Chapter 164

Snowcloud turned her eyes to the thirty or so bodies that lay scattered across the grass, as if to confirm that they were really dead . After a moment, she looked up and faced Arran .

“They’re Eidaran priests,” she said . “They were pursuing me because I took a spirit crystal . “

“Priests?” Arran frowned . “The mages in this region are priests?”

“Not all of them,” Snowcloud replied, “and not all priests are mages . But from what I learned, the core of the Eidaran priesthood consists of mages, and the priests are the ones who control most magic . Or, at least, they did until the empire fell . “

“So how do the spirits crystals fit into that?”

“Spirit crystals are how the Eidaran priesthood uses magic . While normal mages open their own Realms, Eidaran priests are given a spirit crystal when they are deemed worthy, and the spirit crystal is what allows them to use magic, growing in strength as they use it . When they die, the spirit crystal gets passed on to another priest . “

At once, Arran’s eyes shot toward the dead priests . “Can we use their spirit crystals?” he asked, immediately considering the possibilities .

Snowcloud shook her head in response . “Not without years of preparation, and even then, you wouldn’t want to . The priests use spirit crystals to quickly reach the level of their forebears, but after that, further progress is nearly impossible . It’s a terrible approach to magic . “

Arran made an ugly face . “Then why use them at all?”

“Tradition, I suppose . ” Snowcloud shrugged . “And before the fall of their empire, they had plenty of powerful spirit crystals . But the strongest priests perished in the civil war, and their spirit crystals were destroyed with them . When you killed the ones who were after me, you may have snuffed out the Eidaran priesthood’s last hope of survival . “

Arran glanced at the bodies . Once more, it seemed his actions might have far-reaching consequences . “Why were they after you?”

Snowcloud let out a sigh . “I promised to teach them how to gain and open Realms in exchange for a spirit crystal . That’s why I was gone so long — I spent months teaching them the basics of magic . “

“I take it the deal didn’t work out?”

Snowcloud gave him a wry smile . “When I realized they had no intention of keeping their side of the bargain and giving me a spirit crystal, I took one from their tombs and fled . ” She sighed once more . “I didn’t expect the entire monastery to come after me . “

“You should have,” Arran said, a thoughtful look on his face . “From their perspective, you robbed them of many generations of future priests . “

She nodded . “I know . But I was desperate, and I thought they wouldn’t send more than a handful of priests after me . “

“I guess it all worked out in the end,” Arran replied simply .

Although he wanted to chastise Snowcloud for her recklessness, he knew he was hardly in a position to do so . Just minutes earlier, he had attacked dozens of mages based only on an untested belief that their magic wasn’t strong enough to seriously harm him .

“I’ve told you my part, now it’s your turn,” Snowcloud said . “I want to hear just what happened to you in the city that allowed you to do… this . ” She gestured at the bodies that were sprawled across the ground .

“It’s a long story…” Arran began .

He had already decided to tell Snowcloud about his Destruction Realm, and he told her the story calmly, not omitting anything other than his encounters with Panurge . He explained how he had a forbidden Realm, how Elder Naran had told him it was a Destruction Realm and what it was supposed to do, and how he had trained in the city to increase his resistance to magic .

As he spoke, surprise appeared on Snowcloud’s face, which soon turned into shock . By the time he finished telling her the details of his Destruction Realm and his training in the city, she looked at him with undisguised astonishment .

“So you’re resistant to magic?” She looked at him intently as she asked the question . “How much can you withstand?”

“I am,” Arran confirmed . “As for the amount of magic I can resist… I should be able to take at least several full strength attacks from you without being hurt too badly . Anything stronger than that, however, would probably still cause me serious injuries . “

Snowcloud nodded as she listened, excitement in her eyes . As Arran finished speaking, she replied immediately . “When we return to the Sixth Valley, the first thing you need to do is unseal your Destruction Realm . No matter how long it takes, and before you do anything else . This…” She gave him a beaming smile . “This is amazing!”

Arran was surprised at her reaction . Although he knew his Destruction Realm gave him an advantage that any mage would envy, Snowcloud’s enthusiasm still seemed excessive .

Seeing Arran’s confused expression, Snowcloud shook her head . “You don’t understand what this means . If you can develop it further, and if you find a way to create Destruction Realm Scrolls…” Her eyes glistened with excitement . “The Shadowflame Society would no longer have to fear the Academy! With just a few Grandmasters with a Destruction Realm, we could take them on! When Grandfather hears of this, he’ll—”

“You can’t tell him,” Arran interrupted her hurriedly . “No one else can know of this . “

Snowcloud looked at him for a moment, slightly confused, but then, understanding dawned in her eyes .

“You’re right,” she said, worry now replacing her earlier enthusiasm . “If you develop this further, you’ll become a natural counter to mages . And the stronger you get, the more reason others will have to fear you . If others find out about this…” She gave Arran a concerned look . “Why did you tell me?”

“I trust you to keep the secret,” Arran said in a serious tone . “We’ve already placed our lives in each other’s hands many times, and I expect we’ll do it again many times more . But if I lie to you about this, how can I expect you to have confidence in me?”

Snowcloud nodded thoughtfully . “I understand,” she said after a moment . “And I won’t betray your trust . Still, when you think the time is right, you should tell Grandfather . This matter affects not just us, but the entire Shadowflame Society . “

“Before I can tell him anything, you’ll first need to cure him,” Arran replied . “And now that you have spirit crystals, there’s only one ingredient that remains, right?”

“Dragon blood,” Snowcloud confirmed . “I have a good idea of where we might find dragons, but getting their blood… that won’t be easy . “

“Then let’s collect the priests’ belongings and leave,” Arran said . “Once we’re on our way, you can tell me what the plan is . “

They quickly set to work collecting the priests’ spirit crystals and whatever other belongings they carried .

Removing the spirit crystals was bloody work — apparently, the crystals were located in their chests — and Arran was disappointed to find that they owned no void bags, carrying only some meager possessions in their packs and pockets .

Still, none of it was enough to sour his mood .

He was finally reunited with Snowcloud again, and despite the hardships she had suffered, she wasn’t seriously injured . That alone would be enough to leave him in a joyful mood, but with the spirit crystals taken care of, they would soon depart in search of dragons .

Just the thought of it caused Arran to feel excited . In his youth, he had heard many stories about heroes slaying mighty dragons, and some even taming and riding them . Although he did not dare say it out loud for fear of looking foolish, he found himself wondering whether it would perhaps be possible to capture a dragon .

Already, he could picture himself riding a fierce dragon through the skies, raining down fire on his enemies .

They left not long after collecting the priests’ possessions, and as they did, Arran took a final look at the city as it faded in the distance . While he had failed to reach its center this time, he knew he would return in the future — and when he did, he would definitely find whatever secrets and treasures it held .

“Now, about the dragons…” Snowcloud began .