Within a hidden structure near the borders of Quintessa, a gathering of Mages and Hunters was at hand. Several months had passed since Ezekiel and Riley had arrived and been admitted to the Prime Guild Officially. Their welcome was undisputed, since it was Wolken that sponsored them.

It was barely a week after they had settled in that they were thrown into the front lines of battle once more. But while it wasn’t anything new to them, the fact that they were being used in such a basic manner was confusing. Though Riley wasn’t able to do much else since she was still on the lower end of Legendary.

Things changed after the first few missions, as it seemed like Wolken and his fellow Mythic, who Ezekiel learned was named Strom, finally figured out how best to use him and Riley.

“Come now. We’ve only been at this for half an hour. You can’t tell me you’re too tired to continue already, are you?” Ezekiel tried to keep his voice level, but a teasing hint of mockery still bled through.

He was currently surrounded by several dozen Mages; each one wielded a sword in his direction. All were glaring as they didn’t even allow themselves to blink. The determination in their eyes was something that Ezekiel felt was admirable. But his focus was more on their weapons than on the wielders themselves.

To the side, Riley watched with a stoic glare. While she didn’t like the fact that Ezekiel was so obviously outnumbered, Ezekiel had assured her that there was no danger to his life.

“I’ll count to three, then begin the attack myself.” Ezekiel’s words seemed to shake the others out of their stupor.

Many of them were still tense, but it was obvious that they were uncomfortable with what they were doing. Many looked exhausted and sweat dripped down their faces as their hair matted to their heads. But even so, none of them moved.

“One... Two--”

“Raaahg!”

Ezekiel didn’t finish his count before he found himself under attack. At first it was just one person, whose attacks he deflected with ease. As if the other man was moving in slow motion. For a few seconds, he didn’t even need to use his mana. Then the rest attacked as well, and the sheer number of blades he was forced to fend off made him finally enhance his speed further than it already was.

‘They are moving more fluidly. They haven’t gotten in each other’s way yet.’ Shine observed as they were used to deflect another blade. ‘That’s an improvement from yesterday.’

‘Agreed. But that’s because they made a plan. Which is usually a good thing. But not this time.’ Ezekiel had noticed the same as Shine but had also seen the pattern that his assailants were falling into. They had obviously planned out how they would attack beforehand. Using an order of attack to dictate who would go first, and who would respond if blocked or dodged.

Not the worst idea, but given how outclassed they were, Ezekiel quickly caught on, and was able to interrupt their sequence by dodging a swing instead of blocking or deflecting, then flipping the woman who attacked over his back, and into the swing of another man making his own attempt at taking Ezekiel’s head. The resulting clang of metal on metal, and exhalation of air from getting hit, caused a pause in the battle that Ezekiel took advantage of.

Jumping several meters away, he got a look at all the people attacking him. They were truly on their last legs now, and the woman he had flipped was on the ground, while the man who hit her was fretting over her downed form.

“Hold!” Ezekiel’s command stopped the still standing Mages from rushing toward him. “That’s enough. That’s enough sparring practice. Walk a few laps to cool down, that means both of you as well.”

The man worrying about the woman on the floor glared at Ezekiel, likely expecting some pity for the woman on the ground. But Ezekiel gave none. He knew that such an injury wouldn’t even require a trip to the medical center.

“Now.” A hint of mana was released, and nearly floored the rest of the Mages from the intensity.

Helping the woman to her feet, the whole group started a light jog around the large room they were in. This jog petered out to a fast walk, and eventually turned into a slow pace as the group cooled down. Taking drinks from a table on one end of the room before continuing.

As he watched, Ezekiel felt Riley come over to him, likely finished with her observations, and ready to head out for her own training. Celia hung off her shoulders like a backpack.

“How are they doing?” she asked once she could tell Ezekiel had put up an isolating barrier.

“They are doing well. I can tell that they are having an easier time than I did, at least.” Ezekiel was gazing at the weapons held by the Mages. Looking for even the slightest change that might be visible steel weapons.

Particularly around the crystal dust spread out along the fuller and reaching down into the tang.

