Raum's body was immortal, but his mind wasn't immune to the ravages of ti.
Without his magical discoveries fueling his ego, the weight of his actions slowly drove him insane. After the 30,000th year, most entries were unreadable. After the 35,000th year, there were no entries.
Just the scribbling of a madman who slamd and dragged a quill across the pages, believing that sohow it would record his feelings and thoughts.
Things changed with the advent of King Valeron the first.
"Year 39,093 Day 258
"I have no idea what illness drove my hand as I wrote my journals before this day, and I'm too happy to care about such trifling matters. Today I found the solution to all my problems, and not through my endless toils and readings.
"It was served to on a silver platter.
"Today, I discovered the existence of sothing called a power core. It is so simple in its ingenuity that I can only bla myself and my madness for not inventing it on my own. A single power core can contain dozens of pseudo cores, reducing the space they take and their energy consumption.
"There is no telling how powerful I would be today if I had co up with power cores millennia ago instead of wasting my ti and energy with pseudo cores. Countless lives could have been spared if only I were as brilliant as I believed.
"Yet there's no point complaining. I now have my answer, and my studies can progress again. Destroying the pseudo cores and replacing them with power cores will be a slow and agonizing process, but I did it to myself.
"I deserve it, like I deserve everything that cos my way."
"Year 39,094 Day 25 supplentary notes
"Once again, I stand corrected. Waiting for so long wasn't a waste of ti or effort. I had the right idea and the proper tools. I was simply born in the wrong era. Luckily, my research kept alive, and more importantly, it kept sane.
"All the pain and suffering I endured for almost 40,000 years was for this day. For this mont. The mont when I followed the man called Valeron and noticed that his Saefel Armor can produce Life Maelstrom.
"Valeron is indeed king among kings because he blessed twice in the span of a man's single lifeti. He taught about power cores, and now he has shown that Forgemastering artificial mana organs is possible.
"If his armor can produce Life Maelstrom, then I can regain my Dragon Eyes, my Origin Flas, everything! I can wield the powers of the strongest living beings without suffering the illusion of the flesh again.
"But one thing at a ti. First, I need to replace my pseudo cores with power cores. Otherwise, I'll lack the power to capture and contain the Divine Beasts necessary for my future experints.
"Alas, too long has passed since my death, and too long have I been mad. I rember nothing of my mana organs and have no clue how they'll interact with my Chaos form.
"On top of that, power cores are made to bond with inanimate objects, whereas mana organs need a precise structure of life force to produce their effects. Mogar bound them to the illusion of the flesh, and freeing them will be the hardest thing I've ever done."
"Year 39,097 Day 182
"Today I've t the greatest disappointnt since I beca an Abomination. I t another one like . While I chased Valeron to study his armor unnoticed, I t another Dragon turned Eldritch.
"Her na is Xenagrosh. I was tempted to introduce myself as her older brother and share my research with her, but I preferred to put her character to the test first. She turned out to be nothing like .
"She is full of anger, resentnt, and craves to return to a living form. She even developed so sort of childish attachnt to Valeron. We bonded over our common interest in Valeron's military feats, and what I learned disgusts .
"Xenagrosh admires Valeron and protects him. She actually cares about soone who'd kill us the mont he discovers our presence and who is wasting his ti nurturing insects.
"She's a lost cause, but in the na of our common father, I'll spare her life."
'Dammit, this explains everything.' Leegaain frowned at that note, moving on to the next section to continue reading.
"Year 39,389 Day 196
"I've done it. I replaced most of my pseudo cores with power cores, but I can't help but feel foolish about it. Four so-called Rulers of the Flas popped out one after the other.
"Magic progresses so quickly that by the ti I implant a new power core, it's almost obsolete. Still, I looked for the little white-cored bastard for a rematch, and I discovered he took his own life.
"Pity. There's much I could have learned from his body and tower, and now they are both lost. Our rivalry ended, but I never managed to defeat him. He defeated himself. The worst kind of victory, but one I have to accept."
"Year 39,589 Day 128
"I think Mogar hates . That dolt of Xenagrosh has beco an Eldritch and sohow regained her Dragon blood. My Empowered associates saw her spew Origin Flas and assu the form of a Shadow Dragon without even trying.
"I, on the other hand, have spent over five hundred years trying to do the sa and got nothing to show for it. I have sacrificed every Lesser and Divine Beast I could get my hands on, but they die too quickly.
"Without a breathing technique to study their mana flow, I was forced to develop diagnostic tools that put an enormous stress on my test subjects and inflict unspeakable agony on them.
"Or rather, that's what I believe since they all die screaming on my slab while bleeding like gutted ga the mont I touch them with my tools. I can't reproduce a mana organ I can't study, and I can't study sothing that dies so fast.
"I wish I could capture and examine Xenagrosh, but that's not possible. She would feed on the light magic of my diagnostic spells without even trying, and there are no restrictions that can imprison soone made of pure energy.
"Mogar offered a solution I can't touch. This is an act of deliberate mockery that I refuse to consider a re coincidence. Nonetheless, there's a silver lining even in such a black cloud.
"Xenagrosh's very existence proves that an Eldritch can regain his original form. It's up to to find out how."
"Year 39,971 Day 57
"I have heard of soone called the Master. He's recruiting Eldritches like Tezka and Orulm. All the more reason to stay away from whoever the Master is. Orulm almost killed back when I thought a few pseudo cores made invincible.
"One strike of his Break Eldritch skill undid centuries of hard work and left weaker than the day I beca a re Empowered Abomination. As for Tezka, he's too dangerous. We fought only once, but I still carry the fear from that day.
"He won effortlessly, yet I'm sure he was just toying with . I've avoided Orulm and Tezka ever since."
User Comments
0 comments from readers