I Became the First Prince

Chapter 282

The Meaning of Dawn (2)

It was mana—though mana that was fierce and roaring, moving with a will of its own.

‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.’

The violent energy continued to rage like crazy. My heart seemed to burst, my body trembled. Whenever the energy passed, terrible pain arose in every inch of me; my whole body screamed. There was nothing I could do. It was hard. I just gritted my teeth and held on—but it was useless. The fierce energy stirring up my weakened body could not be handled by it. Wherever the mana passed, something collapsed. Insignificant muscles were rendered necrotic, and bones smoothly melted. I wished my eyesight would turn white, facing such a terrible pain that I couldn’t handle.

‘Peeeee!’

The ringing in my ears echoed through my head. My consciousness faded and became clearer repeatedly. If it had gone on like that, I would have lost my mind, and losing your mind at such a moment is no different from death. I bit into my tongue.

‘Quack!’

Blood pooled into my mouth, and I completely swallowed it. My mind flashed as it registered the fishy taste. But I knew—biting into the tip of my tongue and swallowing the coppery blood was just a temporary way to escape the torment. I still didn’t know when the raging waves of energy would end, and it felt as if my body was being crushed under a raging rock-fall. My consciousness, which had barely become clear, began to dissipate again. I desperately grasped onto it.

It repeatedly flickered and blinked, and my body screamed without ceasing. My mind was constantly being worn out. Nevertheless, I continued to hold on. How do I come back to life? How do I get back my life?

I was not willing to face such a vain end.

A time of great pain ensued. Then, I felt no more pain. This wasn’t a good thing—I felt sorry that my body had collapsed to the point where pain could not be felt. It felt as if half of my body was gone. It was unclear whether I was lying in bed or standing on the floor. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind: maybe the world around me had been an illusion from the beginning. My resurrection was just a dream, and I was still lying on that plain on that day, a cold corpse. Perhaps this happiness I was now enjoying was the last luxury given to a soul on the verge of extinction. The faces of my dear ones came to my mind. The figure of my uncle, who I had finally reunited with, was clear.

All of this suddenly began to become vague. At that time, the world around me began to rapidly dissipate.

‘…Woow.’

If it wasn’t for a noise I heard, I would have fallen away from the world like that.

‘Ooh ooh.’

It was a sound I heard with exceptional clarity even in this hazy reality of unclear sensations.

‘Woow.’

The clear resonant sound awakened my spirit, which was on the verge of being separated from the world.

“I piled up greenskin corpses and raised myself a mountain,”

One moment later, a soft voice broke through into my ears.

“Crimson nails of blood flowed from it.”

I turned my head, seeking the voice. There was my uncle, all wrapped in a blue cloak.

‘Ooh ooh.’

The five rings he was so proud of resonated vigorously.

“And I will honor your soul before it.”

I began chanting [Poetry of True Soul] just like I had done when the poems of my previous life were reborn.

‘Pot!’

The hazy world became clear.

“Silent are the snowy peaks and the blood-drenched walls.”

My heart, which had been beating sporadically, now took on a regular rhythm, following the resonance of the rings.

“Only our horns of war are heard, for a new day dawns into which we advance”

I was still wracked by pain, and my body was still falling apart to compensate for the unbearable mana. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but ask, “H-How?”

I stuttered, and yet my lips weren’t moving properly.

“Isn’t it natural that I’ve practiced on my own?”

Even in the final battle we had together, my uncle had not been able to hide his awkwardness when singing along with war poetry; now he was naturally vocalizing it like a true poet. My uncle didn’t have a dark tone in his eyes while reciting, and that was amazing.

“I had no sword, and seeing that I was blind, if I didn’t want to go mad, I had to talk to myself like a crazy person.”

My uncle said dance poems were nice to mumble alone, and he said this with a ragged burst of laughter. But I couldn’t laugh—it’s been seven years. My uncle had spent seven years alone as a prisoner. And in that dark, blind world, he had only himself for company. It didn’t sound like an exaggeration for him to say that in order not go crazy, he recited many unconventional poems.

I bit my lip.

“That’s a shame. If you had known the last verse, you would have been a little less bored.”

I concealed my inner thoughts and acted excited as I tried to raise my uncle’s spirits.

“There’s a final verse? Is that like a new war poem?”

“You bet. I like the final verses more than the first ones.”

It was the song of finally greeting spring after enduring the harsh winter, and it was there was no other song I was more eager to teach my uncle.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said with a laugh as if the poem was worth knowing.

“But before that, start with your mana. If you don’t fix it quickly, your body will be greatly weakened.” Uncle Bale asked me to focus on the task at hand.

“Wait a minute…” I softly replied as I promptly corrected my posture. Although my uncle had taken the reins by resonating his five rings, the mana was still running wildly within me. In the end, it was my job to grab the reins and lead it.

