Energy flowed into Dorian's veins without pause as the world around him turned to ash. Almost every Artifact he touched had Energy in it, of some nature, and could be absorbed into Growth Points by his Soul Spell Matrix.
WHOOSH
clang
clang
teee
Various metallic echoes and noises rang out as the massive piles of treasure he was moving through shifted, hundreds of Artifacts and more fell apart. A chain reaction of moving treasure caused the entire pile to slide around, causing the large hall to fall into a cacophony of noise.
According to Ausra, at a very rough estimate, Dorian needed to spend roughly 3,000,000 to 15,000,000 Growth Points to bring Will back by forming a new body using his Soul Spell Matrix.
There were many ways Dorian thought about trying to get this energy. He could hunt for extremely energy dense Artifacts, like the barrier he found at the hidden Blue Seal Casino, controlled by that Pseudo-King Class Wizard back on Paxital. That barrier had cost roughly 100 Million-Mint Shields to create and had the power to stall even a King Class warrior with ease.
Dorian had managed to absorb close to 1,000,000 points of energy from it, spending it all directly to upgrade himself to grow stronger.
Artifacts like that, however, were extremely rare and hard to come by. Dorian simply didn't know where to find them, and, even further, he would likely greatly antagonize whomever he was stealing from, putting himself in great danger if he couldn't sneakily steal it.
The treasure store located in the Ascension Ruins had had a huge draw from him. A possibly free trove of unclaimed treasure, one that seemed to be connected to him in Fate because of Yukeli?
Thus, coming here had been his go-to plan.
And he had succeeded.
'Wise Jade Dragon limit has been reached! Evolving to 4th Growth Sta-
'Evolving to 5th Growth Stage!' Ausra's voice sounded off in his head, informing him.
His Wise Jade Dragon form had maxed out already, infused with some of the energy Dorian was absorbing. The massive store of treasure here made it an easy choice to finish Evolving, knowing he'd have more than enough.
WHOOSH
–
Wise Jade Dragon – Growth Stage: (5/5) Elder Jade Dragon –
Growth Progress – 4,118,552/0 –
–
'4 million points already? Excellent! Give me more!' He thought, his mind focused on taking full advantage of this opportunity, not holding back a whit. In total, he had absorbed far more than 4 million points, but a large portion of it had gone to upgrading his Wise Jade Dragon form.
'Jade Memory Ability gained.' In the background, he noticed that he'd gained a new Ability thanks to fully growing his Wise Jade Dragon form.
Now that his form was fully grown, he could combine to create new Bloodlines with it. The Wise Jade Dragon Bloodline was the strongest Bloodline he'd ever grown naturally. The combinations it could add, especially considering it was a Bloodline from a member of the 12 Draconic Tribes, were bound to be powerful additions.
Now wasn't the time, however, to try out new combinations. He'd get that sorted once he finished saving Will and got to somewhere safe.
–
Ability: Jade Memory
A support Ability found in creatures of great intelligence or those of a calm, peaceful nature. Jade Memory is a passive Ability that allows for perfect recall of anything the user sees or hears. The Ability is passive and therefore not instantaneous and may take concentration, but any being with this Ability is physically unable to forget anything they have heard or seen.
Injuries can obstruct memory, however, as can great emotion, invalidating the perfect recall function.
–
The world around Dorian seemed to become slightly richer. At the same time, he felt his mind seem to shift, slightly. His memory became stronger and more precise, gaining perfect recall. It was a small, subtle change, but one that would prove immensely useful.
clang
More metal shifted as energy continued to pour into Dorian's soul.
'5,000,000…'
'6,000,000…'
'…'
'10,000,000…'
As Dorian reached 10 million Growth Points stored within his Soul Spell Matrix, he began to feel a sort of tearing sensation. A deep-seated pain in his soul.
As he greedily absorbed everything in sight, for just an instant, Dorian also felt a strange, mystic sensation in the air, one that seemed to resonate with his Law of Wrath. The feeling was fleeting and quickly vanished, but, because of his newly acquired Jade Memory, could not escape his sensibilities.
This feeling was ignored for now, however, as Dorian listened to the message Ausra sent him.
'Your soul is nearing the maximum amount of Growth Energy it can bear within it. Exceeding this amount puts your soul in serious danger of dissipation and your body in danger of Discordancy.' Ausra's voice sounded off in his head, warning him.
'I'm only at 10,000,000…' Dorian thought, taking a moment's pause.
The energy flowing in his soul felt euphoric. A sort of happy fullness that was indescribable, like nothing he had ever felt before. It felt wonderful, even with the tearing pain that was starting to appear in his mind.
'The upper limit Ausra projected required 15,000,000 points of energy.' He frowned.
'Ausra, if I'm reforming Will's body, can I take my time doing it, spreading out the energy required?' He queried.
