CONTINENTAL SHIFTS

Frozen mountains rose high and low, creating a strange, crescent-like shape when viewed from above. The mountains themselves acted as the edge, while within those mountains were three vast valleys. The valleys, much like mountains, were covered in snow and ice, and even the forests were dead and dying. From above, it appeared as if there was no life anywhere within the valleys.

Yet, countless tents, wooden cabins and even stone houses stretched through each of the valleys. They appeared to have been built rashly, without reason or order, and were scattered about randomly, creating a rather strange scene. However, there was still one speck of sense in the way they were built; within all three valleys, all of the houses were built surrounding a single, temple-like structure.

In one of the valleys, the temple-like structure only had a single floor, but it exuded a rather ancient air about itself. Currently, lights of torches flickered within, casting a strange shadow over a bulky man who was currently sitting on a leather chair, his expression solemn. Before him, a man clad completely in black stood, his face covered completely. The man appeared slender and timid, but the bulky man knew better.

The bulky man was best know as Chief Trios, leading Chieftain of one of the three leading tribes of the North, currently on the expedition to invade south. He was currently reaching his late forties, and no small amount of strength can be sensed within the aura. Yet, before this man clad in black, even he felt a sense of restlessness.

“Young Chieftain,” the man in black spoke out, breaking the silence. His voice was hoarse and deep, as if belonging to a corpse. “Do you still need think things through? With the way the war is going, you stand no chance at the moment. You can never truly take to south within the time you have.”

“You are asking me to sell my soul to the devil!!” the Chieftain barked loudly, his expression exceedingly grin.

“He he,” the black-clad man chuckled strangely. “It all depends on the perspective. Whether there are true goods or true evils in this world… that is all up for a debate. However, there is always a notion of surviving. Do you wish your entire tribe, thousands of years of heritage, to be exterminated due to foolish pride?”

“You don’t understand devil,” the Chieftain didn’t give in as he spoke. “Whatever you bastards from south think of us, we are still noble people. Blood of Dragons flows through our veins. Even if we were to face a great calamity, we’d face it with heads held up high.”

“It appears I truly cannot change your mind,” the black-clad man spoke, seemingly sighing. “Know that Lords of Zen will always welcome you. Besides, even if you somehow, miraculously manage to penetrate deep enough into south, do you truly believe you will be left alone? Forgetting Rolyhard and Elvernheimn, do you believe other Kingdoms will wish to coexist with you?”

“You came to me for the same reason, old devil, so stop throwing oil into my eyes!” the Chieftain barked back. “If you had means to execute your plans, you would have. You wouldn’t be here, in the frozen tundra, acting high and mighty before me.”

“Indeed,” the black-clad man slightly nodded. “After all, however powerful we are, Awakening of the Young Lord will not go unnoticed. At that time, there is no doubt that all Kingdoms of Alloy will gather and hunt us down like animals. However, even with that, we can still preserve. Preserve until the day Young Lord has fully absorbed his bloodline.”

“However, we naturally seek ways to avoid that,” the black-clad man continued. “And we are offering a helping hand, right here and now. Naturally, we are not good people, nor do we offer gifts. What we sacrifice, we’ll gain back. That is why we are even talking to you.”

“Humph,” the Chieftain coldly snorted. “No Kingdom which preserved for countless years is simple, devil. Even if we joined hands, can you guarantee we’ll end up victorious?”

“He he,” the black-clad man chuckled again. “Naturally, we have other avenues we’re exploring. You needn’t worry about that. The offer still stands. It is up to you whether to accept it or not.”

The Chieftain suddenly fell into deep contemplation. His tribe, after all, is his blood. After the great calamity struck them, they had no choice but to abandon their homeland and rush south. It was indeed as the black-clad man spoke; even if they gave their everything into invading south, they would either die to the same calamity, or die to the Kingdoms. What soothed his heart was that the calamity wouldn’t leave North any time soon. That is why he was tempted by the deal, despite knowing who he was dealing with. He had no doubt that Chieftains of other two tribes within the ‘Crescent Paradise’ were in the same, difficult situation. Finally, after half an hour of pondering, he softly sighed and shook his head. “Fine, devil. We’ll accompany you. I shall bear curses of my ancestors when I die.”

