Rivers of the Night

Theron's eyes shone with a violet hue as he looked toward the heavy spear sitting before him. Veins lined its sides as though the crow's feet of a much older being, pulsing with crimson edges.

He seemed to be straining against something, but the flood of Mana didn't waver in the slightest.

The process of constantly Entangling his Mana with the atmospheric Mana, and then pouring the latter into the spear, was a process that went much easier than Theron could have expected… at least at the start.

But by now, it had already been a full day, and even after the long sleep he had taken before starting, he was up against his own wall of fatigue once again.

The wall was approaching faster and faster, but Theron was only about 90% of the way through, and somehow this last 10% felt about as hard as the first 50%.

Unfortunately for Theron, the Elemental Refinement technique he had been given was designed for Gold Resonance treasures at best. This was no Gold Resonance treasure. It wasn't just any Cloud Resonance treasure either. It wasn't just an Arcane Grade treasure on top of being a Cloud Resonance treasure, but it was also a Peak Cloud Resonance treasure designed for Treading Cloud Realm experts, or even Quasi Dome of Heaven experts.

This wasn't the sort of treasure that Theron should be capable of refining in the first place.

Theron realized the issue the moment he came to the last 10%. At first, his intention was to directly and decisively give up. If he couldn't refine the spear, then so be it.

However, just as he was about to, a few ideas linked themselves in his mind as though moving all on their own.

Just a few days ago, he realized something curious about the Echoes of the Core Disciples. If his guess was correct, they required their Laws to be fused into them to rise beyond the level of Silver Resonance.

Right now, Theron's Echoes were at the very same cultivation level as himself: the Quasi Gold Resonance level. But they showed no signs of breaking through no matter how hard he tried.

When Theron originally got his Echoes, they were at the Ninth Silver Resonance. Since then, they had only improved laterally other than the day they progressed to Quasi Gold.

That said, Echoes were one thing, and treasures were another…

Or were they?

Theron's gaze flickered as beads of sweat fell down his brow. His mind flashed with memories of Blackmaul's attempts at a breakthrough.

That Echo of his was about to undergo a shocking change. It was like his Echo was becoming corporeal, but more than just that—almost like a true limb.

'Is it even possible?'

Theron's Laws were all at the Bronze Resonance level. The fact he had 18 of them, and that they were tied into a Mandate, made them particularly powerful. But it didn't necessarily mean that they could be used to help refine a Cloud Resonance treasure… right?

At this point, Theron had nothing to lose, so he gave it a try. He changed tactics and his [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] didn't just entangle Dark Mana, but began to search out and feel for Mana that mapped onto his Laws.

Theron had yet to even convert his Laws such that they would be appropriate to use for Dark Mana, but at this point he didn't care.

Laws were all general-purpose in use. He had comprehended the Laws of Vibration, Reflection, Density, Preservation, Stillness, Repression, Control, Balance, Inhibition, Expansion, Intensity, Pressure, Release, Flow, and Friction.

Not a single one of these Laws was tied to an element. In fact, the second set of Laws Theron had learned came from a sword-wielding Flux Mancer.

Sensing these Laws was no problem for Theron. All he needed to do was entangle with the Dark Mana that embodied these Laws and—

WHOOSH.

Suddenly, the refinement process that had slowed considerably accelerated again.

Theron focused entirely on the Laws of Dark Mana that embodied the Law of Flow.

This was the thing that Dark Mana seemed to have the most in common with Water Mana, and it made the translation of the two quite easy for Theron.

However, as fast as it all was, Theron ran into another wall afterward. He hadn't even gotten a full percentage out of it.

Theron frowned, but then a realization came to him. If this had worked, then…

Theron switched to a new Law, jumping to the Law of Reflection.

He went through each one of the Laws one by one, choosing the Laws that he felt would better translate to Dark Mana first, before going toward the ones he felt had more obscure connections.

As expected, every time he switched to a new Law, the process would become swift for a short moment before it slowed to a crawl once again.

Theron understood then that his Bronze Laws were too weak to satisfy the spear. He needed more of them in order to fill in the gaps he required.

If he had had a Cloud Law… no, if Theron was correct, at the Cloud Resonance level they were called Mandates, a fusion of many Laws. If he had had a Mandate, then all he would need was to feed it into the spear and call it a day—the refinement would be complete.

But… Theron did have a Mandate. In fact, he had two. They were incomplete, but his incomplete Mandates were already on the level of many completed ones.

That was when Theron truly understood just the sort of legacy he had on his person.

His bloodline stored a secret so great it was even capable of refining a Peak Cloud Resonance weapon while he was only just a Silver Mancer.

SHUUUU.

Streaking spear blades filled the skies, marking the walls and howling.

But that was when a change that shook Theron occurred.

The spear rose from the ground, two wings of black forming from its body.

Nightingale Wings.

"How many generations has it been… A worthy descendant has finally appeared…"

A voice as ancient as time itself echoed.