Once a Scion became a Blank, the Absolute Effect would be accessible to them.

Kei Xun has told him about this. She said the Absolute Effect is the first gift from invincibility as a way to show its recognition to the Scion’s drive and effort. It’s incredibly powerful. And now, Rex learned that the Absolute Effect is a Scion’s basic ability.

It was the general ability that was unique to each stratum.

Every Scion from the same stratum would have the exact same Absolute Effect.

As a Scion of the Anger Stratum, Rex gained access to the Absolute Anger Effect. From what Rex could understand, it was akin to a passive skill that transformed his anger into an invisible force—that would be activated the moment a deadly attack was about to reach him.

Rex has experienced its effects multiple times already.

First was back when Empress Morgana tried to ambush him.

Despite not being aware of the ambush, the Absolute Anger Effect reacted automatically and forced him to turn to face the attack. His gaze would channel the anger in him into a burning-hot energy that would stop any attack—physical, magical, or mental—dead in its tracks.

It’s an ability that made it harder for him to die as long as he remains angry.

His new, mysterious organ, called the Invincible Spleen, which dictates the activation of his Blank form, is the very core of this.

Rex’s anger was siphoned by this new organ and converted into fuel to empower this ability.

Other than that, he also became hyper-aware of anger.

Anyone who is a target of his anger and who bears anger towards him would be visible to him. He could see them even from far away, almost like a tracking device. Even now, at this very moment, when there are a few hundred miles, Rex could see Rezar in the distance if he focused enough.

Yes, the Sky Judgment struck him first before he could finish Rezar off.

But with this Absolute Anger Effect, it’s nothing to worry about.

He could visit and kill Rezar whenever he wanted.

Not to mention, Rezar’s presence and location became clearer and clearer by the hour. It was clear that he was only getting angrier and angrier as he thought back to how he was humiliated by a measly figure from the Mortal Realm.

Keep getting angrier. It’s only making things easier for me.

Rex looked skyward and shook his head.

He was expecting to be able to see Kaiser, but Kaiser isn’t in the sky, unfortunately.

Continuing to read the manual, there was more explanation regarding the Absolute Anger Effect.

One that he picked up almost instantly was that the ability can grow stronger depending on his mastery. There are three masteries starting from early, advanced, and perfect mastery. Only the early paragraph was visible to him, while the others were covered by red.

It would seem he needed to grow stronger at the Absolute Anger Effect first to read the rest.

Or maybe he needed to start accustoming himself to his Blank form more.

Either way, he couldn’t read it right now.

At the very bottom of the page, there was a description about a technique called Lucid Nightmare.

“A technique that would help cultivate the Fury Gland,” Rex repeated aloud. His forehead creased with hard lines. “The Fury Gland is responsible for your connection to the Highseat of Invincibility, and it only feeds on anger.”

Rex read the technique again and clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Lucid Nightmare is basically a meditation technique that keeps replaying his worst trauma.

It was a technique to evoke anger so that the new magical organ, the Fury Gland, could develop further.

One of the requirements to further his mastery is to fully develop this magical organ.

“Of course it has to be like this,” Rex rubbed his face exasperatedly. “It’s the Anger Stratum. Of course, every Scion must take care of their anger—and make it even stronger. I was hoping for something else entirely, but reality was never kind.”

Rex sat down in a meditative position and closed his eyes.

He activated the Blank form and began to use the Lucid Nightmare technique.

Time passed more slowly while he was using this technique.

Mainly because he was forced to live all the traumas across his life over and over again so that the Fury Gland could feed on the produced anger. Every time the nightmare ended, Rex’s body would twitch before the next one appeared, pulling him into the darkness again.

A gentle, pulsating breeze began to radiate from him, pushing against the still air in rhythmic waves.

Beneath him, the very earth answered with a faint, sympathetic tremor.

But he was fully immersed in the Lucid Nightmare to even care what was happening outside.

On the other hand, inside the grotto, Princess Davina moaned—and stretched her body. She had been missing out on sleep for a couple of days, and this sleep had been extremely pleasant. She felt a lot more at ease now.

Maybe because Rex was now beside her, and she didn’t need to worry about anything else.

Rex could take care of any danger, and her forces were being managed by a trusted person of hers.

She was really stress-free after about a hundred years.

Princess Davina looked down and realized she was covered by a thick, soft blanket. She smiled a little upon finding it, but soon frowned when she saw no sign of Rex. Her sister, Lilliana, was still sleeping on the other side soundly.

“Where is he?” She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Did he not need any sleep? I guess not.”

Her face burned when she remembered that she was going to sleep with him when, in reality, he wasn’t going to sleep at all. It was embarrassing—but her moment was interrupted when the walls around her rumbled.

Dust and rocks rattled from the corners, confirming that the rumbling wasn’t her imagination.

She sensed a disturbing energy outside once she expanded her senses.

Princess Davina got out of bed and went into the water, deciding to check what was happening.

It should be nothing since Rex is around and would undoubtedly keep them safe.

