Born In Ashes: The Enigma

To become a Class Warrior, everyone had to go through the Class Ritual.

The Class Ritual is nothing complicated— just a matter of using certain items to simulate ones source core and allow it to break through the barrier of an Apprentice Warrior and reach the level of a Class Warrior.

When a person became a Class Warrior, they would receive a random class. The class a person received depended on many factors: the type of power they possessed, what they did during their time as an Apprentice Warrior, how they used their power, their talent, potential, and many other elements.

However, aside from receiving a random class, there were also class items that could be used during the Class Ritual to obtain a specific class.

By using these class items, a person could obtain the class that the item granted.

The item Rose had mentioned was one such item, and from the way she spoke, Azrael could tell that the class she had received from that item was far from ordinary.

Azrael was still mulling over Rose's words when her voice once again reached his ears.

"Let's not waste time on useless things. Tell me— knowing that you will have to obey my every command— do you still want to become a Vessel of Corruption?"

This time, Azrael did not respond immediately. Instead, a look of hesitation appeared on his face, his eyes filled with complex emotions, clearly showing his inner struggle.

After wrestling with his thoughts for a full minute, Azrael took a deep breath and spoke, his expression serious.

"I am willing. But you have to promise me that you won't abuse your authority."

Rose rolled her eyes at his words and spoke in an indifferent voice.

"In the first place, I don't even want to turn you into a Vessel of Corruption as it's not an easy task. I am only willing because of that relic in your hand..." She paused, then added, "Don't worry, you are of no use to me. You will just have to do some minor work for me while I am still in this city."

Azrael stared at Rose for a few seconds before giving a nod of agreement.

Seeing him nod, Rose pointed at the watch in his hand.

"Give me that relic, and I will turn you into a Vessel of Corruption."

Azrael sneered at her words and shook his head.

"I don't trust you enough to hand it over before you turn me into a Vessel of Corruption."

As he spoke, Azrael even tossed the Fallen Star aside to show that he had no intention of fighting her.

"Let's each do our part. You turn me into a Vessel of Corruption, and I will hand it over to you."

Even though Azrael could summon the pocket watch back with a single thought, he still didn't dare to give it to Rose yet. He feared she might have some method to sever his bond with the watch and claim it as her own.

Rose looked at Azrael for a few seconds, then turned to glance at the Fallen Star lying flat a few meters away and finally nodded.

Seeing her nod, Azrael took a deep breath and began to walk toward her.

Rose also moved forward to meet him.

As they drew closer, Azrael's body instinctively tensed. In his current condition, his combat capabilities were nearly zero. If Rose decided to attack him, he wouldn't be able to resist even if he wanted to.

Soon, the two stood just five meters apart, and the tension in the air was palpable.

Rose, however, remained relaxed and even had a faint smile playing on the corner of her lips. She was confident that even if Azrael tried something, she could stop him easily.

After all, no matter how much Azrael tried to hide it, she could tell that he was utterly exhausted— just walking seemed like a struggle for him.

Once they were just a meter apart from each other, they came to a complete halt.

"Now that I look closely, you have a rather handsome face..." She said as she took a step forward and lifted his chin with her finger. "After becoming a Vessel of Corruption, if you work diligently for me, I might even give you some benefits."

Azrael's face flushed at her words, and he slapped her hand away.

"L-Let's start..." He said nervously.

'He is still just a young man in his puberty after all,' Rose thought with an amused smile, licking her lips as she looked at his reaction.

Suddenly, her eyes turned inky black, and a concentrated orb of black energy began to form in her palm.

Azrael initially thought she was about to attack and nearly stepped back, but when he saw her calmly focusing on the orb, he held his ground.

Within seconds, a small, golf ball sized sphere of inky black energy floated above Rose's hand.

"Swallow it," She said, stretching her palm toward Azrael.

Azrael took the orb from her hand and examined it closely, not swallowing it immediately.

After a few moments of studying it, he turned his eyes to Rose and stretched out his other hand, offering the pocket watch to her.

Rose smiled upon seeing this and took the watch from his hand.

As soon as she touched the watch and sensed the ancient aura radiating from it, her eyes sparkled with joy.

Earlier, she had only felt the relic's aura from a distance, but now that it rested in her hand, she could clearly feel that this old-looking watch was far from ordinary.

Azrael quietly watched as Rose brought the pocket watch closer to inspect it more carefully.

And in that moment— when she raised the relic near her face— the nervousness that had previously clouded Azrael's expression vanished completely.

A cold gleam flashed in his eyes and—

BOOM!

Suddenly, a booming sound rang out, and a burst of black smoke exploded from the back of the pocket watch, engulfing Rose's face.