For a former cultivator, becoming a heteromorph must be one of the most agonizing fates.
It is no wonder that Anthony's mindset doesn't reflect that of an immortal. For him, the curse of the vampiric breed brings not immortality, but an endless burden of guilt—truly, a curse.
"This explains why Serene despises Alva so much," Adam thought. "Alva enjoyed the gift of immortality, while Anthony bore the brunt of its side effects."
Anthony had once remarked that Alva, in his youth, had resembled Adam greatly, which made it easy for him to adopt Alva's mindset.
Was simply creating the Elixir of Immortality enough? Far from it.
What Alva sought was a true leap in human lifespan, to alter the very nature of humanity without violating the natural cycle of life, aging, and death—to transform mankind into an immortal species.
Therefore, this immortality was likely hereditary.
"Serene must also have some connection to Alva," Adam mused. Serene was Anthony's niece, which meant she was his peer's daughter. Adding to earlier speculation, it was likely that Serene was Alva's daughter, inheriting the longevity abilities of the human immortal species.
"But there are still discrepancies." Adam furrowed his brow. Was Serene born before the successful development of the Elixir, or after? And what of Alva's servant, Ai? According to Doug's intel, Ai had also consumed the Elixir.
"Anthony's problem lies in the fact that he no longer wants to live, but for some reason, something is keeping him alive," Adam recalled Anthony's earlier warning.
There must be something more important to him than life itself.
"Friendship." To Anthony, friendship was more precious than life. It was this very bond that had kept him alive all these years.
At that moment, Adam found himself filled with an uncontrollable anger toward Alva, for it had been so long since Alva had visited Anthony.
For someone like Anthony, whose very existence was propped up by friendship, it must have been a terribly painful experience. Yet Anthony never resented Adam. After he had arrived—recommended by Alva himself—Anthony had greeted him with unprecedented warmth, pushing past his discomfort to offer his teachings.
"If I'm not mistaken," Adam continued, "a vampiric creature who hasn't fed in a long time becomes increasingly debilitated. Doug once sent people to investigate the central clock tower, and one of them went missing. The next day, Serene was absent, but Anthony's complexion had improved significantly, though his mental state had worsened."
Clearly, on that day, Serene had gone against Anthony's wishes and done something that benefited him, even though Anthony disliked it.
Adam's judgment of Serene remained unchanged. She was wholly dedicated to Anthony, but she also had her own desires. From her, he had uncovered a breakthrough.
A strange, inexplicable feeling gripped Adam—almost a sense of joy.
If Anthony truly was a heteromorph, perhaps by changing his disdain for his bloodline, certain problems could be resolved.
"Perhaps I don't need to rush to leave Roya," Adam thought. "I could remain in the Mirror Tower..." But as the thought formed, he swiftly dismissed it from his mind.
Regardless of whether Anthony acknowledged his heteromorph nature or not, Adam would still need to leave Roya. His true nature had already been exposed to people like Xaya and others. As soon as someone like that arrived in Roya, they would be able to access the information about his disguise as Adam.
The Mirror Tower might not be able to hide him for long. As for Alva, Adam might conceal the truth for Anthony's sake, but Doug was another matter.
"And Alva might act against me to protect Anthony, regardless of the consequences." Adam couldn't forget the external curse Alva had placed on him.
He could guarantee that once Alva learned of his true nature, in order to protect Anthony's secret, Alva would likely stop at nothing to use the external curse to expel Adam from the Mirror Tower.
From past interactions, it was clear that Alva had been worried about Anthony. But why had he not visited for so long?
"When he learned that Anthony's health had deteriorated, he seemed truly surprised. It's almost certain that Alva didn't know about Anthony's starvation before."
"Which means he only visited during the early stages of Anthony's transformation. Once Anthony began to show signs of starvation, Alva never stepped foot in the Mirror Tower again."
"Is it due to his aversion to heteromorphs, or is it guilt over his old friend?" Adam speculated. "Or perhaps there is something else preventing him from seeing Anthony—something that even prevents him from revealing the truth to Anthony and the others?"
"Otherwise, there would have been no need for Alva to cast that external curse, obscuring my memories whenever I faced Anthony."
"Could it be that Alva has not regretted his past actions, and continues his research on the Elixir of Immortality?" Adam thought, recalling the existence of Ai.
This wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. Adam placed himself in Alva's mindset.
If it were him, and his actions had led to his friend's suffering, he certainly wouldn't stop his research. Instead, he would redouble his efforts to develop the Elixir, seeking a way to save his friend.
"So Ai is likely the result of later research," Adam mused, though he still struggled to understand Alva's thinking. If that were the case, there would be no need to avoid Anthony. From everything Adam had observed, he knew that Anthony was an open-minded individual. As long as Alva's research was sound, Anthony would not stop it.
"Unless the creation of the Elixir is extraordinarily inhumane." Adam recalled Anthony's advice when conducting experiments: always show respect to the subjects.
Once this thought crossed his mind, Adam suddenly felt he might have found the right path—but his knowledge of curses was still too limited.
"I must continue my studies. With sufficient knowledge, reversing the process of creating the Elixir shouldn't be difficult." Adam pushed aside his disordered thoughts and dove deep into the library, seeking out every text on curses he could find.
It had been forty years since the Elixir's development. Alva had based it on the "Curse of the Vampiric Breed," and now, with the information available from the past, Adam was confident that reversing the process wouldn't be too challenging.
"The ultimate goal of external curses is to understand the true name of the target."
"The true name is the totality of all traces of a being in this world. In theory, once one understands a target's true name, they can learn everything about them through their traces."
"Even touching upon the true name is enough to cast an external curse."
"A person's true name is constantly evolving, as they leave traces behind and the perception of them by others shifts."
"Sometimes, when you observe your own true name, you might even wonder if that person really is yourself."
"A being should be multifaceted, with not just their own self, but the perceptions of others as well."
"Perhaps it is precisely because the true name involves the perceptions of others that it also influences the self, just as others' opinions shape you."
"The correct way to touch the true name begins with oneself. You must first understand: who are you, truly?"
"What do others perceive you to be?"
"What significance do you have in this world?"
"By connecting with yourself and understanding your own true name, only then can you perceive the true name of others."
Adam absorbed this knowledge, rapidly advancing his understanding.
Upon realizing that Anthony might be a heteromorph, Adam became more acutely aware of the world's animosity toward them.
Even Anthony, who despised his own heteromorph nature, refused to feed on blood. Otherwise, with Anthony's powerful mage status, he could have lived comfortably anywhere. There would be no need to hide in the Mirror Tower, enduring daily torment.
Bloodlines determined everything, and Anthony had not escaped this truth.
Now, Adam understood more clearly than ever the impenetrable divide between humans and heteromorphs.
Leaving the Mirror Tower, Adam sat in the carriage. He didn't immediately mention returning to the Borku family. After a moment of silence, he spoke:
"Crol, once we're back at the Borku house, go to the Rom family and ask Mr. Doug to arrange for a house near the central clock tower."