NOVEL NEXT Chapter 165: Core
Harkon took a deep breath. "There's nothing more."
Vacuse nodded and began to digest the different news with a slight frown on his face. When looking at everything at a first glance, they seemed disconnected, but the more he stared, the more he could see subtle connections between them all.
The war that Vacuse caused with the Warbines, which forced them to use their alliances with the Trolls, had also silenced almost all rebellion in the Western Region.
There were also low activities concerning the silent war.
Vacuse was pleased with everything. It made his work easier, and he had the time to focus on his own personal training.
He stayed a little longer for the guards' training before he retired to his room.
He began his own personal training.
The first thing he did was meditate, taking in the surrounding forces to stimulate his soul space, using it to thicken his core. He did that for the better part of the morning and afternoon and only stopped in the evening when he ate, listened to another light report, and gave orders.
Although the Dragon Lord was still ruling directly from the war front, Vacuse was still Vorrakyn's representative and had to oversee some things personally.
He read some history books after he was done with his reports and then settled down for more training, this time from Rith.
'...normally, if you want to create void creatures, you can just pull from those that are lost in the void, but I won't recommend it at all...'
"Why?" Vacuse asked.
Rith was curled around the Phoenix feather in front of him, his eyes narrowed. '...because the creatures in the void right now were pulled there or killed by... me. Of course their memories are scraps and their powers twisted, they are still powerful. More than you can handle...'
Rith had told him the same thing before, but Vacuse still listened cautiously. After all, it had to do with his safety, and he took things like that especially seriously.
'...even now, the void that you are using has been separated from the one that I use. Just so you won't attract things that are too much for you...'
Vacuse nodded.
'...let's begin. You know what you must do...'
And he did.
Vacuse reached out with his senses to the Phoenix feather and used his senses to warp around it, and at the same time, his void force came out like dark liquid and enveloped the feather.
What he was doing was simple—and near impossible.
He was changing the powers in the feather from fire to void.
It was impossible to change the fire attribute in the feather to void because, without the fire, the feather would not be what it was. But as Rith explained, the Phoenix feather was different. It was half aware, and that meant it could not be easily used as the core for his void creature.
What he wanted to do, though, was use his void power to erase its awareness and then implant his own consciousness into it to form his own type of awareness.
But it was easier said than done, because the progress was slow and draining.
The Phoenix feather was from a beast on a strong pathway. In fact, it was comparable to the Dragon, and that particular feather was from a high-rank Phoenix of that pathway.
It had been resisting him furiously.
Vacuse took a deep breath. "Do we have to do this again? We've been doing it for weeks now."
Rith did not say anything. He just fixed him with a flat look, and Vacuse sighed again.
He made a grasping gesture to the feather, and it floated closer to him. He raised his hand to touch it, hesitated, and then finally touched it.
Immediately, his hand touched the feather, his vision went blank, and he felt the sense of drowning as he was instantly drawn into the feather.
He saw heat. He was heat and mighty, and when he flew in the sky, it trembled, shaking with his mere presence.
The feather was the reddest red, and the black had the shine of the underworld.
His cry turned the clouds to lava that rained down and drowned the world. He was the only lord of the sky and the high heavens.
Nothing else came close. Heat and fire and flesh. He was all of those and more...!
'...wait! I am not... I am a Dragon! The true lord of the sky... and Vacuse Vorrakyn!...'
It was a memory, the pieces of awareness in the feather, and it had nearly drowned him. Immediately, he wrestled free from it. He turned into a small black dragon that began to turn the vast black from the edge, polluting it.
But soon, the red won, and he flinched back to the present.
He took a deep breath. He was sweating, his black hair hanging on his head like limp strings, his clothes clinging to him. He grimaced because he knew what was going to happen next.
Suddenly, he stiffened, losing control of his body, and the feather dropped to the ground. Veins appeared on his body, and his mouth opened in a soundless scream. His muscles trembled uncontrollably as pain laced his body.
It was the backlash from trying and failing to change the awareness.
Before long, he picked himself up from the ground, a frown on his face. "Let's go again."
And he did, again and again.
Half a month flew by in a flash, and he finally began to see real progress as he could now cover about half of the awareness.
He settled into a routine.
Training with the guards in the morning and personal training for the rest of the day. In between, he would deal with his responsibilities as a Dragon heir.
And just like that, another half month went by, and by that time it remained only a small angle for him to complete taking control of the Phoenix feather.
And another week after that, he finally took complete control of it, turning it into a core that carried his consciousness and awareness. What remained was the creation itself.