The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 298: Through the Crack (1)

Chapter 298: Through the Crack (1)

The gentle breeze of the sea brushed against Hex’s face. It helped a little to calm the storm raging in his mind.

’It seems the things in her Diary are true to the point of Grandpa being abusive. I am happy. And I am angry too.’

Hex stood without speaking and without showing any expression on his face. He mastered masking his feelings a long time ago. The Saint, however, wasn’t fooled by him.

I too felt enraged. I nearly went berserk. But before the Old One, I couldn’t do anything. As time passed, I started to do whatever those two asked of me. Medea turned into a distant memory. Until...I was tasked with apprehending her.

"Why?" Hex asked. The Saint’s short story pulled him out of his torn-up thoughts and compelled him to inquire. "And who ordered you to do so?"

The Old One.

The Saint replied, replying to the second question first.

I was seldom near Wrixia – to this day I am only there when needed – so I didn’t know what she had done. I learned later what she had done.

This time Hex was certain he heard the Saint grin. Looking at the expression on His face, it wouldn’t appear so, but he couldn’t mistake His tone.

She stole the Millenia Tree Essence. Oh, the Old One shuddered and trembled but nothing it could do, bound by His own oat.

"What’s the Millenia Tree Essence?" The name confused Hex. He never heard of it.

I am not certain. It’s something the Old One brews over thousands of years. The Chosen ones in Wrixia receive a single drop. Someone like Medina’s sister was bound to receive one drop someday.

"It should be something great then."

Hex said that based on the time it took to prepare. And the Old One the Saint continued to refer to seemed stronger than a Saint. So, it couldn’t be something simple.

Hex had a pretty good idea who the Old One probably was. He read in the Knight Scroll about someone living in Wrixia. According to the Baron, whoever that might be, was the one who was alive since the First Age.

It sure was great. Apparently, that one drop enables the one who consumed it to cultivate at unbelievable speed. I heard stories about people crossing the Knight and Refined Knight Stages within a year. The ones with more potential even managed to ascend to the Transformed Stage.

To think that something like that existed. Hex envied the ones with access to such resources. His comparable speed came after going through physical and mental torture. And others just consumed some resources and could leave him in the dust.

At the same time, he marveled at the Witch – no, at his mother’s bravery to steal something like that. He doubted she received any help.

’No one knew her. Her own father would certainly not help her. Not that he could but even if he could, he wouldn’t.

He often wondered how someone like his mother, who lacked talent or Blessing, could reach such heights. Now, it seemed plausible. He decided to see if the Diary held clues about her rise in power a bit later.

Be ready.

He suddenly heard the Saint say. Hex looked around but aside from the calm waves and the gentle breeze, he didn’t sense anything.

At dawn, you will reach the Crack.

"Crack?" Hex asked confused by the term. He never heard any mention of such a term.

Luckily for him, the Saint knew about his ignorance about quite a few things and was willing to help.

The Crack refers to certain places where Space and Time are warped. Wrixia is surrounded by such a Crack. It’s the main reason not many can reach it. The best ways in and out are with the help of either me or Sea Titans.

Sea Titans. Another term that confused Hex. Again, he waited for the Saint to explain.

Sea Titans aren’t creatures or anything living. They are Sea ships. Those are built by the Ancestor of these twerps and made of the old parts fallen from the Old One.

"Is–," Hex started. He was careful about asking some questions. "Is the Old One a tree or an Ent?"

Some tales spoke of Ents, creatures made of wood and nature elements. The people in Grindeston referred to them as the Guardians.

As soon as he asked his question, he sensed the Saint’s gaze inspecting him.

I underestimated how much you knew about the world. Or did she leave you clues in there?

The Saint referred to the Diary on him. He shook his head in reply. But kept quiet about his sources. He inferred quite a bit based on the stories he heard and read.

The Old One is indeed a tree. Actually, He is THE tree, the first of his kind. Scratch that. He is the first of any kind. Only the Gods were said to be older than Him.

"And with the Gods gone, He is THE oldest?"

Hex wished he would get a chance to converse with such a being. He would surely know a lot. At the same time, Hex felt wary of Him.

As the product of someone who offended Him, who knew how He would react to him reaching his territory.

But before Hex could ask more, he felt a change in the gentleness of the breeze. The calm waves seemed to splash also harder on the shores.

It’s almost dawn.

Hex, who was looking for an explanation, turned toward the Saint, once heard His voice in his head.

"Dawn...The Crack?" Hex understood at once where the Saint was going with his words. He looked over toward the horizon but failed to see anything. He did sense it though. A thick layer of Chaos lay up ahead.

"What should we do? Can you help us cross it?"

Hex asked, looking toward the horizon warily. The amount of Chaos concentrated before him, would harm the others immensely. He believed his body could resist it. How much it would resist could be seen later.

I will help the others. You...you will have to cross it by yourself.

"What? Why?"

Hex exclaimed confused.

’Wait. Is he taking revenge?’

It didn’t make sense. He didn’t get a feeling that the Saint held a grudge against his mother. Certainly not against him. So why would He do such a thing? Or was He ordered to do so?

To help you.

What kind of help was this? Despite his strong physical abilities and his heart, Hex could tell that the layer up ahead wasn’t something he could withstand by refining through it. Stone heart or not, it would explode with so much chaotic energy going through it.

The Saint once again read his emotions.

Don’t overthink it. I am not to kill you. Not even the Old One could order me to do so. And He wouldn’t order such a thing in the first place. Not when we are on the brink of a war. A Fateless will be crucial in the upcoming times.

"Then why...?" Hex asked, feeling the ground under him tremble even more. Gone were the gentleness and calmness around him. The wind howled through the forest, hitting him in the face, and the waves slammed against the shores, rocking the land heavily.

The others on the island filed out of their resting quarters. Before they could scream though, they slumped to the ground.

It’s better if they aren’t aware of the things that happen and appear up ahead. It tends to scar some for the remainder of their lives.

It didn’t surprise Hex that the Saint knocked the others out. He was still more interested in why he didn’t such a help.

Oh, come on. Medina was smarter than you. I said the Crack is filled with Time and Space. Weren’t you training in those two? Wouldn’t being in such a place be advantageous to your growth?

’Time Freeze and Blink Step. I can train both.’

"Indeed." Hex looked at the Saint but another thought struck him.

"Wait. I do wish to train my Techniques. But how am I to survive through the Crack?"

Hex refrained from mentioning chaotic energy and knowing the abundance with which the area up ahead was filled with it. As long as no one mentioned it, he rather not disclose clues about his heart.

Easy. Direct all excess chaotic energy into that crystal you have. Use that remnant Will to cover for you while you focus on training.

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