Orien get his hands on Eva.

There might be more benefits to possessing a Pure Soul, but I have no idea what those are.....

A few moments later, another thought surfaced in his mind.

But is there really no way to speed up her Evolution...?

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

With a slight shake of his head, Ash pushed those thoughts aside.

Rising from his chair, Ash left the Library and headed toward the lower floor of the Akashic Archive.

A few moments later, he arrived inside the Akashic Vault.

At the very center of the vault rested a rainbow-colored cocoon.

Looking at the cocoon enveloping Eric, Ash immediately activated his ability.

════════ < ANALYSIS > ════════

Name: Eric

True Name: The Crownless King

Status: Undergoing Evolution

Evolution Progress: 48.72%

Remaining Time: 69 Years

Description:Born to inherit a destiny that was shattered before it could ever unfold, he witnessed the destruction of his family at the hands of the same enemy. Carrying grief, hatred, and an unyielding desire for vengeance within his heart, he stood upon a path that could have led to ruin. Yet fate intervened when the Forsaken One accepted the dying wish of his mother and took him under his protection.

What began as an act of mercy gradually became an opportunity to rewrite a broken destiny. Thus, with the flesh, blood, and True Origin Blood of the Forsaken One serving as catalysts alongside the Sacred Knowledge of the Rune of Harmony, an Evolution beyond the limits of his original fate was set into motion.

Description -A name granted to one born with the burden of sovereignty etched into his soul. An existence destined to lead, protect, and bear responsibility for others, regardless of whether he desires such a fate. Though deprived of inheritance, stripped of belonging, and denied the future that should have awaited him, the authority within his soul remained unchanged. For some seek a crown to become kings, while others are born carrying a kingship that no crown could ever bestow.

I never understood the meaning behind his True Name, whether it was before or now.....

The only thing Ash could understand was that Eric had been born with the qualities of a king engraved into his very soul.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, he simply could not understand the deeper meaning hidden behind the True Name itself.

In the end, Ash could only shake his head and put those thoughts aside for the time being before returning to his seat inside the Library.

Leaning back in the chair, he once again fell into deep contemplation as his gaze slowly drifted across the countless notes scattered across the desk before him.

How can I reduce the Evolution time...?

How...?

As he repeatedly reviewed every plans, he had formed throughout the past years, hoping to discover something he might get inspiration from, his eyes gradually moved from one page to another until they eventually stopped on a single word.

’Soul’

The moment his eyes landed upon it, a realization suddenly flashed through his mind.

Ash immediately rose from his seat.

"I am an idiot..."

The more he thought about it, the more obvious the answer seemed, to the point that he could not believe he had overlooked something so simple.

"I used the Spirit Devouring Crystal as Eva’s Core, and from the very beginning, I planned to help her devour Souls to increase her Soul Lifespan. If that is the case, then what if the Souls of other beings can also provide the energy required to accelerate the Evolution process and reduce the required time...?"

As the thought surfaced, countless pieces of information rapidly connected together inside his mind, causing his eyes to gradually brighten.

Of course, it was merely a theory for now, and whether it was actually possible or not remained completely unknown. However, there was only one way to verify it, and that was through experimentation.

"There is no time. I need to test this immediately."

Ash muttered before instantly disappearing from the Soul Space.

He was in a hurry, not because he possessed any concrete proof that something was about to happen, but because his instincts simply refused to calm down.

Ever since obtaining his new body, Ash had gradually realized that his instincts had become frighteningly reliable. Time and time again, they had warned him about things before they happened, and so far, not a single warning had proven false.

Because of that, when every instinct in his body seemed to be screaming the same message repeatedly, urging him to become stronger and, more importantly, become stronger as quickly as possible, Ash found it impossible to ignore them.

Although he had no idea what was coming, he was absolutely certain that something was.

In fact, he had already used Arcane Foresight multiple times, yet every future he saw appeared completely normal, revealing nothing unusual and nothing dangerous that could explain the urgency he currently felt.

However, Ash understood one simple truth.

The future was never fixed, because the moment he made a decision, it would change.

Because of that, while Arcane Foresight was undoubtedly useful, Ash had never blindly relied upon the futures it showed him.

After all, the future he witnessed was merely the most likely outcome under the current circumstances, not the only possible future and certainly not a guaranteed one.

The reason Ash never allowed himself to become complacent was equally simple.

What if, one or two years later, he encountered an enemy he could have defeated with ease had he only worked a little harder today?

What if a single month of laziness created a weakness that later cost him something precious?

What if that weakness ultimately claimed his life, or even worse, the life of someone important to him?

Such possibilities might appear insignificant at first glance, yet Ash knew better than most that countless tragedies often began with a single small mistake that nobody considered important at the time.

There were countless beings who had fallen because of their arrogance, and countless Gods who had perished because they believed themselves invincible.

No matter how powerful a person became, there would always be someone stronger, somewhere larger, and something beyond their understanding.

Ash had seen enough examples of that already.

Thus, he had no intention of becoming complacent.

If there was an opportunity to become stronger, he would seize it.

If there was an opportunity to eliminate a weakness, he would remove it.

And if there was an opportunity to increase his chances of survival, even by the slightest amount, he would never ignore it.

Therefore, Ash treated every opportunity to grow stronger with absolute seriousness.