22 Spirit Domain I

When Zariel returned to the dining hall about five minutes later to see Aurelia finishing up, wiping her mouth with a napkin, he floated towards the table. 

"You look a little tired," she said, studying his ashen complexion. "What happened?"

Zariel poured himself a cup of water to quell his parched lips. "some assassins. I've taken care of them." he said, taking a seat, a visible tinge of exhaustion rolling down his shoulders. 

"Were they strong?" 

"Maybe. But the element of surprise removes the concept of skill in many ways. " —He yawned, his dantian nearly two-thirds empty from all the constant flying— "They died before blades actually clashed," And with a smirk, Zariel finished his water. "looks like I somehow have a bounty on my head."

Aurelia grew worried. "How'd that happen? You don't leave the house."

"True, but I am a little too lazy to care. I'm on vacation right now. Though I suppose I could better Ward my manor." He said, regarding Jon's soul flame with a curious mind. There were only so many options open to him that benefited him from collecting a soul. Unlike devils who indefinitely grew stronger the longer, they held a soul in captivity. Zariel was no devil. Not truly. Devils were born with the ability to absorb souls to feed on them, granting them unlimited amounts of energy. 

Souls were eternal. No matter if they were broken or shattered, much less disintegrated, they would always return. 

'The most I could do is absorb the energy the soul flame releases… but that's not even a fraction of what devils could do,' he thought, wanting something a little stronger than water to quench his thirst. 

"I'll be in my lab cellar. Try not to disturb me," Zariel said, standing back up. 

Aurelia puffed her cheeks. "I've finished Transfiguration for Dummies by Malos Blackwater… and did you really have to name it that? It feels like you're calling me a dummy."

"100%," said Zariel with a toothish smile. "And can you turn water into wine yet?" 

Aurelia hesitated. "I can change grapes to wine, but not water to wine." 

"And why is that?" 

 Aurelia hesitated to answer. "Maybe because I don't have a full understanding of what wine is. I know it's just fermented grapes and fruits. I just can't seem to change the molecular structure of grapes so that it might turn into water." 

"Well, turning water into wine is one of the first feats; in my opinion, it is necessary to learn in order to conclude if you are ready to start learning how to heal injurious or, better yet, strengthen your body." He said, beckoning Aurila to follow him. 

Transfiguration had been a major school of magic due to the endless possibilities of manipulating molecules. It was a school that defied the limitations of mortality. Zariel had known many mortals who had achieved immortality by transfiguring their bodies into immortal tools. Some made it so that their bodies were as hard as adamantine; others chose to stop the decaying of tissue, achieving immortality.

Anything was possible with the aid of Transfiguration. Zariel had even heard that someone was capable of creating a new subspecies of elvish race. 

However, it was one of the darker schools, requiring the sacrifice of many lives. Many sorcerers on Iluthath would often kidnap various villagers to experiment on them in the hopes of achieving immortality faster. While some of the more deprave sorcerers would target family members who shared the same genetic makeup to aid in their transfiguration journey, with children being the ideal target since their bodies were constantly evolving.

Zariel had explained it many times to Aurelia, but the more she heard, the more her heart wrenched against her chest.

"From today onwards, you will be my assistant,' Said Zariel, entering into his cellar. 

Aurelia could hardly recognize the once-empty room that seemed to have evolved into something magical. Magical formulas that made her head ache hovered through the air in bright lines of light. Meanwhile, various other tools she could only assume Zariel had created with Transfiguration had appeared. Everything seemed surreal as she stared at the beakers, test tubes, Arcane Engines, and more, all humming with life. 

"Any Arcanist worth his salt is a master of Transfiguration. It's a staple of any sorcerer," said Zariel, waving his palm through space, conjuring a virtual screen of Aurelia. "It's actually a tool of the martial arts I use. Each hit I land on someone, whether it's hard or soft, the damage leads to the same result. Though I do it on a larger scale, most can't even imagine." 

"That doesn't sound fair. How does one defend against it?" Said Aurlia, frowning. 

"It's not supposed to be fair. And my martial art is unique only to me. Everyone is different, Aurelia. And Transfiguration needs specificity. I have an innate ability to understand just about anyone's genetic makeup. So I can break apart anyone. However, people like you need to research races and understand the genetic makeup of various races with particular bloodlines and so on. I am currently researching you." 

"Me?" Aurelia pointed to herself. "But why?" 

"Because you are the first creature to make my head hurt with how complex you are. And the more I understand you, the easier it will be to enhance your body," He said calmly, though with a bit of frustration hidden beneath. He pointed to one of the clean test tubes, "Now, place some of your blood in one of those." 

***

"So the Silver Brothers were annihilated?" said a figure beneath his black cloak within the black forest. His voice was raspy and cold. 

