Death... and me

Min immediately answered while trying to control the shock he was feeling. 'That's the White Scaled Carp race's treasure. Nothing for them is more important than the Clendes Sea Heart. I've never seen it before, let alone gotten close to it. I don't even know where it was guarded. Sometimes I even thought it was nothing more than a legend told by the elders of the White Scaled Carp race to their young. After all, if they really had such a thing, all the powers of the Terces Continent would have come for them a long time ago.'

'In any case, according to the stories, the Clendes Sea Heart is supposed to be an amazing treasure capable of controlling the sea itself. It was told that it was once forged by the god of the Clendes Sea so that he could protect his sea forever. Anyone who held that item would be invincible as long as they were in the Clendes Sea.'

Seeing Rean's confusion, Min also added some extra information, "Terces Continent isn't like Pol Continent, which is just a huge sea. It does have its own land. However, at least 50% of it is covered by the Clendes Sea. That doesn't make it any less powerful, though.'

Rean finally understood after that. 'If this Clendes Sea Heart really has the power of controlling the entire Clendes Sea, one could use it to destroy the whole land surface there. Obviously, nothing could match the power of those holding the Clendes Sea Heart in the Clendes Sea either.'

Min nodded in response. 'That's correct. That's why I find it extremely unbelievable that Erla would have such an item. I don't even know if she believes that this item exists at all. As you heard, even she had never got close or even seen that thing.'

There was one thing Rean didn't understand. 'But... if they really had it, why would they send it out with Erla? It would have been much better to keep it within the race.'

Min shook his head, telling him, 'How would I know? Let's hear what Blansin has to say. He had always been talkative as far as I know, so he will probably tell her a few more things.'

Sure enough, Blansin explained to the puzzled Erla. "The Clendes Sea Heart, Erla, isn't some item. Instead, it really is a heart. To be more specific, it's your heart. Anyone who gets your heart can use the White Scaled Carp race's secret forging technique to refine it into a real treasure capable of controlling the Clendes Sea back in Terces."

"What?!" Sure enough, everyone was even more shocked now.

Seeing that, Blansin sighed as he continued, "You see now why it pains me to have to do this? I have to get your heart before anyone else does."

Erla didn't believe it. "This is impossible! If I had such power, don't you think I would be able to do a lot more than I can now? Even if my heart isn't refined into a treasure, just the fact that I have it would have been enough to make me extremely powerful and talented. I'm not anywhere near that!"

That's exactly the question in Rean and Min's minds. Erla was better than average demon beasts, but that's about it.

Blansin then took a black pearl from his spatial ring before showing it to Erla. "Do you recognize it?"

Erla nodded slightly, saying, "I also have a few of it. They're Deep Sea Calming Pearls. They are very good for calming one's mind during cultivation if you have Water Element Affinity. I always carry a few since they lose their effect with time."

Blansin bitterly smiled as he said, "That's what you were told. However, let me ask you. Have you ever seen anyone using them back in your race?"

"This..." Erla was taken aback by that question.

At the same time, Rean looked at Min and asked, 'Did you?'

Min pondered about the years he spent in the White Scaled Carp race's territory with Erla. He might not have been welcomed, but he did meet a lot of them, including some powerful ones. However, he had never seen anyone else other than Erla using those pearls. 'Now that he said that, I indeed have no recollection of anyone else using such an item. However, since Erla seemed to always cultivate with them, I've never paid attention to those pearls. They had no use for someone like me since I don't have Water Element Affinity. My affinity is Lightning, as you know.'

Erla's answer was similar to Min's. "I haven't... seen anyone using them. Is there some secret about it?"

Blansin nodded, telling her, "You aren't wrong when you said these pearls have a calming effect. However, this calming effect only works on the holder of the Clendes Sea Heart. What they calm down isn't your mind. Instead, they calm down the power of the heart. They exist for the sole purpose of not letting you lose control over your power. At the same time, they seal the heart's abilities to control the Clendes Sea. However, there's a huge side-effect."

Rean, Min, and Erla could already imagine what the side effect was. "They also affected my overall talent..." Erla couldn't help but say.

Blansin confirmed her words. "That's correct. However, it isn't a bad thing. When a child with the Clendes Sea Heart is born, the child will not live long if the heart isn't put under control. These pearls might have a bad effect on your cultivation. But above all, they were the reason you were able to live to this day. Sure enough, your father truly loves you since these pearls are extremely hard and expensive to make. Well, there were also your White Scaled Carp race's own ideas. They probably expected you to become their goddess in the future once you got strong enough to control the power of your Clendes Sea Heart."

Following that, Blansin took another item out of his spatial ring. It also looked like a pearl but was red instead of black. "Well, to harvest your heart, I first need it to recover its true powers. Sorry, but I'll have to awaken your Clendes Sea Heart now."