Zeke trusted Akasha. Often, he trusted her more than his own judgment. After all, her decisions were never based on feelings or hubris, but on hard facts and clear data. However, that did not mean he was not worried.
The Legion had proven again and again that its ability to adapt was beyond comprehension. In some sense, their mental network mirrored the exact method he and Akasha relied on.
And that was precisely where his doubts stemmed from.
If both sides acted purely on logic and data, and yet both were determined to force such a decisive battle, then only a single conclusion remained: one of them was wrong.
Zeke firmly believed that the side found lacking would not be his, but he was not about to place his chips on faith alone. Before the battle, there was still enough time to hedge his bets.
Three days. It was not enough time to transform himself completely, but it might be enough to get the ball rolling on his next Concept, to open the door just wide enough to get a foot in.
If that would be enough to make a difference, he could not say. But Zeke would be damned before he'd allow himself to waste a chance to improve his odds in such a crucial moment, no matter how slim it might be.
Besides, with all the preparations and coordination already entrusted to Akasha, he had nothing left to do besides work on his next breakthrough. Several ideas were already stirring in his mind. However, there was one specific thought that had refused to leave him ever since it first occurred to him.
When Akasha had asked whether his new method would work with Concepts for his other affinities, Zeke’s first instinct had not been to think about the answer to that question, but to feel a sense of rejection. It was as if his insides were screaming at him. He had understood it then, the meaning behind that feeling:
Why would I care about anything unrelated to Blood?
At first, he had tried to squash the feeling. It would not do to neglect his other affinities just because he was not as gifted in them as he was in Blood. Both Mind and Space had contributed greatly to who he had become as a person and as a Mage.
However, after that first impulse had passed, he felt something else. This feeling, this sense, was not simply his strongest affinity trying to assert its dominance. Or at least, that was what his gut was telling him.
He could not explain how he knew, but something deep inside Zeke was telling him that this was not an instinct he should ignore.
But if that was so, what did it mean? Should he simply focus on his Blood Magic and ignore anything related to his other two affinities? Could that really be the path forward?
Zeke immediately discarded that thought. If that was truly where this instinct was guiding him, then all he could say was that it was not a path he was willing to walk.
But if not that, then what?
Minutes passed, and Zeke’s mind began to ache from the dozens of theories he came up with. Many of them seemed somewhat plausible, but there was never any evidence to either confirm or deny them.
The longer he thought, the more pointless it felt to delve deeper into the meaning behind that feeling. His time was limited, especially now, and he truly did not have the leeway to waste it on theoretical debates.
Zeke took a deep breath and cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts. In times like these, it was often helpful to simplify matters as much as possible. Simple terms. Simple answers.
What was his goal?
To reach Archmage.
What was the problem?
There was no existing path for mages with two or more affinities.
Why not?
Because the process of becoming an Archmage included the fusion of body and core. In the case of a mixed core, such a fusion would likely end in failure.
...
Zeke was in a state of absolute focus as he simply reviewed the facts as he knew them. His aspirations, his obstacles, his research, his findings, his theories.
He was not trying to fill in any gaps. He was not trying to find any previously overlooked connections. All he meant to do was remind himself of the facts of his situation, why he did the things he did, and what the ultimate aim behind them was.
The longer this internal review continued, the more one thing stood out to Zeke: he did not understand the true purpose of Concepts.
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Naturally, he knew what they were and how they functioned. He had even mastered his first Concept already, now able to add the effect of Return to any and all of his Blood spells.
That part was clear enough. However, what he did not understand was how Concepts fit into the larger scheme of the path of a Mage. For one, there did not seem to be any requirement to master even a single Concept in order to advance to Archmage, as many had done so without it.
On the other hand, even people who had mastered up to a dozen Concepts were not guaranteed a successful advancement, and there were even more examples of people failing despite their incredible mastery over them.
As far as Zeke could tell, there seemed to be no benefit to mastering Concepts at all beyond the obvious effects they granted in casting. It was almost as if they were completely separate from the orthodox path of a Mage, like a step that did not belong on the same ladder.
The realization immediately sent warning bells flaring through his mind.
Concepts only became possible to implement after one reached the level of Grand Mage, which meant they had to be intrinsically linked to this precise stage of the path. The fact that nobody seemed to have figured out the deeper connection between the two did not make him think they were separate things, but that this was something he himself had overlooked so far.
