"You can’t let this opportunity go."
The man on the throne didn’t react to these words either.
He stared at the screen for long monts, his smile just as soft as before, and eventually, he chuckled.
"Ah, things are never so simple. Please, think."
He sighed. "A Heavenly Demon candidate, perfect to inherit the Throne of Desire. The last ti such words were uttered, what happened?"
The veiled figure fell silent.
The last Heavenly Demon Candidate to rise and then attempt to claim the Throne of Desire had been... a calamity.
A calamity so grand that, to this day, the Palaces of Sin and Virtue still hadn’t fully recovered, a calamity so foul only a select few even knew of the man’s na.
"Look at him."
"He’s being built to be broken. His wings haven’t spread yet, and still I can already see the blood flowing on his back and the gashes from their absence."
"Tragedy is carved across his heart and failure onto his very soul, and I doubt he has the will to overco the weight of his chains."
He waved a hand and the screen zood in on Uriel’s face. "His Karma is muddy and Fate chaotic."
"He’ll most likely go mad and beco a vessel." He paused for a mont. "Or he’ll beco another calamity."
He paused again, then laughed. "Or maybe both."
Silence.
The veiled figure’s gaze finally panned away from the man, staring at Uriel.
"Shall we kill him then?" The veiled figure’s presence suddenly beca heavy. "Or must I report his existence to the Ancient Saints and Elder Sinners?"
The man sat straight on his throne and ran a hand through his hair, each of his slightest movents sending tremors across the void.
As this happened, the faint clinking sound of tal echoed and illusory chains of golden fire flickered in and out of existence, tied around the man.
The veiled figure’s eyes widened.
KAH!
The chains, once illusory and endless and wrapped around the man, suddenly beca truly tangible, a golden glow swallowing the void, and then—
"Kill him? No, why would you do that?"
—the chains broke, fading into motes of fiery light.
The radiance dissipated and darkness swallowed the void once more. The man groaned in relief and comfortably leaned into his throne.
"I finally find a decent disciple and you want to kill him? No, that won’t be the case. In fact, go and tell the council I’ve found a successor."
The veiled figure’s eyes widened.
"You can tell them I freed myself as well, I don’t mind."
The veiled figure shook from head to toe, sweat matting its body and its cosmic form cowering in absolute, unending fear.
For this man to free himself so easily and not fear consequences from the council...
"M-master... have you reached it?! Have you reached the sacred boundary?!"
"Mm."
The veiled figure nearly fainted, yet the joy and excitent it felt rapidly overwheld it, tearing apart the fear it’d been feeling monts ago.
"I’ll let the kid play for a few more days, then go begin the initiation."
He threw the shivering veiled figure a glance. "Are you not going to warn the council?"
It seed he was more curious than afraid or angry, as if the answer was aningless either way, as if the wrath or ignorance of the council was all the sa in his eyes.
Seeing this only excited the figure more.
"No!"
The man chuckled.
"Alright then."
...
[Simulation Complete!]
Uriel lay on the ground, flat on his back, covered in blood and injuries, heaving and wheezing for air, his heart loudly hamring against his ribs and his lips dry.
"Ha... that was fun."
His voice was much calr than it’d been while he fought, levelled and soothing, a reflection of his now calm and tranquil mind.
He truly felt good.
It felt like he’d finally released years of pent-up frustration and energy and now could finally be at ease.
[Formation offloading!]
The coin-sized formation which had seared onto Uriel’s forehead peeled off of him as if it were a sticker, and the mont this happened, he blinked.
He blinked, and suddenly, the pain was gone. He was still extrely exhausted and soaked in sweat, but his body was in pristine condition, free of any wound or grave disability.
The purpose of the formation had been to test his limits and to allow Uriel to understand his power, but also understand his weaknesses and strengths.
But how?
By creating an illusion using augntation, diminution and sensorial spells, as well as force-generating spells to imitate damage caused by battle.
Evidently, light arts were also necessary, but as much as one may expect, the main burden of the illusion lay on the sensorial spells’ shoulders, bending Uriel’s perception and senses to make it as real as the world itself.
To say he’d created a masterpiece would be an understatent.
He didn’t linger on the achievent, though.
With a groan, he sat up, wiping a hand over his face to flick off the streaming waves of sweat pouring down.
Running a hand through his hair, he slicked it back and exhaled slowly, his steaming breath contrasting against the cold air to summon fog.
He let silence reign for long monts while he regained his breath and cald both his heart and mind.
"Ophanis, take the information the formation gathered and make a report regarding the paraters I set, please."
"..."
Hearing no answer, Uriel rolled his eyes and sighed.
The atmospheric aether around him coiled into his body, flowing into his mage tool and activating one of its enchantnts, more specifically, the Visions of Sarus enchantnt.
[Please make your inquiry.]
Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes again, he stood to his feet and repeated himself.
"Take the information gathered by the formation and make a report regarding the paraters I set. Based off that, tell what my limits, weaknesses and strengths seem to be."
[...assimilating information...]
Unhurried, he returned to his small camp. As he did so, slling himself, he frowned in disgust.
"Eugh, by the gods."
Without waiting, he took his tunics off, throwing them to the side and standing naked beside the fire of his camp.
With his hands on his hips, with his tool compiling and analysing information, he eyed a certain spot of the cave, his mind churning.
"...I think it was called a honesen...an onsen...? ...shouldn’t be too hard to make..."
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