Chapter 656 He Comes...
?Andar reached the top of the Nyre Flower and glanced at the five crowns hovering above him, each of them was a hundred feet tall and emitted waves of vitality that made his body shiver.
'It's finally here.'
With a controlled burst of wind, he dragged the crowns closer to him, and then his feet left the ground and he sat precisely in the middle of the five floating Crowns and Andar opened himself to the vitality all around him as thick streams of vitality like black smoke surrounded his body like a cocoon, drawn to him by all the thirsting cells in his body.
This Nyre Flower was a valuable vitality treasure because of how mild its effects were to the body, even a mortal could safely absorb its essence. A single Crown would boost the lifespan of a mortal from a paltry 100 to hundreds of thousands of years, and its residual effect would linger in their bodies, giving them an unreasonable amount of regeneration, and they would be able to heal from the most dreadful injuries.
Of course, it was impossible for a mortal to ever reach the depths of the Underverse, and still, this was the effect of an average Crown, the ones here were at least twenty times bigger and more potent, and there were five of them. This treasure should have been shared by hundreds of Mages, enhancing their weak flesh and giving them thousands of years of lifespan each, but Andar had seized this potent treasure.
He did not care about the lifespan that he might gain, for unlike Rowan whose lifespan had been artificially shortened, Andar's lifespan was far longer than an average Mage, and his unique Aether that was particularly nourishing to his physique and his bond to the evolved Cloud Whale had given Andar a lifespan of that was hard to measure, and he was still an Acolyte.
He had not measured his lifespan but it would be no problem to live for tens of thousands of years.
Assured of his relative safety, Andar touched his forehead with his thumbs and made an Arcane gesture with the remaining fingers of his hands before drawing back his hands as if he were opening a gate.
This action opened the physical gate of his Spirit Matrix situated deep inside his brain. He tried to relax his body as a surge of vitality slammed into his Spirit Matrix and the phantom of the Light Devourer shrieked in joy and began to consume it.
Yet the amount of vitality was greater than the Light Devourer could consume at once, and so this vitality spread all around his Spirit Matrix and intruded into Andar's Mental Space.
Deep inside his Mental Space, two lidless eyes that seemed to be covered by gray stone and were deep asleep suddenly shook as the vitality of the Nyre Flower seeped into them. A faint light began to emanate from it and slowly began to pull more and more vitality until the Light Devourer inside Andar Spirit Matrix began to shriek in anger.
Yet when it raised its head up and sighted the lidless eyes in the distance, the Light Devourer shrank its head and became content with the little bit that was reaching it, but soon all that was taken from the beast and it could only sulk in silence.
The entire vitality of the Nyre Flower was being collected by the eyes and Andar was shaken by this change, and his face went pale when he noticed that the vitality from the Crowns had been devoured halfway and he had not even begun the process of ascending.
He sighed and relaxed, knowing that matters were now out of his hands, he could slowly gather treasures and remake his body and Spirit Matrix after this. The Nyre Flower had bloomed far earlier than was normal, and he was not supposed to have the opportunity in the first place, so it did not sting as much as he thought.
Something inside his heart whispered,
"He comes…."
The glow from the eyes increased, as far in the universe, a single line that was being carried by the tides of Aether paused, and like a snake it curled around itself and tore through reality like paper and descended into the Underverse.
®
Archmage Hashim Prizahl could not help but smirk, he had seen many things in his long life, but the sight of an Acolyte soundly defeating hundreds of mages as easily as a child crushes an insect still left a weird sense of fascination in his heart.
A gruff voice spoke beside him, it came from Zyatt Scarrow 5 Star Archmage of the Alchemist Union, "You laugh Hashim, but you are willfully ignoring the fact that someone like this would bring great changes to the board. A Mage like he is to be is not something to be amazed about, but to be feared."
Hashim's eyes went cold, all mirth escaping from his face, but his tone was still mild, "Did you ever consider the reason why that is to be so? Change is inevitable Zyatt, and no matter how things turn out in the future, he is still one of us, not only that but he is a True Mage, something I fear most of us have forgotten as the endless poison of time washes away the light inside our heart, but this child, disregarding his power, he is… different."
His statement was drawing the attention of the rest of the Archmages here and Hashim struck as the iron was hot, it would be a great thing if he could convert some of these Archmages to support Andar's rise… for this child would rise, it was inevitable with his perverted talent, but he would need supporters.
"I have been his teacher for the last few years, and it has been one of the most fulfilling and humbling moments of my life. This child here does not represent power for power's sake, he is… hope."
A gruff laugh by Zyatt shifted the weird atmosphere that Hashim had been creating, "Hope?" The Archmage scoffed, "He is just a child with a special physique. Granted his kind is very rare, even considering the time scale of the universe, but to call him hope… you are stretching his qualities a little bit too much, don't you think?"
"Qualities…. Haa… qualities, they all make and break us, " Hashim laughed, "Don't let me just tell you, it is better I show you, from the moment I first met this child."