The summons arrived as Kael packed field rations—a liveried servant bowing at his dormitory door. "Master Simon requests your presence. The ingredients are prepared."
Kael's fingers tightened around his satchel. Sacred Spirit Fruit. Dragonheart Blood. Starroot. Obsidian Moss.Four rarities gathered in days—a testament to Simon's mercantile reach.
The alchemy chamber reeked of powdered wyvernbone and crushed dreams. Victor fidgeted under his father's hopeful gaze while the Apothecary King loomed like a vulture awaiting carrion.
"You've verified the components?" Kael's tone carried professional detachment.
Simon gestured to the jade-inlaid table. "The Sacred Spirit Fruit alone cost three trading caravans."
Kael's celestial markings tingled—the fruits' aura pulsed with trapped lightning. Dragonheart Blood simmered in its crystal vial, each bubble bursting with miniature roars.
"Leave us."
The Apothecary King stiffened. "Young man, protocol dictates—"
"Protocols won't stabilize this brew." Kael lit the soulfire crucible, its azure flames erasing objections.
Alone, he entered the trance-state—hands moving independent of conscious thought. Dragonblood hissed against celestial-charged mortar. Starroot filaments wove through Obsidian Moss in fractal patterns mirroring his sigils. The Sacred Spirit Fruit dissolved last, its essence resisting until Kael's markings flared silver-white.
Outside, Simon paced. "He's what, seventeen? Eighteen?"
The Apothecary King stroked his beard. "Age matters less than attunement. That boy channels forces older than this academy."
Hours later, the door creaked open. Kael emerged pale but triumphant, cradling a phial of swirling starlight. "Three drops daily. Full mana restoration in a fortnight."
Victor's trembling hands accepted the elixir. The first droplet ignited his atrophied channels, painting his skin with luminous veins.
Simon clasped Kael's shoulder—a merchant prince's grip. "Name your price."
"Your熔岩晶石矿山 concession. As pledged."
The Apothecary King's gasp echoed. Even Victor paused mid-sip.
Simon's laughter shook dust from rafters. "Done! Though I'd have paid thrice that to see old Zephyr's face when he learns it!"
Kael's lips curved. Let them think this a mere trade. The true prize lay deeper—Simon's gratitude forged an alliance no coin could buy.
As dawn gilded the estate, a raven observed Kael's departure. Its left eye gleamed crimson—a familiar hue to the Dusk Shard's newest scar.
Kael's hands blurred in the alchemical trance. Cerulean Starroot dissolved first under precise flame, its essence distilled into a shimmering solution. Shadowvine followed, fibrous tendrils unraveling into liquid shadow under celestial fire. Dragonheart Blood hissed like a caged beast before yielding its crimson vitality. The Sacred Spirit Fruit resisted longest, its lightning-charged pulp crackling until Kael's silver sigils overwhelmed it.
The Apothecary King's serene confidence faltered as hours stretched. Simon paced grooves into marble floors, while Victor sat statue-still, hope and dread warring in his eyes.
When the chamber door finally creaked open, Kael emerged cradling a phial of swirling starlight. "Three drops at dawn."
Victor's trembling hand raised the elixir. The first sip ignited his atrophied mana channels, painting his skin with luminous fractals. Elemental currents swirled—a dormant gift awakening after decades of silence.
The Apothecary King leaned closer, nose twitching. "This formula... unrecognizable yet flawless. Whose lineage does it belong to?"
Kael's lips quirked. The Book of Immortality's secrets would remain buried. "An obscure variant. Rarely taught beyond celestial circles."
Victor staggered, gripping the table as raw magic surged through him. "It's... it's working! The stagnation—" His voice broke.
Simon clasped Kael's shoulder, merchant prince poise shattered. "The熔岩晶石矿山 papers will reach you by dusk."
As celebrations erupted, Kael slipped into the garden. The Dusk Shard pulsed hungrily against his chest, its whispers momentarily silenced by the elixir's radiant aftermath.
Above, a raven cocked its head—left eye gleaming with unnatural crimson. Kael's celestial markings flared in response, scattering the spy into cindered feathers.
"Focus. Channel the currents." Kael's command sliced through Victor's euphoria.
The young man shuddered as foreign yet familiar energies coursed through him—decades of atrophied mana channels sparking to life. Elemental particles swirled in visible eddies, clinging to his fingertips like iron filings to lodestone.
An hour later, the glow subsided. Victor's eyes snapped open, tears tracing luminescent paths down his cheeks. "Father... I can feel the ley currents again!"
Simon's composure fractured. The merchant prince who'd bartered with dragon lords now trembled before his son's reclaimed birthright.
"Ten doses total," Kael stated, placing a second phial on the obsidian worktable. "Five-day intervals between administrations."
The Apothecary King inspected the residual aura swirling in the empty vial. "This formula... it shouldn't exist. The mana-to-essence conversion ratio defies all known—"
"Trade secrets," Kael interjected, celestial sigils flaring faintly.
Simon slid a sealed contract across the table. "The熔岩晶石矿山 deed. Yours before sunset."
Victor clutched the remaining elixir like a holy relic. "When I'm healed... could you teach me? Properly, I mean."
Kael's nod carried the weight of unspoken pacts. The Dusk Shard pulsed in agreement—a sixth player in this transaction.
As twilight gilded the estate gardens, a raven's charred feathers drifted into the alchemical forge. The spy's demise went unnoticed, its master's fury already kindling fresh schemes.