BLASPHEMOUS CREATION
"We challenge you," Verma's gentle voice echoed. She flapped her gorgeous red-gold wings, and the world was filled with a whirlwind of delicate feathers that looked like the embers of creation. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
Leonel's eyes narrowed, wild sparks of lightning threatening to bring his Dreamscape crumbling down, but he controlled it, the slight change to his expression after such a long spurt of emotionlessness.
However, despite his indifference on the surface, he was grinning so wide on the inside that Aina had to bite her own lip to the point of drawing blood to keep herself neutral. To outside observers, it looked as though Aina was having trouble controlling herself again while Leonel was running up to the end of his rope.
Verma pecked her beak at the air, but rather than pulling something out from a hidden void like Somnus had, there was a sonorous call that suddenly filled the skies.
Minerva frowned. 'What the hell was going on?' She hadn't really thought much of Verma speaking. After all, if they were challenging in the Force Pill Crafting stream, then it was Verma's right. She was the Force Pill Crafter of their group. But she didn't like this.
"My apologies, Master Minerva," Verma bowed toward Minerva. "I am but a beast, and my methods aren't as sophisticated as Sir Talon or Sir Somnus. I can only use these crude methods."
A Celestial Ember Race elder with wings that blotted out the skies and could envelop the entire city suddenly appeared in the air. With a tap of its claws, the world shook, and Minerva paled. This elder was far stronger than her; she would have to call the real Ancestors of the Owlan Race here to deal with this, but this matter was being completely under her control. This came completely out of left field.
Luckily, with a flap of its enormous wings, the elder Celestial Ember vanished, piercing through the Bubble veil as though it wasn't there at all.
Verma flapped her wings, and the ring that fell from the skies gently came to a stop in the air before being pushed toward Leonel.
"Please check the contents and ensure that they're to your satisfaction."
Verma wasn't afraid of Leonel pocketing the materials. What a joke; even the likes of Minerva, who could shatter his body with her aura alone, had felt all sorts of trepidation just now, let alone Leonel himself.
Leonel caught the ring and swept his senses inside of it.
"... This is 20 times what's on the list," Leonel said lightly, his tone seeming to tremble slightly. It was almost imperceptible, and to a layman, he would have sounded as though he maintained a steady rhythm the entire time. But how sharp were these people.
"Yes. In addition, I will put forward all 28 of our points as well."
Verma didn't explain her actions, nor did she have to. All that mattered was that Leonel would understand. She wanted the Life Tablet and the Segmented Cube.
Somnus frowned, not understanding. Had the Owlans grown greedy? Did they think that by allowing Verma to take the reins, they could be one step removed from whatever happened from here on out? He thought about it. 'It's possible... it would just be a delicate balance to strike. Maybe it would really be worth it for them if they ended up with both treasures... '
Somnus remained silent. It was unfortunate that his plans hadn't gone as perfectly as he wanted, but it wasn't all bad either. There was still a chance here at survival.
He shook his head inwardly. This matter was truly too annoying.
Leonel gripped the spatial ring in a fist. "And what are the parameters?"
"Your wife and I will Craft a Healing Force Pill using any three poison Force Pills of the Seventh Dimension. I will leave the decision up to her. As for the time limit, 12 hours."
Those in the audience sucked in a cold breath.
It was said that any extreme was met by its opposite on the other end. This was a realm that was pursued by countless Force Pill Crafters... to be able to breathe life from the deepest of darkness, that was the realm they all aspired to.
This was a challenge that only the utmost geniuses could take up. To turn three poisons into a healing pill... and even giving them a chance to pick with poisons they wanted... That latter move could be seen as kindness only if you were a naive layman. By not giving Aina and Leonel the three poisons she would use herself, they had to guess from an array of billions of types on their own. Rather than knowing that there was definitely a solution somewhere, they were going in entirely blind.
The worst part was that Leonel had no choice but to accept. Not only had he just used his challenge refusal, but he had also set the parameters for what treasures would equate to his Life Tablet and Segmented Cube himself. He no longer had the grounds to refuse based on not having adequate points.
As expected, when the round began, it took Leonel and Aina upwards of an hour just to pick out three poisons to try out.
And when they began actually concocting, Leonel, who was already injured, ended up poisoning himself. The whole experience was like watching an angel that had just been soaring high in the skies have their wings clipped.
He protected his wife from the same fate, but the longer they went, the more discolored and shameful Leonel's appearance seemed to become.
The reversal was far too shocking. The arrogant Leonel plummeted right back to earth. It was clear he had a little bit of skill in Force Pill Crafting, but compared to his Crafting talent it was so inferior that they couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath.
And then the 12 hours were up.
Verma tossed her Force Pill to the pillar, causing it to tremble and suddenly erupt with an entire nine runes, better than any of the Crafters before but Leonel himself.
And then, the green-veined Leonel did the same.
But nothing happened.
Leonel and Aina's pill crumbled, blowing into ash riding the wind.
The Pillar of Truth didn't react to them. In fact, it had destroyed their Force Pill as though it was a blasphemous creation.