When Castiel lost consciousness, Einstein reacted quickly, anticipating this outcome. He had secretly reserved mana within Castiel's body for emergencies.
Castiel isn't really all that powerful.
His strength comes from a single, unique ability: the Infinite Knowledge System—Einstein. This ability lets him generate any skill he wishes. However, even as he grows older mentally, he is trapped in the body of a 5-year-old child.
This is a side effect of Einstein's existence.
While Einstein provides him with immense capabilities and boundless potential, it also confines him to a form that can't endure the demands of using them.
Engaging the Auto-Pilot, Einstein began their retreat with one clear objective: keeping Castiel safe. However, their escape was far from smooth. Einstein hadn't anticipated being followed. A shadowy figure pursued them with unrelenting determination.
The faster Einstein maneuvered, the closer their pursuer got. Realizing evasion was futile, he made a split-second decision to confront the mysterious pursuer. As he spun around, his eyes locked onto the figure: Eldrin, a druid with deep ties to Castiel's family.
But this was no friendly reunion. Without warning, Eldrin attacked. A potentially fatal strike was deflected by the Boron Barrier, Einstein's protective shield, shattering Eldrin's dagger. The remnants scattered across the ground.
Einstein's shock was evident. Eldrin, once an ally, now stood before him as an enemy.
Eldrin's grin was taunting, his eyes gleaming with malice as he stepped back and the broken dagger slipped from his grip. While Einstein controlled him, Castiel's body remained calm and still, contrasting sharply with the tension in the air.
With a sudden burst of speed, Eldrin lunged again. His movements were fluid and precise, yet deadly. His dagger sliced toward Castiel's throat, but Einstein, guiding Castiel's every movement, sidestepped effortlessly, maintaining unbroken eye contact with Eldrin.
Eldrin shifted his tactics, summoning massive roots that erupted from the ground, snaking toward Castiel like living serpents. Einstein reacted instantly, leaping into the air and flipping gracefully over the roots, landing silently just out of reach. The roots collided violently, ripping apart the ground where Castiel had stood just moments earlier.
Frustration flashed across Eldrin's face as he continued his relentless assault. His strikes were fierce, each aimed to maim or kill. Under Einstein's control, Castiel moved in a blur, dodging every blow with precision in a deadly dance of attack and evasion.
"What do you want?" Einstein demanded through Castiel's lips, his voice steady despite the chaos.
Eldrin said nothing, his eyes burning with determined fury.
He vanished suddenly, reappearing behind Einstein as vines shot out to entangle Castiel's limbs. Einstein was momentarily caught off guard but quickly unleashed a surge of aura, shattering the vines and freeing Castiel.
Eldrin came at him again, his dagger a blur. Castiel's arm, guided by Einstein, blocked the strike with his forearm. The blade scraped against his skin, but the wound healed instantly, thanks to his Hyper Regeneration.
Einstein moved quickly, snatching the dagger from Eldrin's hand and driving it into his arm. Eldrin grimaced, pulling the blade out before disappearing and reappearing several feet away.
Einstein's senses were on high alert. He felt the air shift behind him, spinning just in time to see Eldrin emerge. Before Eldrin could land another blow, Einstein activated Castiel's Shadow Walk.
Eldrin's eyes widened in shock as Castiel vanished, only to be met with a powerful kick to the face. The force of the impact sent Eldrin crashing into a tree, the trunk cracking under the force, leaving him dazed and slumped on the ground.
Einstein continued his assault. His punches were heavy, each landing with bone-crunching force on Eldrin's face.
Eldrin gasped for air, his vision blurring. A vicious kick to the stomach sent him reeling, collapsing to his knees. Einstein paused, but Eldrin's defiance flared one last time as he hurled a dagger. Einstein caught it effortlessly between two fingers.
"You're strong!" Eldrin rasped, blood trickling from his nose and mouth. "No wonder they are interested in you." His laughter echoed, chilling the silent forest.
"What do you want?" Einstein asked again, his voice unshaken.
