Chapter 204 - Light

I’ve got all the details on the surface now. At least, I think so.

Adion once again looked down at the teleportation formation below him and compared it to his drawing. It was accurate, as far as he could tell.

But it took me three days to get this far, and I’ve only touched the surface. 

The runes were incredibly intricate, and they covered a large area. Adion knew that the slightest change could make the whole thing useless, so he needed to be very meticulous.

He was confident that he had gotten his drawings right so far. He didn’t paint all those paintings for nothing; as long as he had the runic patterns in his mind, he could draw them accurately. 

My memory has been very good ever since I started working on regaining my memories. As long as I think carefully about something that has happened since I left Narvar, I can picture everything clearly. 

But are these runic patterns a little too complicated for that? It would be nice if I could just get a quick peek at them and draw them for the Headmaster when I get back. 

Adion squatted down and decided to see how well this strategy worked. He poured his space mana into the formation and felt how it traveled in convoluted patterns up and down, right and left.

How will I even be able to draw something like this?

Adion felt it to be an almost impossible challenge. To represent these patterns on a flat piece of paper seemed impossible.

Well, I’ll do my best. As long as I have the information in my mind, I can just recreate these runes once I become better at runesmithing.

Adion tried his best to feel how his mana flowed in different parts of the formation as he huddled back and forth. 

Okay. It’s hard to feel all of these patterns, they seem to slip from my control at certain places, but it will do for now.

Adion got up to his feet, deciding to see what he could work out from his memories later. It would be nice if all the information that now seemed like a scrambled mess of patterns could be worked out in his mind at a later date.

I probably won’t have time to do a perfect job, but I should try my best to imprint everything I can in my mind.

And when I destroy the formation, it might become easier to study some of these runes. At least I should be able to control my mana better.

Adion walked out in the hallway and headed down to the grand hall where Shindo was.

Every day was very similar. Adion would wake up a little earlier than Shindo and do some exercise. Then, he would eat with Shindo before meditating. Adion felt he was making good progress in his advancement and that it was a good idea to make some time for meditating every day.

After that, he would go to the hole in the wall and paint. After refilling his Will with a few sips of Profound Water, he would make another painting. 

Amazingly enough, Adion hadn’t failed even once in entering that special state where he could access his memories through painting so far. 

Every night, when it was time to sleep, Adion would go through his newly regained memories and dig out as many details as he could before falling asleep.

With two new clear memories along with relevant information every day, Adion felt himself getting more and more familiar and comfortable with himself, and he was feeling better than ever.

The only downside of remembering so much is that I get more and more excited to return home. 

Even though I know I should stay and get these things done, I really can’t stand being away from home any longer.

Adion soon reached the altar with the gently glowing beast core. Shindo was sitting below it, gently trickling mana into the pedestal.

“Any insights?” Adion asked, stepping up onto the altar.

“Not really, but I don’t think these days in this light have been in vain. Even if the concepts involved might be too complicated or just unsuited for me, it feels like it might help me in the future if I can become familiar with it,” Shindo said.

“I get what you mean,” Adion said with a nod. He, too, liked spending some of his time feeling this gentle light and trying to understand the concepts hidden within. Even if it was light and not space, fire, or shadow, he didn’t think it was useless. Especially his shadow should have something to gain from the concepts of light. 

“Are you finished looking at the teleportation formation?” Shindo turned around and asked.

“Not by a long shot,” Adion said, “But give me a few more days, and I’ll leave it at that. There’s no way to get the details exactly right without months, perhaps years, of effort.”

“Then what are you doing?” Shindo asked.

“I’m just hoping to get it all down on paper, even if it’s a little sloppy,” Adion said, “Anyway, it won’t be much more. I think I’ll leave here in at no more than a week.”

“What?” Shindo jumped to his feet and asked, “How can you just leave?”

“I’ve been away for too long,” Adion said with a small smile, “I want to go home.”

“But what about these concept runes?” Shindo asked, “You do realize how important they are?”

“I’ll have the professionals at the Academy handle it,” Adion said with a shrug.

“I guess that’s an option,” Shindo said slowly, “But what about the rest of this place? Don’t you want to continue looking around?”

“I don’t think there is much more than this to be found,” Adion said, “Most things here seem to have been lost over the passage of time. And I doubt they had many things like this pedestal around.”

Adion looked around the grand hall and spread his space mana around him.

“As far as I can tell, this is it,” Adion said, “Maybe there is something interesting buried beneath the collapsed wall over there, but it would take a long time to get through. There will always be more places to explore, but it would take years to uncover it all. At some point, you have to call it quits.”