'The process will take a split second once fully calculated, focusing on a cellular level at an accelerated pace. Any slowing of it could result in Discordancy and is not advised.' Ausra coolly replied.
'Alright…' He frowned.
'Whatever. I've come this far, I can bear a little pain for just a few minutes.' He steeled himself and ran back into the massive piles of treasure.
The Artifacts, Pills, and gold and silver coins or Mints were stacked extremely haphazardly, as if Yukeli had thrown them in here as an afterthought. As Dorian moved through them, causing them to shift and sway as their bottom layers disintegrated, the number of Artifacts he absorbed continued to increase.
"What on earth is he doing? The fool." The King Class mercenary leader Darrel shook his head as he saw the swaying treasures, turning back to focus on the doorway. He, along with the rest of those present, was studying the doorway, trying to gain a hint as to how to sneak as much wealth as possible past the Trial.
'Arrrgh… It hurts…' Tears pulled from Dorian's eyes as he absorbed more and more Growth Energy, the tearing sensation in his soul increasing.
In the back of his head, a voice stirred.
'What are you doing, fool?! You will kill yourself and sever any chance you have at reaching perfection.' Yukeli's old, ancient voice rose up from his consciousness as it felt the pain threading through Dorian's mind.
'Shut up, ghost. You don't get an opinion on this.' Dorian promptly shut him out, ignoring the ancient Wizard as he focused solely on his goal.
'11,000,000…'
'12,000,000…'
'13,000,000…'
Seconds ticked by as Dorian madly absorbed everything he could get his hands on.
By now, he had put a noticeable dent in the treasure stacks, wiping out a massive number of Artifacts. The other treasures, Pills and various types of gold or silver coins, didn't give much energy.
"What on earth is he doing? Hmph. Once he realizes Spatial Rings can't sneak treasure by, he'll give up all the same." Darrel Bold shook his head, a cool, calculating King Class Aura surrounding him as he went back to studying the Leaving Door, his chess-piece shaped brown hair wobbling slightly.
'14,000,000…' Dorian thought, feeling the tearing sensation increase in output as he absorbed a glowing gold bench, one that was painted with pictures of the heavens themselves. He gained nearly 80,000 Growth Points from that bench alone. He picked up another Artifact, an axe that gleamed with darkness, absorbing it in one shot as well, taking in a huge 40,000 Growth Points.
The treasures here mostly only gave him a few thousand points, but there were powerful ones spread out as well, all adding up to a vast amount of energy.
It was as if his soul was full to the bursting, the amount of energy he held far too much.
'Danger! Your soul has overdrawn its maximum Growth Energy storage! Absorbing more energy cou-'
'I know, Ausra. Can it.' He responded, cutting her off.
'You are killing yourself… All to save the life of a stranger you barely know.' Yukeli's ancient voice appeared in Dorian's head once more. This time, however, it carried an odd tone in it, one Dorian couldn't quite place.
'Your perseverance to right wrongs and restore the balance of things is admirable, if foolish and not headed towards perfection. A strong commitment and force of will is a baseline to achieve perfection. Perhaps I gave up on you too soon.'
For the first time, Yukeli actually seemed to approve, at least to some small amount, of Dorian's actions.
'Arrrgh. Almost there. Keep it up, Dorian!' He encouraged himself as he finished absorbing most of the Artifacts in one large pile and moved off to another.
As he was crossing over to the large, dozens of meters high pile a loud thudding sound caught his attention.
Right next to him, a figure had landed.
A blind, robe covered Vampire with a tired looking face and long brown hair. A Vampire Dorian recognized.
The Aurelius Reaver, Trajan.
"You… you can help me? The man that saved us from before?" Trajan stared at Dorian with his energy eyes, a hint of awe and fear appearing in his voice.
"Me? What?" Dorian responded, taken aback and shocked by the sudden appearance of the Vampire. The pain in his soul made it difficult for him to think clearly.
As Trajan looked at Dorian, with surprise and fear in his eyes, he didn't see a regular being. In his energy vision, he saw a creature who gave off energy like a star gives off light. Great, gouts of power and might flowed around Dorian's soul, a ridiculously powerful level of concentrated energy that seemed incredible. Even the strongest King Class Wizards Trajan had met had failed to give off this sensation.
Yet, Trajan could only sense a physical strength at the Lord Class level. It was confusing and mysterious, but that only convinced him more.
"The Ruins brought me to you, again, savior. You are the one that can heal my friend." Trajan fell down to his right knee and slammed his head down, bowing.
"Please, I beg you. Help me again. Revive my brother from the dead." He waved his right hand, causing a corpse to appear out of a Spatial Ring. That of a fallen Vampire wearing a set of leather armor, with a long blade strapped to his back, and long brown hair tied up in a bun.
Another Vampire Dorian recognized. Probus.
Dorian stared at the Vampire and the Vampire corpse in shock, completely taken aback.
'Helena's friend died?'
thud
"Trajan!"
