The meditation chamber at Echowave Hall was unlike the strict, oppressive atmosphere of the castle. It was usually quiet and serene. But now, the master bedroom reeked of medicinal herbs and a heavy, somber atmosphere.
Rufus, who once commanded fear across the land, now lay frail and wasted on the bed. Gray strands of hair clung to his forehead. His face was a dull, sickly gray, and his eyes were sunken deep. Each shallow breath made it feel like the spark of his life could vanish at any moment.
Eloise sat at the bedside, carefully wiping his withered hands with a warm towel. Her eyes were puffy and red, with streaks of tears still fresh on her cheeks.
Several gray-haired royal physicians stood nearby, shaking their heads and sighing in helpless resignation. Rufus’ condition had worsened beyond saving, and no medicine could pull him back from the brink.
“Father! Mother!” Austin barged into the room without bothering with the dust on his clothes or any formalities.
“Austin? What are you…” Eloise said, surprised and heartbroken at the sight of her son. He didn’t explain, then rushed to the bedside and snapped open the box. ” Mother, give this tablet to Father now.”
The instant the box opened, the air was filled with a refreshing, soothing scent that brimmed with vitality. The oppressive, suffocating heaviness of the room lifted, and everyone felt a spark of renewed energy
“This… What is this?” Eloise and the elderly physicians stared in shock. None had ever encountered a tablet radiating such a rich life force.
“This is an immortal essence tablet. It can save Father’s life. There’s no time to waste. Give it to him now,” Austin urged.
Seeing the grave determination on her son’s face, Eloise bit her lip and made her decision. She carefully lifted her husband’s nearly weightless head and placed the milky-white tablet between his chapped lips.
It instantly melted in the mouth, transforming into an incredibly warm current without needing to be swallowed.
Like the first thawing stream of early spring, it coursed along his dried-out circulatory pathways, seeping into his weathered internal organs, and revived the essence that had been on the verge of exhaustion.
Everyone held their breath and fixed their gaze on Rufus. At first, there was no significant change. But after a few heartbeats, a miracle began to unfold.
Rufus’s ashen complexion started gaining a healthy flush at a visible rate, as if rain had soaked through parched earth.
His sunken eye sockets slowly regained shape, filling out as if someone were pressing them back into place. His breathing, which had been so weak it nearly stopped, began growing deeper, steadier, and stronger. Even his chest rose and fell with a firm, natural rhythm.
Even more astonishing, the frail skeleton beneath his skin began to regain life. His shrunken muscles slowly filled out, and the blue veins under his skin pulsed with renewed strength.
Deep inside, a surge of energy, only seen in a man at his prime, began to awaken. In less than half an hour, Rufus’s closed eyelids trembled several times under everyone’s disbelieving gazes before snapping open.
They were the eyes of a man who had once commanded respect across the land, sharp and piercing like an eagle’s. Though initially clouded with confusion, clarity and commanding presence quickly returned to them.
He flexed his arm instinctively, feeling the long-lost strength within and the vigorous vitality that seemed to have returned him to his peak.
“I… I’m alive?” Rufus looked down at his own body, disbelief written across his face.
“Your Highness!”
“Father!”
Eloise and Austin couldn’t contain themselves. Tears streamed down their faces as they rushed to his bedside, overwhelmed with relief.
She threw her arms around her husband, sobbing uncontrollably.
The attendants and physicians around them dropped to their knees, excitedly shouting, “Your Highness has recovered. This is truly a miracle.”
“Austin, tell me. Where did this tablet come from?” Rufus asked curiously. He’d been sure he was at death’s door, but one tablet gave him a new lease on life.
“This… I-It was a gift from a reclusive master,” Austin stammered. “The master heard of your lifelong dedication to the people and the country, and sent this immortal essence tablet as a gift for you.”
“A reclusive master?” Rufus scrutinized his son, his eyes narrowing. “Austin, you haven’t changed one bit. You always get nervous when lying to me. Tell me the truth. Who actually gave it to you? This is a life-saving grace, so I must properly repay him.”
“Fine. I won’t hide it from you anymore,” Austin admitted. He couldn’t take the pressure from his Father’s relentless gaze anymore and came clean. “Dustin sent this tablet from thousands of miles away. But he told me not to tell you.”
“Logan?” Rufus froze for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. “That stubborn brat. So he hasn’t forgotten me after all. That’s more like it.”
Surprise and relief washed over him at the same time. He hadn’t thought Dustin could actually find the elixir of immortality, and yet here he was, finally letting go of past grudges. The only regret was that his son still wouldn’t show his face.
Rufus thought perhaps Dustin was too stubborn to set aside his pride. But there was time. His body thrummed with new life, and chances to make things right would come.
Dustin stood atop the highest watchtower at the castle with his hands clasped behind his back. The night wind stirred his robes. With his cultivation level, despite the distance, everything in that distant chamber was as clear as if he stood right there.
He heard his father’s robust laughter. Seeing the once-again straight and powerful posture, the relieved expression on his face that seemed to take ten years off his age, even as he grumbled about Dustin being a brat.
The knot within him finally loosened. The next moment, his form shifted slightly. He merged into the cool night breeze and vanished silently from the tower’s peak, alerting no one.
