Jack’s demon form radiated confidence without arrogance. "I’ll return. Your experience is valuable even if your outcos weren’t what you hoped for. Learning from others’ failures is more efficient than repeating their mistakes myself."
Several spirits laughed at that, the sound carrying genuine amusent. The red-haired woman with complex braids spoke up. "At least you’re honest about it. Most new Wardens pretend they’re seeking wisdom when they’re really just hoping for validation."
"I don’t need validation," Jack stated flatly. "I need information. Techniques. Understanding of systems and chanisms that Malakai built without comprehensive docuntation. If you can provide that, I’ll listen. If not, I’ll figure it out myself."
Kael’s countenance brightened, though it appeared as if his facial muscles struggled to articulate the smile. "Then I suspect we’ll be seeing you again, Jack Kaiser. The Dark Sector will be here when you return with questions."
The forr Soul Warden raised one hand as he waved goodbye. "Try not to die before you’ve accomplished enough to make this conversation worthwhile."
Jack experienced an imdiate and profound sensation, not of a physical nature, but as if the environnt itself acknowledged the conclusion of his temporal presence and initiated his return to the physical plane.
The obsidian landscape began to fade, colors bleeding away into gray, which dissolved into white, which finally collapsed into nothing.
The last thing Jack saw before consciousness snapped back to his body was Kael’s glowing eyes watching him, his expression a mix of resignation, hope, and the bitter knowledge that ca from watching countless Soul Wardens arrive with ambition and depart with reality.
Jack’s eyes opened to the throne room of Floor Twenty-Five.
He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with exertion that his body hadn’t experienced while his consciousness had wandered through spiritual domains.
The demon transformation had reverted; his skin returned to a normal human tone, and his features no longer looked predatory.
The Gray Key remained in his chest, inserted but no longer turned. Jack reached up and grasped it, pulling the tal free with smooth motion. His flesh sealed imdiately behind it, leaving no mark or wound to indicate the key had ever been there.
He stored the artifact back in his system, then sat forward on the throne, his mind processing everything he’d learned.
Jack stood from the throne, his movents steady despite the disorientation. His mind had already shifted from theoretical knowledge to practical application.
’First priority is checking the garden,’ Jack decided. ’The seeds should have been growing for five years now. If Kyren’s been tending them properly, I should have significant resources by now.’
He left the throne room, his boots echoing against polished stone as he descended through the castle’s corridors.
The Blood Moon ritual had consud his attention. The garden had been delegated, trusted to Kyren’s simple but reliable nature.
Jack pushed open the garden doors, and warmth hit him imdiately.
What had been pristine, empty plots five years ago now overflowed with plant life.
Four hundred five plants of each elental type filled their respective sections, their mature forms creating a density that made the garden feel almost crowded.
And in the center of this cultivated abundance stood Kyren.
The simple-minded demon was talking to a cluster of earth-aligned plants, his single arm gesturing as he spoke in the fragnted way that characterized his limited vocabulary.
"You grow good," Kyren said to the plants, his tone carrying genuine affection. "Kyren water every day. You make boss happy. Pretty flowers."
He reached out with his hand, gently touching one of the brown petals with the care of soone tending to sothing precious.
Jack’s boots clicked against the stone pathway, and Kyren’s head snapped up imdiately, his simple features breaking into a wide smile.
"Boss!" Kyren exclaid, his voice carrying childlike excitent. "Boss, co see! Kyren make garden big! All flowers grow!"
He gestured broadly at the filled sections, his single arm sweeping across the space with pride that transcended his limited understanding. "Kyren plant seeds every year. Water every day. Flowers happy. Boss happy?"
Jack’s expression subtly conveyed approval as he assessed the outcos of five years of dedicated effort.
"You did well, Kyren," Jack stated, his tone carrying acknowledgnt that made Kyren’s smile widen even further. "Very well."
