Three days after Arthur and Silas departed, the family began to weaken.
It started subtly. A servant dropped a tray of dishes. A warrior stumbled during training. A child fell asleep at midday and could not be woken for hours.
Ethan noticed it first in himself. He had no cultivation left to lose, but even his mortal strength seemed diminished. His limbs felt heavy. His thoughts came slower.
By the end of the week, half the family could barely get out of bed.
『 Warning: Vitality Drain detected 』
『 The family’s life force is being siphoned 』
『 Source: Unknown 』
『 Current Vitality: 40% of normal 』
Ethan called an emergency meeting.
The elders gathered in the main hall—those who could still stand. Eleanor was there, leaning on a cane, her face pale as death. Thomas had returned from his messenger mission, his eyes hollow with exhaustion.
"Something is feeding on us," Ethan said. "Something that is draining our vitality."
Vivienne stood apart from the others, her expression grim.
"I know what it is."
"Then tell us."
She stepped forward.
"Her name is Morgause. She was the first Blackwood. The one who made the deal with the Devourer."
The elders murmured.
"She was supposed to be erased from history. Her own children—our ancestors—destroyed every record of her existence. They sealed her away in the spaces between worlds."
"But she’s not gone," Ethan said.
"No. She survived. And now she is feeding on the family’s belief to strengthen herself."
"She’s using us?"
"She’s using everyone. Every person who believes in the Blackwood legend, every prayer, every story—she feeds on it. And the more the legend spreads, the stronger she becomes."
Ethan’s blood ran cold.
"Then spreading the legend is making her stronger?"
"Not exactly. The ancestors—Arthur, Silas, Eleanor—they draw power from belief. But so does Morgause. She is the shadow of the family. The dark mirror. As long as belief exists, she exists."
"How do we stop her?"
Vivienne’s expression was grim.
"We must sever her connection to the family. But to do that, we need to understand how she was sealed in the first place."
That night, Ethan sat beside Eleanor’s bed.
She was weaker than ever, her skin pale and translucent. Her breathing was shallow.
"You should go," she whispered. "Leave me."
"I’m not leaving you."
"You need to save the family."
"I need to save you."
Eleanor smiled faintly.
"You can’t save everyone, Ethan."
"I can try."
She reached for his hand.
"The vitality drain... it’s not just affecting us. It’s affecting Arthur and Silas too. They’re weakening. If Morgause is not stopped, they will fade."
"I know."
"Then you know what you have to do."
Ethan closed his eyes.
"I have to find Morgause. And I have to destroy her."
The next morning, Ethan called Thomas and Vivienne to his room.
"I need to find Morgause. I need to stop her before she drains the family completely."
Thomas frowned. "How? She exists in the spaces between worlds. No one knows where she is."
Vivienne spoke.
"I know where she is."
They turned to her.
"She is at the Ashen Estate. The place where Victor Ashford fled. It was her home three hundred years ago. The place where she made the deal with the Devourer."
She paused.
"She has returned to her origin."
"Then we go there. We destroy her."
Vivienne shook her head.
"It won’t be that simple. Morgause is not like the other ancestors. She is the first. She is the most powerful. And she has been feeding on the World Rebuttal for centuries."
"Then what do we do?"
"We need to cut her off from the family’s belief. We need to make the family stop believing in her."
"But she’s not part of the family’s belief. She was erased. Forgotten."
"Not completely. There is still a fragment of her in our bloodline. In our history. Every time we tell the story of the first ancestor, we mention her—not by name, but as the one who made the deal."
She paused.
"We need to rewrite the story. We need to make the family believe that the first ancestor was not Morgause, but someone else. Someone pure. Someone heroic."
Ethan frowned.
"That’s a lie."
"The system is built on lies, Ethan. That is how it works."
Ethan gathered the family.
He told them the truth—about Morgause, about the vitality drain, about the need to rewrite the story.
The family argued. Some refused to lie. Others insisted it was the only way.
In the end, Eleanor spoke.
"Do it."
She looked at Ethan.
"Rewrite the story. Save our family."
Ethan nodded.
He opened the journal and began to write.
The new story was simple.
The first ancestor was not Morgause. It was Aldric—her son. The one who sealed her away. The one who created the system to protect the family from her evil.
He was the hero. She was the villain.
The family read the story. They believed it.
『 Story Credibility: 100% 』
『 Family Faith: 100 』
『 Outsider Faith: 96% 』
『 Morgause’s connection has been weakened 』
『 Vitality Drain reduced 』
『 Current Vitality: 65% of normal 』
But Morgause was not defeated.
In her estate, she felt the shift. She felt the belief of the family turning away from her.
She screamed in rage.
Victor Ashford stood beside her, his face pale.
"They’re resisting."
"Then we must act faster."
She turned to him.
"Summon the demons. All of them. We will crush the Blackwood Family before they can stop us."
Victor nodded.
He left the room.
Morgause looked into a dark mirror.
"You think you can erase me, little Vessel? You think you can rewrite history?"
She smiled.
"I am history."
『 Morgause’s forces are gathering 』
『 A new demon invasion is imminent 』
『 New Quest Unlocked: Defend the Eastern Wilds 』
『 Next Milestone: Unite the Eastern Wilds 』