Enigma of Sin

"Incredible…"

This was the first thing Kayn heard as his awareness started coming back to him. He didn't remember much, but he did remember his eyes being violently ripped out. He couldn't help but not want to open his eyelids for fear that he would be blind. Thankfully when he did open his closed eyelids, he could see, albeit everything was currently blurry.

Slowly but surely as he blinked, his vision was clearing up, easing one of his worries. He might have been able to regenerate his eyes, but who knows if the previous process required him to sacrifice his eyes much like Odin had permanently sacrificed one of his own.

There was no way that someone of his stature and power didn't know someone who could regenerate body parts, so his only assumption was that something prevented him from doing so. A sacrifice in a true sense was something that one gave up forever to gain something else in the first place.

Odin didn't say anything about him having to sacrifice anything though, only that he would have a high chance of dying and would experience a tremendous amount of pain. And true to his words, Kayn felt like he had been eaten and chewed on by that Behemoth Ape before being spat back out.

Then after he was spat back out, he was lit on fire and stomped on to put it out the flames before whatever remained was ripped apart by several smaller beasts. At least this is what Kayn equated the physical pain he felt to.

As for the mental pain, that didn't even have to be mentioned as it had caused him to convulse and foam at the mouth for the entire duration of the process, and even now his head was throbbing and threatening to cause him to faint again.

His soul pain was different though, he couldn't pinpoint where the pain was coming from, but it was just a part of him and it was like he was immersed in his own Extinction Flames. Something had been trying to snuff out his entire existence, but thankfully he had made it through that part of the process and now he only felt a dull ache.

"The pain you're feeling within your mind and soul will fade gradually as you become accustomed to your new power. In fact, during the process I even noticed an oddity within your mind. It was as if your mind somehow evolved and became much more sophisticated.

"My guess is that your thinking process and the speed at which you can perform different things within your mind has significantly increased, but I can't be sure as I haven't seen anything like this in all my years."

Odin paused as Kayn reoriented himself to his surroundings, noticing that the temple was still flooded with mana and his own mana was now fully empty, even his tissues seemed to be rung dry of mana.

"What did you do to me?" Kayn asked as he was trying to adjust himself to the throbbing headache. If he understood correctly, his mind would have ranked up during this process, but usually when he woke up it didn't hurt anymore. He could only attribute the excruciating pain to whatever Odin had done.

"I infused essence of the All-Seeing Eye into your own eyes. But in order for you to actually use it, you must have some intrinsic understanding of what you're seeing and also the essence needs to meld with your soul, becoming a part of you. This is why you are still feeling pain in your soul and mind.

"Your body mostly hurts because you were convulsing for about a year and a half straight, but you should feel right as rain after absorbing the mana left within this place. I never said I wouldn't let you do that in addition to choosing a different option after all."

Kayn could practically see the smirk on Odin's face by hearing the smugness in his voice. At this point, he could only sigh as he spent an entire year and a half inside of this temple. He didn't know what was happening on the Lavanth continent, but something told him that it was nothing good.

He couldn't help but worry about his sister and Kinzie. He had been gone for more than two years now. He should be about 21 or 22 right now, but he had lost track as the months between Earth and Talgonoth didn't exactly match up, but Kayn stopped caring about his age a while ago.

Lara would probably be six right now and Kayn had been absent during a few of her most important years. He wondered if she even remembered him or if she would consider him a stranger when he finally returned.

He had no doubt that Lara would be alive as Charlotte promised him that she would do what it took to protect her in return for saving her life. Knowing Charlotte, she probably tried to stay away from any troubles that were stirred up after the healing convention incident.

But in the off chance that Charlotte didn't make it in time and Lara had been kidnapped or killed…

Kayn stopped thinking about it after that as it only made him more anxious, and what he needed right now was to calm his mind so that he could focus on recovering.

"So, what can I do with this essence of the All-Seeing Eye that is now fused with my soul and eyes?" Kayn asked as he wanted to know what he gained, but also to distract himself from things that he had no control over.

"Hmmm you honestly will have to just explore what all it granted you as I'm unable to tell now that you have it. However, since it changed your eyes intrinsically, your sight should have changed at the very least.

"With just a thought you should be able to see far into the distance with clarity. You will be able to see through objects and understand their uses at a glance. People will be no different as you will be able to see how strong an individual is no matter how much stronger they are than you.

"You will also be able to gleam who or what they truly are if you concentrate mana into your eyes. There should also be the added benefit of something similar to what a Golden Phoenix can do. They are a mythical beast much like yourself, but rather than possess Dragon Eyes, they are able to see through the truth of things and people. Your Dragon Eyes should also receive a significant increase in ability by the way.

"In shorter words, you gained the aspect of my own eye to be able to see all things. You'll just need time and effort to acquire all of the abilities and know how to use them. What I am not able to pass on is the knowledge that I have and was given when I first performed the sacrifice.

"Truth be told, I doubt you'll be able to bring out much more than 1% of your eyes true power right now, but with time they will benefit you greatly. Perhaps you will even reach my level on your own naturally instead of having it granted to you, but everyone is granted the appropriate power for their sacrifice. Your pain and suffering have definitely been worth it for you."

Odin talked as if he was a proud teacher and his student had just achieved something he had been trying to teach others or pass down for a countless number of years.

"Anyway, now that I've used my single use of authority here, I must disperse my consciousness from this place. As I said, feel free to absorb what remains at this temple, for you have gained the true inheritance already, as you call it anyway. Until next time!"

"Wait!" Kayn yelled out as he didn't think Odin would just up and leave like that without allowing him to talk even a little bit. Unfortunately, no matter how long he waited, no response came.

"Damn old geezer." Kayn whispered under his breath after waiting for over 10 minutes for a response. He only felt brave enough to curse Odin once he was definitely gone, he didn't want to die just yet after all.

"Haaaa," Kayn sighed as he leaned his head back lamenting the fact that a year and a half had passed just like that. He was a little surprised he wasn't hungry or tired, but attributed it to something Odin must have done.

It was too late to go back now so all he could do was move forward, and the first order of business was to finish up with this temple and move on to the next. Odin had said that there was definitely a temple that could help him get home. All he had to do was find it.

As Kayn focused back on his goal, he found that he was able to relax and soothe his thoughts much easier than before. It almost scared him how easily it was to set his worries aside now, but it was exactly what he needed at this moment.

The Void Star technique began to circulate through his body and his mind quickly became engrossed in the inheritance he was trying to absorb. It didn't take long, only a few days later Kayn was stealthily walking out of the palace feeling refreshed.

He couldn't believe how fast he had absorbed this temple all things considered. His knowledge and understanding of mana in general had increased at a profound level after successfully absorbing what Odin left him. He couldn't help but hope that the temples from now on would go much faster, no matter whom they originated from.