“He he, you’ll know you made a right choice very soon, Young Chieftain.”

Indeed, similar scene had occurred in other two temples around the same time, and same conclusion had been reached. Unbeknownst to the world, three shadows left the three valleys and met at the highest peak of the mountains within the crescent range. They all overlooked the three valleys with disdainful smiles on their faces.

“Fools,” one of them spoke. “They truly are fools.”

“Let us go,” another one spoke. “Fry Brothers should have returned from the West. I wonder what has Venerated One decided to do?”

“He’ll probably not interfere,” the last one joined as well, laughing lightly. “He’s always been like that.”

“Indeed…”

In truth, similar scenes were occurring throughout the entire Alloy Continent. Black-clad figures appeared before no small amount of leading figures, offering flowering words and proposals. Some were accepted, some were rejected, and in no small amount of cases, black-clad figures were beheaded on the spot.

At the roughly same time, near the north-east border of the Rolyhard Kingdom, three figures were overlooking a massive field before them. All three had furrowed brows and pondering expressions. Before them, strange, black fire burned. It was not ‘Hellfire’, one of the two Primal Flames, but it was not ordinary fire either. The fire had turned the green land into desolate one, cutting deep into earth, creating a strange ravine.

One of the three figures was Lord Tan, who was First Commander of Rolyhard’s Imperial Forces. Next to him was a middle-aged woman; although, by her appearance, no one would reach the same conclusion, as she looked more like a young, peerless beauty. She was Lady Yan, Second Princess of the ‘Baselr Kingdom’. Next to her was another man, much older than the two of them; he appeared to be reaching apex of age, with gray and white completely consuming his long hair and beard, and wrinkles invading his face. He was relatively shorter than the other two, and had hunched back. He was currently creasing his beard as he stared at the flames before him. He was former King of ‘Saylar Kingdom’, Ulhan Krol, whom most believe had died a long, long time ago.

“’Tis no small matter,” he was, in the end, the first one to speak. “Everything points to the birth of a Black Dragon, but our continent hasn’t been the home of Dragons for a long, long time.”

“Indeed,” Lord Tan agreed and nodded. He was a rather handsome man, exuding the air of nobility and courage, making others feel inferior simply by looking at him. “However, even if it is the birth of a Dragon, it would take at least ten years to complete. Yet, why do I feel imminent danger from this thing?”

“Brother Tan speaks the truth,” Lady Yan added, her voice seemingly a melody. “However, I do not believe this is a natural phenomenon.”

“Oh? What makes you say so, Lady Yan?” Ulhan said, arching his brow slightly.

“Natural phenomenon usually causes massive Mana fluctuations,” Lady Yan replied. “Yet, I don’t feel a tinge of Mana within this thing.”

“Hm, your perception truly is remarkable for your age,” Ulhan nodded his head with slight praise as he spoke. “In addition, as perhaps you two cannot see, these black flames are actually resisting the invasion of Worldly Energy, causing all Mana around to burn away.”

“What?!” both Lord Tan and Lady Yan shouted out at the same time, shock covering their faces. “Is-is that even possible?” Lord Tan added, casting another glance at the black flames; however, this time his eyes carried a tinge of fear and terror.

“It is indeed possible,” Ulhan nodded. “However, as to what it is, I myself have no idea. We can, in the end, simply wait and observe.”

“...”

The three then remained silent, deep in thought, as night cascaded over the world.

Unaware of all of this, Lynne was currently in the small cabin where Principal Seed lived, resting. Due to the Principal’s unrelenting efforts, and practically wastage of medical pills and resources, and even monkey’s berserk-like search for high-quality natural medicine over the past week, his condition has somewhat improved. His limbs had returned to their original position, and while the bones were still broken, most of the tendons and muscles, as well as veins and nerves, have almost completely healed. While his complexion was still pale and his body has shriveled up, signs of life were much stronger than they were just after the disaster.

