Eren ran a hand over the cold, smooth surface of the massive tombstone. The air here felt different, charged with an unfamiliar energy that prickled his skin. It was as if insects were crawling all over his skin.


    He listened to his instincts and stayed away from the white barrier. He focused all his attention to collecting the body buried beneath his feet and leaving this ce. However, there was a small inscription on the tombstone that caught his attention.


    He squinted at the inscription. Unlike the others, this one had more than just a name and number.


    "From Origin, We Ascended. To Origin, We Return. Our Blood is the Echo of Creation."


    There were only three lines on the tombstone, and each line felt like it was carved using not a knife but someone''s finger.


    "You must have been someone really impressive when you were alive. If it was up to me, I wouldn''t disturb your eternal rest. Unfortunately... I took a lot of effort to get here."


    He crouched, examining the base of the tombstone. There were no obvious mechanisms, no hiddentches. It seemed as solid and immovable as a mountain.


    "Alright, old man," Eren said to the tombstone, a grim smile ying on his lips. "Let''s see if you''re as impressive on the inside."


    The more impressive this tombstone was, the more impressive the corpse was in his eyes. If he could really bring someone back to life as a servant, then there was no better material for him than this person.


    He focused his mana, channeling it into his hands. A faint, dark energy enveloped his palms. He pressed them against the stone, intending to use brute forcebined with a subtle erosion effect he''d picked up.


    The moment his mana-infused hands made contact, the world became red once more.


    The graveyards, the tombstones, the white void – all vanished from his sight.


    He was standing in the midst of crimson light, feeling as if he was in some kind of illusion.


    "There was a trap? Why didn''t [Identification] show anything?"


    He felt an immense pressure, as if something was trying to crush him. It felt as if his bones were cracking under this pressure which was not something that a mere illusion could achieve.


    [System Quest Updated: Ancestral Echo]


    [Objective: Withstand and absorb the lingering will of the King n''s progenitor.]


    [Time Limit: Synchronized with Territory Timer.]


    [Reward: ??? Skill: Descend]


    [Bonus rewards based on absorption percentage.]


    "Absorb?" Eren frowned, the pressure threatening to buckle his knees. "This... this is what the quest wanted? Isn''t this a scam?"


    He was promised the Descent skill if he could just spend three hours in each territory. That was the option which he had selected. And when he was on thest territory, the quest was suddenly updated?


    With this, he finally understood why the options led him to this ce in the first ce. They didn''t simply want him to explore the territories, but to reach this ce to steal this legacy.


    "If you just wanted me to rob another n''s legacy, you could have been more direct. Why waste my time exploring other territories?"


    Eren wanted to be upset, but he couldn''t even be angry at the system since the legacy did feel impressive if it came from the progenitor of this n.


    Moreover, the legacy was able to give him this test. It meant that he didn''t have to be a descendant to take this legacy. It was an unexpected benefit.


    Moreover, even if the system didn''t update the quest, he still couldn''t leave withoutpleting this test. He was already caught in it after all.


    Even without the quest, he was still going to take this reward. It looked just as special as decent skill.


    "Yelen, can you still hear me?" Eren grunted, fighting to resist the pressure.


    "Barely," her voice came, faint and strained, as if filtered throughyers of interference. "Where are you? Why can''t I feel your presence? Are you in danger?"


    The connection with the Spirit Queen was again weakened, and she couldn''te to his help.


    "Don''t worry about that. I just wanted to tell you that-"


    He tried telling Yelen to keep an eye on the situation in the Holy Empire''s war and help his clone survive longer if possible without risking her own safety.


    Unfortunately, the connection was abruptly cut. It was simr to what happened when he was in hell. He couldn''t feel Yelen at all, let alone talk to her.


    The pressure that was trying to force his body to his knees had also disappeared. Instead, there was a more soothing force now that healed him and removed his exhaustion.


    The world was still red, but in this red world, he wasn''t the only person now. There was another presence there.


    It was the presence of a man, who was standing before him, carrying a calm and amused smile on his lips.


    Eren could see that person, but he couldn''t feel even the slightest bit of aura from him. He felt weak. But at the same time, his instincts were telling him that the man was dangerous.


    Thest time he received this feeling from someone other than the author, it was with the Sword Emperor that he saw in his dream, slicing through heaven.


    Even Lysander, who was a demigod, didn''t give him this feeling. It felt like there was an invisible sword resting on his neck and he could lose his head with a single movement.


    Even the Patriarch of the King n, who looked like a god, didn''t give him this existential crisis.


    The man nced at the tombstone that was pulled out of the ground. It was lying t on the ground, next to where it belonged.


    "What is your name?" the man asked. "And what is your rtionship with that man?"


    The man before him curious nces at Eren''s shoulder, as if he could see through the clothes. His eyes were fixated on the sword mark on Eren''s upper arm, which held the Sword Emperor''s Sword.