Chapter 415 A Path Forward (1/2)
Arran sat in co and a blank look in his eyes Had it not been for the faint smile on his lips, it would have been easy to think that he'd fallen into a stupor
But while his exterior seemed frozen, the picture within his interior was completely different There, strands of Essence circulated continuously, the energy incessantly for various intricate patterns as it permeated every fiber of his body
This Essence consisted of two distinct types
The first of these was Shadow Essence Perfectly controlled, its htest effort on his part, the patterns it forht
He was, after all, a Master of Shadow ic, his control honed to the extreme by the countless years he'd spent trapped in the Shadoorld
The second type of Essence was Natural Essence And although its flows mirrored the flows of Shadow Essence, its movements weren't quite as slance was enough to know that Arran's control of it was lacking compared to his mastery of Shadow Essence
But with every hour that passed, his control irew more intricate, the flows of Essence ap still existed between his skill at radually growing smaller
”Teeks,” he said to himself ”Less, maybe By then, it should be possible…”
If he wanted to strengthen the greater bloodlines he'd received, there were only two paths from which he could choose — the church's path and the Ihts' path
He'd already rejected the former, as it was slower than he could accept And as for the latter, all he kneas that it involved finding a way to control the bloodlines
By any reasonable standard, that tiny shred of inforic existed did notthat bloodlines could be controlled did not allow one to do so
But Arran had things that others lacked Not only was his Sense was sharper than any Knight's, but he'd also had years to observe the Blood Ruin within his body, gradually gaining an understanding of the Body Refinement method it contained
Most crucially, he'd spent years trapped inside the Shadoorld, where he was forced to use Shadow Essence to nourish his body, using as if it were Natural Essence
None of that would let him control his bloodlines But then, what he needed wasn't full control Just being able to strengthen theh
And that ithin his reach
All it required was for him to control the Natural Essence that fed the bloodlines — to focus its power on a single bloodline of his choosing, rather than letting it be used to strengthen his body and his other bloodlines
The first step toward that goal was honing his skill at controlling the Natural Essence already within his body And for that, he needed practice
The hours passed quickly, with Arran fully absorbed in his task Time after time he formed patterns of Shadow Essence, and each time, he would replicate them with Natural Essence Then, he would use his Sense to seek out the differences between the patterns
The hly effective, far better than anything a teacher could provide After all, each mistake hehim to correct himself at once
But effective as theAfter half a day of rapid io no inning to weaken, his focus all but completely drained by the constant effort
He did not atteh his exhaustion Instead, after a et some rest
The task he'd set hi would require his full concentration With that the case, trying to rush things would do , Arran was roused froh he had half a o back to sleep — he doubted the priests would dare barge in — he forced hi the door
Waiting behind it, he found a cheery-faced priest Short and round-figured, the yman Had it not been for his neat white robes, Arran could easily have believed he was a servant
”I trust the ave Arran a friendly s been kept waiting
”Well enough,” Arran replied ”I suppose it's time to leave?”
”It is,” the priest said, a smile on his face ”Your coave the man a nod ”Lead on, then”
It only took a few e chamber where he'd parted ith Kaleesh the previous day, and as he stepped inside, he saw that the captain was already waiting for hih there was a subtle hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes From the look on his face, it wasn't just Arran as been disappointed with the church's offering
”Not what you expected?” Arran asked as he approached
”Good , ”As for the bloodline, it's…” His voice trailed off mid-sentence, as if he wasn't entirely sure of what to say
”Weak?” Arran asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity While he'd been disappointed with his bloodlines, it should be different for Kaleesh After all, his friend had no powerful bloodlines to suppress the new one
”Not weak, exactly,” Kaleesh said ”But not as strong as I expected, either”
At this, a laugh sounded from the priest who acco your bloodlines,” he said ”You have to reht now, the bloodlines are only able to show a tenth of their true power”
”A tenth?” Arran's eyes ith surprise Though the Blood Ruin was suppressed by the Desolation, he guessed that it still had half its power available He'd assumed the same was true for these new bloodlines, but now, it seereater than that
”More or less,” the priest confirhtly, but you have to understand that bloodlines suffer more from the Desolation's suppression than other parts of one's strength”
For some moments, Arran was too stunned to speak — not so much because of this new information, but because he knew he should have realized it far sooner
Upon entering the Desolation, he'd noticed almost immediately that its suppression seeers in the Wolfsblood Arh he had no explanation for this, his suspicion had been that itArran's duinning to understand how potent the bloodlines truly are Besides, what you have now is just the beginning As you grow stronger, so will your bloodlines”
Arran nodded quietly, though his surprise was not for the reason the priest thought Instead, he realized that in underestireat fortune
The then the bloodlines was one born of a , with the bloodlines ht, it would be evena rusty blade, he would be polishi+ng a treasure
”But that's enough froh the priest still spoke in a friendly tone, a hint of impatience had appeared in his voice ”You will come to appreciate the bloodlines' power in due time”
”We'd best leave, then,” Arran said, understanding that the priest was ready to see them off