dognovel Chapter 332: Returning to Zero
Chapter 332: Returning to Zero
Rory hurried to Vincent’s side.
There was no amazement in her eyes over the dramatic change in his appearance—only overwhelming worry and heartache.
Nirvana and rebirth.
She had only ever seen those words in books before.
And now, Vincent had undergone such a transformation right before her eyes.
Yet Rory felt no joy at all.
Looking at his pale face, remembering the agony he had endured during his nirvana, her heart felt as though an invisible hand had seized it tightly, squeezing until she could barely breathe.
Towering flames had ignited from the depths of his blood and bones, burning through his meridians inch by inch, scorching apart his skeleton.
When he lost his sanity and became ruled by instinct alone... had there still been fleeting moments of clarity?
Moments where he could feel that soul-rending pain?
How much had it hurt him back then?
The thought alone made Rory’s eyes sting as mist instantly blurred her vision.
She reached out carefully, as gently as though touching a fragile treasure, and wrapped her fingers around Vincent’s hand.
It was cold. Terribly cold.
"Why are Vincent’s hands so cold?"
Alarm flashed across Rory’s face as she immediately touched his cheek, then his body.
Cold. Everywhere. Without the slightest trace of heat.
"What’s going on?"
"Why is his body so cold?"
"There’s no warmth at all."
Cold?
Vangar frowned deeply.
When he had carried Vincent back earlier, the man’s body had practically been burning hot.
There was no way he had been cold.
"Let me see."
Vangar immediately stepped forward and grabbed Vincent’s other hand.
"...He really is cold."
What the hell was happening?
Hadn’t this guy successfully completed his nirvana?
So why was he reacting like this?
Even Vangar had never encountered anything like it before.
Just as he was about to suggest bringing in military medics, Yuel and Jasper arrived with the Firebird Clan physician.
The moment Vangar saw the doctor, he strode forward in two swift steps and practically hauled the poor man over by the collar.
"Hurry up and check him."
"He just completed nirvana. Why is his body temperature this low?"
Vincent was a firebird.
On top of that, his elemental power was fire-based.
Normally, his body temperature ran hotter than everyone else’s.
Being this cold was absolutely abnormal.
Nirvana?
The Firebird Clan physician stared at Vincent in utter shock, eyes widening dramatically.
"His Highness... he... he actually completed nirvana?"
And judging from his current condition, not only had he undergone nirvana—
He had succeeded.
Seeing the physician standing there dumbfounded and staring blankly at Vincent, Rory urged anxiously,
"Vincent still hasn’t woken up after completing nirvana, and his body temperature is terrifyingly low."
"Hurry and examine him. What exactly is going on with him?"
The physician finally snapped out of it.
Without wasting another second, he quickly opened his medical storage ring and pulled out a series of instruments, immediately beginning a full examination on Vincent.
Everyone watched nervously from the side.
Xarion and Paros arrived shortly afterward as well. Seeing the doctor already at work, both silently remained near the doorway without interrupting.
Five minutes later, the Firebird Clan physician finally removed the devices attached to Vincent and put them away.
"How is he?"
Rory immediately asked the moment he finished.
The physician still looked visibly shaken, but there was unmistakable relief in his expression now.
Turning toward Rory, he spoke excitedly,
"Female Master Rory, His Highness’s life signs are extremely stable—better than expected, even."
"His current condition is actually a perfectly normal phenomenon following nirvana rebirth."
"Normal?"
Vangar cut in immediately, pointing at Vincent with disbelief written all over his face.
"He’s basically an ice cube right now, and you call that normal?"
The Firebird Clan physician hurriedly explained,
"Marshal Vangar, you misunderstand."
"According to our clan’s records, a firebird’s nirvana is a complete evolutionary leap of life itself—a total reconstruction from genetic sequence to energy core."
"During the nirvana process, His Highness’s fire-element genetic chains undergo a supercritical fission state."
"It releases enough terrifying energy to burn everything to ash, using those flames to destroy the old genetic shackles and forge an entirely new life-form."
"When this happens, we call it... Returning to Zero."
The physician clearly had countless questions he desperately wanted to ask, but he still patiently explained Vincent’s condition first.
"After Returning to Zero, an enormous energy cocoon normally forms around the body."
"Like a newborn firebird hatchling, the individual inside the cocoon absorbs the cocoon’s energy while simultaneously replicating the newly formed genetic structure within their body."
"Once the genetic replication is complete, they break out of the shell and achieve true rebirth."
At this point, the physician’s excitement became impossible to hide.
He looked around the room at everyone present and said excitedly,
"But His Highness skipped the entire Returning to Zero stage!"
"The new genetic sequence has already stabilized directly inside his body."
As he spoke, he quickly opened the data from the earlier examination and projected a brand-new genetic chain into the air.
"This is the new gene sequence His Highness just completed replicating."
"I have never seen such a perfect genetic structure in my life."
Finally, unable to restrain himself any longer, the physician asked the question he most wanted answered.
"Female Master Rory... what exactly did you use on His Highness?"
"Was it the blood of a human female?"
"That’s the only explanation for why he completed nirvana so smoothly—and replicated such perfect genes."
Before anyone else could respond, Vangar spoke first.
"It wasn’t human blood."
"It was the divine medicine I brought back from Beast God Mountain."
"The Female Master only used the sacred medicine personally given to me by the Beast God."
"What?!"
The physician stared at Vangar in utter disbelief.
"A divine medicine... personally bestowed by the Beast God?"
Vangar raised a brow lazily.
"Everyone knows I spent five years on Beast God Mountain."
"If I managed to walk out of that place alive, naturally it means I had the Beast God’s protection."
"And if the Beast God was willing to protect me, is it really strange that he gave me a divine medicine before I left?"
Vangar’s lips curled into the faintest smile as he looked at the physician.
"Or..."
"Are you questioning me?"
The dangerous undertone in his voice nearly made the physician’s legs give out beneath him.
He immediately lowered his head, his voice trembling violently.
"N-No! Never!"
"Marshal, I misspoke!"
"I... I was simply too shocked..."
He must have lost his mind to question Vangar.
Everyone in the empire knew the marshal’s temper was terrifying. Most beastmen who had dared challenge or question him had practically been sent straight to meet the Beast God.
Vangar merely gave the physician a dismissive glance and ignored him afterward.
Rory shot Vangar a brief look before turning back toward the physician.
"Doctor, when will Vincent wake up?"
"Now that his nirvana succeeded... does that mean his illness is completely cured?"
The physician nodded immediately.
"The insectoid genetic contamination inside His Highness has been completely eradicated."
"With such a perfect new genetic structure, he will never suffer another relapse."
"However, the nirvana process consumed too much of his energy. He likely won’t wake up until tomorrow."
Only after hearing that Vincent’s illness was truly gone did Rory finally release a long breath of relief.
"As long as he’s cured, that’s enough."
"It doesn’t matter if he wakes up a little later."
After confirming Vincent was no longer in danger, the Firebird Clan physician did not stay any longer.
"Female Master Rory, since His Highness is safe now, I should return to the Firebird Clan."
"Her Majesty the Empress is still waiting for news."
Rory nodded gratefully.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Once the physician left, Yuel stepped forward and spoke softly to Rory.
"Rory, we can’t keep the battleship stationed in the Godfall Battlefield forever."
"Since Vincent is stable now, we should return to the Central District."
At the mention of returning to the Central District, Jasper quietly raised an extremely practical concern.
"...Where exactly are we supposed to live after we go back? Our estate... doesn’t exist anymore."