[Elizabeth was unaware of the impending danger.] [She would often stroke her belly.] [Then, she would reveal a smile filled with maternal radiance.] [It’s worth mentioning that she would also hold books and read to you.] [Is this perhaps prenatal education on the Starfall Continent?] [At first, you didn’t think much of it, until you discovered that the books she was reading to you were actually magic books!] [Basic Elemental Theory, Introduction to Meditation Methods, Illustrated Guide to Magical Creatures of the Starfall Continent…] [There seemed to be countless similar classics in the library of Golden Castle, and she could always find something new to read to you.] [Though she didn’t know if it was of any use.] [After all, just as you once thought: what could a fetus possibly understand?] [But she was still willing to use that pleasant voice to recite those difficult incantations for you, over and over again.] [“I have nothing else to do anyway, so just think of it as…
Mommy chatting with you.”] [She would always whisper like that.] [Through these days of “prenatal companionship,” you not only learned a lot of common knowledge about this world but also unexpectedly heard many of her inner thoughts.] [After finishing a passage, she would feel secret sorrow and speak softly to her belly:] [“Mommy wasn’t always this weak.”] [“I used to be a high-level mage…
especially with my Charm Arts; even the clan elders praised my talent…”] [Her voice carried a distant pride, but it soon turned into a cold sigh.] [Roland had sealed her source of magic.] [Now, she was no different from an ordinary human woman who lacked the strength to even truss a chicken.] [You listened silently, noting down this information.] [But that was all you knew.] [Because whenever she was about to mention more critical details—such as the secret of the decoction and Roland…] [A dark-gold magic circle would silently emerge upon her lips!] [“Ugh…
Ergh…”] [The light of the magic circle prevented her from making any sound no matter how hard she tried, leaving her only able to gasp in pain.] [This further solidified your suspicion that there was something wrong with the Count.] [Aside from these small interludes, the days passed without any change.] [She still had to drink that bowl of decoction on time every day, and you still passively absorbed the nutrients within it.] [Out of sheer boredom, you memorized the formulas of the Golden Meditation Method, which Elizabeth recited most often, until they were ingrained in your mind.] [Since you had nothing better to do, you tried to follow the formulas’ guidance within your consciousness.] [And then…] [You “saw” it!] [It was quite miraculous; even though your eyes were closed, you could see your surroundings.] [This was likely the legendary—”Minds Eye.”] [Countless tiny, multicolored specks of light floated around you.] [Among them, the black and red specks were particularly numerous, almost dominating the space.] [You knew the black ones were dark elements.
As for the red ones…
the prenatal education hadn’t gone into such detail yet, but you guessed they were fire elements or something similar.] [With the enhancement of the ‘Magic Absorption’ talent, these light specks seemed to be drawn to you, flooding into your forming body more actively than usual.] [Your magic accumulation speed increased!] [But, a sense of wrongness followed…] [Your temper began to become inexplicably violent.] [An indescribable feeling of irritability often swept through your consciousness without warning.] [It made you feel confined in a narrow space, incredibly stifled, wanting only to destroy something.] [This emotion directly caused your limbs to move violently and uncontrollably—kicking and twisting.] [“Argh!”] [You felt a release, but your mother suffered for it.] [Every time this happened, Elizabeth would cry out in pain, clutching her abdomen, cold sweat instantly seeping from her forehead.] [To be honest, you didn’t want to be like this, but sometimes you just couldn’t control this nameless fire.] [You didn’t know what was happening to you.] At this moment, the consciousness of the real Ray, who was watching the simulation, suddenly tightened!
“How can this be?
This didn’t happen during the first reality simulation!” But he quickly grasped the key point.
“It’s ‘Magic Absorption’ and ‘Accelerated Digestion’!” He understood instantly.
In the past, those harmful substances in the medicine might have deposited slowly or been mostly shared by the mother’s body.
But now, under the effects of these two high-efficiency absorption talents, those harmful substances were being poured directly into his origin faster and in larger quantities!
“Danger really is everywhere…” Ray felt a chill.
He continued to watch.
[Besides the emotional loss of control, another worse change appeared: your brain began to become less sharp.] [Aside from the meditation method which had almost become an instinctive memory, you found it difficult to remember some of the minor spells that followed.] [For example, ‘Glimmer’, the incantation was only three short segments, and Elizabeth had recited it countless times.] [It clearly wasn’t long or complex, but it just wouldn’t enter your brain.] [Just like a physics class.] [Knowledge was automatically blocked.] [This cognitive “regression” made you even more panicked and irritable, which in turn led to more frequent “thrashing.”] [After your continuous fetal movement torture, the color on Elizabeth’s beautiful face faded day by day.] [Her pretty face was tinged with a trace of ghastly paleness.] [In the third month, Roland arrived as scheduled.] [That man who filled you with dread—Roland Golden—finished his external affairs and returned to the castle.] [You could even “feel” a cold, massive surge of magic, sweeping through the entire castle like a tide, and then heading towards the master bedroom without hesitation.] [The door was pushed open directly.] [“Elizabeth.” A cold voice sounded.] [It was a tall, oppressive figure.] [However, what left a deep impression on you was that emotionless gaze, as if he were sizing up an object.] [No pleasantries, no greetings.] [A surge of pure and cold investigative magic instantly enveloped Elizabeth’s entire body.] [Then.] [A pause.] [The air in the bedroom seemed to freeze.] [“Heh…”] [A light chuckle with no discernible emotion.] [Elizabeth’s face instantly turned as white as paper; she understood.] [She struggled to throw herself off the bed, kneeling on the ground, grabbing the hem of Roland’s robe as tears streamed down her face:] [“Roland!
I beg you!
Spare my child!”] [“He is innocent!
I’ll agree to anything!
Please!”] [Her pleas were shrill and desperate.] [Roland looked down at his weeping wife at his feet, his voice terrifyingly steady:] [“Spare him?”] [“Elizabeth, you understand too.”] [“If he is born, he will only be a ‘thing’ devoid of reason and filled with the desire to destroy.”] [His words were like a final judgment.] [Even before Elizabeth could speak again, he had already raised one hand.] [A complex, precise magic circle emitting a scorching and ominous red light instantly formed in front of his palm!] [The patterns rotated, and destructive energy highly condensed—] [“No!!!”] [Elizabeth let out a heart-wrenching scream, using her last bit of strength to desperately protect her abdomen.] [Red light swallowed everything.] [The terrifying heat instantly submerged you and Elizabeth.] [You and your mother, along with her beautiful blue eyes, turned to ash in the flames together.] [“I have to find a new Sacrificial Offering again…”] [After everything ended, Roland spoke with annoyance.] […]