This strange add on to the weapon drew confusion from Ezekiel’s newest students at first. But after a while, they grew accustomed to it, and simply did as they were told.

“Do you think that there will be results in time for Wolken’s check in later this week?” Riley hadn’t noticed any changes. Not like Ezekiel had, but she wasn’t an enchanter, nor was she a prior Scholar.

“There are already results showing. Particularly in two... three... of them right now.” Ezekiel corrected himself upon further examining one of the blades.

Although it was slight. The amount of crystal dust that was embedded in the blade had seemingly faded, in three of the blades. Though it was noticeable unless you looked for it.

Riley smiled, content that Ezekiel was seeing results in his experiment. Especially since no one was getting hurt in the process. That had been one of her biggest worries when his current mission was brought up.

“Well, I’m glad I managed to catch you before I left.” Riley’s tone became a whisper, and she seemed to draw into herself. “We won’t be seeing each other for a while this next month, after all.”

“It’s not like you’re going into battle. Just seclusion training.” Ezekiel tried to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t looking forward to the next month either. “When you’re back, you’ll be stronger, so look forward to that, and I’ll see you soon enough.”

Riley suddenly embraced Ezekiel, sighing into his chest, she stood there for a minute or so before pulling back. Giving him a kiss, she smiled, her mood still down, but better than before.

“And when I get back, you won’t be the only Void Hunter, will you?” Riley looked out to the gathered Mages. Their mixed hair colors but matching black and white ringed eyes made her smile.

“You know it.” Ezekiel smiled and hugged her again.

Finally, they parted, and when Riley left the room, Ezekiel turned to address the Tier one Void Mages he was in charge of training.

“Alright then!” He called out to draw their attention. The group stopped their cool down walk to focus on him. “Everybody lined up like usual. We’ll be going through the motions for Void Slash, and Stab.”

Ezekiel’s words brought smiles to the tired Mage’s faces. While they had all been training for a while, with the support of the Prime Guild and the Church of Ten, these Mages were all family members of Guild members. So, they were all more interested in learning how to use their magic than anything else.

Examining each of the Mages as they used their blades to channel their mana, the crystal dust glowing briefly when they did, Ezekiel made sure to correct each and every mistake he noticed and made sure that nothing happened that could cause injuries to one another.

It wouldn’t do to have the potential of these Void Mages wasted after all.

Especially when they were well on their way to forming their own Spirits.

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Three days later, Ezekiel was reading a letter in his private office while waiting for Wolken to arrive for his inspection. The contents detailed the progress of the cathedral being constructed in the Fjorya. Its physical structure had been completed some time ago, but it was only recently that the defensive formations had been finished.

Ezekiel had been shocked to learn that the defenses being used were going to incorporate some of the ‘Blessings’ that the Guardian Spirits chose to contribute. But when he thought about Invera’s Understandings, and how they all related to defense, it made sense that she wanted to extend her protections. Especially when the Church was apparently aiding in the Fjorya’s recovery as a whole.

‘He’s here.’ Shine, who had been meditating in the corner of the room, their small avatar floating in the air as they did, began to lift into the air. Their sword body moved to reach Ezekiel and fitted into a belt on his waist. ‘Are you ready for this? We don’t know if the results we’ve been seeing will be anything that a Mythic will be able to notice.’

‘I’m sure we’ll be fine. The theories we’ve worked with have all proven mostly viable. Plus, there’s the fact that even the Mages are noticing something different by now.’ Ezekiel was thankful for Shine’s caution, but still had confidence in what they had achieved so far. ‘I’m pretty certain that Wolken’s advanced soul, and that of his Spirit will be enough to see what we have.’

Shine just hummed in neutrality. But didn’t otherwise dispute Ezekiel’s claim.

A few moments later, they arrived at the front of the facility that had been set up for their use.

The building itself was a bunker built into the base of the Prime Guild branch that was located in the city of Lolend. It was one of the primary launching points in the Guild’s quest to reclaim the rest of the Desolate Lands.

‘It’s still amazing just how different the front lines on this side of the Desolate Lands really are.’ Ezekiel looked up at the half clear and half darkened sky above. ‘Harkem didn’t get this bad until the Cruor set up those Spines.’

