Sovereign of the Ashes

With a Rank Two witch familiar with the Snow Spirit World leading the way, Sein and Reina’s journey became far more efficient than it would have been if they were traveling alone.

Many of the unique natural landmarks and energy-gathering sites in the Snow Spirit World were in locations that would have been nearly impossible for Sein and Reina to discover without a knowledgeable guide.

As Sein and Marylou spent more time together, they began talking more frequently.

It was always easy for mages to find common topics in conversations.

Sein was intrigued by the cryo elemental magic and the unique body-tempering technique that Marylou had mastered.

Meanwhile, after spending time with Sein, Marylou was astonished to realize he was an even more special research subject than Reina.

“You don’t have even a trace of battle qi in your body, yet your physical resilience exceeds that of some Rank Two knights. What’s going on?” Marylou asked in surprise.

The Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique that Sein had mastered was an exclusive secret of the Verdant Flame Faction.

As the faction’s most advanced elemental mystery, it was not something Sein could freely share with others.

Similarly, Marylou’s Ice Body Tempering technique was a deeply guarded legacy unique to her faction.

While Sein could not fully grasp the depth of her technique, their shared curiosity and dedication to the pursuit of truth led the two mages to cautiously exchange fragments of their body-tempering knowledge over time.

Such academic exchanges were a common practice among mages in the Magus Civilization and were not considered betrayals of one’s faction, provided the core mysteries remained undisclosed.

Sein recalled his days at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, attending masquerade balls and banquets hosted by Rank Two mages. At such gatherings, mages often formed small groups to discuss and share insights within their circles.

These surface-level exchanges, while avoiding sensitive secrets, frequently broadened perspectives and sparked innovative ideas.

The more Sein and Marylou conversed, the more their mutual curiosity grew.

Both were tempted to drag the other onto an experimental table for further research, but they managed to restrain themselves.

The Snow Spirit World was vast, but reaching its greatest snowy mountain range on foot would not take too long.

Three years later, Sein and his group finally reached their destination.

The towering mountain, perpetually blanketed by snow that refused to melt due to the planar laws, radiated an aura that was both awe-inspiring and bone-chilling.

As Sein’s group began their ascent, even with Reina and Sein’s exceptional constitutions, they eventually had to wear special cotton jackets with heat-retaining magic arrays to combat the relentless cold.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a skilled alchemist. How many branches of magical knowledge are you versed in?” Marylou asked curiously, now clad in a thicker blue magic robe.

Her robe was the same one she had always worn but had been altered by Sein to better withstand the harsh environment.

Sein, however, was not paying much attention to the towering snowy peak or the biting cold around them. His focus was drawn instead to Marylou’s wrist, which peeked out from the cuff of her robe.

Rather than fair skin, her wrist was covered in a shimmering layer of blue ice crystals.

“This must be part of your Ice Body Tempering technique, right?” Sein observed.

“What about you? Aside from cryo elemental magic, Ice Body Tempering technique, and your elemental summoning abilities, what other branches of magic knowledge have you mastered?” Sein countered.

Marylou rolled her eyes at his probing question.

Their relationship hadn’t yet reached the level of trust required to share such secrets. Like Sein, Marylou also kept several of her abilities carefully hidden.

The dynamic between mages was always an intriguing one. While many were open to intellectual exchanges with their peers, these interactions were almost always limited to surface-level knowledge.

Even then, not all were willing to share. Like Sein and Marylou, many mages preferred to guard their trump cards closely.

It was only in times of war that mages would unleash their full potential, revealing the devastating combat power derived from their mastery of elemental mysteries without hesitation.

***

Sein and his group stayed at the greatest snowy mountain range of Snow Spirit World for nearly four years.

According to Marylou, the biggest attraction of Snow Spirit World was its endless expanse of towering snowy mountains.

The other regions of Snow Spirit World were special in their own right but they were not all that different from one another—just vast snowfields and towering ice peaks over and over again.

Despite their best efforts, Sein and his group were ultimately unable to scale Killimanjarro, the highest peak of the greatest snowy mountain range in this world.

The peak was so tall that it could nearly touch Snow Spirit World’s steadily shrinking planar barrier.

At such an altitude, the air pressure, temperature, and wind speed far exceeded the limits of even the most resilient shields that a Rank Two mage could conjure.

According to Marylou, among all the witches who had ventured to Snow Spirit World, only a handful of exceptionally powerful demigod-level witches had ever reached the summit of Killimanjarro Peak and caught a glimpse of the entire plane from above.

