Unholy Player

Chapter 447: Thank You for Letting Me Play

Is it because of my new bloodline talent, Nihil?

Adyr considered the possibility and tried to understand the depth of this new ability; meanwhile, he remained silent and did not answer the question directed at him.

Thalira waited, watching his face for any sign of reaction, but when nothing came, she let out a short, resigned sigh. "At least tell me why you are here."

"Didn’t you want to speak about something? Ask for my help?"

Thalira’s eyes widened slightly at his words, a flicker of surprise breaking through her composed expression. "So you learned."

She could easily guess that if Adyr was walking freely through the palace corridors like this, relaxed and unchallenged, there was only one reason: he had already met her father, Zephan, and already discussed the problem Lunari was facing.

Otherwise, the only explanation would be that Adyr had somehow snuck into the Lunari kingdom and then infiltrated the palace itself, a place guarded by three Rank 4 Practitioners.

"Yes, I was just in the underground with them. They told me everything." As he spoke, Adyr pushed the door open and stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the room before he casually headed toward the instrument, taking in every detail of its alien design and unusual structure.

Thalira did not stop him; her body stayed where it was, but her mind was clearly somewhere else. "And? You saw them as well, right?"

Though all five figures kept underground had been there long before she was born, leaving her no chance to meet them or form any personal bond with them, there was still a quiet emotion in her voice. It was clear she cared about them, at least as part of the history that had shaped her race.

"Yes." Adyr slowly sat in front of the instrument and let his fingers glide over the keys, barely touching them at first, as if trying to feel what kind of sound each one would produce.

Thalira fell silent for a while, her gaze dropping to the floor, her brows drawing together slightly, searching for the right way to frame her next question.

But before she could, Adyr spoke. "Do you care about them?"

"They are my ancestors, so..." Before she could finish, a note rose from the instrument, low and deep, the vibration running through the air, cutting her words short.

"Do you care about the future of your race?" Adyr asked again, not taking his eyes off the polished surface and the faint reflections on it.

This time, Thalira answered without a single hint of doubt, her voice full of conviction. "Of course."

Adyr pressed another key, and a new note rose from the instrument, stronger this time, its echo bouncing off the walls and lingering in the corners of the room like a fading pulse.

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened to the sound. After a moment, he asked again, this time in a more serious tone. "If you had to choose one of them, what would your choice be?"

He did not wait for an answer. His fingers started to move more confidently, pressing key after key. Each note made the copper-colored pipes shake as the sound got higher and higher and layered over itself.

Thalira watched him play, taken aback for a moment by the sight.

The melody was not particularly smooth, and the notes did not seem perfectly synchronized, yet Adyr’s posture, the controlled movement of his hands, and the way he listened to his own music gave the impression of someone already quite experienced with the instrument, as if his body had quickly adapted to it.

"How do you know how to play it?" Thalira’s curiosity finally slipped out.

This instrument was one of a kind in the entire Outer Region. Its history traced back to the Midlands, an antique collector’s piece that had been owned only by royal families, passed down through her ancestors, and ultimately gifted to Thalira by her father.

So the fact that Adyr seemed to know how to play it was more than surprising; it quietly unsettled her.

"We have similar things at home, so I am not a stranger to this." A faint smile touched Adyr’s lips as his fingers continued to move over the keys, his touch growing more confident.

As time went on, he looked more and more familiar with the instrument. The notes rose with a growing sense of synergy, each one starting to complement the last, turning from scattered sounds into something that resembled a deliberate piece.

"Oh, right..." Thalira let out a small sigh as realization settled in. For a second, she had actually forgotten who the man in front of her was.

She focused on the melody taking shape under Adyr’s fingers.

It began with a low tone, the kind that made one feel as if something was starting: a new life, a new decision, or perhaps a new end.

Soon, a calm, contemplative rhythm followed, smooth but carrying an undercurrent of tension, then a subtle rise in the beat that pulled Thalira deeper into her own thoughts, right back to Adyr’s earlier question.

If she had to choose, who would she choose?

Ancestors she had never met in her life, only heard about in stories, all of them incredibly strong, strong enough to build a new kingdom even more powerful than the current one...

Or the current kingdom she had grown up in, the kingdom whose streets and halls she knew by heart, the place that had taught her what the word "home" meant?

It was a question that held 1 emotional and 1 logical answer, just like the piece Adyr was playing, its shifting tones making her thoughts tangle in a strangely chaotic way.

For the last few minutes, she simply let herself drift between the sound and her thoughts until the final echoes faded from her ears and the melody came to its conclusion, leaving the room feeling momentarily hollow.

Adyr calmly lifted his hands from the keys and rose to his feet. He turned his crimson eyes toward the woman still standing there, then inclined his head in a light, courteous gesture. "Thank you for letting me play."

He walked toward the door with quiet, unhurried steps to leave. Just before he crossed the threshold, Thalira’s voice rose behind him, finally answering his question. "I would choose my people over them."

Her expression was calm and determined as she stood with her back straight. "As long as there is a future in front of us, I will choose to make that future grand with my own hands."

What an ambitious woman, Adyr thought silently as he continued down the corridor without looking back.

Her decision showed very clearly what kind of woman she was. As long as there was an opportunity, she was the type to seize it, no matter the cost.

—

After leaving Thalira’s room, Adyr did not linger any longer and headed straight back to the stairs leading down to the underground.

It had been long enough for Zephan and the others to say their goodbyes, so he decided it was time to return and reap his reward.

He had also gotten what he wanted from this small walk through the palace, as a new system message had appeared in front of him just as he was leaving Thalira’s room, giving him a good and expected surprise about one of his talents.