He had entered deep, dreamless coma, and was completely cut out from the world. However, within that deep coma, he could still observe the characters; the characters that had nearly caused him to die. However, currently, he could only see six characters. They were separated into two columns, and Lynne was aware that three corresponded to one ‘Origin Path’ and the other three to the second ‘Origin Path’.

The strangest thing was that each character was infinite times more complex than the entirety of the two manuals. He had merely grasped a single whisk, but due to that small whisk, he had already entered the ranks of a ‘Dao Archmage’. Undoubtedly, this was the true way to cultivate two ‘Origin Paths’, while two manuals were exactly that: just manuals to embark on the journey.

First Prince Elynal and Third Princess Anna were the only two visitors for the past week. Anna returned on the second day after Lynne’s peril, and when she saw the state of his body, she immediately fainted. Even now, as he was mostly recovered, she could barely hold herself back from remembering how he was at the start.

Currently the two of them, alongside the Principal, were sitting in front of the cabin, drinking tea. The atmosphere was much more relaxing than it was these past few days, as all three noticed the changes within Lynne’s body, and the fact that his life force was getting much stronger than it was. They realized that it was only a matter of time and rest before he’s back to the way he was.

“Ah, as we have been preoccupied with Lynne’s condition, I’ve never gotten a chance to inquire about the two of you,” Principal Seed said as he chuckled lightly. “Have you two made any progress?”

“Other than solidifying at the peak of ‘Dao Archmage’, I’m stuck,” Anna spoke honestly, sighing. “Truly, requirements are insane.”

“Ha ha,” the Principal laughed lightly. “It is but understanding a profundity of a single ‘Spell Art’, young one. Do you know what is a requirement for breaking through to the ‘Dominus Archmage’ rank?”

“What?” Anna asked, half-excited half-terrified.

“Grasping full mastery of at least six ‘Spell Arts’, in addition to evolving your own, ‘Origin Art’.”

“Bleh!” both Elynal and Anna spat out a mouthful of tea, their faces extremely pale. “T-that’s…”

“Ha ha,” the Principal laughed at their reaction, stroking his beard lightly. “Baby steps, baby steps young ones. Don’t be impatient. Some people spend dozens of years just trying to reach the level you’re at now, and are still satisfied.”

“Ah, at least Junior Sister still has a chance,” Elynal sighed softly as he spoke. “To me, perhaps One Star Master Archmage is the highest I'll ever attain.”

“Don’t give up Elynal,” Anna comforted as she spoke gently. “Master has already told you that as long as you find someone who can concoct ‘Dispelling Potion’, impurities should be destroyed.”

“Eh, it’s a Rank 10 potion Anna,” the First Prince smiled lightly, as if he had already given up. “Perhaps, on the entire continent, there are two people at most who can do it. I can’t even imagine the price for it, or even if they would be willing.”

“Ah, it’s truly a shame,” the Principal shook his head as he spoke. “Your father truly is blinded by ‘Gifts’. Had he eyes of a sage, he’d know your talent is no less than your brother’s, and it could only be better.”

“What’s done is done,” the First Prince said. “Let’s not destroy the joyful atmosphere. Brother Lynne should wake up soon, and we can’t be depressed welcoming him.”

“Ha ha, that we cannot.”

As the three merrily continued chatting, Lynne was still submerged in six symbols. He had finally begun understanding why sub-paths were important, as they defined Magus more than anything else. Currently, the two flames – golden and blue – that he could create were completely purified, and were true ‘Natural Flames’, and this was all due to the fact that he understood a small corner of the first character of ‘Celestial Emperor of the Flames’ ‘Origin Path’.

On the other hand, ‘Spellweaving Celestial’ had already caused his understanding of ‘Elemental Blades’ to skyrocket, and he could now summon a full hundred of blades at the same time. When he thought that that was only a small corner, almost insignificant when compared to the grand picture, he couldn’t help and get excited. He didn’t even regret going through the horrid torture for seven days to arrive at this point. He could only hope that, before the deadline’s up, he’ll be strong enough to save his father.