Rivers of the Night

Theron's Core was truly insatiable. By the time he finished the ninth form, he had absorbed more Mana than most would need to enter the Seventh Silver Resonance, let alone Silver Mancy. But he was calm. He walked to the pile of Vital Bloomstone and popped one into his mouth. If he was using the Forbidden Spell, he would need to wait until tomorrow in order to execute it again. But because of his Immortal Jellyfish Echo, he didn't seem to have a need to worry about this at all. Instantly, he was back up to his full strength. He executed the dance again, and then again. Finally, he felt it… that feeling of near fullness. He was right on the precipice when he came to a stop, his head slowly turning to the Echo Bloomstone. At this point, he had to go all out. He took one Echo Bloomstone out of the pile, checking the state of his body to ensure that he was in an ideal state. Truthfully, he had never felt better in his life. He was brimming with life and vitality… it was almost scary how untouchable he felt. If he was being honest with himself, if there was rain, he already felt invincible beneath Gold Mancy, and that was an uncertain feeling for Theron. He felt that sort of overconfidence would come back to bite him. He had yet to understand the ins and outs of Silver Mancy, and there were far more variables in combat the higher up you went. Fights between Bronze Mancers were barely more complex than fights between mortals. But there were too many secret methods and options a Silver Mancer would have that a Bronze Mancer wouldn't. Saying that he was invincible beneath Gold Mancy in the Nightingale Province was at least closer to the truth—so long as there was rain. But in the world? Across Existence? He would be too foolish to say that even about beneath Silver Mancy itself. He didn't know enough to claim such a thing. But it was also hard to not feel that sort of overconfident arrogance when he had already been so powerful, and yet now felt like he could beat his former self with an arm tied behind his back. Theron suppressed his thoughts. No matter what, as he had said many times… he wasn't living for himself. He would never allow his own sense of worth to overshadow the goal. Get his father's sword back. Get revenge. Those two things drove him more than anyone could ever imagine. With a flick of his wrist, the Echo Bloomstone popped into his mouth. Theron stood there in silence, his head bowed and his mind focused. He felt the power sweep through him as though looking for something. But then it swept over his Core, washing over it in long, drawn-out waves. But it still didn't seem to have found what it was looking for. Then, slowly, the Bloomstone vanished. Theron opened his eyes, frowning. It didn't work? He didn't try to direct the energy. Whether it was the Vital Bloomstone or the Resonate Bloomstone, they all worked on their own without much fanfare at all. He thought things would be the same for the Echo Bloomstone, but it seemed almost lost and confused. 'The beasts…' Theron suddenly thought. What had led him down this path? Wasn't it observing how the lava beast could swallow the Bloomstones directly? 'But… beasts might not have Echoes, but they do have their souls within their Beast Cores. It is the same principle in a lot of ways, so why doesn't this one work?' Theron was ready to give up on this path as it wasn't too necessary or important to him. But something was nagging at him. 'Try again.' This time, Theron tried to direct the energy, forcing it not toward his Core this time… but his body. Most accurately, his blood. The change was instantaneous. There was a liveliness that coursed through Theron's body akin to nothing that he had ever experienced before. His pupils dilated and his mind was transported back to an ancient era. Locked in the depths of the ocean, he felt the peaceful hum of the cold waters. There was darkness all around him, and yet it didn't feel off-putting… it was just natural, calming, soothing… Theron had no idea how long he was lost in that state for. It could have been seconds, it could have been hours or even days. All he knew when he awoke was that he was very hungry. And unbeknownst to him until that very moment… He had somehow broken into Silver Mancy. Not just any level of Silver Mancy, but the Third Resonance. ** The Luminescent Moon Sect shuddered. The gates of the Secret Realm shook and soon a swirl of Aether took shape. SHUU! SHUU! SHUU! Several powerful figures approached all at once, surrounding it from all sides. Many of these elders were intent to see what the disciples had gotten. One after another, those that survived began to appear. Grand Elder Acer was the first to realize something was wrong. The teleportations back were far too slow. No, not slow… they weren't happening with the frequency that would be necessary to pull back a large number of people. At first, he thought it was because something was wrong with the gate, but then the horror of it all settled in, especially as one half-injured, half-dead disciple after another began to appear. The smiling expressions of the elders began to stiffen. Theron stumbled out, half a mangled mess, no different from the others. He looked charred, crucified to the greatest extent. Even half his head was gone. He felt a gaze on him and he looked over. Despite his state, he was calm to an extreme. Thessa met that gaze. She had been so confident in herself, more assured in her new power. But seeing the burnt state of Theron, and knowing he had left her just fine, her heart shuddered. He had done this to himself. And yet, his eyes were as steady as a boulder. Somehow, she knew that he hadn't even flinched at the prospect of being so cruel to himself. Why did she still feel so inferior?