Chapter 386:Last training.
The decision to delay their departure by a few hours turned out to be the right one.
Lilith had successfully integrated the Sovereign of Darkness’s core, but simply reaching Peak Mystic wasn’t enough. Power that suddenly appeared inside the body was one thing. Understanding how to control it was another.
Neither of them wanted to discover the difference halfway through a confrontation. With them being equal in strength, it was better for them to train together and understand the power that both of them had gotten.
Atheline hadn’t had the chance to test his power and Lilith needed to fully merge with it by atleast training and releasing it.
So, after completing the final preparations for their journey, they made their way to one of the palace’s private training grounds.
The room was enormous.
It had been constructed specifically for the royal family, with reinforced walls, a floor capable of absorbing powerful attacks, and multiple defensive formations layered throughout the chamber.
Even then, Atheline had Zelpher activate every available defensive circle.
Lilith watched him finish the preparations.
"You seem particularly cautious."
"You just merged with the core of a Sovereign."
"I survived."
"That doesn’t mean I’m taking chances."
Lilith smiled then rolled her eyes at that. Atheline stepped into the center of the training area. His bow rested across his back, while his sword hung at his waist.
"Let’s start simple."
Lilith nodded.
"How simple?"
"Very." He raised one hand. "Show me what you can do without trying to overpower anything."
Lilith considered that for a moment, then she extended her hand. A small strand of darkness appeared around her fingers. It was almost like smoke.
She moved her hand slowly and the darkness followed.
Atheline watched carefully.
"Your control is better."
Lilith nodded.
"I can feel it."
"Before, your darkness moved like Aether."
"And now?"
"It feels more..." He searched for the word. "Alive like you’re finally understanding what darkness is."
Lilith’s expression became thoughtful.
"I noticed that too."
She closed her hand.
The darkness disappeared, then she opened it again. This time, a small black sphere appeared. It remained perfectly still above her palm.
Lilith slowly rotated her wrist, and the sphere followed the movement, then she made a slight gesture. It split into five smaller spheres.
Atheline raised an eyebrow.
"That’s new."
"Very."
She brought her fingers together. The five spheres merged again.
"Before the integration, I could do something similar, but maintaining multiple constructs required more concentration."
Atheline nodded.
"Your control increased alongside your power."
"Yes."
Lilith dismissed the sphere.
"Let’s test movement."
She vanished.
Atheline’s eyes immediately followed the distortion. Lilith appeared behind him. He turned, but she was already gone. She appeared several meters to his left, then behind him again, then above him.
Atheline smiled.
"Your shadow movement has improved considerably."
Lilith stopped.
"I can feel darkness almost everywhere around me now."
She pointed toward the corner of the training chamber.
"I don’t need to create a path anymore."
Her shadow stretched. It touched the shadow beneath the wall, and suddenly Lilith disappeared into it.
Atheline’s expression changed. He looked around.
"Lilith?"
A voice came from behind him.
"Here."
He turned. She stood several meters away.
"I can move through existing shadows now without trying to merge my own powers into it."
"How far?"
"I don’t know."
"Let’s find out."
Lilith nodded.
They moved outside the training chamber. The palace grounds stretched around them.
Lilith stepped into the shadow of one pillar, and disappeared. A moment later, she emerged from the shadow of another pillar almost fifty meters away.
Atheline nodded.
"Useful."
"Very."
She looked toward the palace walls.
"What about that?"
Atheline followed her gaze. The nearest tower was several hundred meters away.
"Try it."
Lilith stepped into the shadow. For a moment, nothing happened, then the darkness around her deepened.
She vanished.
Atheline looked toward the tower. A few seconds later, Lilith appeared from its shadow. She looked back at him.
"That was considerably easier than I expected, I really don’t need to create a path to the next shadow, it’s not really like the usual teleportation but this entails me understanding the law of darkness."
Atheline smiled.
"Your understanding has increased."
"Apparently."
They returned to the training ground. Now it was Atheline’s turn. He drew his bow.
"I want to test something."
Lilith stepped aside. Atheline drew an arrow. Wind Aether gathered around it, then lightning. The two elements intertwined.
He released the arrow. It shot forward with tremendous speed. The training defense circle caught it, and the impact produced a deep boom.
Atheline looked at his hand.
"That felt stronger."
Lilith nodded.
"Your power increased too."
"I know."
