Chapter 363 (1/2)

Chapter 9: Chapter 363

ARTHUR

The sun had just risen, covering the caain atop the flat, crenelated roof of the Holloer, relishi+ng the view and the cool breeze that I couldn't get in o and had been kept as a place to s had left this structure all but abandoned

Letting out a heavy breath, I withdrew the keystone and turned it over, exa the simple black cube Its surface was plain and ht

"Who would guess that this ho the world," Ithat I did, I still found it hard to believe that soible held the secrets that could ultiht into Fate itself

Regis jumped out of my body and sniffed the relic "It could at least have so to tell you how i his back to me, he crossed the roof and put his paws up on the parapet "Anyway, you have fun with that"

His body tensed to ju?"

He replied with his back still toofaether? Why all of a sudden?" I asked, is stiffened but refused to look at ht into this world to be your weapon—your protector—but lately it feels like I'etting stronger by learning new edicts of aether I don't want to just watch as the gap between us widens"

For the first time in a while, I was at a loss for what to say tothe dark wolf, when a four-winged bird settled onto the parapet nearby, clacking its beak and watching us expectantly I withdrewto eat—and pulled out a slice of dried and pepperedit to the creature It hopped down to the stone roof and grabbed its prize before shooting off, its four wings carrying it swiftly out of sight

"I…didn't realize that it bothered you so much," I finally mustered

"Well, you can thank Sylvie for this infuriating drive to keep your ass alive," Regis japed

I let out a sed the shadoolf "Fine, just be careful out there The world is a scary place for a little puppy"

He turned his bright eyes on me derisively "Ha Ha Hilarious"

Then, in a is leapt from the side of the tower I watched as he plu behind hiround slightly

Once he was solid again, Regis took off at a sprint to the north, headed out of the campus toward the mountains He, of course, took the extra effort to pass by a s a chorus of screa

I followed his progress for a while, still able to sense hirew He see out into the y that tethered us together would allow hian to reach the maximum distance he could be away from me Since we hadn't tested this aspect of our relationshi+p since the bridge zone I traversed with the Granbehls, I didn't really kno far he could go

I' back to the reason I'd come up to this tower in the first place

The black cube sat heavily in my hands as I stared at it A arded the keystone

With a sigh, I stored it back into ht into the keystone—training, absorbing aether, doing soer Butback from one of the djinn ruins

Instead, I pulled out the far-seeing relic, tracing the sharp-edged facets while thinking of the very people that wouldforward

I activated the relic and was transported across the world, zooround cavern of the djinn sanctuary Ellie aist-deep in the strea up an elven child I didn't know as a shi+eld, laughing

A knot formed in my chest as I then noticedaround a low-burning ca eary smiles Behind thelitterfish

I duglump in my throat as I forced a shing and sh

With a shuddered breath and a hollow smile, I pried ain

The black, palm-sized cube was much less aether dense than the last one, but otherwise nearly identical "All right, let's see what you've got foraether from my core, I channeled it up my arm and into the keystone My consciousness seemed to follow it as I was drawn out of my own body and inside the djinn relic First, I was met with a wall of purple clouds, as expected The wall shi+vered at h easily

I expected to find another puzzle, so to manipulate or work at like in the last keystone, but instead…

Darkness

Complete, utter darkness

Panic overcamethe black cube, sweat pouring downmy palms slick My breath came quickly, and then I realized why: the inside of the keystone felt exactly like that in-between place after my body had been destroyed and before I woke in the Relicto that existed in the entire universe

Hovering in a field of reflectionless black, I remembered But it's not the saed

Taking several deep breaths to calain

This ti except for , but the inside of the keystone was no less eerie I drifted around for a while, unsure if I was actuallya wall or any sort of eometric shapes I'd had to manipulate inside the Aroa's Requiem keystone

It was oblivion

Even ti within the keystone, and I had no way of knowing how long I drifted for At sohtaether and left the black space, only a few minutes had passed And so I pushed myself back in, and continued to wander the e deep down in the ocean, where the light doesn't reach Up, down, left, right…direction lost h I continued to experience the sensation of movement I tried to push out with aether in rando happened I tried to imbue myself—or whatever of ain, this acco

Then I just allowed hts wandered for a while, then stopped, and it was kind of like sleeping

The darkness rippled suddenly, a visual distortion within the black-on-black void, like so to interact with the pheno happened

The door onto the rooftop creaked open, a vague noise heard just as the edge of my consciousness, and I withdrew from the keystone in irritation This flash of frustration quickly melted into curiosity as a familiar face peered at me fro up at the highblood youth, as standing framed in the dark doorway, one hand still on the door His eyes lingered on the keystone as I returned it to the extradie rune "Are you lost?"

Valen's eyes swept nervously across the tower roof, but he didn't move away from the door or even let it close "I…u for you, Professor"

I cocked an eyebrow at the boy, frowning "How did you even knoas up here?"

Valen shot a quick look back into the door stairwell behind hi it close

He cleared his throat again before speaking "I happened to run into Seth onfor you too, and he ht…" He winced, letting the thought trail off

"What do you need?" I asked tartly, then remembered that the bestowment ceremony had taken place earlier today "Is this about the bestowals?"

The tall younghis head rest against it with a solid thud His dark eyes gazed up into the brightening sky Just as I was about to repeat my question, he said, "I received an ehest tier of rune for an Alacryansuch a powerful rune at a young age was life-changing, even for highbloods

I cocked a brow "Are you sure? I'd congratulate you, but you don't look very pleased about that"

Valen let out a humorless chortle "Father is ecstatic, of course My blood seey now…"

I let out an iainst the parapet opposite of hi, so out with it"

He scratched the back of his head "I just didn't have anyone else to talk to My blood…they don't understand And my associates—"

"associates?" I scoffed "That's an odd way to address your friends"

Valen gave h his aard hesitancy so to my father Just servants, acquaintances, associates, and allies" After a brief pause, he added, "And ene, thinking back to Trodius Fla to do for the sake of his fay" Valen blurted, his head down "Ever since I was an infant, I've been raised as a warrior, scholar, and leader, with the expectation placed on hblood Never—not once in my life—has anyone askedsuch a potent rune will only have exaggerated that expectation," I confirmed

He nodded wordlessly as he turned back around

"Well then, let me ask," I retorted "What do you want to do?"

Valen deflated, and for the first ti to put on the airs of a highlord "I don't know, but…I wish I had the chance to find out That's all I mean Maybe…maybe what my blood wishes ofrun But it will never feel that way unless I am allowed some kind of choice in the matter

"I want to explore the world outside of the narrow boundariesthis e me power over it"

He watched ood or bad Perhaps he expected me to rebuke hie him to do as his faave me an unexpected smile, and his eyes focused somewhere far into the distance "You know,strange Over there, teenagers—soo off on their own to be adventurers, fighting against eons"

I was taken by surprise by the sudden mention of Dicathen,It seees are less coht of passage for many of them But it's not so different from how Alacrya treats ascenders Or so I've heard," I added quickly