Chapter 95
Long Road Begins With a Breath
Thats it, Derrek spoke out. Just hold it--thats right. Good. Let go. Once again. Let it channel through you. Dont force it. What do you see?
"..." Sylas had his eyes closed, listening carefully to the instructions. For the past six hours, he'd been restlessly driving traces of magic through his body--the Way worked by first enhancing the body and then using it as a conduit for magic, as though the body itself becos a talisman. Rather, a blank talisman that can be used to channel any manner of magic through. "Uh... red... red crystal of sorts?" Sylas mumbled, frowning.
What he saw was a vast, scarlet expanse of the clear sky but instead of the sun shining in the distant horizon, there was a massive, red crystal that cast a crimson hue across the vast landscape.
Bloodstone Knight, Derrek said. You can open your eyes now.
Huuuh, Sylas exhaled, shaking montarily. That took a long-ass ti.
"... shorter than with the most," Derrek sighed. "Regardless, you've paved the way for the Bloodstone. Among the paths of the Way, it is one most focused on body enhancent. Using magic, you'll reinforce your entire body, starting with blood where you'll store your energy reserves. Effectively, the goal is for your body to beco a weapon unto itself. A shield that can never be cut."
Tsk, I was kinda hoping to be able to shoot light like you, Sylas comnted. But... this suits best, I think. as soone fearless of death, Sylas knew that using his body as a weapon would likely co as naturally as breathing to him.
"Each Way has three Transformations--the first is the basic one," Derrek quickly began instructing him. "For a Bloodstone Knight, your goal is to reach a point where you can stop your blood flow with magic."
...
...
... stop what now with what? Sylas mumbled in shock.
Ha ha ha, Derrek suddenly burst out into laughter, keeling over and holding his stomach. That reaction--ha ha ha, priceless. Truly, priceless.
Ah, you were fucking with .
No, Derrek quickly corrected Sylas wrong and hopeful assumption. I was serious.
... holy shit.
What? Already giving up?
... no, Sylas sighed, shaking his head. Just... needed a mont to wrap my head around the idea. What maniac even ca up with this path?
It was Master Aewon, Derrek burst into a history lesson. He had virtually no talent for externalizing his energy. He could barely encase his fingers in it. However, he lived in a ti... even worse than our own. He was mad. Piss mad.
...
Only a man like that can drive energy of magic into his veins. The way he did it, however, left permanent scars on him. He died before even reaching thirty years of age because of the damage he did to his body. However, he recorded and tested all the thods and made the path completely safe--a road of success paved by his blood and his failures that eventually cost him his life.
... Sylas popped open the jug of wine and took a swing. Sounds like he had fine footsteps which to follow.
... he was an insane galomaniac who spent the last two years of his life angry and bitter, yelling, beating, killing anyone who crossed him, Derrek said. Due to his achievents, leaders of other Paths showed him respect--but he nearly neutered the Orders na in that short tifra. Hes... not rembered fondly.
... I stand by my words.
"Of course you do," Derrek chuckled. "After managing to stop your blood flow, the second transformation entails that you can reverse it."
Of course it does.
Not just montarily--but permanently.
...
And survive, naturally.
Wow, really? I thought I was expected to die with a grin on my face.
The third transformation is the most difficult, Derrek ignored the jab and continued.
Oh geez, its music to my ears.
Youll need to be able to drain your body of blood completely... and live.
... can I change my path? Sylas asked half-jokingly. Just half, though.
Dyn, before he betrayed us, Derrek continued. Was just a prodigy, yet had a body that could withstand a cannon shot. You could say that you specifically were made to kill him.
Why?
Because a Bloodstones Knight solitary weakness is heart.
Im pretty sure thats everyones weakness.
Not just that, Derrek shook his head. Heart is the source and destination of blood. Virtually any damage to it can potentially permanently cripple a Bloodstone Knight, making him incapable of using magic for the rest of his life. Any damage, no matter how minor. So you, soone who seeks hearts, was perfect for him. Its a mighty cosmic irony that you saw the stone. A Bloodstone Knight... who is also a Child. Hah.
