Chapter 72: Embers of Creation
The wave of azure flames swept across the lands, giving vitality and life to everyone it touched.
High above the trees, Arthur and Valerian hovered in the air. Arthur felt the warmth of the fire, and he could feel his mana filling up to full.
His gaze went to Valerian, who just floated in the air without moving. Arthur flew closer to him, closing the distance.
"So, that was kind of wild."
Valerian looked up at Arthur and let out a sigh.
"Yeah... but at least now I have a direction. Starlight Academy."
At the mention of the academy, Arthur’s interest was piqued. He remembered how, back in the novels on Earth, the academy was always an important part of the story. The place where the main characters would be introduced, friendships being formed, and of course, the classic academy attack.
At the prospect of being inside such an attack where he would sweep in and save everyone, gaining the attention of his future harem members, he couldn’t help but feel excited.
Valerian’s thoughts weren’t about relationships or friendships that he could gain at the academy; his mind was occupied with the name of the principal.
Sylas Starlight.
The strongest.
A peak Demi-God existence, whose sole presence snuffs out every thought anyone could ever have about attacking the academy.
Even though he was so famous, little was actually known about him. He was an elf, but didn’t have any affiliations with the elven empire. He was probably older than anyone else on the planet; his life had far surpassed the lifespan of even a Demi-God rank.
But aside from that, there was nothing. The mysterious principal of the academy was an enigma. And Valerian had to meet him; there was no other way. Somehow this enigma had a connection to his people, or at the very least, Azuriel.
At the thought of Azuriel, Valerian remembered what the phoenix had said before he died.
His heart.
The heart of a phoenix was special, as it functioned as the furnace that creates the flames that make up the body of the phoenix.
As such, the heart of one is one of the greatest treasures that exist. Some say that by eating the heart, one can gain immortality or gain the bloodline of the phoenix.
So what could the heart of a phoenix beyond the Demi-God rank do? The heart of someone who has been alive for who knows how long and has fought against the invaders of a different realm.
Valerian could feel it. Down below, a mana signature burned in the forest, just waiting for him to go there.
Not wanting to let this loyal servant of his people wait, Valerian turned to Arthur.
"I will be back soon. Wait here."
With that, his form disappeared as space folded around him.
When he appeared down in the forest, he stood in front of the heart left behind by Azuriel.
It didn’t really look like a heart, more like a large wisp burning in azure flames. The plants around it leaned towards the heart, and the life mana flowing out of it made them seem more healthy.
Valerian walked closer to it until he was right in front of it.
’What do I do with it?’
He actually had no idea what he should do with the heart; it’s not like he had any use for it. He moved his hands closer to the large wisp. When his hands touched it, he felt the warmth coming from it.
The life mana around the heart gently enveloped his hand and entered his body.
Valerian felt the warm life mana flow through his arm, making its way to where his heart was supposed to be.
The warm mana swirled around for a moment, and once it realized that Valerian didn’t have a heart anymore after acquiring his physique, it slowly dissolved and spread through his body.
Valerian didn’t even need to look at his status screen to know what had just happened.
’A life affinity, huh.’
That he, someone who had only attack- and destruction-based affinities, would gain the life affinity like that made him chuckle lightly.
The heart in his hand didn’t disappear, as only a small amount of the life mana entered his body.
’Any ideas on what to do with it?’
Valerian asked out to Valerie, who stayed silent for a second.
-I have an idea. What if...-
When Valerian heard her idea, a laugh escaped him, and with a smile, the heart disappeared into his pocket space.
’Yeah, that’s a good idea, haha.’
When the blue wisp disappeared, the plants around didn’t turn back to normal, as they were already infused with the life coming off the heart.
Space folded around Valerian once more, and he appeared back in the air beside Arthur, who flinched when Valerian just appeared out of nowhere.
"Dude, you have to stop that."
"Yeah, yeah. Ready to go?"
Valerian waved his hand dismissively at Arthur’s remark. Arthur just sighed when he saw that his complaint reached deaf ears.
