61 Azure Tree
"Honored King, you wouldn't mind giving that boy to the holy realm would you?" The blue-haired beauty said to the king with a supercilious smile
"Even for a holy daughter, I won't hand him over." He said in a cold tone, he wasn't accepting of the holy realm. Almost no one in the continent liked the holy realm. But the governing powers had the support of the gods, so they reluctantly dealt with them.
"hmm....what about sharing then?" she said still smiling but exerting her will, even with a king she wouldn't back down.
"That would be a question for him, I don't force anyone into anything." The king said in a calm voice
"Well don't complain, if I charm him." She said with a giggle as she stood up and walked out of the arena with her guards.
The king looked at the flame princess, who had a cold face. She was nearly delirious from watching that match, her guards tried to comfort her much to her explosive chagrin.
"Sasha, what has displeased you?" The king said in a kind tone towards the flame princess
"Father, why must you force me with him?" She said in an angry prying tone
"I haven't forced into anything, I just told you to make nice." He said back with a smile
Sasha's mouth twitched in surprise and anger, she quieted now her anger and left with her guards.
"I am going back to training for the national tournament daddy." She said in an authoritative tone of voice with her body swaying in anger
She left before her father could say anything, even her guards weren't prepared and quickly followed after her.
"My princess wait!" Both the ice mage and spear knight said at the same time.
"Osgood, Harmon, if you want to come then do so." She said in a half yelling tone. Her guards frantically chased after her, with the king just laughing as she left.
"Still as fickle as ever, but I can't have that with competitors." He said with a half chuckle
His shadow guard's face distorted in fright, the king was up to no good once again.
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As soon as the tournament finished, Teacher Elton and Grandmaster Isaiah picked me up. Everyone went on to the banquet held in the teacher's area. With everyone engaging in festivities, and awards being given. I instead was brought to the front of the dream formation, where the king and 14 people awaited.
They weren't teachers, other than the assistant headmaster, the headmaster, and Dante. The other 11 people were various figures, I had never met but their strength was evident. Even stronger than teacher Elton who's aura grew deeper by the day. I knew instantly these were the grand mages and knights of the kingdom.
The core and backbone of the kingdom prestige and defense, and I met all of them at once. But I wasn't awed, instead, my heart grew cold. Was the ancestral treasury this important? If involve myself in this scheme, won't I just be utterly killed without a corpse?
I calmed my fears and negative thoughts, it was the damn inference of the black lotus The king spoke to each of them individually about various things, I couldn't hear a thing.
Even if I could I wouldn't want too, that would be far too dangerous. When the talking was done, they got into a circle all 16 people. Teacher Elton brought me up to the platform, the moon was especially bright tonight. Shining in all its splendor upon me, deep in the night.
The grand knights and mages got into a 16 pointed star, with me at the center and a circle around it.
"Aingeer, Lopir, Valinkar, Sienel." They chanted together, at increasingly fast speeds. I looked up to the sky and saw a steam of starlight converging in the formation. What was a stream became a river until it was as if the stars themselves were descending! The earth shook from the reverberations of their chants, then it all calmed and the chanting stopped.
"KRRRRRRR." A grating sound pierced into my ears, and space was ripped open.
A vertical slit spatial slit appeared, it was deep dark and had a primordial quality.
"Lucas enter it." Teacher Elton encouraged me with a happy smile, his own disciple would be first in a long time to enter the ancestral treasury.
'Drrak.' I intoned in a slightly stressed voice, this was nothing short of terrifying to me.
'Spatial nodes are splintered, and look to the stars for your questions. It is as I feared, they are using dimensional magic.' Drrak said in a fearful voice I couldn't stand there for long without looking suspicious, so I hesitantly entered the spatial slit. As I walked in I felt my mind nearly shattered as I was assaulted with visions!
I could see the universe in all its splendor, realms beyond my imagine unfolding before me A portal opened as a single terrifying eye opened leaking out of it were various black tentacles. The monster was being attacked by demure beauties who were obscured by a golden light. They fought to the death as massive beasts slashed apart the armies all around. As the vision ended my body arrived at the end of the dimensional tunnel.
I looked around everything faded away, and I was on the plane from the First Rain King! The world was withering away, the trees had died, and the land had decayed. It was just like I saw it at the last moment of that dream-like experience.
Whether by design or by consequence the death Qi had seeped into all corners. Yet contrary to all the death qi, at the center of the realm was a massive Azure Tree. The tree radiated immense vitality as it supported the entire great realm easily.
'Drrak finishes what you were saying earlier.' I said in a calm voice as I walked through the realm. With my void comprehension, I was sensitive to space shattering. Here there were spatial slits and storms all about, without careful analysis one would die without knowing it.
'You've used spatial magic before and understand that. But dimensional magic is another avenue of spatial magic, a far more powerful version.'
'Void beings are just the best at doing it but we aren't the only ones capable of it, for example, the First Rain King did it himself. He created a dimensional space somewhere in the mortal realm. Dimensional travel requires the use of the stars.' Drrak explained patiently to me
'Then the spatial node, and the stars that's what he means.' I said in a dreading node as I dodged the spatial slits. I was slowly approaching the tree from before. But now it had grown dilapidated from years of being left alone.
'Then everything from beyond the mortal realm comes from the stars?' I asked
'Not exactly, more like they need to harness the stars to open a gate.' Drrak answered me patiently
'Like your kingdom knights did, otherwise they wouldn't have the power to open a gate into another world.' Drrak said
'What was the dream he showed me earlier then?' I asked
'It was a triggered memory, that he injected into you.' Drrak intoned
When I approached the tree, I felt something stir in me. A black aura radiated from my body, with my skin transitioning into small scales. Almost unnoticeable to a regular human, but with a knight's enhanced vision it was glaringly obvious.
I felt something coming up, my body was bubbling with power. Just like when I came back to life, I roared a Draconic roar. It shattered the death Qi, and spatial storms around me. My aura started to take form, it became a horned Dragon head that ascended to the skies.
Then another Dragon appeared in the skies, it was the Silver dragon from before. It roared at the Black Dragon head, then it sent out a massive will. It stirred the Black Dragon head into a frenzy, as greedily consumed the will. The Silver dragon willingly gave up the will help the Black Dragon. The silvery energy became dark as the Black Dragon consumed it.
The Silver Dragon faded away entirely, and the Black Dragon returned to me. It too faded away leaving me with a massive aura of intent. In my mind, the mysteries of the sword were presented to me. The power of will altering the world around me, a knight at his peak was a mage in his own right.
By pure willpower, I could alter the very structures of the world. At that moment I could shatter the world, and make it a new. In my mind 5 styles were imprinted, it was the five sword styles of the First King. All in my mind never to be lost, although I couldn't understand them all.
With the Silver Dragon's will implanted in my consciousness, I could feel something call out to me. My heart clutched because I felt a faint yearning from Cenir's Primordial source. Few times has Cenir's source ever been stirred, the importance of which couldn't be understated. After all my power is ultimately based on Cenir primordial source.
