Rivers of the Night

Theron's power skyrocketed into another stratosphere, his Water Core burning away impurities.

He hadn't experienced this when he formed his Bronze Laws, and he had formed nine of them. Was this the massive gap between a Silver Law and a Bronze Law? He didn't even feel like he had reached Consummate Mastery of these two Silver Laws like he had with his Bronze Laws.

And yet, his body felt as though it had been completely baptized. In fact, he even felt it somewhat changing, only restraining itself when it felt like it didn't have enough energy.

Could it be that his body would progress to a Celestial Body once he fully comprehended his Silver Laws?

Theron's eyes burned with passion, but just as quickly as it appeared, he extinguished it as though it had never been there.

With a step, he surged into the cold, weathering storm that would have turned even Matriarch Macie into an icicle in a flashing instant of time.

By this point, Theron had long stored the Alpha away in its beast holding bracelet, protecting it with his Laws. Only someone with as deep a grasp of these Chilling Laws as he did could pass through here.

Though it was potentially possible to use [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] to weather the first part of the storm, the deeper you went, the more powerful the ice-cold Mana became.

Theron's and the Alpha's [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] could only control up to Gold Mana. When the Cloud Mana and above started to appear, they would be finished.

From what Theron could tell, this planet should just barely be able to produce Dome of Heaven experts. It was just that you would need a lot of accumulation, time, and talent to do so.

So, there was certainly Dome of Heaven Resonance Mana here. Such a thing would kill someone relying purely on those pupils instantly.

'Here.'

Theron reached the point that should have been the core to it all. Standing in the midst of the raging snowstorm, even his eyelids began to frost over, ice forming over his body hair.

'Down.'

Bending over, Theron began to dig through the snow.

He didn't know what he expected, but he was already head-deep in just a few seconds and was forced to keep going.

The snow must have been over a hundred meters deep, and the further Theron went… the warmer it became.

Usually, this would seem natural. In fact, one of the survival tactics of the Assassin Tenets spoke of this technique—using snow as cover in harsh storms. It was far safer and warmer than weathering the elements outside.

But this was different. It was almost… too warm.

That was how Theron knew he was getting closer.

After another hundred meters, he found it.

Theron almost fell into an ice cavern below, but he was ready, catching himself by the ledge.

What he found down below made his eyes flicker.

It felt like he was looking at the core of a planet, a mass of Darkness so concentrated that it had completely folded in on itself. It wasn't radiating even the slightest trace of Dark Mana at all, and yet it was responsible for so much of the current state of this world.

Theron had no idea what this thing was, but he had a feeling that it was at least as valuable as the Dark Spirit was. In fact, it might very well be the reason the Dark Spirit appeared on this world in the first place.

Though, it could also be possible that the Dark Spirit's presence triggered it all.

This core mass of Mana was almost unnaturally stable—so much so that even hanging above it here, Theron felt not the slightest hint of danger at all. There was a reason the Ice Mana above him could thrive so freely and without restraint.

But the state of the planet itself told Theron that he should definitely know better.

This sphere of Darkness was nothing to laugh at. In fact, he bet if he touched it with his current level of power, he would die before he even comprehended what happened to him.

At best, all of the Dark Mana within him—including his Dark Mana Core—would be unceremoniously ripped out. He wouldn't even have the chance to resist.

This thought made Theron pause.

Should he do this? Maybe it would get rid of all the hassle he was going through trying to learn a path he didn't even like.

After a moment, Theron shook his head. One only needed to look at the state of Water Mana in this world to know what would happen to him.

While his Dark Mana was being ripped out, his Water Mana would enter a state of limbo.

The moment his body lost all control of its Mana, he would be effectively dead. There was no coming back from that.

That left the question of…

What now?

What would he even do with this thing? He didn't believe he had a way to store it, and though meditating on it sounded like a good option for something with such shockingly good Dark Mana Control, bringing his Third Eye near that thing sounded like a recipe for absolute disaster.

That was when Theron had a thought.

'It's possible.'

Theron pulled out the Nightingale Spear.

"Esteemed Ancestor, I'd like a word with you if possible. I think you might want to see this."

At first, Theron didn't receive a response, and he wasn't surprised. The bird had already told him what it expected of him, and energy conservation was obviously a top priority for it. If it didn't feel enough time had even passed for Theron to improve, then why would it ever make its presence known? It would feel as though Theron was wasting its time and think even less of this descendant.

However, Theron sent a wild pulse of Mana into it and then pierced out toward the spear alone.

Seemingly sensing danger, the eyes of the Nightingale Ancestor Bird opened and a pair of wings formed on the spear.

As expected, the last heirloom of a lost Clan would certainly have strong survival instincts.

"You—?!"

The words of the Ancestor fell into a harsh silence as it realized what it was facing.

And then there was nothing but unbridled shock.