"Whatever. What did you do with the heart?"
Valerian turned away from Arthur and slowly ascended into the air.
"Nothing really. I’m saving it for now."
"What’s that supposed to mean? If you don’t want it, I will gladly take it."
Arthur followed behind Valerian into the air.
"No, I have a plan with it. I just can’t do it here and now."
Valerian took out the slab of enhanced stone from his pocket space. The arrow appeared in the air again, pointing into a direction in the distance.
Once they had the direction, they started their flight. Valerian opened his status screen to take a look at the life affinity.
’Status.’
[Name: Valerian von Astrea]
[Age: 16]
[Titles: Last Celestial, Child of Mana, Primordial Progenitor, Candidate for Godhood]
[Race: Primordial Celestial Dragon] (God Seed)
[Bloodline: Primordial Celestial Dragon] (Unawakened)
[Physique: Infinite Cosmos Physique] (Infant Stage)
[Core: Rank S-]
[Affinities: Space, Cosmic Fire, Void Lightning, Event Horizon, Absolute Zero, Starlight, Genesis Spark]
[Bound: Twilight]
[Attributes]
[Vitality: S]
[Strength: S-]
[Agility: S-]
[Dexterity: S-]
[Intelligence: S-]
[Mana: SS]
[Charm: SSS]
[Unique Skill]
[Law Breaker]
’My vitality increased... makes sense, I guess. But Genesis Spark, that sounds different.’
[Description]
[Affinity: Genesis Spark: The primordial ember of creation born from the dying sovereign of azure flames. Transcending conventional healing magic, it possesses the authority over life itself, capable of mending fractured souls, revitalizing dying vitality, and creating fresh life from the most desolate wastelands.]
’Sovereign of Azure Flames... I will remember you, I promise.’
Valerian sped up, finally wanting to be done with the Void Woods and return home.
Their journey took over 3 weeks. Well, it was to be expected; the Void Woods were truly massive. If compared to Earth, they would be bigger than all the landmasses combined. Eldoria was just that much bigger.
During that time, Valerian and Arthur fought with every monster they came across. During that time, Valerian chose not to take more affinities, as he wanted to increase his mastery over the existing ones first.
And it’s not like they came across a monster with a rare affinity. The large majority of monsters had the basic elements, and Valerian could just get them later.
But he made huge progress with his existing affinities, mainly speaking [Genesis Spark]. That affinity was so much more than just regular healing. It could create life itself.
During the travel, Valerian used every opportunity he had to practice his control over [Genesis Spark] by healing the injured Arthur, who was very thankful that he didn’t have to spend his system coins to buy healing potions, and by healing monsters over and over again.
Speaking of Arthur, he also made progress over the past weeks. His control of [Elemental Ascension] increased by a lot, giving him the ability to tap into a form for 10 seconds at a time without suffering backlash.
He also got another system quest during that time. While it was a life-threatening quest, the reward was more than worth it.
He had to kill an SS- rank creature in the Void Woods that had the ability to send other beings into the void between space folds.
But thanks to [Elemental Ascension], he managed to barely beat it, and for defeating it, he gained the [Void] affinity.
It was an extremely difficult affinity to control, but the payoff was well worth it—being able to void attacks or beings if the difference in strength was large enough.
During that time, Valerian and Arthur also fought against each other a few times as a spar. They fought with everything they had, or with just affinities, with only their weapons and mana enhancement, or without any mana enhancement or weapons at all and just pure physical power.
The fights that were about physical power went, without exception, to Valerian, as his mana body was naturally stronger than Arthur’s, which was still human.
But the fights where they both went all out went about 65-35 for Valerian. Some fights he lost, but most he managed to win.
And now, after three weeks of travel, they finally arrived.
Valerian and Arthur flew high in the air; the arrow on the stone slab showed them that they were close.
Valerian looked forward, and there, in the distance, he could see it. A large patch of forest devoid of life, with a large crater in the middle.
’I’m... home.’