“Fair enough,” Shindo said with a sigh, “It’s going to be a lot harder without your help, though.”

“How long are you planning on staying?” Adion asked.

“I wasn’t going to be away for too long,” Shindo said slowly, “But I need to discover everything I can about this thing. It’s too important.”

I see,” Adion said, “Well, I’ll tell the people at the Academy that you found it, so they don’t chase you away. Maybe they could even help you figure these runes out.”

“Aren’t you coming back with them?” Shindo asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Adion said, a little taken aback, “I guess it’s not impossible, though.”

“Don’t they need someone to lead the way?” Shindo asked.

I guess I wouldn’t be able to draw a very reliable map…

It could be fun to travel with Sell. That would give me a chance to come back here and discover everything I left behind.

The more Adion thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

“You know what, I might do as you say,” Adion said with a slight smile.

“Good,” Shindo said, smiling in relief, “I guess you won’t be gone for too long then.”

“Well, nothing’s ever certain,” Adion said, “But you know where to find me.”

Adion poured out some of his space mana into the pedestal and took a seat in front of the glowing beast core. They had discovered that the pedestal didn’t need pure mana to work, it could handle any sort of mana to basically the same effect.

As the light hit Adion’s face, he couldn’t help but feel that there was something almost unreal about it. He had had this feeling previously; it was like even if the core was put in a dark room, it wouldn’t light it up. There was only Adion, the beast core, and the light it emitted to him. 

Looking at Shindo, Adion could see that his face had been slightly illuminated, but at the same time, he could see how he was before the light hit him.

It's like the light doesn’t quite exist. I wonder if this is the work of the runes, the passage of time, or simply some kind of concept I don’t understand.

Adion moved slightly to the right, and he still felt the light reach him, the same as before. But looking at the spot he had just moved from, he couldn’t help but feel that the light there had changed.

It makes you a little uneasy, doesn’t it? But it’s so comforting at the same time. 

I just can’t understand what the use of this light is? It’s not dangerous at all, which I guess must be the work of the runes. But shouldn’t I be able to feel some dangerous concepts at a weak power? Otherwise, this contraption seems useless.

Or does this light have some other effect? It can’t even properly light up its surroundings, so it has to have some special effect.

Adion looked at his arm. The glow had a slight yellow tint. It was more like the light the sun cast at sunset in summer than normal daylight. It had a slight warmth to it, but it was barely noticeable.

Adion couldn’t help but feel a little restless. During the past three days, Adion had been able to sit calmly in the light and examine it without any stress. But now that he had decided to leave, he was getting a little impatient for results.

I feel like this light has some special quality. I just can’t understand it. 

Adion decided to do some experiments. He used his Authority to freeze the space in front of him. 

Hmm. Nothing special. My frozen space can’t freeze the light, but I can’t do that with other light either, so it’s not surprising.

Adion couldn’t help but frown at that thought. He had never thought of freezing light as a problem to be solved, but that was because he had never encountered a light mage. They were far too rare, and weren’t seen as powerful fighters, so Adion didn’t think about them very often. 

But if their light worked the same way and could pass through his frozen space, that would be bad.

Adion made his space volatile instead, and he noticed that the light was having trouble getting through. 

It’s still not blocking it completely, though. Just what is the deal with light?

Adion couldn’t help but be a little intrigued. He had waved off light mages before, but now it seemed like there was something to them. Even if most light mages might not be able to conjure very powerful attacks, light was a strange element. 

To be able to act like nothing happens when space itself is frozen…

I should read up on light mages more when I get back to the Academy. This is pretty interesting. 

“What are you doing?” Shindo asked, noticing Adion’s actions.

“Just testing a few things,” Adion said, “Do you know much about light?”

“I can’t say that I do,” Shindo said, “I’ve never really paid any attention to it. It’s a rare element even on Quemer. And not very powerful. So I guess most mages ignore it. But I’m starting to think that there is more to it than I had thought. Or maybe light mages really are useless, and it’s just that a god is incredible no matter the element.”

“Could be,” Adion said.

But surely even weak light mages could bypass my space. After all, even a small candlelight has that effect. It’s something intrinsic to light as an element. 

Or maybe I’m overthinking it. This is light from a god, after all. I can’t compare that to other mages. It’s possible that the light plays a special part for the Will of the World, and even with my Authority, I can’t go against it. I can’t even notice that I’m struggling against it. 

I need to do a test with a real light mage.

Adion started getting a little reluctant to leave this place again. There was just so much for him to do. 

But then again, now that it seems I can come back here with the people from the Academy, it feels a lot easier to leave. 

A few more days, then I’m going home.