When the rod was pulled from the viscous liquid, Ah Dai could clearly see that it was an object of ashy black, resembling an iron cylinder. The sticky brown liquid hadn’t left a single trace on it, and a faint cold aura seeped from the cylinder under the illumination of a larger Luminous Pearl in the laboratory, reflecting the luster of tal.
Ah Dai knew that this iron cylinder was the Divine Artifact that Goris had spent his life crafting. He retracted the rod and brought the cylinder before him, gently removing it. The mont the cylinder was in Ah Dai’s hands, he imdiately felt an extraordinarily intimate energy flowing from it into his body. The tears that had dried up appeared once again as Ah Dai gently stroked the sole pattern on the cylinder, murmuring, "Teacher Goris, is it you who is calling to ? Oh, Teacher, why must you suffer like this?" Sighing, Ah Dai bit open his right hand’s middle finger and let a drop of fresh blood fall upon the cylinder. The blood penetrated the cylinder as soon as it made contact, and Ah Dai’s hands trembled from the shock; the cylinder suddenly emitted a black radiance, vibrating slightly. That familiar, intimate energy abruptly withdrew back into the cylinder, and, as Ah Dai watched, astonished, the cylinder lost its shape, transforming into a soft liquid and nimbly seeped into the Giant Spirit Snake Armor on Ah Dai’s right hand, disappearing with a ting sound. Concurrently with the cylinder’s disappearance, Ah Dai distinctly felt that intimate energy explode forth with incredible warmth, instantly spreading through his entire body, nourishing every part. The internal wounds and the damage to his body seed to heal instantly with this warm energy; a feeling of flesh rging with flesh ca from Ah Dai’s right forearm. He seed to sense Goris’s presence again, his eyes brimming with tears as he rolled up the Giant Spirit Snake Armor on his arm to reveal his skin beneath. Ah Dai discovered that the ashy black iron cylinder had completely rged into his skin, with a portion of his skin about twenty centiters long turning black, a soft luminescence flowing gently, and the intimate feeling made all the pain in Ah Dai’s heart disappear.
"Teacher Goris, have you... have you beco this bracer? Yes, it must be so. Even though you’ve died, your soul will forever live on in this bracer; we’ve beco one. Teacher, we will never be apart. Since this bracer was your wish of many decades, I shall na it Goris’s Wish. I will always carry your soul and your wish with . Teacher, Ah Dai is no longer sad because you will always be with ; in my heart, you are forever alive."
Goris’s Wish flashed with light, and the warm energy intensified slightly, as if responding to Ah Dai.
Ah Dai joyfully said, "Teacher, are you pleased with this na? Goris’s Wish, you will forever be my guardian."
The great human Alchemist Goris had finally crafted the first lesser Divine Artifact with his soul, and his Disciple, Ah Dai, nad it—Goris’s Wish.
Ah Dai leaped down from the giant cauldron, all his attention focused on Goris’s Wish on his right wrist, gazing at the black lines as if he could see Goris’s wrinkled face again, finding a asure of consolation amid his sorrow. He sat on the ground, leaning against the cauldron, caressing Goris’s Wish in his hands, and under the warm energy’s embrace, he managed to fall asleep for the first ti since returning to the Illusive Forest, relaxed in both body and mind. This tily sleep and the protection from Goris’s Wish finally relieved his inner fatigue and pulled him back from the brink of losing himself in his sorcery.
Having received Goris’s Wish, Ah Dai found sothing to hold on to. The next morning, when he woke up, he felt restored to his forr self. Stretching his limbs, a strong hunger panged through him—ah! It seed he hadn’t eaten in a long ti. Ah Dai lifted his right hand and deeply gazed at Goris’s Wish on his arm. Although the warmth had lessened quite a bit, he could still feel that full, intimate energy.
Ah Dai walked over to the countertop where the Elixirs were placed, each bottle bearing a label. After a quick scan, he realized almost all of them were poisons of various kinds. Shaking his head helplessly, he opened one of the three wooden boxes and found inside the very notes that Goris had once shown him. Ah Dai’s hands trembled as he held the notes, flipping through them page by page, the familiar handwriting and content stirring his emotions once more. When he reached the last page, he found an additional sheet of paper with the words: Ah Dai, my child, let the thod of this Divine Artifact’s creation disappear along with . Ah Dai clutched the notes tightly to his chest, murmuring, "Teacher, you would often call foolish, but weren’t you also a fool? You abandoned your life just to create a Divine Artifact. Rest assured, I will cherish Goris’s Wish as dearly as my own life." While speaking, he opened the other two boxes as well, which contained Goris’s notes on Magic and the usage of the items hanging on the wall. Looking at these things left behind by Goris, Ah Dai couldn’t help but beco lost in thought.
After so ti, the intense hunger finally snapped Ah Dai out of his reverie. Carefully placing the three notebooks back in their places, he rubbed his stomach and decided to get sothing to eat first.
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