“I sometimes wonder if Sir Horsta, the sealed Rank Six knight, truly rests at the summit of that mountain. Maybe the whole story about the Ice Seal is nothing more than a myth.”

She shrugged before adding, “The more I see and experience for myself, the more I realize just how unreliable some of the information in the divine towers’ libraries can be.”

“Everything, including planes, is constantly evolving. The knowledge recorded in the divine towers’ libraries reflects the understanding of its time. It’s only natural for some of it to become outdated,” Sein replied thoughtfully.

While the two mages were talking, Reina grew bored. She found a relatively sheltered spot and lay down. To Reina, this was just another ordinary cryo elemental plane.

After descending from Killimanjarro Peak, Marylou decided to part ways with Sein and the others.

After spending several years together, Marylou had gleaned all the foundational knowledge she could from Sein and Reina.

Sein had also benefited greatly from the exchange, learning a number of spellcasting techniques unique to the northlands.

Only Reina seemed to have come out worse for wear. She had often served as an experimental subject for the two mages, and after years of being poked and prodded, she appeared a bit thinner.

Of course, only someone as familiar with her as Sein would notice the slight difference in her appearance.

To Marylou, Reina looked exactly the same as she always had.

On the eve of their parting, Marylou exchanged contact information with Sein via crystal ball.

Although neither knew whether they would ever meet or communicate again, the time they had spent together left both with positive impressions and they regarded each other as friends.

“Since we’re parting, let me perform a divination for you,” Marylou offered.

“Actually, my visit to Snow Spirit World this time was prompted by a hint I received during a divination using my crystal ball. Sure enough, in this world, I met the two of you—rare individuals who have greatly benefited me,” she added with a smile.

This was not Marylou’s first time visiting Snow Spirit World. Her original plan had been to explore another allied plane, but the special guidance from her divination had brought her here instead.

As expected, the enigmatic Rank Two witch had knowledge of disciplines beyond what Sein already knew.

Astrology, in particular, stood out as an advanced academic system within the Magus World. Sein had studied various spatial and planar doctrines in the past, but astrology seemed even more complex.

More importantly, astrology did not solely rely on a mage’s level of knowledge or energy reserves. It hinged on an elusive quality—“talent.”

Only those with a specific gift could successfully practice astrology.

Sein had read the basics of astrology in the divine tower’s library, but the results were clear—he lacked the requisite talent, or rather, he did not possess enough of it to make progress in the field.

He did not witness Marylou’s divination process.

Astrology seemed to be a highly private practice, surrounded by numerous taboos.

After several days of chanting and reading, Marylou finally presented the results to Sein and Reina.

To be honest, the results were underwhelming.

For Reina, the divination predicted a high probability of advancing to Rank Three within the next five hundred years.

Reina had already reached peak Rank Two and had attempted a breakthrough to Rank Three once before.

Although she had failed that time, her subsequent accumulation of experience made her next attempt almost certain to succeed—at least in Sein’s opinion.

“What kind of divination is this?” Sein thought, bemused by the obviousness of the prediction.

On the contrary, Reina, whose confidence had been severely shaken after her previous failed breakthrough, was extremely delighted upon hearing her result.

For a moment, she even forgot about all the experiments Marylou had subjected her to in the past.

As for Sein’s divination, Marylou did not provide anything particularly useful.

She simply gave him a sympathetic look, patted his shoulder, and said, “You may face mortal danger, but it could also be an opportunity in your life.”

“This crisis will happen within a thousand years. Good luck!” she added with a mischievous grin.

A crisis within a thousand years...?

Sein shook his head in exasperation as he walked away.

Which interplanar war didn’t involve danger?

Sein had never fought in a war that did not carry the risk of death.

And within a thousand years? That was utterly unhelpful.

If Marylou had provided a specific year or even a narrower timeframe, perhaps within a decade, Sein might have considered taking precautions.

But a millennium was far too long, and he could not possibly alter his plans based on such a vague prediction.

It seemed to Sein that this eccentric Rank Two witch was simply amusing herself at his expense.

Marylou’s divination highlighted one of the major flaws of astrology. It was unrealistic to believe that divination could help someone avoid all misfortune.

The discipline itself had its limits, and divination results, especially from less powerful astrologers, were often vague, incomplete, or even outright useless—like Marylou’s so-called predictions.

While Marylou found Sein’s frustration utterly entertaining, she suddenly noticed two new gray hairs on her head.

“I paid nearly four times as much for your divination compared to Reina’s! You owe me compensation!” she exclaimed, thrusting a slender hand toward him.

Sein merely rolled his eyes at her.