73. The limitations

The domain runespell seemed god like but had a major problem. Essence left Mack's body, so he was able to control all ownerless Essence around him. But with that, he could activate none of his own runespells. It was like his essence left his body, along with almost half his blood, to 'rule' everything around.

But with that he becomes weak physically and he can't activate any runespells. He can activate them, but they will fail the activation or if succeed it would drain him off his last bits of Essence and the result would be so lame that would be akin to a whisper in a party.

"It's a tough decision"

[Leave it for later. The scan being a passive runespell that auto trigger itself at each heartbeat is already a tremendous progress]

"Indeed, someday I will find a better way for this."

But then he remembered the trial of this gate.

To be the sun itself.

'but here my heartbeat would never go up to extremes.... unless..... if i run?'

Mack pondered over the matter. His hellfire runespell was strong, but he was not sure if he was in the right direction to solve this trial.

"Maybe I'm being too literal..."

Mack looked at all the surrounding snow.

'The bane of snow is heat. But why the analogy with sun? That bastard never said empty words.'

Mack looked up as if imagining where the sun should be, but the ceiling of his iglu stopped his vision. Then he imagined himself up high in the sky and looking below.

"No way. He wishes for me to melt all this snow? Thats fucking impossible!!!"

Mack hit his head while lowering his head, then he saw he was still naked.

~sigh~

A few hours later, and already with clothes, Mack continued his eternal walk over the snow.

His trail of footsteps disappearing behind him, as if the snow that fell could devour everything.

To all sides that Mack looked, he saw only white, bright white snow, so bright that almost burned his retina with not a single patch of grass, not even a small tree or a branch or even a rock.

Snow everywhere.

From time to time the scan runespell activated and with that the empty feedback came to him.

Mack looked behind him. Not to see if someone would appear, but to see if his trail of footsteps behind him was in a straight line, he had to check that all the time, because the trail barely lasted for 2 to 3 meters.

With no way to differentiate right from left, that trail was his only guide that he was walking always forward and not in circles.

'to be the sun'

He murmured in his head, asking himself again and again for a better solution and unconsciously avoiding the true. Because if that was what his ancestor wished, Mack had no way to do it.

He was not that strong yet.

At least was what he thought.

[If you want to keep going further, you need to push yourself to your limits]

"Easy to say. Hard to do it."

[The harder the task. The greater the reward,]

"Sorry. Meritocracy doesn't work with me. I came from a world where some people were born above others. Is this his merit? No."

[...]

"Anyway, Is not like I don't want to try. Is just that I'm not that powerful. It's a waste of time trying..... And I have no clue of what to do to increase my strength here"

[...]

"All I see is snow, and more snow, and more snow....."

Said Mack, pointing to his sides like a touristic guide would do. But of course, mocking his own state.

~sigh~

[You still didn't notice, right?]

"Notice what?"

[You are talking]

"Of course I am, I have a mouth"

Said Mack, raising his two arms, as if it could not be more obvious.

[Could you when you entered here?]

Mack abruptly stopped walking.

The realization that came with that single phase shocked Mack.

"I'm adapting to the cold!"

[No. No. You just have a mouth.]

"tsc"

  He had no answer for that one. That Arcane had become more and more like him.

[Rude?]

"I never said that. Neither, I thought. Stop putting words in my mouth"

[More beautiful? Definitely not.]

"Of course not. You don't have a body"

[Who said that?]

"You have?"

[Maybe. Maybe not.]

Mack could not believe the shameless of this Arcane. Distorting facts just to not lose an argument.

"Anyway. If I can adapt to the cold, then this was not a wasted trip"

[It's not like you have a choice]

"Thanks for reminding me that I'm a prisoner here"

[No need for thanks]

~sigh~

Mack wished he could put this Arcane on the mute sometimes. But it was also his only 'company'.

"If I am adapting, will I be able to not feel cold anymore? or is like the cold doesn't harm me?"

Said Mack, already uncovering his right arm to touch the snow on the ground with his own hands.

"Yeap, I can feel the cold same as always. But it doesn't hurt anymore like an icy burn as before."

[Think twice]

"What?"

[...]

"Oh, you are forbidden to tell..... the rules...."

[Think again. What's inside of everything?]

"It's not my body evolving? but my will?"

[Finally]

"Now that you said. I mean. I said. It makes sense. Just like I can see in the dark, is natural for me to always think that i don't want to feel cold."

[Bit when you touched the snow you could feel it right?]

"Yes. I see.... it's like when I wished to feel the snow. I could feel it. Am I affecting the snow or my body? It must be my body."

[Indeed, is your body. But what would happen if you could strengthen your will to counter the cold like this in a hundred folds? Even if only affected your own body,]

"I see... I would be immune to any kind of cold."

[Correct]

"Just like that archmage and all other light constructs used fire spells. I bet that are some that use ice spells."