Reaching outside, Princess Davina broke the water’s surface and wiped the water away. And when she looked up, her breath was instantly taken away. She was expecting to be a naturally occurring noise— from the Black Rift, but that wasn’t the case.

“What is happening?” She muttered through a choked throat.

Above her, the sky was unravelling in a way she had never seen before.

A phenomenon of terrifying, unprecedented scale.

She bears witness to a steaming white aura that stretched above, vast as a second atmosphere, and was also hissing like the world was coming to life. It spread for miles. A silent, sterile fog that was almost like the work of a God.

But what made her frown wasn’t the sheer scale of the phenomenon.

It was the energy itself.

Princess Davina, now that she’s a Silverstar, has even better senses than she was before meeting with Rex. She should be able to sense even a change in energy level from miles away. However, from this pulse, she felt… nothing.

Her senses slid off it.

Even the nearby Black Rift hung motionless, as if this phenomenon existed only for the eyes.

An optical illusion.

At its epicenter, a perfect ring of denser steam pulsed outward in a slow, rhythmic ripple. It was obeying the rhythm of the calm breathing of something incredibly powerful. Drawn by a dread curiosity, Princess Davina ascended until the vapors thinned.

And there, seated in a lotus position at the heart of it all, was a single figure.

“Rex…?” She rasped the name in utter disbelief.

Kei Xun’s prophecy held true. Her soul mate would be a figure from another realm with talent that far exceeded anything this realm has ever seen. However, seeing it first-hand was a completely different feeling entirely.

She now knew that Rex is an emperor and also a werewolf in the Mortal Realm.

It made her feel like she knew him better.

But now, in the face of his talent and prowess, she couldn’t help but feel like there’s more to him.

Every time she took down a layer of Rex, there was always something else deeper.

Rex was truly an enigma that simply couldn’t be understood.

’I wonder… Do his spouses in the Mortal Realm also feel the same way?’ She thought curiously.

Princess Davina was almost certain that they were also feeling the same thing.

Keeping up with Rex’s mystery is simply too hard.

She then noticed that Rex’s expression was contorted, and his eyeballs moved frantically behind his eyelids. Judging from the expanding optical energy, she assumed he was cultivating another source of his power besides what lies within the Spirit Realm.

However, he seemed to be in pain and also scared.

It made Princess Davina worry about him, so she hovered closer.

Moments later.

Rex’s eyelids fluttered, then opened. His vision swam. It took several blinks before it sharpened on a ceiling of stars. Night had fallen again. Seems like he had gone overboard with his training, lost in the nightmares, and burned straight through the day without noticing.

“How many nightmares was that?” He mumbled inwardly.

Earlier, he was counting the nightmares mentally in the hope of knowing how long each one lasted.

But along the way, he forgot the count of the horrors and pain.

He was certain he’d endured at least a thousand distinct nightmares. Each one had meticulously mined a different corner of his psyche, scraping for deeper veins of anger. As he shifted to rise, he saw her: Princess Davina sat cross-legged beside him, deep in her own silent meditation.

Unlike him, who was eclipsed by the darkness of the Black Rift, she was bright.

Her entire body was gleaming like she was made of stars.

Sensing that he was already awake, Princess Davina also opened her eyes and glanced at him.

She cast a small smile, “Are you finished?”

“For tonight, yes. I still need to mend the cracks on Soul Artifacts, though,” Rex nodded. He had taken it easy yesterday, but now, instincts returned, and he found himself stressing about progressing again. “I still have a long way to go.”

Princess Davina averted her gaze.

A sudden gloom washed over her face, which prompted Rex to feel obliged to know—what was inside her mind. “What are you thinking?” He asked, feeling that she had something to say. “You know you can talk about anything with me.”

“What’s next after this?” She asked with a solemn tone. “You already saved your friend. Now what?”

“I’m waiting for them to come to me, and I’m also waiting for news from a Gatekeeper named Dorn,” Rex answered truthfully. He thought she was only curious, and he didn’t feel the need to keep it a secret from her after what happened. “If you’re worried that I might be hiding things from you, I’m not.”

“Once again, you misunderstood me,” Princess Davina shook her head.

Rex was excellent in life and death, but incredibly bad at other things.

“When are you going to go home?” She asked after a meaningful pause. “To the Mortal Realm.”

It was only then that Rex realized what she was thinking about.

“Very soon,” He answered. “If everything went as planned, I’ll be going back after Dorn gave me what I wanted. I came because of something urgent, so I’ll be leaving when I’ve done all the things I need to do. I still have a responsibility back in the Mortal Realm.”

“I know,” Princess Davina looked down.

She was silent. Maybe sulking.

But considering who he was dealing with, this was more like genuine sadness.

“Say…” Rex opened his mouth again. “If the time comes for me to leave, can I simply… leave?”

Princess Davina turned and met with Rex’s gaze. Her lips were slightly parted, speechless at what Rex said. “Absolutely not,” She shook her head decisively. “You think you can skip the painful part? No. If you leave without saying goodbye, I’ll hate you forever.”