Then, Grey opened the book and started flipping through it before stopping at the last few chunks of pages.
"'My fellow, a man of true power and determination, the Sword Heaven is seeking you. Destiny bestowed upon me the ability to give more than to take and I have decided to give you my most important companion along with every artifact I have collected and created. Seek power as much as peace and seek peace as much as justice.' It's simple, isn't it? The Progenitor seemed to have trusted someone with his most important companion and every weapon he ever created or possessed."
Eva remained silent the entire time. What Grey said was shocking as it is. But, she had a feeling that what he would say next would be even worse.
"I'm sure you're starting to piece things together, aren't you? The Progenitor gave his most valuable possession to a trusted friend thinking they would keep it away from other people. But, that's not what what happened. The truth is far more ironic and funnier than I expected. If you think about it for even one second, you would realize that the Progenitor was quite frankly the most foolish man to have ever walked on this planet. Trusted friend? What a joke. That same friend had let his greed take over and he decided to learn that talent. He easily broke the 'trust' he had with his friend, the Progenitor."
"You… Don't tell me…"
"Hahaha, it's funny, isn't it? How easily trust can be broken given the right circumstances. Even the strongest bonds can turn into nothing in an instant. People would be ready to throw away their families for money, for fame, for power, or even for a fleeting dream." Grey said in a complicated tone.
Eva could see the fleeting change in his emotions. However, she still remained silent. Everyone has their past and their secrets that make who they are and Grey's past had turned him into a completely insane person for one reason or another.
"Well, it's not important now. What's important is that by Origin Inhertience's law, an heir for this power should appear in the future, hundreds or thousands of years. Who thought that the moment I saw your ability, that realization would hit me? I mean, it makes sense, so much sense. The Lavine family is a very old family that spans thousands of years worth of legacy. For a family to remain alive and brimming for this long, their ancestor must've really worked hard to do it."
Eva's eyes widened to the extreme when she realized what Grey was trying to say. She couldn't even utter a single word as it dawned on her.
"Hahahahaha, your ancestor is one hell of a guy! A bastard through and through, ey! Not only did he betray his friend for his own benefit, but he even made sure this book remained for all these years. That sadistic bastard! Hahahahah! He enjoyed reading his dead friend's last letter to him again and again as his family prospered using that same power his dead friend gave him out of goodwill." Grey laughed with mirth as he stared at Eva's shocked expression.
He really found it amusing the first time he realized it and now it became outright hilarious seeing how Eva just realized it. Her whole family's legacy was built on backstabbing. How hurtful would that be to hear? What makes it even worse is that she inherited that power directly and was the only one to get it across thousands of years of history. This was a cruel play of fate.
"This… can't be…" Eva murmured in disbelief.
"I can understand your confusion, Lavine. Hearing that my family's founder was a mere fraud is a tough pill to swallow. *Cough* Anyway, it doesn't matter now, does it? I told you the truth just because I knew your reaction to it would be priceless. Now, you can die in peace knowing that you're the heir of a piece of shit, Eva Lavine."
After that, Grey stood up and closed the book before he put it away. "From what I can see, you already unlocked your Origin Domain which is pretty impressive, I can give you that. But, to get the Progenitor's Sword, you must exceed Origin Domain and unlock the next two levels. Origin Realm and Origin Reality. Well, given how you're still too weak to reach that level, we will have to resort to extreme measures. I'm going to inject your main seal with a huge amount of Origin, stimulating a forceful leveling up. Granted, it's extremely painful and you won't be granted a quick, painless death but it's all worth it."
After that, Grey tapped on the computer before a huge, needle-like machine descended from the ceiling and aimed at Eva directly.
"This thing here is something I paid a fortune to create. It absorbs the Origin in the air and then through that needle, it injects that Origin into any object I want." The needle moved at Grey's command as it closed from Kaya's upper chest, where her main seal is.
"Any last words?"
Eva's face had been looking down the whole time he was speaking so Grey thought that she had given up on speaking and succumbed to the reality of things. However, Eva suddenly looked up with a smile on her face. "Pfft, so all of this stupid monologue and this fortune all for a sword? You're really a dumbass, aren't you? Hahahahaha!" Eva laughed loudly before she grinned at Grey.
"If you think all of this will finally make you stronger than the Black Phantom, you can keep on dreaming. As for the sword, well, you know where to shove it when you get it."
Grey's face frowned hard as he glared at Eva. "Foolish, utterly foolish, Eva Lavine. I wished you would be there to see me cut the head of your little lover. Goodbye." Saying that, Grey pushed the button and the needle finally descended, piercing Eva's chest.
A small squint of pain appeared on her face, but her grin still remained. Even when she was close to death, she decided to mock Grey.
'I won't give you the pleasure of thinking that you're something great, bastard.'
Then, an orange light started appearing on the glass screens of the machine before it moved to the edge of the needle and finally seeped into Eva's body. At that moment, the pain Eva felt was so immense that she had to close her eyes and grit her teeth to not leak a sound.
It was as if her body was getting shredded from the inside while she was conscious and alive. It was beyond anything she had ever felt before.
"You can feel it, can't you, Lavine? That pain is the announcement of the birth of the Progenitor's Sword again. Dawnbreaker is finally reviving again!! Hahahahahaha!!"
As Eva was struggling with the immense pain, her main seal was undergoing a huge change. Because of the huge amount of Origin being absorbed, the seal could only accept it and try to redirect that Origin throughout the body. But, because the process was too fast for the seal to handle, it could only forcefully use that Origin to level up the talent.
Quickly, her powers were rising from Origin Domain to the sixth level, Origin Realm. Then, before her body could even start adjusting to this new Origin, it quickly moved up to the next level, Origin Reality.
At that moment, a low scream escaped Eva's mouth as her eyes opened again, showing that they were now shining with a weird Orange light. Then, from within Eva's forehead, something eye-catching started happening. An orange ripple formed on Eva's forehead, it quickly swirled and moved as if it was a portal of some sort.
"Finally! It's finally here! Hahahahahahaha!"
As Grey was about to approach, Eva, a silhouette flashed across his eyes. Before he could even react, he felt something stab his chest.
'W-What… Happened?' Looking down, he saw a sword buried deep in his chest. His eyes then moved up, only to see a white mask with a stitched mouth on it.