Sovereign of the Ashes

As a member of the Magus Alliance affiliated with the Divine Tower of Ashes, Sein naturally had the right to demand whatever he wanted from White Sand World.

Moreover, since he had not openly harmed the world's core interests, it was difficult for the guardian to refuse his request for the living fine sand.

"Don't worry, I won't kill it. I'll help it grow instead. I just obtained a wing from the White-Winged Bird King. I can use it along with this wisp of sand to create a brand-new magic artifact," Sein said, his eyes gleaming.

The last time he wore an expression like that was when he crafted the Demon Mask in the Faceless Secret Realm.

It was obvious that the discovery of this living sand, combined with the rare materials in Sein's possession, had sparked the idea of creating another artifact to rival the Radiant Heart Rod and the Demon Mask.

No... it might even surpass them!

After all, mages constantly evolved, and now that Sein had reached Rank Four, his skills in artifact crafting had also improved significantly.

While Sein was lost in that feverish excitement, the guardian weakly mentioned its desire to raise the sand as the next guardian of the world.

Maybe Sein heard it, maybe he did not. Either way, he ignored the guardian's remark.

Once a mage entered that experimental mindset, they often became completely unhinged—and Sein was no exception.

He had no time to listen to whatever the guardian was mumbling.

His thoughts had already jumped ahead to the list of materials needed for the upcoming alchemy experiment and the area of knowledge it would involve.

It would be great if he could consult Berecca. Even though she was a knight, her understanding of aero elemental laws might give him some new insights.

As it happened, Sein had deeply realized his lack of mobility and slow flight speed during this interplanar war.

This new artifact might just be the solution to that problem!

***

It was easy to lose track of time when one was training and or deeply immersed in experiments.

By the time Sein dragged his weary body out of the laboratory, four years had gone by.

Mayne had returned. In fact, he was the one who forcibly dragged Sein out. If not for that, Sein probably would have stayed buried in his work for a few moreim gon years.

During those four years, Sein had poured all his energy into developing a new magic artifact.

It was not complete yet, but the basic structure had already taken shape.

As he stepped out of the laboratory, a wisp of bright yellow fine sand hovered near his wrist timidly.

Sometimes, it would poke out a tiny tail, peeking curiously at its surroundings.

Other times, it would quickly retreat back into Sein's sleeve, as if that space was its home.

This sand was, of course, the elemental lifeform Sein had discovered in the navel of White Sand World.

Thanks to the innate power of laws within it, this little being would one day ascend to the demigod level even without external help.

Naturally, the mountain of materials and resources Sein had fed it over the years had only accelerated its growth.

When he first extracted it from the navel of the world, it had barely qualified as a lifeform. After all, it was still forming and was not even capable of thought.

Now, after absorbing countless rare aero elemental materials and energy crystals, its intelligence had clearly blossomed.

It could even offer some help to Sein now.

In the past four years, aside from nurturing this little creature, Sein had spent the rest of his time building the rough prototype of his new magic artifact.

The white feather fan, crafted from the wing of the White-Winged Bird King, was one of his notable accomplishments during this period.

With Sandy and the white feather fan, the aero elemental power they could provide would give Sein a significant edge in battle.

"Sandy" was the name the guardian had given to this wisp of sand, and Sein had simply continued calling it that.

Though the guardian had treated the sand elemental like its own child, the little one had formed a much stronger bond with Sein, who had been by its side for the past four years.

From the moment it gained awareness, Sandy had lived within Sein's laboratory, interacting with no one else.

Its timid nature came from one simple reason—it had never left that lab and felt uneasy in unfamiliar surroundings.

The tiny sand elemental circled Sein's wrist.

From time to time, it peeked out from the sleeve of his magic robe, clearly curious about the world beyond.

But when Sein approached Mayne, the little creature zipped into the deepest part of his sleeve and refused to come back out.

Besides Mayne, Lorianne, Berecca, and Tourmaline were also present. Sein had been the last to arrive.

"The registration process for White Sand World has been completed. Because of its strategic importance to the Magus Alliance's plans in the surrounding star domains, White Sand World will receive a special invitation to participate in the 25th Magus Alliance Conference, tentatively scheduled for 721 years from now," Mayne announced.

Since White Sand World had joined too late, the official invitations for the 25th conference had already been sent out.

Normally, it would not have qualified to attend.

However, thanks to its unique location and value, it had earned this exception.

"So the 25th Magus Alliance Conference is really going to be held about 700 years from now?" Sein asked.

"That was decided long ago," Mayne replied with a nod. "Unless there are extremely special circumstances, all Rank Four and above members of the Magus Alliance are expected to attend in person."

The Magus Alliance Conference was a major gathering of the civilization's elite, and Sein was more than a little curious to witness the overall strength of the alliance in its full display.

At the same time, a strange and mildly malicious thought crossed his mind—what if the Gallant Federation launched a full-scale attack on the conference venue? What if they carried out a decapitation strike against the Magus Civilization?

But he quickly dismissed that idea. It was nonsense.

Aside from the overmages and overlords, just the number of Rank Four and above lifeforms attending the conference would likely be in the tens of thousands.

What kind of power would it take to eliminate so many top-tier beings at once?

Besides, the Magus Civilization had its own fair share of native soul overmages, knight overlords, and even overlord-level beings within the alliance!

Even if a foreign overlord-level powerhouse showed up, they would likely be overwhelmed and forced to flee!

As Sein imagined the grandeur of the 25th Magus Alliance Conference, Lorianne noticed his faraway expression and offered a gentle reassurance.

"Your divine tower may have been established too late to get an official invite, but I'll let you know what happens when the time comes," she said.

Sein came back to his senses and gave her a small smile. He did not say anything else.

"I'll be leading the Magus Alliance delegation to Eternal Sand World to meet the Rank Five Eternal Sand Lord and invite them to join the alliance next. This war in White Sand World was initiated by your Divine Tower of Ashes, and you already have prior dealings with Eternal Sand World. Would you like to come along?" Mayne asked.

"My grandfather also suggested I bring you," he added with a smile.

"Me?" Sein asked, clearly surprised.