What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 283

From the very beginning, the fact that Tennilath didn’t die immediately after having his heart torn out—instead recovering his body and entering Absolute Hibernation—was already beyond common sense. In truth, Lena hadn’t even imagined such a phenomenon was possible before seeing Kazhan with her own eyes. So even if a greater miracle occurred now, it wouldn’t be strange.

“How?”

“Dunno.”

“……”

But not knowing the exact method didn’t stop her. Lena shrugged off Ysaris’s glare.

“Like I said, Absolute Hibernation cuts off all external senses. It’s not that they’re technically alive—they’re practically dead. It’d be weirder if they reacted to anything in that state. What exactly could we even do? One of the most common ways their kind dies is getting attacked during hibernation.”

“……Then why would this ‘Clan of Night’ enter Absolute Hibernation in the first place?”

What kind of reason would justify such a risk? Ysaris couldn’t comprehend why they’d willingly waste long stretches of time, gambling with death at any moment.

Lena agreed it was inefficient, but she at least knew the rough reasoning.

“Heard it’s a protective mechanism to avoid going insane. Their lifespans are excessively long, but their minds aren’t stable enough to match. Or maybe it’s just complacency—like they’ve lived enough and don’t care if they die.”

Vampires were a race that fed on blood. And that included their own kind.

Just as humans who ate human flesh were fundamentally broken, the Clan of Night was no different. Those who tasted the blood of their kin—the most intoxicating, power-granting sensation—quickly spiraled into madness. Their bodies grew stronger, but their minds shattered.

Absolute Hibernation was the digestion period for this. A recovery phase to realign the dissonance between body and mind.

“Some say they use it just to sleep for long stretches, but… well, doesn’t the mere thought of that already sound a little unhinged?”

Their superior bodies and lifespans demanded equally resilient minds—and when they fell short, long slumber was the solution. In a way, it was also an escape from reality.

Listening to all this, Ysaris furrowed her brow, sifting through the conversation like a myth for actionable information.

“Can they control when they wake up?”

“Not sure. Either they set a time before sleeping, or they wake automatically once their mind recovers. Probably one of those two.”

As the last dragon, Lena’s knowledge of other races—passed down through her kin’s magic—was limited to surface-level traits. Without being one of them, even she couldn’t know the specifics of their abilities.

Realizing how much she’d divulged, Lena clicked her tongue.

“Wasn’t planning to explain all this. Got carried away… Tch.”

This was the result of her research finally bearing fruit after raiding the Dark Mage’s stronghold. In high spirits lately, she’d grown unusually lenient.

And seeing Kazhan—a human Tennilath perfectly replicating a vampire’s racial ability—had excited her more than she’d expected. The urge to grab someone and rant about how groundbreaking this was kept bubbling up.

‘Should visit Yesis right after this. But first, gotta collect some of the Emperor’s blood…’

Greed flickered in Lena’s eyes as she stared at Kazhan. The intensity of it made Ysaris speak up hastily—knowing full well that if Lena truly wanted something, there was no stopping her.

“If they’re physically cut off from the outside world to recover mentally… does that mean they spend time in a subconscious realm?”

“Good question. Too bad I don’t know the answer.”

The reply, though honest, was frustrating. Ysaris’s brow twitched before smoothing out. With no other options, she had no choice but to keep probing—no matter how vague the answers.