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‘It somewhat makes sense though. After all, the Broods on this side of the Desolate Lands are much more numerous, and more capable of spreading out at a faster speed.’

Given that Quintessa was situated on the border of the Rot, Blood, and Swarm Broods, it was an unfortunate fact that this kingdom was in a much more precarious position than the Empire. Even with their much larger numbers.

Lolend, in particular, was based against the border of Rot territory. A place where Ezekiel and Riley would be particularly useful. As seen when they first arrived and took out several dens on their own.

The fact that each of the cities along its border were literal fortresses that were manned by no less than ten Tier four Guilds, and a branch of the Prime Guild, just showed how dangerous this side of the world really was.

Of course, things began to change once you got further from the border, same as in the Empire, but not by much. Not when most of the resources grown elsewhere were funneled into these fortress border cities.

It had been shocking for Ezekiel to learn that there were entire Guilds and towns that only accepted or trained Life Mages, purely for their ability to grow more crops to sustain the many citizens of this kingdom.

Finally, as Ezekiel finished ruminating over his knowledge of Quintessa, he arrived at where Wolken had just touched down. His massive, winged snake Spirit shrank down to curl around his neck.

“Ezekiel. You look well. I had thought the lack of fighting would have driven you insane by now.” The Exalt’s voice was bland and monotone, with a hint of disappointment, but not as rude as before.

Wolken had somewhat warmed up to Ezekiel and Riley during their journey, and after discovering just how useful they were in the fight against the Cruor. To the point that he was somewhat upset when the Church of Ten demanded that he delegate Ezekiel to a teaching position.

He acquiesced. Of course, but it was clearly something he was upset with.

“Come. Go over everything with me as we walk. I need a refresher of what you’re doing here.”

This surprised Ezekiel, because he was under the impression that Wolken was being informed of everything they were doing.

“Don’t give me that look. Do you think I have time to go over each and every detail that comes through the paperwork that passes by my desk?”

Sheepishly shaking his head, Ezekiel began guiding Wolken through the compound. Explaining what they had been doing while they walked.

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It had started when Ezekiel had gained access to the cathedral of Lolend. Wolken had used his authority to grant Ezekiel access. Something he could only do since he was a contracted Hunter tied to the Church. Technically illegal, but only because official Hunters were supposed to be neutral parties that were both gathering places for Hunters to grow stronger, and the first line of defense against the Cruor and Umbral Beasts.

This access was obtained after Ezekiel’s second mission and was granted in leu of his regular payment. When asked why he wanted this rather than money or mana crystals, Ezekiel explained that he had an idea that he wanted to work on, now that he had a deeper Understanding of his magic.

“I want to create another Void Spirit.”

Was all he said when the Scholars inquired into what he needed this information for.

To say the Scholars were shocked was an understatement, and the ones who heard immediately informed the Grand Scholars as soon as possible.

The next week was filled with Ezekiel going through multiple interviews relating to what exactly he knew that they didn’t, as well as a breakdown of how he intended to do this. While not common knowledge, the fact that a Remnant of the Void ripped out a piece of his soul to make Shine had been provided to the Grand Scholars of Sanafalls during his time there.

“How exactly did you get the idea for this again?” Wolken asked while they were walking through the facility. “I can’t imagine it was a spur of the moment thing.”

“No. It’s something that I’ve thought about a few times here and there. But nothing I put much focus on prior to now. Mostly because I didn’t truly have the strength of a Legendary being and had to focus on survival and recovery.”

Wolken nodded at Ezekiel’s words. “Smart. Those two things are some of the most important ones to focus on. Don’t forget that and start chasing stupid stuff like influence or authority. Power and survival are the most important. Everything else can be achieved later.”

“... Right... Well, during our time in the Fjorya, I got to know a lot of Spirits, and my own connection with Shine grew deeper. Then my Understanding of the Void, and his own ascension to Tier four, started giving me ideas.” At this point, Shine materialized their avatar. Wolken raised an eyebrow at Shine physical form. At the same time, a couple of Guild members stumbled or walked into walks at the sight. “It ties into how Shine is different from other Spirits. Not just in element, but composition.”

