Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

The group continued unabated in their quest to awaken every Aether Vein and become true Vein Awakeners beneath the profound silence that had settled over the cavern...

A palpable thickness of tension, anticipation, and anxiety permeated the atmosphere like an invisible storm waiting to break and the group of seven remained within it like criminals awaiting execution under a guillotine.

They had already crossed the first threshold which was the Saturation Process. They had also crossed the second which was the mapping and strengthening of their Primary Aether Veins.

Now, they stood before the final threshold; the awakening of their Secondary Veins.

The first two stages had proceeded successfully, and by all reasonable expectations, the final stage should follow the same trajectory.

Yet none of the seven dared to become complacent. As a matter of fact, they knew better; confidence was useful but overconfidence was fatal.

A single careless thought, an impulsive action, or even the slightest lapse in concentration could turn a successful breakthrough into a catastrophic Essence Deviation or a life-threatening health issue.

Therefore, despite the confidence slowly building within their hearts, they proceeded with painstaking caution and unwavering steadiness.

At this stage, there was no room for haste, no room for recklessness, and certainly no room for emotions to dictate their actions.

They remained suspended within the Essence Pool, their bodies almost completely motionless.

In fact, if not for the faint rise and fall of their chests, an outsider might have mistaken them for statues carved from flesh or victims of some strange petrification technique.

Only the occasional ripple spreading across the liquid betrayed the fact that seven living beings were still undergoing an arduous transformation.

Time passed; seconds became minutes and minutes became hours...

Also, the deeper they ventured into the process, the heavier the atmosphere became...

Veyrath, in particular, had become almost unrecognizable.

A sheen of sweat covered the failed Alchemist’s forehead, temples, and cheeks. Individual droplets gathered before sliding down his face and disappearing into the Essence Pool.

His breathing remained controlled, but it was no longer as effortless as before.

Never in his odd seventeen years of existence had Veyrath been this serious.

The eccentric and quirky failed Alchemist who could turn even the most dangerous situations into opportunities for some ridiculous remark had vanished. And what remained in his place was a cultivator completely consumed by his breakthrough.

His entire consciousness was locked onto the task before him.

Yet, surprisingly, Veyrath endured. He endured the pressure, the pain, and the almost suffocating concentration required to manipulate such an immense quantity of Aether without losing control.

Immediately after unblocking the first Secondary Vein in his right lung, he had continued without hesitation, unlocking one Vein after another.

Each breakthrough within his body came with its own muted explosion as the dormant pathways were forced open and flooded with the potent energy of the Essence Pool.

Every single time, Veyrath had to exercise extraordinary control. Too much force could rupture the Vein and too little would leave it unopened and weak.

Furthermore, while this was going on, he had to ensure that his lungs remained unharmed. So one could very well imagine the tremendous pressure he was facing.

It was a delicate dance between force and restraint; a dance in which one mistake could cost him everything.

Yet Veyrath continued. He moved from one Vein to another; slowly, methodically and relentlessly. Until eventually, there was only one left which was the final Secondary Aether Vein hidden within his left lung.

Veyrath’s consciousness hovered before it.

For a moment, everything seemed to become completely still with the dormant Vein appearing almost like a sealed passage buried deep within his body.

This was the last obstacle, the final lock to be precise. And once it opened, every Secondary Vein within his body would have been awakened.

The thought never consciously reached Veyrath as his mind was too deeply immersed in cultivation for such thoughts to form properly.

But somewhere beneath that conscious awareness, something within him seemed to understand that this was the destination he was heading to and now he has arrived. So without hesitation, the Aether surrounding him began to stir once more.

Ripples spread outward from his body; the Essence Pool trembled and in the next instant, a translucent mist began rising once more from the liquid, twisting around him like countless pale serpents.

Then, guided by Veyrath’s consciousness, the Aether converged. It flowed toward his heart, through his strengthened Primary Veins and finally toward his lungs...

The pressure increased as the dormant Vein resisted but Veyrath didn’t give in. Instead, he pushed harder. Finally, the Vein trembled, a crack appearing across its invisible barrier, then...

BOOM!

A muffled explosion erupted from within Veyrath’s body.

The surrounding mist was blasted away in every direction while the liquid beneath him surged. For one brief instant, even the cavern itself seemed to tremble when the final Secondary Aether Vein opened.

In the end, Veyrath had done it. He had finally awaken every Secondary Vein within his body. Surprisingly, he was the first among the seven to accomplish such a feat.

And had he been consciously aware of the outside world, the eccentric Alchemist would probably have thrown both fists into the air and shouted a resounding "YES!" at the top of his lungs.

He might even have laughed like a lunatic, but he couldn’t yet because he wasn’t finished.

The instant Veyrath sensed that final Vein yielding, his consciousness released what could almost be described as a sigh of relief.

The most difficult part was over. Now came the final task; strengthening them.

The Primary Veins had already undergone their transformation. So it was now the turn of the Secondary Veins to receive the same treatment.

Veyrath gathered the Aether surrounding him. This time, though, he didn’t need to force it because his strengthened Primary Veins had already become powerful conduits.

With a thought, streams of Essence Pool energy flowed toward his heart. From there, they entered his Primary Aether Veins where they were redirected toward his lungs, toward the newly awakened pathways.

The moment the Aether entered them, the Secondary Veins reacted, immediately absorbing the energy greedily. Like parched sponges plunged into water, the fragile pathways began swelling with energy.

And in the next second of their absorption, they began to expand, thicken and strengthen. Also, their previously faint existence gradually became clearer within Veyrath’s consciousness. So he was now able to see them clearly.

The Aether Veins stretched throughout his lungs like an intricate network of emerald threads. They intertwined and branched apart, forming a magnificent pattern that resembled a constellation of stars suspended within an endless green night sky.

Every Vein shimmered with luminous emerald radiance while every intersection pulsed faintly with life. Honestly, it was a beautiful sight. One that would have left Veyrath undoubtedly stunned by it had he possessed even the slightest awareness of his surroundings.

But cultivation demanded absolute concentration, so he simply continued the process.

One Vein after another absorbed the Aether and as they did, the network became stronger, denser and more resilient. This continued until eventually, the final Secondary Vein absorbed enough energy to become indistinguishable in strength from the others.

And at that exact moment that it was done...

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion erupted from Veyrath.

This one was different than the previous one. For starters, it was far more violent and loud in comparison to the rest.

A tremendous shockwave erupted from his body, expanding outward with enough force to scatter the mist covering the Essence Pool.

The curtains of translucent vapor were ripped apart instantly while the liquid beneath Veyrath surged violently.

A circular wave expanded from his position, crashing against the edges of the Pool before rebounding outward.

The shockwave also continued beyond the Pool, sweeping across the cavern floor before it reached the spot occupied by Aelric and Sylveris.

Sylveris gasped. Then she instinctively raised an arm before her face as the sudden gust tore through the chamber, whipping her silver hair backward and causing her clothes to flutter violently.

Aelric merely narrowed his emerald eyes while his robe billowed behind him.

The wind eventually weakened, the mist began settling, and then... There was silence.

Sylveris slowly lowered her arm, her silver eyes immediately focusing on the center of the Essence Pool.

Her mouth fell open. For the second time since the breakthrough had begun, she could see everything clearly once more due to the mist dispersing. And what she saw was something that stunned her to the core...

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