The room was steeped in silence, thick with tension and anticipation. All eyes were on Nile, waiting for an explanation.
James sat with his arms crossed, his sharp gaze unwavering. Veena, silent as ever, studied him with piercing eyes, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the wooden table. Jessica leaned forward, brows furrowed, clearly trying to piece together the puzzle in her head. Jennifer, who had been listening attentively, clutched the cultivation room token, still struggling to process what she had seen.
And then there were Arin and Lyra, sitting quietly, eyes wide with curiosity but also caution. They had already witnessed Nile's kindness, but today they had also seen his true capabilities.
Nile knew that if he didn't control the narrative now, he would eventually lose control over it altogether.
He had to make them believe in the illusion he was about to weave.
He inhaled softly, recalling the words Frost had written in the artifact book:
"The best-kept secrets are those that are never actually kept secret."
The phrase echoed in his mind like a mantra.
Then, slowly, he allowed a small, knowing smile to appear on his lips.
"You're right," he admitted, his voice calm and measured. "I do have a special ability. But it's not some secret bloodline technique or something I was born with."
A pause.
"This ability comes from the artifact book that Frost left behind."
Jennifer's eyes widened. "An artifact book?"
Nile nodded. "It's called the Codex of Discerning Shadows. It allows me to analyze and manipulate things within a very limited range. But there are strict limitations—it doesn't get stronger no matter how much I grow."
A ripple of murmurs passed through the group.
James narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't get stronger?"
Nile shrugged, keeping his tone casual. "Yeah. It's not like normal abilities that grow stronger with cultivation. It's a fixed power—what you see is what you get. It doesn't matter how much my mana or spirit energy increases. The range, complexity, and control I have over it will always remain the same."
Jessica, still gripping the cultivation token, asked skeptically, "So, you're saying this 'Codex' let you remove the Iron Fang leader's imprint?"
"Yes," Nile confirmed. "It can analyze objects and manipulate minor elements within them. That's how I removed the imprint. But it takes time, and the more complex the imprint, the more mana it drains."
Jennifer bit her lip. "And Mason? How did you make him collapse?"
Nile exhaled, rubbing his temples as if the answer was exhausting to explain. "Same principle. I had placed an invisible analysis field inside his body when we fought. I was able to restrict some of his bodily functions momentarily, but only because he was careless. Against someone stronger, this trick wouldn't work."
Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Then why didn't we sense any mana fluctuations?"
Nile leaned back, feigning deep thought before answering. "Because the ability isn't offensive. It's like… adjusting the properties of something within a controlled area, rather than directly attacking with mana."
Jessica and Jennifer shared an uncertain glance.
Nile took the opportunity to reinforce his lie with carefully chosen truths.
"The real limitation is mana and spirit energy," he continued. "The more powerful the target, the more it drains me. Right now, I can only affect objects or people up to Level 2. Something at Level 3 would drain me dry instantly."
James finally spoke, his voice thoughtful. "That's quite the ability, but also quite the risk."
Veena, who had been silent until now, leaned back, her fingers still tapping against the table. "And how did Frost acquire this 'Codex'?"
Nile had been prepared for this. He shrugged. "I don't know. He never said. Maybe it was something he found in his travels."
Veena hummed, clearly not fully convinced, but she didn't press further.
Inside Nile's mind, however, a different conversation was taking place.
His true ability.
He knew exactly how he had removed the imprint from the token. It was not some artifact book—it was his soul imprint, the butterfly, and the black-and-white spheres embedded in his palms.
His real ability had nothing to do with "adjusting" something within an analysis field. Instead, it was absolute control over anything within those spheres.
He had manipulated Mason's arteries because his black sphere had been inside Mason's body. He hadn't just restricted Mason's blood flow—he had literally compressed a section of his heart inside the sphere and then constricted it.
The same went for the cultivation room token. By placing it inside his white sphere, he had stripped the previous imprint away as though it had never existed.
But these were things he could never reveal.
He recalled the limitations he had discovered.
His spheres could only expand up to 100 cm in radius, and every cm of growth cost 1 spirit energy.
He could only influence up to Level 2 objects or beings without exhausting himself.
He could analyze nearly anything, but the more complex the structure, the more mana it drained.
His ability would grow as his mana and spirit sea expanded—but no one could ever learn that.
He glanced at Veena.
She had been watching him carefully. Of all the people in the room, she was the one he needed to fool the most.
She had known Frost. She knew how cunning he was. She wouldn't believe just any explanation.
So, Nile did what he did best. He added one final touch of deception.
He let out a small, self-deprecating laugh. "Honestly, it's not as powerful as it looks. If I don't use it smartly, it's practically useless. That's why Frost probably never used it much himself."
That line was the final nail in the coffin.
If they believed that Frost had left behind a mediocre ability, then they wouldn't dig any deeper. They wouldn't question why Nile's power seemed to remain static over time.
And most importantly…
They would never suspect the truth.
Back in reality, Jennifer studied him for a long moment before sighing. "Well… I guess it makes sense. It's still insane, but at least it's not something completely out of this world."
Jessica leaned back, arms crossed. "It's still incredibly dangerous. If the wrong people find out, you'll be hunted down for that book."
Nile chuckled. "That's why I don't plan on using it recklessly."
James smirked. "You say that now, but you're already planning an underground organization. That sounds pretty reckless to me."
Jennifer laughed. "He has a point."
Nile simply smiled, letting the conversation flow naturally.
Inside, he was relieved.
No one suspected the truth. No one would ever link his power to his soul imprint, the butterfly, or the spheres.
And as long as they believed it was an artifact-bound ability with a fixed limit, no one would ever question how it grew stronger over time.
The best-kept secrets… were those that were never actually kept secret.