“Woo,” I took a deep breath, and I began contemplating my body. My insides were messed up by the unbearable amount of mana. My fingers and toes were shriveled, and my flesh was twisted. In such a messed-up body, the mana was flowing randomly within me. It would probably not stop until it turned my body into a bloody pulp. I looked for a break, found it, and grabbed the reigns of the raging energy.

‘Ahhhhhhhhhh!’

The mana began to run wilder, crazier. It was such a powerful energy that I wondered if I would be able to lead it properly even if I had all my Sword Master mana intact. In contrast, I now only had a handful of my own mana. It would be strange if I could easily guide this energy. Still, I had no intention of giving up.

‘Wow!’

In every urgent moment, my uncles’ rings resonated fiercely and added their strength. So, without giving up, my uncle succeeded in opening a path and added his willpower. His first ring was difficult to get through; the second and third faced less difficulty. The fourth and fifth were far easier. I continued to spiral in the direction the energy was going in and guided it where I wanted it. It didn’t want to follow my guidance. Whenever I moved it along the path, it would turn its head and jump away whenever it got the chance. I persistently led such a thing by the reins, and it remained fierce. But at some point, it started to express this ferocity by simply running violently along a fixed path. Whether I told it to slow down, speed up, stop, or start moving again, it followed no commands. I also didn’t try to force control over it. I would simply take the reigns from time to time and prevent it from veering off the road. One, two, three…

Mana now ran constantly through my body. Little by little, as it flowed, it melted into my heart. From here on out, it was time to fight. Either my body would become completely pulped and melted, or I would completely settle the mana in my heart.

Ten seconds. The energy rumbled, and a thick liquid flowed out of my nose.

Twenty seconds. Suddenly, blood spilled from my mouth.

Thirty seconds. My entire body seemed to be burning.

Forty seconds. My vision had long since faded to white.

Fifty seconds. I heard no sound.

Sixty seconds. The sensation of having a body disappeared.

Seventy seconds. My consciousness began to intermittently fade.

Eighty seconds. Death was approaching.

Ninety seconds. Now was the limit.

“Back!”

I turned the direction in which the mana flowed with all my energy—somewhere in the direction of my broken mana heart. My mana heart began absorbing mana at a rapid pace. But as it was, it was already a broken vessel, so it could no longer hold anything.

‘Bkra Bkra!’

A crack appeared in my mana heart.

‘Bang!’

Then, it shattered with a loud sound. Slivers of my fragmented mana heart spread throughout my body, scattering to all points of it. The slivers all started to melt.

“Twaah!”

Terrible pain blossomed wherever a fragment had gotten stuck. My sensations quickly revived, and my sense of time normalized. My hearing was restored—touch, smell, and taste; I had regained all my original functions. That was the beginning-

‘Wuduk!’

My broken body began to regenerate rapidly. This rebirth was accomplished from a state of near-total collapse.

“At last…”

However, instead of moaning, I was delighted.

‘Qwaak!’

Both my hands strengthened up. Until moments before, these two fists could barely hold a carving knife; now they were firmly muscled.

“Adelia!” I shouted.

‘Bwok!’

The door opened, and Adelia entered.

“Highness?”

As she looked at me with her eyes wide open, she turned pale.

“Your Highness! Blood all over your body!”

“Okay! Sword!” I cried out to her. “Twilight! My sword!”

Faced with my sudden words, Adelia was unsure about what to do, and tears began welling in her eyes.

“Hurry!” I pushed her back. I couldn’t stand being without a sword right now.

“Well, wait a minute-”

Adelia, after staggering back, left. When she came back, she was holding my sword.

“Here…”

She carefully handed Twilight over, and I grasped it. It was nice to have the cold touch of the hilt in my hand. Unwittingly, I raised the corners of my mouth into a grin. My mind felt endlessly elated.

“Hoofoo.”

The breathtaking feeling of fullness made me take long, peaceful breaths.

“I- Your Highness?”

Adelia looked at me and widened her eyes. Ignoring her, I quietly lifted my sword.

“Your Highness! Not in here!”

I heard Adelia’s scream-

‘Pwot!’

And then slashed my sword down. A light appeared where my sword passed. It was like a ray of dawn driving away the deep night. This bright ray of light spread across the darkened room, filling my eyes. I watched the light as if possessed. I stared blankly at it until it completely disappeared, leaving no trace.

“Finally!”

I clenched my fist, and laughter burst out from deep in my lungs. I couldn’t withstand it; like a madman, I was bent double at the waist as I laughed so much that my stomach felt sore and tears came from my eyes. After laughing for a long time, I sheathed my sword at my waist and declared, “I am back.”

I’ve come a long, long way, and I was finally back.

So I cried, “I’m back!”

Right then-

‘Crshka!’

A threatening noise broke into my ears.

“Highness!”

One instant later, I heard Adelia’s screams.

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