A familiar female voice called out from behind Dorian, landing right behind him.
"I caught up to you! We didn't finish talking!" Helena said, her eyes zeroing in on Trajan before looking at Dorian in surprise.
"You are the man that saved us from the Shades earlier? Thank you." Helena bowed towards him before her eyes widened as she saw what was in front of him.
"Is that… Probus' corpse?! Trajan?! What are you doing?!" She immediately focused on this, looking at Trajan in shock.
"Helena, this is not the business of the Aurelius Family. Back off." Trajan clenched his hands together tightly behind his back, giving her a stern glare. He then turned right back towards Dorian, bowing his head again.
"Please, savior. Save my friend."
Helena paused, looking between Dorian and Trajan in confusion.
thud
"Arrrgh." Dorian clutched at his head, feeling the pain try to sweep over him. It was so painful, his soul stretching and feeling as if it was pulling apart, that he was unable to physically move. He could still sense his surroundings, but had to put his full effort into simply containing the massive store of energy in his soul.
'Ausra, how can I start making Will's body?' He said, asking a question as he largely ignored the situation around him, focused internally. He was so close, almost at 15,000,000 Growth Points. Close enough to feel safe starting.
'Your current physical form is not suited for the construction of a new body due to its poor sensory capabilities in regards to Magic. It is recommended that you switch to a more adept form.' Ausra began and the continued,
'Once you have done that, simply give the command and I will begin running the required simulations using the energy you have provided as well as the material soul. Once the process is started, it cannot be safely stopped. I am unsure how much time it will take to fully form the simulations due to a lack of data, but it should take a relatively small amount of time.' Ausra finished.
WHOOSH
Dorian's form shifted.
Returning to a form he was quite familiar with.
His Ifrit form.
"Trajan you ca- huh?!" Helena turned back to stare at Dorian, her mouth falling open in absolute shock.
"D-D-Dorian?!" She sputtered out, stepping backwards a few steps as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Dorian?!" Another female voice called out the same name, in equal levels of shock, hiding behind a pile of Artifacts and treasure only a dozen meters away.
Arial stared at Dorian, her entire body frozen as she saw someone she thought she had already killed, recognizing his Ifrit form. The memories of the futures she saw, and the pain and agonizing consequences she felt, washed through her as she looked at him, trembling.
–
Ifrit – Growth Stage: (4/4) Elder Ifrit
Growth Progress – 14,898,199/0 –
–
'Ausra, begin running those simulations. I'm going to form Will's body, here and now.' All of the ongoing events were ignored by Dorian as he forced the pain in his soul down…
And began to recreate Will's body, not hesitating.
'I'll deal with you, Trajan, Helena, after I finish this.' All he needed was a single second after Ausra finished planning everything.
'Initializing simulations. Running now…' Ausra's voice echoed in his head as she began running calculations. Dorian felt the agonizing pain in his soul settle slightly, energy slowly becoming spent.
At the edge of Dorian's soul, a small ball of golden light could be seen. A ball that was glimmering quietly, one that was starting to faintly pulse.
Will's quiet, resting soul.
It was time. Finally, after this massive, dangerous journey.
It was time to finish this.
WHOOSH
In that moment, as Dorian was paralyzed, working at full capacity to finally rescue Will, one more figure appeared near him.
A pale woman, wearing a long grey dress with a hood, standing on what appeared to be floating clouds, with no visible feet. A holy Aura surrounded this woman, giving off a warm, welcoming feeling.
As this woman appeared, Trajan, Helena, and Arial all turned to look at it, each reacting differently.
"No… not you…" Trajan's face took on an appearance of fear and rage.
"The target! Veritas!" Helena clenched her fists, staring at the Anomaly. She reached for her Spatial Ring, readying the powerful Artifact she had been gifted.
"It's you.. the one hunting me." Arial slunk behind the pile of Artifacts, her heart pounding.
WHOOSH
Wind burst out from where the Anomaly Veritas had just appeared, the holy, welcoming Aura spreading. As it spread, the Kingly Aura came crashing down with a terrible, unforgiving might. One that, on the face of it, didn't seem overwhelmingly strong.
But at its core… held a mysterious, Fate twisting edge.
"Ahh. Hello, my children. My brethren. We meet again." Veritas smiled as she looked at the Vampires and then at Dorian.
In her hands appeared a sword that seemed to be made of pure light.
"Allow me to share with you all, without delay, that which leads to perfection." Her voice was motherly,
"The Truth."
BOOM
The Kingly Aura spread out at a full blaze, rocking the air itself as the Anomaly Veritas slunk forward towards the paralyzed Dorian who was currently in the middle of reconstructing Will's body…
And attacked.
.
.
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(Author's addition: Vote your Power Stones below and help Dorian save Will!)
(We've hit the climax of this volume and all the current volumes together! Let's charge forward bravely, readers!)
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