Chapter 17
The little girl was surprisingly fast for her age—darting through the courtyard like a startled rabbit.
But unbeknownst to her, Dax had already moved.
In an instant, he appeared behind her and effortlessly scooped her up.
"Where are you going, little bunny?" Dax asked in a playful tone.
"Do you want to play with your Grand-Uncle?"
The little girl's face turned pale.
She let out a frightened squeal and kicked her small legs.
"Put me down, Grand-Uncle!" she cried, lips pushing into a trembling pout.
Confused, Dax gently set her on the ground, brushing away imaginary dust from her clothes.
"Don't cry, Little sapphire," he coaxed with rare softness.
"I have a gift for you."
He looked down at the little girl, Sapphire, his second cousin's grandchild.
And right now, she looked ready to burst into tears.
Flustered, Dax acted quickly.
With a flick of his hand, he pulled a massive, strangely wrapped chocolate bar from his Epoch storage—a leftover from his travels in the Jagan sector.
"This is candy," he said simply, gently placing it in her hand.
"Don't cry."
Without waiting for her response, Dax turned and began walking away.
Her eyes immediately sparkled with delight.
Clutching the chocolate, she dashed out of the courtyard with renewed energy.
Once outside, she looked at the huge bar in her hands and her smile widened mischievously.
"Hehe! Foolish Uncle!" she declared proudly to the sky.
"I'll make you give me all your candy!"
Her cute, triumphant voice rang out joyfully as she skipped along.
But her celebration was cut short when a shadow fell over her. She looked up into the cool, unreadable eyes of the silver-haired woman from the gate.
—-
Dax returned to his room with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
My standing in this clan is not small, he thought with quiet satisfaction.
As he settled down, memories resurfaced whispers he'd heard from maids during his childhood and his own peculiar birth.
He was the son of the current Patriarch one of the world's top geniuses and Vera, a prodigy of the Sun Clan.
Because of his mother's rare constitution, she had carried Dax in her womb for three hundred years.
That single fact had allowed every child of his generation to surpass him while he was still unborn.
What kind of child stays in the womb for that long?
Even Inerous had been astonished.
This was far from normal for humans.
If every human required centuries to bear a child, humanity would have gone extinct ages ago.
The only explanation was simple:
the lifespan of humans in this world had to be incredibly long.
Dax stepped out into his massive courtyard, enjoying the medieval aesthetics surrounding him.
At the center, he sat down cross-legged.
He summoned Cil into his grip and rested her across his lap as he entered a lotus position.
"I really hate missing my kill," he muttered.
"One thing this body lacks… is balance. The surge in my stats has destroyed the natural equilibrium of my physique."
Inerous responded immediately.
"Yes, Master, that is correct. Your newly evolved trait is in a league of its own. Insatiable Hunger refined your body as you consumed… but think of it like this."
"Imagine two containers. One is filled to the brim, but reinforced to withstand immense pressure. The other is completely empty… unstrengthened and fragile. Now, if you forcefully inject vast energy into the weaker container… what will happen?"
"The vessel will be destroyed," Dax answered without hesitation.
"Bingo." Inerous teased.
Dax narrowed his eyes.
"So why is my body intact as we speak?"
He already had a vague idea, but he wanted to hear it directly from her.
"Silly Master," Inerous replied with a light laugh.
"It's obviously because of the evolution of your trait into the Origin Eater.
I see that's why my physical prowess is limited to the trait master realm.