âOn top of that, Iâm not asking the help of the First Queen, but of Tyris, the Guardian who crafted the Saefel set before the Kingdom was even founded. You promised to protect my child and yet you put her father in danger. As I see it, you owe me and her.â Lith said.
âOrder and Chaos, you are as sly as you are cocky.â Tyris broke in a peal of silvery laughter that complemented her beauty like a clear sky does the sun. âSometimes I wish that Valeron was more like you and less like himself.
âMore down to Mogar and less righteous.â She sighed in nostalgia as images of her late husband filled her mind, yet there was no grief or pain in her voice.
It had taken the Guardian a long time, but she had finally moved on with her life and accepted the death of Valeron the First.
âFine, Iâll help you.â Tyris nodded.
âGreat. We could use Life Maelstrom to-â
âDonât push it, kid.â Tyrisâ voice turned cold, snuffing the light of greed from Lithâs eyes and cutting him short.
âYou misunderstand, I was talking to Solus.â Lith lied through his teeth, making the Guardian laugh again. âThe moon is full of Life Maelstrom. Can you tap into it with the tower, Solus?â
âYou wish.â She said with a sigh. âI tried and failed countless times. The silver lining is that the moon has a much greater density of world energy than Mogar. It should give us a significant boost in the crafting process.â
âWhile we are at it, I never visited the tower since its reappearance.â Tyris said. âDo you mind giving me a tour after we are done? Iâm curious to see what changes the tower has undergone after bonding with the two of you.â
Lith and Solus exchanged a dubious gaze for a split second before turning around.
âSure, why not.â They said in unison as her eyes turned black and his became golden, indicating that the decision had not been easy to make.
âThat was creepy and rude.â The Guardian said and everyone nodded. âYet I appreciate your kind gesture. I wonât use my bloodline abilities for you but I wonât hold back either.â
Tyris held the Fury by the end of the grip with her left hand while she passed the index and middle finger of her right over the whole length of the hammer, as if she was caressing it.
Except she wasnât.
The Fury answered her touch by humming with power and the countless runes that Salaark had engraved on its surface became visible again. The enchantment formed several concentric magic circles around the Fury, both amplifying and holding the energy that crackled along the hammer.
âWhat the heck did you just do?â Lith asked in amazement.
The Guardian had yet to emit a single spark of mana yet the Fury was bursting with power like never before.
âI Awakened the power core.â She shrugged at the question.
âYou can do that?â Solus had to collect her own jaw from the floor.
âAnyone can.â Tyris shrugged again. âI mean, the difference between a mana core and a power core is paper thin. Take a look at my Fury with your Eyes.â
âDonât mind if I do.â Faluel used the towerâs artifact to study the phenomenon.
She discovered that now the Fury had a vigorous mana flow that started from the power core and spread throughout the hammer. Tyrisâ Fury was identical to the other copies but the difference between them was the same as that between fake mages and Awakened.please visit p(anda-n0ve1.co)m
âJudging from your reaction, I guess that Salaark never showed you this.â The Guardian snapped her fingers and the artifact returned to normal.
âNo.â Solus shook her head. âShould she?â
âYes and no.â Tyrisâ reply confused them even more. âYes, because Ripha used this technique. No, because it didnât belong to her. This is something that Valeron the First discovered after I gifted him the Saefel set.â
Seeing that everyone was staring at her with their mouth open, she chuckled.
-n0ve1ăcom âCome on, itâs the natural development of Blade Magic. Once you learn how to use power cores like your own core, what stops you from Awakening them as well?â
âShe has a point.â Faluel tormented her lower lip. âYet Iâve never heard of Awakened weapons, not even from my mother. And she was one of Valeronâs companions. Whatâs the catch?â
âFirst, Awakening a weapon requires to have it fully purified from impurities or it would act no different from a living body and explode.â Tyris said. âSecond, an Awakened weapon receives a boost in power at the price of shortening the duration of its energy reserves.
âUnlike a real Awakened, an artifact has no breathing technique to recover the power lost by going all-out. Thatâs why Davross and Elemental Crystals are so important. Even Adamant and white crystals need quite some time to recover, just like you rest to reset Invigorationâs effects.â
âSo what you are telling us is that Awakening a weapon is of little use in battle.â Quylla said after pondering the Guardianâs words.
âExactly.â Tyris nodded. âAwakening your weapon can give you the upper hand, but if your enemy retreats or buys time, you risk reducing your equipment to an empty shell when you need it the most.
âIn the Forge, instead, you can take your time between the various preparatory steps to recharge the hammer and Awaken it only during the crucial steps of the Forgemastering process.
âThere is only one instance when itâs worthy Awakening your weapon in battle.â
âWhile casting Blade Tier magic.â Lith said, receiving a gentle smile and a nod of approval in reply. âBecause you are going to deplete the energy of your equipment anyway so the final result doesnât change and Awakening empowers your spell.â
âThe question is, how do you do that?â Phloria, Lith, and Solus were capable of using Blade Magic so they tried to Awaken their weapons but to no avail.
âThatâs for you to find out. As I said, Iâm not going to hold back and you are free to study my technique, but Iâm not going to teach you. Iâd say that between helping you to reforge your equipment and revealing to you the existence of weapon Awakening, Iâm doing enough already.â
Lith cursed his inability to dismantle War and so did everyone whose equipment had been forged by Orion or other means.
Sure, they could ask Salaark to recycle the raw materials with Creation Magic, but to receive Tyrisâ help they should also share their respective secrets. Faluel wouldnât dare compromise the Hydra bloodline legacy and Lith would never show the tower to Orion.
Hence, Lith, Tista, and Solus were the only ones benefitting from the Guardianâs presence.
Lith crafted anew his Golems, the Voidfeather armors, the Sage Staff, Double Edge, and the equipment for Trion and the former members of the Queenâs Corps who resided inside the Void Sigils.
Once they were done with the Forgemastering, Tyris get to visit every floor of the tower. Lith didnât hide anything from her and explained Tyris how each floor worked based on his limited understanding of Menadionâs legacy.
âThis is really nice. Now I get why Salaark has decided to make herself a tower.â The Guardian said at the end of the tour.
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