Zeke found himself surprised that he had never questioned this before.
What was the purpose of Concepts?
On the surface, he would have said that they existed to let a Mage customize their casting in a way that allowed them to fill gaps in their abilities.
That was exactly what he had tried to do with his first Concept of Return.
But was that really the truth? In practice, perhaps. That was what everyone used them for, after all. But could that really be all there was to it?
Unlikely.
His earlier impulse immediately came to mind, his instinct not to bother with anything unrelated to Blood. Could that have been a clue?
It was the same problem he had pondered before. However, now that he was looking at it from a completely different angle, the thoughts coming to his mind had changed. What if... what if that feeling, that instinct, had in truth been nothing else than his perfect affinity trying to guide him once again?
Just as he had heard the Call of Blood during battle and instinctively realized that he should use his incredible ability to cast formless spells, could this not also be an attempt by his senses to guide him toward the path?
Zeke did not know.
Honestly, there was no way to know whether such an outlandish conclusion was true without choosing to walk the path and see where it led. However, for some reason, he felt that it was a chance worth taking.
He had been given three days. In the worst case, he would end up where he started. In the best case, he would find something infinitely valuable.
With his mind made up, everything else seemed to fall into place. It was odd how the things that had worried him just moments ago lost all meaning with a simple change in perspective. He did not bother trying to improve his formless casting of Space and Mind. He did not bother figuring out a way to develop Concepts for those two affinities.
Blood was all that mattered. Blood was his entire world. Blood. Blood. Blood.
Without much thought, Zeke began to call upon his Magic. Soon, he found himself surrounded by his own essence on all sides. One spell flowed into the next without any clear purpose behind either.
He simply immersed himself deeper and deeper in the properties of his strongest affinity. How it felt coursing through his body. How it reacted to his call, its function, its properties, its nature.
The longer he looked, the more he began to understand how versatile Blood truly was. Even to this day, his knowledge only scratched the surface of what it was truly capable of.
The Bloodsword family specialized in sharpening their blood into weapons of war.
The Knights of the Crimson Cross specialized in healing through the power of Blood, making themselves nearly immortal.
The Red Watchers somehow harnessed the properties of their own essence to peer through the mysteries of fate and divine the future.
There were dozens of other distinct applications of Blood Magic that he still did not understand in the slightest. Mysterious spells and techniques he could not explain with his current knowledge. Some of them even seemed to cross into the domains of other affinities.
The Bloodletter family, his own paternal line, used a peculiar form of Magic that allowed them to curse their enemies through blood. It was a fighting style that saw their foes grow weaker and weaker the more they bled. Even from a great distance, once confronted with an enemy’s blood, they could work their peculiar Magic.
All of these were methods Zeke did not understand. Even with all his knowledge, he could hardly guess what principles lay behind them.
All of that only highlighted how little he still understood about the true mysteries of Blood. Perfect affinity? Maybe. But that certainly did not mean he possessed perfect understanding of it.
Blood. Life essence. Medium of curses. Tool of war.
Its versatility seemed endless. And yet somehow, he had always been content to use his blood to pierce, stab, or throw at his enemies like a brute. Worse still, when it came to improving on that, the best he had been able to come up with was Return?
What was he, a monkey?
Throwing rocks around and picking them up again?
Zeke felt more ignorant than he ever had in his entire life. He had been given a gift, something so precious that others could only dream of having. His mastery over Blood was unmatched. And yet now, it felt as if he had completely wasted that potential.
His thinking had been shallow, his ambitions lacking.
Had Maximillian reached the level of Archmage by simply making his Earth Magic hotter, or his Fire Magic more solid? Had Cassius become what he was by making his Nature Magic more lively, or his Life Magic more plantlike?
No.
They had found a way to connect their Magic on such a fundamental level that both of their affinities could coexist at the same time.
So what about him?
Could it ever be enough to merely scratch the surface of what Blood Magic could do and call it a day? Would there ever be anything so convenient in this world?
Zeke could finally see it. His own path. The way to reach a higher stage. It had been there all along, hidden behind his own assumptions, his own ignorance. Ever since he had first awakened as a Mage, all the way to the present, there had never been any doubt where his path would lead.
He was a child of Blood. And the only path he could walk in this life... was the Path of Blood.