Alchemy

"Your mother was a very busy one, and many believe she was the reincarnation of a Chaos Lord, which they strongly disagreed, as your grandfather ensured the appearance of a new soul was born during the pregnancy." Zero paused. 'From what I've seen, your mother had influence, and yet none of them seemed to help when she needed it."

Zariels head was low, but his eyes were burning. " You will tell me everything."

"I'll send a report. And Zariel…" He hesitated. "The Knights of Luna seem to be quite involved with your Mother. Upon your resurrection, I sent a few ambassadors to one of the Temples of Twilight, but it will seem none of them checked in. Their life signature died the day of the Crimson Moon."

Zariel went still for a few seconds. And he nodded. "And once again, we are back to that cursed moon. I ought to sever it."

"And one will take its place." Zero calmly said. " Go back to Aurelia. Train her. I've been preparing for an operation on Alos. There is a temple here, albeit abandoned."

Zariels stared at the black mask, his mine envisioning what lay behind, and nodded. " Tell me when you head off."

…

Resting on top of the large wolf, doggy paddling towards the solid ground, Aurelia sat in a meditative state, calming her mind, as she felt the flow of her minuscule bloodline course from her heart throughout her body and back into the heart.

But her meditation soon faded as a powerful pressure began slowly taking effect upon her soul. She opened her eyes, a little annoyed but didn't bother to say anything as she pulled Arcana from the air, pushing it into her core.

She felt her muscles slowly begin to relax the more Arcana began to swell within her body, saturating her pores, pushing out any impurities she gained since she last cleansed.

"My Queen?" Eldritch softly said, pushing her out of the trance she had fallen back into, "I've sensed a few presences. Enter through the Gate you came from. Shall I block the probing eye, or shall we begin your alchemy training?"

Aurelia's eyes dimmed for a moment. " Am I even cultivating, right?"

"My queen?

"I feel like I'm learning so much that I'm not gaining anything." She hesitantly whispered a little afraid Zariel might hear her worry.

Eldritch snickered. "A complaint heard in many children when they feel like they're progressing too slowly. Did you know two hundred Chaos Cycles ago, there existed an era where they ignored battle prowess and just cultivated? Believing only in immortality? Do you know what happened to them?" Aurelia shook her head." They were all killed off by a man with superior battle prowess. He killed them all, creating his martial arts that became so famous it was later banned."

"But if I focus on one thing—"

"You will definitely progress faster, but you miss out on seeing various possibilities that happen when you grow everything at once. You will see different perspectives. Sure it's slower, but you'll be unrivaled. And I wouldn't worry about cultivation much. It's really useless at the early stages as everyone can die from a sword poke."

"That's true," Aurelia agreed, although not very satisfied. She wanted more, to stand by Zariels side, to defeat him.

"Teach me alchemy, now." She then said, and Eldritch went silent.

'Alright. I'm sure you've got a cauldron in your infinity ring, right?"

Peering into her Infinity Ring, Aurelia nodded, pulling out a small black cauldron that didn't seem like it was on its last leg due to excessive use.

"That assassin I killed must have used it till it was about to—"

"They all look like that," Eldrich said, "Cleaning your Cauldron is one of the worst things you can do. Look around the edges."

Aurelia did.

"Notice the crust, the mossy texture. The assassin you killed was an amateur, but you can benefit from this. All that residue can be applied—"

"I've hundreds of poisons in my inventory; won't that kill me?" Aurelia pointed out.

"You're a superior species… you'll be fine. " Said Eldrich in an odd unsure tone.

"You don't seem sure."

"But I am my queen. Your Radiance is—"

"Please stop. Aurelia knows she's a badass! Hmph, Hmph, tell Auralia later, just teach me." She said in a hopeful tone.

Elritch nodded. "Well, first, let's try something that'll be simple—Arcane Crystals. We'll do this before you damage any ingredients you have." He said, noting the impatience in his queen." Pour some water into the Cauldron for me. And light a fire."

"Can I use the Holy Fire that amplifies—"

"Do whatever that makes you feel happy. I teach an instinct base Alchemy. If you feel like it is the right thing to do, do it. Rules are meant to be broken. You should understand that better than anyone."

"Hey! No need to be mean!" Aurelia conveyed with redden cheeks," It's boring doing things like everyone else."

"Forgive me," Replied Elditch flatly, "Now water and a small fire, please."

Following Elditch's lead, Aurelia plunged the Cauldron into the spring water she'd melted with her earlier spell and lit a small fire with the help of a firebolt on some firewood.

Applying the Sacred Flames to the common fire, a bright golden radiance sprung for the flames below. A bit of a drain-over took Aurelia as she waited for Eldritch to continue.

"Now pull as much arcana as you can from out of you and the atmosphere and place it into the cauldron."

"That's it!" Yelped Aurelia.

"Yep, it's a simple formula a child can do, and it's impossible to mess up. But it's one of the best ways to teach arcane manipulation. The better the flame, the better the purity." He explained as Aurelia nodded.

Peeping inside like a naughty child, Aurelia willed the Arcane from Heaven and earth into the Cauldron while also pushing it down into the water.

"Cover it up, silly!" Eldrich shouted, 'It needs to build up pressure."

Grumbling a little, Aurelia nodded and began to concentrate. She pushed all her senses out and began to draw the raw Arcana from her body and the air. f