Chapter 57 The Broken Saber

Ethan's POV'12,000,' Lucien Vael's voice followed, though there was an unmistakable hint of hesitation and excitement mixed within in his voice.

I wondered if he feared the creepy old hag or if there was another reason that I wasn't aware of.

'15,000,' the same monotonous, old voice sounded again. Lucien sighed in resignation and stopped his bidding. But when it seemed like the old hag had won the delicate elf girl, a calm and gruff voice interjected.

'20,000,' it was Victor, who had remained mostly silent throughout the auction.

'25,000,' the old voice came again, this time tinged with a little urgency.

Victor spoke again his voice firm, "30,000 Lifeblood Crystals."

The old hag's loud and raucous breathing was heard like an old, broken machine but it quieted down quickly. In the end, Victor won the elf girl.

The elf girl's expression remained unchanged throughout the bidding as though she had grown numb to everything around her.

The bar lady had a wide smile on her otherwise stoic face as she had obviously made more money than expected on selling the Moon Elf girl. She composed herself once more and announced,

"Today's last item is a bit unusual. Its material is of very high grade but even our appraisers cannot determine its magical properties. Due to it being incomplete and broken, it is being auctioned here. Otherwise, it would never have been presented here due to the rarity of such treasures."

A cat maid soon appeared with a tray covered by a black cloth. From a distance, I noticed the cloth was far from ordinary. Its colour was darker than normal black and it absorbed all the surrounding light making it appear like an unreal shadow.

However, I could still sense its structure with my soul sense that matched the dark affinity of the cloth.

Yet, I couldn't determine what was under the cloth. The bar lady had a solemn expression as she removed the shadowy cloth covering the tray and lifted a broken black saber.

As soon as she raised the black curved saber, I felt a tug inside me and my whole body trembled. It felt as if something within me wanted to break free.

Shocked, I quickly calmed my trembling soul sense and focused inwardly. I saw the ethereal dark dimension near my heart that was also my Elemental Sea was shaking intensely.

I reached out with my soul sense and observed that the usually still dark sea was now sloshing with huge waves rolling within. It looked like a sea storm but with the absence of the rain and lightning accompanying it.

I focused inwardly, trying my best to calm the disturbance and gradually the waves settled. However, the once calm dark sea now felt different from its previous dead stillness and small waves erupted occasionally on its surface.

I opened my eyes and refocused on the broken blade. There didn't seem to be any obvious magical ability or wondrous phenomena displayed but I knew from the strange reaction in me that it wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"This broken saber was found in an underground seaside cave at the location of the continental battlefield at Bloodforge Island by a team of vampire scouts. It has no special abilities except the fact that it is at least a grade 5 material." hearing her description of the broken saber being a grade 5 material, gasps of shock and disbelief rang out across the hall.

I could empathize with them, as grade 5 beings at the Heaven Connection Realm were the strongest in the Agate Star World and they were exceedingly rare—like the legendary Pokémon of my previous life.

I had long suspected that Master Nyx and the newly acquainted Duchess Blood Sword who I had met today at the castle were Heaven Connection beings though I couldn't say for sure without clear evidence.

Their sheer presence exuded an enormity I couldn't comprehend and matters involving such powerful entities were far beyond my grasp.

[Shadowrend – The Blade of Eternal Night: A fragmented remnant of a once-mythical Grade 8 saber, steeped in the primordial essence of darkness. Forged in the heart of a dark planet—a celestial body untouched by starlight or dawn from its creation to its end. It was perfected in its abyssal core where absolute darkness reigned for millennia.

The saber possesses the terrifying ability to devour light and extinguish hope, embodying an unrelenting void. Once a symbol of ultimate dread in the ancient Void Millennium, it was wielded by the ***** to devastating effect. However, the ravages of time and conflict have eroded its divine material and core magical runes, leaving it in its current diminished state.

Despite its degraded condition, the fragment retains immense potential and its intrinsic connection to your Eternal Eclipse lineage resonates with your ascension path, granting you a unique advantage in harnessing its latent power.

Successor is strongly advised to seek its restoration. Unlocking even a fraction of its original might could significantly enhance your power and the infinitesimal chances of achieving divine ascension. The saber's dormant state may also conceal residual abilities. Caution is imperative, as even fragments of Grade 8 artifacts harbour unimaginable danger and can attract a lot of unneeded attention from dangerous outer world entities]

I was stunned as this was the first time Eterna Nexus had prompted something on its own. It remained dormant most of the time resembling an encyclopedia I often forgot to use.

The content of the prompt floored me as seeing something that was actually a grade 8 existence was totally different from only hearing or assuming its existence.

The mention of the dark planet and a Grade 8 weapon thrilled me beyond belief. The existence of a Grade 8 weapon implied the existence of Grade 8 beings. Though I had hoped for entities beyond the Heaven Connection Realm to exist, I had no idea where to begin exploring this possibility.

From the knowledge I had gathered, I knew the inhabitants of this world had little to no understanding of outer space, solar systems or galaxies.