Eldrin's eyes gleamed with a manic light.
"Nothing. I just want to kill you!" His wicked laughter was the final act of defiance.
Without hesitation, Einstein delivered a swift kick to Eldrin's neck. The sickening snap of bone pierced the silence, and Eldrin crumpled lifelessly. Under Einstein's control, Castiel's body moved mechanically, stomping on Eldrin's head repeatedly until his skull was crushed, brain matter splattered across the forest floor.
Einstein swiftly fled the scene, carrying Castiel far from Eldoria. They navigated through the dark, silent forest, not stopping until they were miles away. Castiel's body was exhausted from the immense strain on his mana.
Finally, when Einstein was confident they were safe, he used his Infinite Creation Magic to construct a small cabin in a clearing surrounded by towering trees.
Inside, he laid Castiel down, remaining vigilant as days passed. Castiel remained in a deep sleep, trapped in vivid dreams that replayed the traumas of his past life as Akira—loneliness, a fatal accident, and the bittersweet moments of his rebirth as Castiel. He relived every cherished memory with his parents, only to feel the searing pain of their loss again.
"Mom! Dad!" Castiel screamed, jolting awake from the nightmare, his face wet with sweat and tears. He sat up suddenly, heart pounding.
"Mom, Dad? Where are you?" he called out, his voice trembling with the desperate hope that everything had been just a dream.
Einstein's voice echoed in his mind, catching him off guard.
"Who are you?" Castiel asked, bewildered.
[I'm Einstein]
[Did you forget?]
"Einstein?" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "So it's all true? Not just a dream? My parents are dead?" Tears streamed down his face as the unbearable pain returned.
He panicked, his voice breaking, "No! No! I have to do something!"
[Master]
[I'm so sorry]
"Where am I? I need to return to Eldoria to revive them!" Castiel's voice was frantic, bordering on despair.
[You can't return there]
[Because you will die]
[And it's impossible to revive them for now]
"What do you mean?" Castiel's eyes widened, his mind struggling to process the enormity of Einstein's words.
[You need to unlock the Unique Skill]
[Resurrection]
[You need a massive amount of life essence to do it]
[And what you have right now isn't enough]
"You mean I can't revive them just because I don't have enough life essence?" Castiel's voice shook with disbelief.
[Yes]
"How do I get more of it?"
[By harvesting souls]
"What do you mean?"
[By killing]
[Your current harvested souls are 1,234]
[You need at least 100,000 souls]
[To trigger the process of unlocking the unique skill]
The revelation crushed Castiel; the thought of taking countless lives was almost too much to bear.
"Ahhh!!!" He screamed in frustration, the sound filling the cabin as his emotions erupted.
[Master]
[Calm down]
[Don't worry]
[Even if you can't do anything right now]
[I'm here to help and guide you]
Einstein's words were a lifeline, cutting through the storm of emotions that threatened to drown Castiel.
[For now]
[You need to travel alone and find new companions to help you]
[You need to survive]
Castiel's voice wavered, filled with raw emotion. "But… I need my parents. I can't live without them."
[Yes]
[I know]
[But there's nothing you can do in your current situation]
[You don't have to rush]
[Trust me]
[Everything has its right time and process]
Einstein's calm and reassuring presence brought Castiel back from the brink. He realized Einstein was right and he needed to trust him, to let him guide the way.
"Thank you," Castiel said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "From now on, I'll trust you with everything. Just promise you'll never leave me."
[Promise!]
With renewed purpose, Castiel stepped out of the cabin, the sounds of the forest alive around him. The pain still clung to him, but so did a spark of hope.
"Where to now?" he asked, feeling the weight of his new path but also the faint glimmer of possibility.
[Anywhere]
[Just don't go back to Eldoria]
Determined, Castiel embarked on his new journey into the unknown, fueled by a desire to find his way forward and, one day, achieve the impossible. This was the start of a new chapter—one driven by pain, but also by the promise of a future worth fighting for.