Necromancer Of The Shadows

Chapter 1256  Source

"Dying?" Evan frowned when he heard Anastasia's words and asked in a deep voice, "Are you serious?"

Anastasia rolled her eyes when she heard Evan and replied unhappily. "What do you mean, 'am I serious'? Do you think I would joke about your friend's death?"

Evan didn't say anything upon hearing Anastasia. Instead, he used his spiritual senses to scan the ice cocoon. However, other than the extremely cold energy radiating from it—so cold that it seemed capable of freezing even his spiritual senses—he didn't find anything wrong with it.

He could clearly sense Valery's vitality, which was astonishingly strong, even higher than that of a normal beginner-level Rank Two Core Evolver and surprisingly, it was continuously increasing, moving towards the mid-level Rank Two.

Evan was completely baffled when he saw this and couldn't understand why Anastasia said Valery was dying. Confused, he once again looked at Anastasia, his expression full of questions.

Seeing Evan's confused look, Anastasia thought for a moment before she asked.

"What method did she use to break through from S-rank to Rank One? Did she use the source pill that people in Utopia use to ascend, or did she rely on the Tower of Ascension like you?"

"Neither," Evan shook his head. "It was Elysia who helped her get promoted to Rank One."

He explain how Elysia had summoned the phantom of the Tree of Life on Earth in order to fight against the high-level Core Evolvers that Winterclaw had sent. During that time, she had used the Tree of Life's power to promote the people of Earth, including Valery, to Rank One.

Evan also clarified that only Valery experienced any subsequent issues, while others were successfully promoted. This indicated there was nothing inherently wrong with the promotion method of the Tree of Life.

"The Tree of Life…" Anastasia and Ashley were both stunned as they absorbed his explanation, looking at him in shock.

They weren't surprised that the Tree of Life could successfully promote people to Rank One, as they already knew it possessed such capabilities.

In fact, even the World Tree in Sylvan's cave also has the ability to promote S-rankers to Rank One Core Evolvers without requiring a source pill.

What shocked them, however, was Elysia herself. They hadn't known that, before her death, Elysia had been Eilistraea's essence clone and now can partially control the Tree of Life.

"This is ridiculous…" Ashley muttered with a dazed look on her face, her perception of Elysia shifting completely.

Previously, she had viewed Elysia as nothing more than a lunatic who loved to curse and stir up trouble.

But now that she knew Elysia had been Eilistraea's essence clone and that Evan had turned her into a shadow undead using his skill, Ashley couldn't help but take her seriously.

She realized that if Elysia somehow inherited Eilistraea's knowledge, her strength would become unfathomable.

Anastasia was equally surprised by the revelation about Elysia, but her focus soon shifted to something else Evan had mentioned.

"Winterclaw opened space portals on Earth to capture this girl…" She muttered, her gaze lingering thoughtfully on the ice cocoon.

Evan didn't pay attention to Anastasia's mutterings or Ashley's musings. Instead, he asked Anastasia again, "Can you now tell me why you are saying she is dying?"

"Didn't you just say that a few months before using the Tower of Ascension, she received a notification that she needed to absorb the source of the Ice Monarch to promote her core to a Monarch Core?" Anastasia asked.

"Yes," Evan confirmed with a nod.

Anastasia's expression turned serious and she asked in a low voice.

"Do you understand what it means to absorb someone else's source?"

Evan raised an eyebrow at her serious tone and shook his head. Ashley, equally clueless, also shook her head.

Anastasia wasn't surprised by their ignorance. Taking a deep breath, she began to explain.

"To absorb someone else's source means you need to completely merge with the other party. Their life force, bloodline, body, and soul—everything. You must absorb and fully integrate it with yourself to take on someone else's source."

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Evan asked, his tone confused. Although the process sounded complex, he didn't understand why Anastasia seemed so concerned.

Anastasia's mouth twitched at his lack of understanding. Instead of answering, she asked him a question of her own, "What do you think would happen if a lion tried to absorb the source of a gorilla?"

Evan blinked at the strange question. He thought about it for a moment but eventually shook his head, unsure of the answer.

Anastasia sighed when she saw him shaking his head and was about to explain to him. But before she could—

"It would become a chimera," Ashley interjected suddenly, her eyes narrowing as she recalled some of the monsters she had encountered in the past.

"Exactly," Anastasia confirmed, nodding at Ashley. "If a person tries to absorb someone else's source, they will become a chimera."

"A chimera?" Evan repeated, stunned. "You mean those monsters that look like a combination of different creatures?"

"Yes. If a person only absorbs part of someone else—such as their bloodline or soul—it's not an issue. But if they attempt to absorb another person's entire source, their original source will destabilize, and their race will most likely turn into a chimera."

"What if the person absorbs the source of someone from the same species? Like a human absorbing another human's source?" Evan asked.

"It's the same," Anastasia replied. "A person can only have one source. If they try to absorb another, their original source will become unstable, and they will almost certainly turn into a chimera."

Evan's eyes narrowed as he processed her words. "Are you saying that if Valery absorbs the Ice Monarch's source in the future, she will turn into a chimera?"

"Most likely," Anastasia said with a nod. "But there is one exception…"

She paused, her gaze shifting to the ice cocoon.

"She won't turn into a chimera if the source she absorbs originates from the same person."