The silence on the terrace was heavy, broken only by the soft sound of waves far below. The air felt strange, tinged with mana that buzzed around Damon’s skin.
Damon walked slowly, each step painful, as if his body might fall apart at any mont. The terrace was wide and curved, with broken stone railings. But what truly stopped him was what lay beyond.
Water. Endless water, stretching in every direction. No land. No shore. Just dark ocean under a star-filled sky, and a moon that looked a little too big.
It was like the whole castle had been placed in the middle of nowhere, which was exactly what he had ordered La Rocha. He just never thought that the guy would put it in the middle of a freaking ocean.
At the far end of the terrace stood a man. His long silver hair moved in the wind, and he wore a robe the color of storm clouds. One hand held a glowing sword, no doubt his soul sword, and the other was behind his back. Damon didn’t need to see his face to know who it was. Artimius.
It looked like the old man had healed up quite well. Damon would be lying if he said that he was not shocked to see such a fast recovery rate. He had heard that soul injuries take a lot of ti to heal. This was one of the reasons why he was anxious about his current state.
"How long are you planning to stare at , Blood God?" Artimius chuckled.
Calm, clear, and sharp as ever. The old man hadn’t even turned around, yet he’d known exactly who had arrived.
"I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake," Damon said casually without revealing the pain he was going through at the mont. "You look better than before."
"Hmmm." Artimius humd. "The elixir you gave was extraordinary." He paused. "I didn’t think you cared about this old man that much. You should have preserved sothing like that for your own future use."
Damon could only bitterly laugh at that irony. "I should have indeed." He did not say anything further. "Is it botherso for you to be away from all that ice and snow?" He walked over to Artimius and stood by his side, staring out into the endless ocean.
Artimius didn’t answer right away. His eyes, sharp and distant, stayed locked on the horizon. The glowing blade in his hand flickered once, and then he finally spoke. "I used to think the cold was where I belonged. That only in stillness could a shattered soul find peace. But maybe I was just hiding."
Damon didn’t reply. He understood that feeling far too well. They stood in silence for a while, the night wind brushing past them like a whisper. The sea beneath shimred with reflections of the stars, endless and unknowable.
"There is a war coming, and you are not ready," Artimius said suddenly. "There are many things that we need to talk about. Now that things are where they are, I don’t see a reason for to keep any secrets."
"Hmmm?" Damon raised a brow. He did not deny it. He was definitely not ready for shit. His fingers tightened around the scroll. "There are so things I need to talk to you about too."
Artimius’s eyes widened. "This old man is curious. What is on your mind?" His gaze then fell on the scroll Damon was holding. "Is that a skill scroll?"
"Well. Sort of. Take a look." Damon gave it to him. He had already confird with La Rocha that it was a multi-use scroll and that it wouldn’t simply disappear after a single use.
In fact, the item spirit laughed on his face when he asked about it, saying that it would be such a waste to inscribe a valuable technique on a one-ti use scroll, and he, a genius, would never do sothing like that.
Artimius curiously accepted the scroll and opened it. He imdiately closed his eyes as a flood of information appeared in his mind. The old man’s expression imdiately changed.
"This..." he muttered, voice growing quiet. "This is a soul cultivation technique." His fingers trembled slightly, the first sign of genuine surprise Damon had ever seen from the man. "Where did you get this?"
Damon simply smiled. "Let’s just say I found it in the sa place I found your soul healing elixir. What do you think about the contents?"
Artimius nodded. He did not press any further for more details. Since Damon asked about the contents, he started talking about it.
"This soul cultivation technique has to be an extrely high-tier one. The one in my possession uses my ice affinity as a forge to strengthen my soul. Even though I have progressed a lot with that thod, it is still lacking when compared to this technique."
"This one is different," Artimius continued, his voice low with reverence. "It doesn’t rely on elental affinity or external catalysts. It uses the raw essence of intent, your will, to temper the soul. It’s dangerous... but clean. No anchors. No bindings. Just sheer force of self to evolve the soul core."
Damon listened carefully. His body still ached, and the static in his mind refused to fade, but this... this gave him a sliver of hope. He had feared that the damage he took was permanent, that his soul would never fully recover. But now, maybe he had a path forward.
"It does require a lot of materials, though, extrely high-grade materials and array formation knowledge."
Damon nodded. "The materials are not a problem. I can find them. The array formation knowledge is also not a problem. I know an array master and a rune master."
Artimius then suddenly stopped. "Wait. Are you planning to learn this soul cultivation technique? Personally? For yourself?"
Damon frowned. "Why? Is there a problem?"
Artimius let out a sigh and shook his head. "Blood God, that will never work. If you do sothing like this, then you will end up only harming yourself."
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