"Not all of them. The youngest Jon is alive." confirmed a young man's voice on one knee. Covered by a demon mask, he had his head bowed. "I saw Malos butcher Tarren faster than I could blink… the spell he used was unknown. But it was definitely the strongest Zero Spell I've ever seen. I'm sure it has the power to cut through any enhanced man." 

The cloaked figure tsked. "Did you retrieve the remains?" 

The masked man shook his head. "The bodies turned to liquid glue by the time I arrived… and…" He hesitated. 

"What is it?" 

"I think Malos saw me." 

"Blasphemy. You were invisible, right?" Asked the Cloaked man darkly. "No one but someone in the Realm of Master should be able to peer through your invisibility." 

"I know, but the moment I stepped into his Spirit Domain, I felt his eyes snap to me." 

"Azalea!" cursed the hooded man horrified. "His Spirit Domain is so powerful? That surely isn't a child. If he grows, then our kingdom will surely perish." 

"Then it shall perish," came the icy voice of Sura, appearing like a phantom behind the cloaked man, her palm on his spine. A pulse of arcana whirled around her palm, shooting through the hooded figure, bloating his body until it bubbled, exploding into a geyser of blood and gore. Organs sprawled the forest in a dense red, leaving only Sura and the masked man. No smile was on her lips as she stared down the assassin. 

"Our King warned the realm, did he not? Malos is off-limits." She said, pointing a finger towards the masked man. Nodes of Arcana gathered at her fingertip, creating a blood-red orb. "Die, you pesky Tulvarians." she spat as the beam bore a hole through the masked man, liquifying his brain matter. 

Walking out from one of the shadows, Quinn looked around at the mess. "Did you have to be so brutal? We could have taken—" 

"Within the Kingdom of Turvar, these bastards tend to take the vow of secrecy. They'll never talk." Said Sura calmly, pulling at the sleeve of the masked man, revealing his sultry brown skin. 

"Shit, he really is from Turvar." Said Quinn darkly. "These bastards are brave. But how'd you know?" 

"My spell earlier would not have worked on any who didn't carry the blood of the Night Beast in them." Answered Sura, smiling. "It was a little gamble but a worthy one. This arcanist was a fifth star." 

Quinn nodded, glancing towards Zariel's manor, which was barely visible in the distance. "For Cyrus to ask us to protect some brat, he must really see potential." 

"King Cyrus," said Sura. " Seriously, Quinn, how are you so rude?" 

"Fuck Cyrus, that little shitty brat is lucky I was the one to teach him the ways of the sword. He'd be dead if not for me. I'm allowed to address him any way I please." 

Sura didn't know what to do with her commander. She sighed. "You're insane. Gods. Well… It seems we've got something to report. Malos is far more dangerous than we could imagine. For him to be this powerful is an eye-opener. He slaughtered two people of the third star in the blink of an eye."

"It's not that he killed two Third Stars Arcanists. It's the way he did it. Malos is very proficient in killing. That surprise attack and the manner in which he did it was both horrific and expertly timed. I fear he's more than just a child." 

"You still view him as a child? That shit went out the window when we felt his horrific spirit. And now we know his Spirit Domain is very high level." Sura mentioned, narrowing her eyes. 

"Would you be able to peer through invisibility?" Asked Quinn. 

"Not with my level of control of my spirit." Said Sura, shaking her head. "You have to understand, Quinn, the Spirit is something that requires decades of practice simply to wield. From Spirit Control, we create a Spirit Domain to sense everything around us. This not only lets us anticipate attacks around but also allows us to understand the nature of Heaven and Earth. It's vital even to an arcane warrior like you." 

Quinn nodded. "I know that, but my Spirit Domain is specifically made to perceive people or any abnormalities in nature. I thought everyone was like that?" 

"For the most part, yes. However, when you were first learning how to create your Spirit Domain, do you remember how convoluted everything was? Our senses were so heightened we trained beneath the moon so that the sun would not burn our minds. Later on, when we gained some control over our Spirit, we were able to dampen the effects of what we felt, focusing on the important aspects of our being." 

Quinn thought about it, finding no fault in Sura's statement. Spirit Control was the first thing he learned in the Imperial Academy.

"I'm not at the level where I can allow my spirit domain to simply sense everything beneath the Heavens. I need to limit myself, or my spirit will break. For Malos to sense someone that was invisible means that his Spirit Domain and Control is at a level that far surpasses me, a fifth Star, Acolyte. His Mastery of Spirit Control must have reached the level of Master or god-forbid the Realm of Truth." 

"Hells. Isn't that the level of an Archmage?" 

"It's the only requirement to being an Archmage," Said Sura grimly. "We need to report this."