"Kyren, work hard!" the demon confird, nodding enthusiastically. "Seeds go in ground, flowers co out. Then flowers make more seeds! More pretty crystals! Kyren put all in boxes like boss said!"
He pointed toward the garden’s storage area, where wooden crates were stacked in organized rows: seven stacks, one for each elent, each containing the harvested resources from five years of cultivation.
Jack approached the crates, his analytical mind already calculating totals.
Four hundred five plants per elent. Each plant is harvested annually, producing two seeds and two crystals. Five harvest cycles completed.
The notifications appeared in rapid succession:
[Nightglass Cores acquired: 1,210]
[Dark Seed Pods acquired: 810]
[Magmaheart Lattice crystals acquired: 1,210]
[Fire Seed Pods acquired: 810]
[Boltweave Spire crystals acquired: 1,210]
[Lightning Seed Pods acquired: 810]
[Tideglass Crest crystals acquired: 1,210]
[Water Seed Pods acquired: 810]
[Earthshard Halo crystals acquired: 1,210
]
[Earth Seed Pods acquired: 810]
[Galeweave Heart crystals acquired: 1,210]
[Wind Seed Pods acquired: 810]
[Radiant Vein Prism crystals acquired: 1,210]
[Light Seed Pods acquired: 810]
Jack’s eyes tracked across the notifications with satisfaction that bordered on vindication.
One thousand two hundred ten crystals of each elent. More than enough to inscribe himself with the dark elent imdiately once he found the magic circle diagram.
Enough to create specialized elental servants across his entire bound army if he chose that path instead.
The resource accumulation had occurred passively while he’d been occupied with other priorities. Kyren’s simple reliability had proven more valuable than complex planning would have been.
"Boss take flowers?" Kyren asked, his tone carrying slight confusion as the crates vanished. "Kyren grow more?"
"Keep growing them," Jack confird. "Plant the seeds again. Sa as before. Every year, harvest and replant."
"Kyren do!" the demon agreed imdiately, his enthusiasm undimd by the prospect of continuing the sa task indefinitely. "Make more pretty flowers for boss!"
Jack’s attention shifted as his mind moved to the next imdiate priority. Finding the dark elent magic circle diagram that Kael had ntioned was hidden sowhere in the castle’s library.
He reached out through the ntal connection that linked him to his bound servants, the Soul Link that allowed communication across distances.
’Loryn,’ Jack’s thought traveled through the connection with perfect clarity. ’Co to the garden imdiately.’
The response ca within seconds.
’I will be there montarily, Master.’
Jack turned from the storage area, his eyes tracking across the garden one final ti as he waited.
Four hundred five plants per section. The space was nearly at capacity. If Kyren continued the cultivation cycle, the garden would soon overflow its current boundaries.
A problem for later. Right now, Jack needed information more than additional resources.
Footsteps approached from the corridor, and Loryn entered the garden.
The demon’s scholarly appearance contrasted sharply with Kyren’s simple presence.
"Master," Loryn stated, inclining his head in acknowledgnt. "You summoned ?"
"The library," Jack said without preamble. "I need you to search for materials about magic circles. Specifically, any diagrams, instructions, or docuntation that Malakai might have hidden regarding elental inscription."
Loryn’s expression shifted fractionally, interest replacing neutral professionalism. "I would assu those texts would be in the restricted sections if they exist at all."
"Then start with the restricted sections," Jack replied. "Kael ntioned that the dark elent circle diagram is sowhere in the library, but the exact location shifts as the castle rearranges itself. Find it."
"Understood, Master," Loryn confird, his tone carrying the focus of soone who’d just been given a task that aligned with his capabilities. "I will begin the search imdiately and report any findings."
The demon scholar turned to leave, his mind already cataloging which sections of the vast library to search first.
Jack watched him depart, then glanced at Kyren, who had returned to talking quietly to the earth-aligned plants as if the interruption had never occurred.
’Now, it’s about ti I deal with that problem.’
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