Chapter 298 Departure (2/2)

With both Arran and his weapon training zealously, their progress was rapid After just teeks, there was no doubt in Arran's mind that despite his still-weakened body, he had already surpassed his previous ress, however

As Arran wielded his sword, faint ih their bond Shreds of memories, he suspected And if these were indeed memories, then the weapon's past was a bloody one

Each of the faint iain, Arran witnessed his blade taking lives With some shock, he realized that these were no enemies on a battlefield Rather, they were prisoners — countless thousands, and all of thees And every time the weapon cut one down, it feasted upon its victiinal shape that it had been an executioner's blade, but witnessing its victies that caested so else, as well If the sword held memories from before its world was ruined and filled with Shadow, then itbefore it ever turned into Living Shadow

Perhaps it was a result of absorbing the Essence of nuht explain why the weapon was stronger than the other pieces of Living Shadow in the ar before any of theardless of its bloody origins, he would ood use of its power

When he finished his sword training, he turned his attention to his final task — studying Brightblade's wards

It was the last thing he would do before leaving the caverns And if the portal hadn't closed by the time he finished, he would have to return eventually to complete the task that Karanos had started

The book of wards Brightblade had given Arran was much like he'd expected It contained a variety of concealment wards more advanced than the ones he already knew, but with his keen Sense and the sword's help, learning most of them took only a feeeks

There were two that stood out, however, both of them far more complex than the others And as Arran studied thehtblade had included them specifically to help him in the Hunters' lands

The first was an advanced Shadoard that concealed s froh examination

His sword offered further improvements to the ward, and with a feeeks of study, Arran was able to hide his void ring so well that even his weapon could only barely Sense it

The second ward posed a bigger challenge, however

This was a concealment ward, too, but one intended to mask the Essence within one's body, which was a far h the as hellishly complex, Arran knew he'd have to learn it — even without the Hunters, he suspected that this hat Brightblade had used to hide her Essence in the Ninth Valley's mountains, and a skill like that would be invaluable

Arran struggled with the ward for over a month But even with his sword's help and improvements, the result left hih to hide his Essence fros whose Sense was far more accurate

Even after a month of careful study, the only Essence Arran was truly confident in hiding was his Shadow Essence That, he could conceal so well even his sword had difficulty Sensing it

But the other kinds were a probleer than Arran's own could detect them if he left his Realms unsealed

He did not knohether the Hunters' lands held such people, but this wasn't so he could be careless about Before he entered the Hunters' lands, he would have to seal his Real with the ward, using his sword's insights and Sense to make minor improvements to it The asn't particularly useful, but he knew that once he finished, he would have to leave

Yet the portal didn't close, and Arran knew he could wait no longer It was tiave the portal a final look, and as he gazed at the black vortex, he thought of thehe could do about the situation, however — he could not close the portal, and he certainly lacked the strength to save Karanos even if the man was still alive

”When I return, I'll have the strength to close this da”

No response caood on the threat Once the on, he would find a way to destroy the portal once and for all

But right now, there was nothing useful he could do Of all the wards and seals he knew, only Master Zhao's seal ed froh he knew the seal well, he still lacked the strength to create a version large enough to seal away the black chash, he turned around and left

There were other dangers that needed his attention And if he let hiaining the strength to accomplish it