Im sure that the joke Im missing is hilarious, Sylas said. But how do you suggest I undergo all these transformations? Or are you saying theres no guide and I have to brute force it?
You complained that your finite control of magic is lacking, Derrek said. What better way to practice it than on your own blood?
Ah, so brute force it.
If what you told is true, then it shouldnt be hard for you.
... from your perspective, perhaps, Sylas sighed, standing up and closing the jug of wine. The two were outside, hidden beneath a veranda of sorts, protected from the falling snow though not from the cold. I still have to live out all those years. But, oh well. Once bitten, twice prepared. Thank you. I know this cant have been easy.
It wasnt, Derrek said. But I trust in you. All of us do.
Ah, here we go, Sylas sighed, rolling his eyes.
Were worried, Sylas, Derrek persisted. Is that so wrong of us? To be worried for a friend? Even if what you said was true--that the gods or monsters or whoever and whatever elected not to hurt you specifically as a warning... you still werent the one to hurt us. The bla always lies on the creature who attacked us. On the dead who invaded us. On whoever ushered them toward us.
Drain my body of blood, you said? Sylas said, slowly walking away. Dont be surprised when you see a ghost walk up to you. Ah. It wont be you, I guess, he glanced back briefly. Im fine, Derrek. Im fine, but not well. Theres a difference, he tapped his temple. But for now... its good enough. You should hurry back inside. Its cold.
Sylas...
He ignored the mans voice calling him, walking on. Though the consuming thoughts swirled inside his head, he ignored them. He ant what he said--he was fine, though unwell. For now, he knew, that was good enough.
His focus imdiately shifted to the Way he had just been taught. Though it seed basic, Sylas understood just how intrinsically complex it was--the Way rely opened the gates rather than paving a road. Hed have to capture it to the best of his ability.
Sylas had learned a long while ago that he wasnt particularly talented in anything. His body was ordinary--as was his mind. There were no hidden abilities and talents that enabled him to catch up to people whove been training for years and decades. If anything, he was below average in most departnts.
However, that didnt matter. He had one thing nobody else did--one thing hed ignored so many tis before. He had all the ti in the world, all the freedom to pursue whatever he wanted without holding back.
Though the path he chose was quite... macabre, to say the least, it was a perfect fit. His body was his weapon, for the most part. Unlike others, he didnt have reservations when it ca to walking straight into the hail of arrows or stings of blades or even fire itself. The only drawback, he mused eerily, was that it might beco harder to kill himself and reset the loop.
He returned to his room and sat down in the corner. As it was body-changing magic, changes wouldn't persist through the loop--but that was irrelevant. Stopping blood, reversing blood, and even draining it weren't exactly only long-term goals. If anything, they were, technically speaking, doable within a single hour--as long as he knew how. And that was his goal. To eventually be able to undergo all three transformations within a few months at most, before the start of the spring.
But even the longest and grandest journeys all began with the first step--as such, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before draining the energy within him and sending it into his veins. Unlike before, with the basic integration of the Way, he didn't just push the energy through his veins but began trying to blend it with his blood. It stung--it was like prickling of a thousand needles wherever he tried rging the two.
They wouldnt rge, however. It felt as though they were like the oil and water, entirely incompatible. But Sylas didnt think too much on it. He had a singular goal and the idea in mind on how to achieve it--hed coat every single drop of blood in his veins and forcibly stop them imdiately. It will likely take a long, long, long--beyond long--number of years, but he was willing to do it. Hed never let it happen again, that day. Hed do everything in his power--and even outside of it--to ensure that nothing like that ever had the chance of happening again.
Gritting his teeth, he was forced to cough, feeling the surge of blood up his throat. It went from a prickling sensation to genuine hurt the mont he tried to force it. Wiping his lips, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and went at it again. And again. And again. All the way until his heart suddenly gave out, killing him. The first one, he mused as he began to drift into darkness. Should I keep track? Just for fun?
You have died.
Save point Death has been initialized.
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