Chapter Fifty-Three: Immortality

Through the hazy mist, Vir saw before him more than ten rows of transparent crystal tubes arranged with meticulous order. Inside these tubes, to his horror, were dissected and separated parts of human bodies! Decaying limbs and feet beyond recognition, intestines isolated and stored, hearts split in two by sharp blades and held open with specially made iron clamps, breasts of women, the genitalia of men, skins stripped of flesh and bone—each gruesome artifact placed carefully within its own crystal prison. At the end, in a specially crafted giant tube, nearly a hundred human heads appeared, each robbed of their eyes and brains.

Confronted by such a shocking sight, Vir couldn't help but draw a sharp breath, a chill crawling through his heart, forcing himself to resist the urge to retch as he shuddered violently. Twelve rows of crystal tubes, twenty in each row—two hundred and forty tubes in all, each containing these horrifying fragments. An icy, bone-chilling dread ran from Vir’s spine straight to the back of his head, making his scalp tingle.

If these were mere animals or magical beasts, Vir might not have cared; but these were all humans! Not mindless, emotionless, bloodthirsty creatures, but people—humans just like Vir himself.

And where was this place? An alchemist’s laboratory—the very domain reserved for those famed for their madness. To witness hundreds of human body parts perfectly preserved within crystal tubes in an alchemist’s lab, anyone could deduce what kind of atrocity was committed here.

In an instant, the trembling horror in Vir’s heart vanished, replaced by a burning fury, fierce as wildfire.

He gripped his wand tightly, the slender, fragile staff nearly snapped in two by his force. His face was grave, brows knitted into a tight knot. Just then, at the end of a row of crystal tubes, two eerie purple-red points of light suddenly flashed into existence. A surge of immense power swept through the room, its terrifying presence pressing upon Vir so forcefully he nearly suffocated.

His face flushed red, not only from the inability to breathe, but as if every inch of his body were being crushed beneath a thousand-pound stone. Had Vir not grabbed a nearby crystal tube for support, he would have collapsed to the floor.

“Holy light, shine upon me, dispel all…”

Unable to breathe, the spell that should have been cast in an instant took Vir three attempts to chant before he could release it. A gentle, milky-white glow enveloped him, a strange comfort surging through his body. Though it didn’t fully dispel the oppressive force, it at least allowed Vir to breathe and regain some ability to move.

“Oh? So you’re using light magic…”

At that moment, a harsh, metallic voice echoed from ahead, startling Vir. Though his rank was only that of a mage, his senses far surpassed those of ordinary people. In such a deathly silent chamber, Vir had not detected another presence; what did that mean?

“Who’s there?!”

Vir forced down his shock, warily drew his wand, and called out toward the darkness.

One minute passed, then two, then three... After five agonizing minutes, the abrupt, metallic scraping sound echoed again from the front.

“Who am I? Are you asking my name? Oh, I’ve forgotten, but I remember others call me the Father of Alchemy…”

“The Father of Alchemy!”

At these words, Vir’s pupils contracted sharply, his entire being stunned. The Father of Alchemy—Sankrives—hailed as the greatest alchemist of the Alchemy Age over a thousand years ago. In that era, he was the undisputed sovereign of the alchemical world!

He once used alchemy to transform the southernmost sea of the continent into desert overnight, then in another night, turned that desert into a range of mountains. He created a mechanical army that shocked the entire continent, annihilating its two most powerful empires. He nearly slew two royal dragons.

To reshape seas and deserts, destroy empires, and nearly kill dragon monarchs—such feats Vir could accomplish himself if he regained the power of a Divine Descendant. Yet what truly stunned Vir was that Sankrives pioneered the field of life alchemy. His most renowned theory was immortality.

Immortality—a realm dreamed of by countless souls. A warrior at the highest level might temper his body to endure for ages, but could never achieve eternal life. A sorcerer at peak mastery might live three centuries, but compared to immortality, it was a mere shadow. Could Sankrives truly have achieved endless life? After all, he lived more than a millennium ago!

“You are Sankrives?!”

Vir asked, his voice tinged with disbelief, his eyes fixed ahead. Regardless of the truth, he dared not relax for a moment.

“Sankrives? That name—I haven’t heard it in so long… Let me think, was it thirty years, or three hundred, or…”

As Sankrives spoke, his voice abruptly halted, plunging the room back into silence. Yet unlike before, Vir distinctly sensed a murderous intent, unprecedented and chilling, gradually emanating from the darkness ahead.

“Yes, I remember now… Not thirty years, not three hundred, but exactly one thousand three hundred fifty years, six months, and seven days! Yes, I remember it all! I am Sankrives, Father of Alchemy!”

Sankrives roared like a beast, waves of murderous intent making Vir’s hair stand on end, forcing him to retreat several steps and glance warily at the mechanical armor behind him.

“One thousand three hundred fifty years, six months, and seven days! I have been trapped in this damned place for over a millennium! Damn the theory! Damn the experiment! Damn life itself!”

Sankrives howled in madness, his voice as grating as metal scraping violently together.