Chapter 153: You Smell The Memory of Battle

Elias was a stone that had been dropped inside the calm ocean of destiny, and every ripple caused by his actions or presence was as yet unknown to him. At this time, his focus was on finishing the donning of his armor and activating his Stone Skin ability.

While Elias was someone whose thought could analyze a broad spectrum of topics, there were moments like these when he could be laser-focused on a single objective and forget the rest.

He had only drunk a few cups of wine a day before, and although only four days had passed, for Elias it had been weeks, and in all those times he had not eaten anything.

Even with his regenerative talents, he had been feeling the occasional pangs of hunger, and it was possible that his deep sleep was a way for his body to replace essential portions of his body that his healing alone could not provide.

That was a thought he should place much importance on, but even as his mind was going on its flight of fancy, Elias was examining the final part of his armor.

The helmet was a great helm of the old style that was more stark and lacked embellishments. Elias had seen the latest heavy armor, and they were far more decorative.

Even though the helmet came from the past, like the armor, it has been adapted, reinforced, and improved over the years by the blacksmiths in the Asylum.

It was forged from the same dark, burnished steel as the cuirass, with veins of Profound Iron tracing across its surface like the veins on Elias’s own arms.

It is full-faced, designed to encase the entire head in metal. The top is rounded and smooth, angled to deflect downward strikes away from the neck. The sides flare slightly, providing additional protection to the shoulders where the helm meets the pauldrons.

The front was where the helmet reveals its true nature. It was not the simple slit-eyed visor of common great helms that would be found today. Instead, it has been shaped into something almost organic. smooth, A featureless mask with only the barest suggestion of a face beneath.

No normal man should be able to wear this helmet, and even most Siphons would not be able to wear it comfortably as well. Where the eyes should be, there was only a single horizontal slit, no wider than a finger, running from temple to temple. It is not meant for vision in the normal sense, as this was a helmet designed for someone who sees with more than just their eyes.

No wonder it had not been mounted on the mannequin and instead had been placed aside, and Elias could have easily missed the helmet if he had not glimpsed it on the shelf.

Below the eye slit, the metal curves outward slightly, forming the suggestion of a nose guard, then descends into a series of narrow breathing holes arranged in a geometric pattern. They were small, almost decorative, but functional, allowing air while keeping blades and claws out.

The mouth area was sealed, and in the instant Elias saw this, he knew that once he wore this helmet, he would not speak but watch.

For one, the helmet would be blocking the sound of his speech, since there were barely any holes, and there was something about the helmet that screamed of silence.

The final part of the helmet at the very top, where a plume or crest might sit on a knight’s helm, there is instead a low, blunt ridge running front to back.

It is subtly ridged, almost like a simplified crown, catching the light in a way that draws the eye upward. It serves no obvious practical purpose, but it gives the helmet a presence, a sense of authority.

Whoever wears this is meant to be seen, even faceless. This was a helmet that was meant to stand in front of soldiers and lead them.

Was there a reason why this particular armor had always caught his eye from the hundreds that lay within the armory? Did he somehow see that most of the scars on this armor had come from the front and few in the back, and this was because this armor had always been in the front of every conflict?

He had never fancied himself to be a leader of men, but he did not see himself stamding behind with others, he would rather be in front, and this was not because of pride, it had practically became instinct after Elias saw how he was different from everyone else, and so he would rather walk alone, or be in front of the charge.

Elias picked up the helmet, noting that it was heavy, and he was not too surprised because it was dense with Profound Iron reinforcement.

A thought occurred to him that he was literally wearing a ton of money. Profound Iron was never cheap, as its mines were some of the most protected places in all the continent and it was strictly under the control of the Milliatry who knew its great application during wars and conflicts… to have access to so much of it, after they had been refined into such a glorious armor was a privilege that Elias did not want to look down upon.

There was incredible wealth inside the Stoneward Asylum that was not easily apparent at first, but Elias was slowly discovering the incredible depths inside this place. The Commander had easily given him some of the most powerful Lumina Art in the entire world, plus many other hidden benefits he was not yet aware of.

Elias understood that he might be among the most privileged class in the entire world, and he understood that this situation also came with its own set of risks.

Elias looked into the insides of the helmet, which was lined with aged but well-maintained leather padding, shaped to the contours of a human head. There were leather straps at the chin and nape, designed to secure it firmly in place, and Elias noted that the padding smells faintly of oil and old sweat and something else, something metallic and old, and for Elias, he felt that this smell was like the memory of battle.

The weight of the helmet was approximately 25 lbs, and adding it to the total weight he would have on his body would reach 275 lbs.

Elias held the helmet for a long moment, turning it in his gauntleted hands, the eye slit stares back at him like the empty gaze of a skull.

This moment seemed to have a mysterious weight that even Elias could no longer deny. What seemed to be a simple decision at the beginning to just get armor to activate his Stone Skin ability had subtly changed as he donned every bit of this armor, and the act of raising this helmet and placing it over his head now carried a sort of invisible weight that deeply surprised him.

Elias found himself asking if he wanted to take this final step… The Art of Stone was sealed for a reason, demoted to a Common Grade Lumina Vein Art, and if he activated the first ability, Stone Skin, he might just start a new change that he did not understand.

He hated the lack of understanding, but he knew that sometimes the only way to overcome danger was not to run from it, but to go through it.

With a final mental confirmation, he raised the helmet and placed it over his head.

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