“Composition?”

By this point, they had moved far enough into the facility to be out of the more common areas. They were nearly to the Void Mage’s assigned spring chamber at this point.

“Yes. You see, every Spirit in the world is made of mana. Transformed mana that has taken on physical characteristics, but still mana.” Ezekiel could tell that his voice was growing more excited, but he didn’t really care at this point. “But, as you know, Void mana doesn’t exist in a physical form, unlike the other elements. Only its effects upon the world. Hence why Shine needs to retain a connection to a physical anchor. Either a metal tool, or my own body, though the latter is a strain that we avoid.”

“Why metal?” Wolken seemed genuinely curious. “Couldn’t a stone or wooden body work as well?”

“What happens when Void mana interacts with other elements? In a natural setting.” Ezekiel was quick to specify, since he knew that his own Void mana, when imbued with his Understandings, did things differently.

“Ah, I see.” Wolken rubbed his chin. “Metal is as close to inert, elementary, as most physical objects can be. Even if it originates from stone, it’s different enough to not be a natural emanator of mana. What about crystals? I think I read something about inert mana crystal remains being brought here.”

“Those were included in the weapon making process for the experiment.” Ezekiel explained, going into detail regarding the crystal dust used on the blades being wielded by the Void Mages under his tutelage. “From what I’ve been able to tell, there’s been some changes in a few of the weapons over the past month or so since we’ve started this training.”

Wolken’s eyes widened in thought at that bit of news. He hadn’t really expected much of this at first, but he could tell that Ezekiel was being entirely honest.

“Only a few?”

Ezekiel rubbed his head in thought. A look of shame crossed his face.

“It seems like my plan is harder to enact than expected. Only three of the twelve I’m focusing on have made any significant progress.”

“What do you consider ‘significant?’”

“... Well, from what I can tell, the spark of a soul is on the verge of forming.”

Wolken stopped in his tracks. This talk just became much more important, now that Ezekiel thought about what he just said, he realized that he might’ve just shaken the Exalt’s worldview.

“Did you just say that you created a soul?”

Ezekiel gulped nervously but nodded.

“Not entirely, but it should occur within the next week or so.”

“... Are there any Death Mages on this base?” Wolken knew there would be Life Mages, so he didn’t bother asking about them. They were also more skilled at physical bodies than spiritual ones.

“None that I’m aware of.”

Wolken could tell that Ezekiel was telling the truth.

“And you’re certain that these things are souls?”

“I guess you could call them pseudo-souls. We won’t know if they’re real until they form.”

“How did you do this, and could this be done with any other elements?”

Wolken and his spirit both gazed intensely at Ezekiel. The Spirit looked particularly focused as Ezekiel felt a chill run up and down his spine. It was like they were weighing his life against the potential results of his current plans.

“I, honestly, just started trying things out. I based my plan off what the Void Remnant did to me, without the soul ripping parts. By having several Void Mages channel their mana through swords that were specially made to do so, I hoped that they would imprint on them.” Ezekiel felt a bead of sweat running down his forehead. “Biven that all of a Mage’s mana is infused with their ‘will’, no matter how small, I thought that they could eventually build up this ‘will’ via regular use, and in the process, with the mana and ‘will’ as the resources, and the sword as the body, a new Spirit, a Void Spirit, would be born.”

Wolken stopped to think for a moment. His Spirit softly hissed into his ear. The silent conversation went on for several minutes while Ezekiel just stood in the corridor with the Exalt standing across from him. Finally, the two Mythics opened their eyes.

“You’re basing this off the ‘Blessings’ of the Guardian Spirits.” Wolken sounded certain of his guess, and Ezekiel couldn’t say anything to deny it. The man was right, after all.

Even if the new method of enchanting was still fresh, Ezekiel had been given direct tutelage from the only Mythic Wild Spirit that the Church had regular interaction with. Of course, his own progress with the method would be great.

“Yes. I’ve also started experimenting with making nascent Spirits on my own. With just me and Shine. But doing so might cause problems down the line when it comes to other people.”

