Even though Lucian was no stranger to being ambushed by bad news, he still felt a prickle of unease. "Mr. Rhein, what's changed? What kind of anomaly is going to occur?"
The Netherworld harbored the true secret of immortality — any change within it could not be taken lightly. Rhein was being so grave about it... could the Netherworld be on the verge of invading the real world and triggering a "Plague of the Dead"?
"I don't know the specifics of the change either. As you know, I'm trapped here and unable to leave. I can only sense, through special means, that deep within the Netherworld, a terrifying aura capable of overturning the world is faintly reviving. Perhaps in another year or two, an anomaly will manifest — and the chances of it developing in a bad direction are the greatest." Rhein was dressed immaculately, looking less like someone imprisoned and more like he was attending an elegant banquet. Though his tone was grave, every gesture remained composed and orderly, without the slightest trace of panic.
Lucian furrowed his brow. "So I should report the secret of the Netherworld to the Supreme Council."
Even with his own mentor, the Storm Sovereign, Lucian didn't have even a thirty percent chance of certainty that the old man wouldn't succumb to greed upon hearing the Netherworld's secret of immortality and kill him to silence him. After all, their time together had been too short for that kind of trust. So if things truly grew serious enough to warrant the risk, Lucian would choose to present it during a Supreme Council meeting — before all the Grand Archanists and Legendary Mages. Under their mutual check and balance, he would be far safer.
"It's not that serious yet. Didn't I tell you I made preparations before I went searching for the Netherworld's secret? Didn't I ask you to use those preparations to help me break free once you advanced to the high tier?"
For once, Rhein didn't tease Lucian — he remained entirely serious. "I know you're still quite far from advancing to the high tier, so all I can ask is that you try to bring your strength close to that level within the year, then spend half a year activating those preparations. At that point, I'll give you another incantation — perhaps that will be able to suppress the unrest deep within the Netherworld. If that method fails to free me and also can't resolve the anomaly, then you should present the secret to the Arcane Council."
Neither he nor Lucian were foolish or stubborn people. If there was truly no other option, they wouldn't cling to the secret and let the worst outcome come to pass.
"Her?" Lucian asked, confused.
Rhein nodded solemnly. "The Progenitor of our vampire clan. The being closest to godhood. The truly immortal Silver Moon incarnation."
His choice of words was deliberate — he hadn't used the word "immortal" in the conventional sense.
"Eterna?" Lucian had come across this name in countless books within the Arcane Council's libraries. Legend had it that she, like the Pope, was among the beings closest to the ethereal boundary of divine godhood.
However, regarding Eterna, there were only legends — she held no rank on the Purification Sequence.
The corner of Rhein's mouth twitched. "You can also call her Etana. The primordial beings had no gender to begin with — it's just that your Arcane Council inherited the wretched tradition of the old Magic Empires and likes to use feminine forms to describe gods, essences, and truths. The only wrinkle is that the Pope has always been male, otherwise..."
"If it's her, then it might be worth a try." Lucian had been prepared to take the risk and present the Netherworld secret directly if the plan proved unreliable.
But if he really could meet her — could he ask for a slice of flesh, a drop of blood, and a strand of hair to bring back for research?
Unknowingly having already evolved into an Arcane research fanatic, Lucian's thoughts wandered in that direction.
When Rhein saw that Lucian had agreed, he smoothed back his half-long silver hair and revealed the handsome smile Lucian knew well. "Who would have thought there'd come a day when the two of us would be busy saving the world."
*Actually, my mentor has been busy stopping me from destroying the world,* Lucian muttered inwardly. "Mr. Rhein, where do we need to go to activate the preparations?"
"First, to my ancient castle in the Dark Mountains, to retrieve the Mask of Transformation, the three items needed to activate the Magic Circle, and the compensation you're owed. Then, separately — to the Koutao Sahuagin altar in the 'Polluted Waters' of the Endless Ocean, the sphinx tomb in the southern desert of the Gustav Empire, and a palace of the Sun King
"The Polluted Waters? The southern desert? The Sun King?" None of these three names were unfamiliar to Lucian. The Sun King went without saying — the Polluted Waters was intelligence he'd obtained during his illegal crossing to join the Arcane Council, which he'd traded for a single Arcane Point. The southern desert he'd just heard Florenza mention a few days ago; the uranium ore originated from there. Moreover, that region had once been the domain of another ancient Magic Empire — Meshket.
In antiquity, there had been three great Magic Empires standing side by side: Sylvanas, Meshket, and Yaso. Meshket leaned more toward necromancy, illusion, and summoning magic, and controlled the southern desert and oases of the Gustav Empire, as well as the Great Dragon Swamp further south. The Yaso Empire was renowned for seafaring and underwater architecture, its territory encompassing what was now the Galey Duchy, the Briana Kingdom, and the Pearl Islands scattered across the Endless Ocean. The remaining vast territories were dominated by the most powerful of the three — the
Rhein chuckled. "I don't have the strength on my own to set up such powerful Magic Circles. I can only borrow altars, tombs, and underground palaces brimming with power and converge them at specific spatial nodes. Don't worry — as long as your strength approaches the high tier and you can make good use of the Mask of Transformation and the magical items I give you, the danger will be far less than reporting to the Arcane Council. The only issue is that half a year might not be enough time. Originally, if you'd gone after reaching the high tier, it would have been nothing more than a routine mission — but now..."
"This really is..." Lucian couldn't help but remark. "I think I can set out in a few days. In a sense, I'm already quasi-high-tier."
The preliminary substantialization of the Cognition World was the single most difficult hurdle in advancing to the high tier. Next came the magic ritual alignment, which carried a considerable chance of failure. After that was deciphering a sixth-tier spell. Last of all came the spirit and soul reaching the level of directly interfering with reality. Of these four steps, Lucian had already achieved the preliminary substantialization of his Cognition World, and he was very close to deciphering a sixth-tier spell.
Rhein had some understanding of magic himself. Upon hearing Lucian's words, he drew a soft breath and glanced around the dreamscape. With a wry, self-deprecating laugh, he remarked, "Could it be that my sense of time has gone haywire since I was trapped? Although I haven't been able to project to you since you entered Allendre, you've only been back a few months, haven't you?"