"It's the perfect place to hide the void bag," Arran said, a grin on his face. "Even if the Elder can go inside, there's no way he'll ever be able to find it."

He still carried the void bag with the remains of the novices and was eager to get rid of it. However, although he'd been tempted to bury it somewhere deep in the woods, he had decided against doing so.

While mages couldn't Sense the contents of void bags, the bags themselves were magical treasures as well, and Arran worried that mages as powerful as Elders would be able to Sense void bags if they came near them.

Snowcloud had been doubtful about the possibility, but she wasn't certain that it was impossible, so Arran had decided not to take the risk. He wanted to hide the void bag in a place where it would be all but impossible to find, and now, it seemed he had found such a spot.

"That should work," Snowcloud said, nodding thoughtfully. "I doubt anyone could Sense his own Essence in there, much less a void bag." She frowned, then looked at Arran. "But it will be dangerous to go inside the city."

"How so?" Arran asked.

With the city's effect on a mage's Sense, it would all but impossible for strong mages to go inside. And if any did it anyway, they would be uncoordinated and distracted, and would struggle to use their magic without being able to properly Sense their own Essence.

By comparison, Arran wasn't affected anywhere near as much. While he wouldn't be able to use magic either, he mostly relied on his physical strength anyway. In the city, he thought he should have a good chance even if going up against far stronger mages.

If anything, he thought, the city should be safer for him than the outside world.

"What we felt inside, that came from Essence residues in the city," Snowcloud explained. "But if just Sensing it has an effect like this, imagine the power of what's causing it — the Essence deeper inside the city."

At once, Arran understood. He had focused on the effect the city had on his Sense, but he had forgotten about the cause. And the cause, in this case, would be the remnants of terrible magics that still lingered in the city — ones that might pose a threat to anyone who ventured into the city.

Rather than being discouraged, however, Arran grew excited at the thought. If the city was filled with a vast amount of violent unbound Essence, it might benefit him greatly.

"I may be able to get your spirit crystals from the city," he said eagerly. "But it will take time."

Snowcloud gave him a puzzled look. "What makes you think you can get them?"

"I can't tell you," Arran replied, shaking his head. "Elder Naran told me not to let anyone know about it."

What he hoped was that the combination of the Blood magic and his Destruction Realm would allow him to withstand the Essence within the city, and that he could use it to further strengthen himself against magic.

Yet he couldn't tell Snowcloud that — as much as he trusted her, he did not want to share the secret of his Destruction Realm with anyone else.

At the mention of Elder Naran, Snowcloud's eyes widened in surprise, but she did not ask any further questions about what he had in mind. "How long do you need?" she asked flatly.

"Three months." What Arran had planned would take plenty of time — assuming it worked at all — but he thought three months would be the absolute limit of what Snowcloud would be willing to accept. Whether that would be enough, he did not know.

"That long?" Snowcloud scowled. "You can forget about that. I can't wait for three months without even knowing if you'll succeed."

Arran took a deep breath before he replied, knowing that what he was about to suggest would shock Snowcloud.

"Then we'll split up," he finally said. "You'll look elsewhere, and I'll try my luck in the city. That way, we double our chances of finding spirit crystals."

It wasn't Arran's preferred option, but he was unwilling to pass up the benefits he expected to get in the city. Moreover, if Snowcloud waited for him and he failed, they would have wasted months they could have spent searching for the final two ingredients.

Splitting up was more dangerous, but it would make it more likely that at least one of them would succeed. And although Arran was worried about Snowcloud, he knew she could handle herself in a fight — probably better than Arran himself. Unless, of course, she somehow ran into another army of Body Refiners, but that seemed beyond improbable.

She didn't respond immediately, though from her expression, he could tell that his proposal came as an unwelcome surprise.

After some hesitation, she finally said, "Are you sure?" There was a slight tremble in her voice, and Arran knew the answer she hoped to get wasn't the one he would give her.

"I am," he said, trying his best to ignore the look in her eyes.

She nodded slowly. "Then we'll meet here in three months."

They took some time to say their goodbyes, and as they did, Arran could not help but feel uncomfortable. While he would not go back on his decision, he knew that to Snowcloud, it felt like he was abandoning her.

Still, it was necessary. For all his physical strength, strong mages could easily defeat him in a fair fight. Even in the fight against the novices, he would have been killed had it not been for Snowcloud's help.

The weakness would grow smaller as his skill at using magic improved, but by now, Arran understood that it would take him years before he could hope to match the magical skill of Shadowflame novices. And at the moment, what he needed was something to keep him safe before he reached that point.

With some luck, the Essence in the city would give him just that — a way to face novices without having to rely on luck to survive.

Before Snowcloud left, Arran handed her his Duskcloak. He did not expect to encounter any people in the city, and she would likely have more use for it than he would.

"Be careful out there," he said, his voice soft. "And don't take any big risks in getting spirit crystals. Even if we both fail now, in three months, we can find some together."

"I'll be careful," she replied. "And you, don't go charging into a sea of Fire Essence. I expect you to be alive and well when I return — you're my only recruit, so you're not allowed to die."

She gave him a final forced smile, then turned around and began to head back toward the woods, away from the city. Arran stood silently as he watched her leave, and briefly, he felt the urge to give up on his plan and run after her.

Nevertheless, he resisted the urge. Right or wrong, he had made his choice, and he would see it through no matter what his heart told him. Besides, if his guess was correct, far worse pain lay ahead for him in the next three months.

When he could no longer see Snowcloud, he clenched his jaw and turned back toward the city. For some moments, he prepared himself for what was to come, steeling his mind for the assault it would face.

Then, he stepped forward.