“Any Spirit you form would be born of your ‘Will’ and might not respond and bond to others.”

Ezekiel nodded, somewhat impressed by the self-proclaimed ‘just a Hunter’s’ comprehension of the situation. Finally, the Mythic Hunter sighed in annoyance, and Ezekiel felt an invisible pressure fade from his neck. He hadn’t even noticed it until this point.

‘By the Ancients that man is scary.’ Shine muttered in fear as they realized that Ezekiel was on the verge of losing his head. ‘Let’s not piss him off. Ever. In any way at all.’

The veil of friendship had dropped, and Ezekiel was shocked back into reality. He had forgotten during his interactions with Wolken that the man was a monster who could kill this entire city by himself. No one could oppose him if he suddenly snapped.

“Has anyone told you that you’re a terrifying young man?” Wolken said with a wry grin.

‘I don’t want to hear that from a monster like you!’ Ezekiel mentally exclaimed, much to Shine’s agreement.

“A few times, sir. But I think it means a little bit more coming from you.” Ezekiel gave a shaky smile. “Besides, I’m just working with information that others had gathered before me. I can’t be considered the only contributor to this effort.”

“Hmm. So, why do you think that only a few Mages have made progress?” Wolken began walking once more.

“‘Willpower,’” Ezekiel said. “To keep things mostly under wraps, just in case the Church didn’t want this spread further than it already has, I haven’t actually told the Mages what they’re doing. The three in question are not only the best spellcasters, but also the best swordsmen, and woman.”

Ezekiel thought back to the woman he had flipped over his back three days ago. She hadn’t made such a mistake since and had finally managed to beat all but two others in the class.

Even then, it was only because they were able to tank most of her hits, due to their larger frames, that prevented her from winning. Otherwise, she was the most skilled at this point.

The other two that were close to forming a Void Spirit were one of the men she had lost to, and a man she had won against, but considering that man was recovering from mana backlash, such a thing was understandable, since he couldn’t currently use physical reinforcement. The thing Void Mages were known for before Ezekiel created spells for their element.

“These three have a level of focus that the others simply don’t. Their every spell is infused with just a hint of their ‘will’, which is a lot easier for me to sense as a Legendary Hunter. Especially now that I’m not crippled.” Ezekiel winced at the memory of all the things he was lacking in when he had first reached Legendary. “I figured that, after your inspection, I could inform them what their training was really for.”

Ever since he had recovered, and taken the time to actually examine himself, he had found a general improvement on all aspects of his being. Even in the growth of his soul, which had seen a starling improvement since entering the battle zone of the Mythics during the final battle in the Fjorya.

He would need to go into battle again to keep it up, but for now that could wait.

“If these Void Spirits rely on ‘will’ to be born, then a lack of it coming from their Mages would make sense as to why they aren’t forming.” Wolken came to a stop once more. This time because he and Ezekiel had reached their destination. “Well then, I guess it’s time for me to see if things have panned out the way you claim they have. In all honesty, I truly hope that they have.”

“I do too, sir. There’s only so much that I and Shine can examine. Even as the premiere Void users in the world.” Ezekiel stepped in line behind Wolken, waiting for the man to enter. His students had been told that their efforts would be inspected today, so they were already waiting. “I hope that your presence will be able to confirm my theories, as well as point out flaws that we failed to see. Your Spirit, in particular, would have an immense understanding of the formation of Spirits that out classes our own readings.”

Ezekiel nodded to the winged serpent coiled around Wolken’s neck. Given the Spirit’s age and Tier, it’s ability to reproduce was much higher than those at lower Tiers. It was already a known fact that it had several offspring with Wild spirits throughout Quintessa. Not unlike Callrond, in the Fjorya.

It had seemingly slumped down, uninterested in Ezekiel after its silent conversation with Wolken, but perked up again when Ezekiel addressed it.

Humming in contemplation, Wolken pushed open the doors to the sparring chamber. Ezekiel hot on his heels. Both wondering what the outcome of today's inspection would bring.

Hopeful that it would lead to yet another groundbreaking discovery. One that would further change the place of Void Mages in the world, even more than Ezekiel already had.