He drew another arrow. This time, he used Fire. The arrow became surrounded by flames, then he added Wind. The fire compressed into a thin, burning trail.
He released it.
The arrow struck the target and exploded.
Atheline smiled.
"Better."
Lilith looked at him.
"Try combining more."
Atheline raised an eyebrow.
"Are you trying to destroy your own training room?"
"Perhaps."
He laughed, then he drew another arrow. Fire, lightning, wind, and ice; four elements gathered around the projectile. The atmosphere immediately changed.
Atheline’s expression became focused. As expected the elements resisted one another; fire wanted to expand, ice wanted to suppress, lightning crackled unpredictably, and wind attempted to accelerate everything.
He carefully balanced them. The arrow became surrounded by a strange aura.
Atheline released it.
The projectile crossed the training ground. The moment it struck the reinforced target, all four elements detonated simultaneously.
The entire chamber shook. Several defensive circles activated.
Atheline lowered his bow.
"That was..."
Lilith smiled.
"Effective."
Atheline looked at the destroyed target.
"Yes." He paused. "And expensive."
Lilith laughed.
The two continued testing their abilities. They weren’t trying to fight seriously. There was no need, since this wasn’t a sparring match. They were simply learning what their new strength felt like.
Lilith experimented with her shadows. She created barriers, blades, threads, and large hands made entirely of darkness.
She discovered that her constructs were significantly more durable than before. At one point, she created a massive dark sphere and compressed it until it became no larger than a marble.
Atheline stared at it.
"Don’t drop that."
"I wasn’t planning to."
She flicked it toward one of the training circles. The tiny sphere struck the barrier. For a moment, nothing happened, then darkness exploded outward.
The formation cracked. Atheline stared his eyes widened. Lilith looked equally surprised.
"That was stronger than expected."
"Please don’t do that again."
She smiled.
"I won’t."
They moved back to the center. Atheline looked toward her.
"Now let’s test defense."
Lilith nodded. He drew his bow.
"Don’t worry."
"I know."
He released an ordinary arrow. Lilith raised her hand, and a wall of darkness appeared. The arrow struck it and stopped.
She looked at the barrier.
"Interesting."
Atheline drew another. This time, he used Lightning, and released it. Lilith’s barrier trembled. The arrow pierced halfway through before stopping.
Her eyes narrowed.
She reinforced the darkness, and te projectile shattered.
Atheline smiled.
"That’s impressive."
"So is your arrow."
"That was barely any power."
"Which is why it’s impressive."
They continued for another hour, then another. They tested speed, strength, defense, elemental combinations, spatial movement, and darkness manipulation.
They even briefly sparred. Atheline used his sword while Lilith used her dagger. Neither attacked seriously. Their weapons met repeatedly in the center of the training ground.
Atheline stepped forward. Lilith disappeared into his shadow. He immediately spun the moment he noticed the spacial distortion. Her dagger appeared beside his shoulder, which he blocked with his sword.
She smiled.
"You noticed."
"I felt the darkness move."
She vanished again. This time, Atheline didn’t follow, instead, he waited. Lilith emerged behind him.
He turned instantly, their weapons meeting. The impact pushed them apart.
Both smiled.
"Better," Lilith said.
"Much."
Eventually, they stopped. The training chamber looked considerably worse than when they had entered. Several targets were destroyed. A few defensive circles had cracked. One wall had a long scorch mark across it.
Atheline looked around.
"Zelpher is going to be annoyed."
Lilith smiled.
"We’ll have it repaired."
"We should probably leave before he sees this."
She laughed. They walked toward the exit. Atheline looked at her.
"How do you feel?"
Lilith thought about it.
"Stronger."
"More importantly?"
She smiled.
"I understand the power now."
Atheline nodded.
"Good."
He looked toward the sky beyond the palace. The sun was already moving toward afternoon. They had spent several hours testing their abilities.
It was enough.
Neither wanted to exhaust themselves before traveling to the Dragonic Island. Their equipment had already been prepared. The royal teleportation coordinates had been confirmed. Their documents were secured.
There was nothing left to do. Lilith looked at him.
"Ready?"
Atheline adjusted the bow across his back.
"Ready."
They walked side by side toward the teleportation chamber. Neither knew what awaited them on the Dragonic Island,but now they had at least tasted the power they possessed. Whatever happened next, they would face it together.