After I spend most of the evening by answering my friends questions, the next two days were spent going through the snowborn library, a cave filled with scriptures about almost everything, until I finally found one that was helpful.
“To raise a High King” The title said, and as one might expect, the entire book was about maximizing a synergy between body and soul, by picking the elemental trait and making him take control of his own body. While there was a lot more inside, I instead decided to search for this Cultivation technique, and followed it to the letter once I found it.
My new affinity for Vitus allowed a more direct control of my breathing and digestion, especially in connection with Necros, as it allowed me to filter the air I was breathing.
On the second day, I incorporated Aqua and Geos into this technique, using them to stabilize myself and control the speed my blood would rush through my body.
Everyone else studied books on the Arcana, making notes wherever they could to improve the way they cast magic.
The third day was mostly spent in the room we had to discuss things, the others going over their notes and comparing them, while I finally brought the last Arcana I had control over into this process. Spatium improved everything, taking the place of traits like ‘fast’ or ‘reflex improvement’.
A third step was written on the pages too, although I was not sure if I could do it yet.
It was the step where I would begin replacing my body, slowly getting rid of the flesh I had, and instead growing into a creature of pure arcana. It was a step that would make me nearly immortal, but I wanted to have every arcana before I took it.
This was a sudden thought, and my greed almost disgusted me, before I thought about it again.
Seven of nine Arcana were already under my control, null, spatium, necros, vitus, aqua, lumen and geos.
I needed temparum and pyro, and I knew a way to get the second one.
Before this thought could cement itself, I went to Ember, smiling as if I had not just contemplated eating his soul.
“Any people in your class that are especially talented and annoying? I kind of have a project going on I don’t want to burden you with, and it might be lethal.” I explain, feeling his heart quicken, and a bit of panic rising within him.
“Sure, I’ll introduce you when we get back, it will need some time though, I don’t think it will be easy to convince them to join your cause to any degree, most of them are rather straightforward warriors.” He explained, my nod failing to ease his worries.
“Thank you, if you find someone from the temparum class, I will need them too.” Saying this would be risky, the mere chance of someone with control over time foreseeing my actions would spell trouble, and yet I knew it was bound to happen.
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The fear of foresight is almost instinctual to most people, the Idea that someone knows what you are up to before you are often considered quite problematic, which was also the main reason I wanted to get access to this power, or destroy it, if everything else failed.
A day after, we were on our way back again, discussing strategies.
“The high King is weak, because he missed most of his training and instead decided to focus on his mind, which would be a smart thing to do if he hadn’t been raised and created as a body and soul fused super weapon.” I complain, the others still pondering my sheer arrogance.
“Why are you this proud and sure of yourself?” Sine asked, squinting their eyes.
“If the churches learn of you, you will be dead. The yearly cleansing will destroy you, and if you get too dangerous, maybe even the professors or the king himself will move to stop you from existing.” A frown spread on my face as this scenario joined the million other worries.
“That’s the thing, you know? If I manage to sneak into the headmasters office for twenty minutes, all my plans will bear fruit at once, and the school will become a place where power can be absorbed from the very walls we are walking through. But for this plan to be set into motion, a few other steps have to be prepared.” I explained her, Skulk interjecting as I did so.
“The headmaster is giving a lecture on the nature of null in the great hall on the last day of Aqua, I am going there, and almost everyone who knows about it is going too. Even if things go wrong, the couriers usually need ten minutes between there and the university, and if we are talking about the headmasters office, it will take another twenty minutes just to get there from the entrance.” He said, acting as if that was not the opening I had been hoping for.
“Well, then make sure to keep him there, If I activate an alarm, it will probably be upon taking the key. If you would be kind enough to mobilize everyone you know to hold him there, that would help me a lot.”
And thus began operation delay. The five days we took to reach the border were spent mobilizing the central snowborn tribes, gathering every last one of them in an attempt to seize Greencrest lands. The further I got from the High King, the longer my orders took to be obeyed, but when our path headed towards the academy, I knew that the outer tribes had heard the call for conquest. We did not meet a single snowborn, and when we arrived at the academy, I felt the connection to the High King grow once more. His body was rapidly regenerating, even with his soul gone, it tried to get rid of my influence, as a sliver of my own soul controlled its movements. He was bound to die, but until then, this part of my soul would grow.
Every single soldier pledged their lives to him, their soul becoming linked to his, and allowing for him to channel power beyond my wildest imaginations.
I staked the path I would take every day between classes, the painting and the headmasters office around five minutes distanced from one another, enough time to run, if nothing went wrong.
It was the twenty-fourth when the entire snowborn army reached our borders, the collective deaths of thousands of people the only information I needed.
We were getting close to the grand finale of this mission, every piece had to work perfectly for my grand plan to commence, and if it didn’t, I would at least die as a monster, remembered for the hundreds of people bound to die just for this opportunity.
The night I saw the end approach, my steps took me to the market center of the fourth ring, my clothes those I wore when I was still their prophet, my presence connected to them whenever we prayed to Ragnar.
On the third such sermon, guards waited to disperse us, only to be frozen the moment they approached us.
“I wanted to give immortality to every one of you, but it seems that a rot has begun to plague us, and our unity has been split apart. I came to this world in an attempt to immortalize, without judging who deserved to live forever, and who doesn’t. I thought that one of my priests was led astray by ambition, but maybe, many have to die, so a few can live in peace.” They were uneasy, many questioning their faith and decisions for a moment, only for my voice to thunder with the collective power of every soul I had within me.
“This selection will bring the end for everything, and a world where neither gods nor demons can touch us. This world is build upon the corpse of our lords brother, a being that had to suffer eternally for his greed. We stand atop the demon lord, and in Ragnars name, we will compose his requiem. When life begins, I need you to flood into the ring of nobles, occupy every part of that area you can, and make sure nobody can pass through. A gate will open to begin the rebirth. Those who die that day will become a part of me, and those who live shall do so eternally. I might fall on that day, so I ask you to remember our gods name, and pray to him for my return. When I do, death will consume those who question us. We are one, we are eternal!”
Then, we dispersed, hiding and skulking as everything was prepared.
Many questioned my words, but the few zealous had them convinced to follow through anyway. I was their light, and my light would be eternal.