Chapter 1580: Chocolate

Erend looked down at the steaming drink in his hands before glancing at Askar. "What is in this?" he asked.

"Chocolate," Askar answered casually. "I grew it in my garden."

Erend stared at him for a moment. "Chocolate... from your garden?"

Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven also looked at Askar with disbelief. None of them seemed to understand how something as ordinary as chocolate could produce such a noticeable effect.

They had all experienced enough powerful Magic to recognize when something supernatural affected their bodies, yet the drink did not feel like a potion or a magical substance. It simply tasted like warm chocolate.

Eccar took another sip and slowly lowered the cup.

"I don’t understand," he said. "How can chocolate do this?"

Askar shrugged. "It’s my chocolate."

"That explanation makes absolutely no sense."

Askar gave him a blank look. "You asked what it was. I answered."

Eccar stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a tired sigh. He decided he did not have the energy to argue with Askar.

The four Dragonborn continued drinking. With every sip, the warmth spread through their bodies and seemed to reach deeper than simple physical comfort.

The pressure that had settled inside their minds after the Trial slowly weakened. The weight pressing against their hearts became lighter. Their breathing became steadier and the tension in their muscles gradually disappeared.

The memories remained, though. None of them forgot what they had experienced. The faces, voices, pain, fear, guilt, anger still existed inside their minds. Yet those memories no longer felt as sharp as they had moments earlier.

The drink seemed to dull the overwhelming edge of their emotions without erasing them. It gave their minds enough distance to look at those memories without immediately being dragged back into them.

"This definitely has some kind of magical power," Eccar said, closing his eyes while holding the cup near his mouth.

"It doesn’t," Askar replied.

Eccar opened one eye and looked at him. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes."

Eccar stared at him for another moment before giving up. He took another drink. "Whatever it is, thank you."

Askar nodded.

Sylven was silent throughout the exchange. He slowly reached for the brown cake sitting in front of him and took a small bite.

The sweetness filled his mouth and he chewed quietly while keeping his eyes lowered. He still seemed lost in his thoughts, but the tension on his face began to soften.

Erend noticed him and asked Askar, "Is the cake made from the same chocolate?"

Askar nodded. "Yes."

Erend looked at the cake for a moment before taking his bite. Eccar and Aesa followed soon after.

The four Dragonborn continued eating while occasionally drinking from their cups. They didn’t feel the need to speak anymore.

The quiet atmosphere no longer felt heavy. Instead, it became peaceful.

For several minutes they simply sat together and ate. The warmth from the drinks settled inside their bodies while the sweetness of the chocolate slowly lifted their moods.

Their exhaustion was still there but it no longer felt unbearable.

Eventually, all four cakes disappeared and the warm chocolate drinks reached the bottom of their cups.

Erend placed his empty cup on the table and leaned back in his chair.

He still remembered everything. But those memories did not feel as though they were crushing him.

Askar watched them for a while before finally saying, "You should feel the difference now."

The four Dragonborn looked toward him.

"You have become stronger," Askar continued. "Not only physically. Your fundamental power has increased. Your understanding of your own power has also deepened. More importantly, you understand yourselves and your souls better than before."

Erend slowly looked down at his hands. Now that Askar mentioned it he could feel something different inside his body.

His Magic flowed more smoothly than before. The power within him felt deeper and more stable. It was difficult to describe, but he knew that something fundamental had indeed changed.

Aesa also closed her eyes and focused on her own Magic. She could feel the same difference.

Eccar flexed his fingers and then clenched his fist. "I can feel it," he said. "My strength feels... different."

Sylven remained quiet for a moment before nodding. "My Magic feels clearer."

Askar nodded.

"That is one of the purposes of the Trial. You were not only tested for strength. You were forced to confront yourselves. The things you buried inside your minds and souls could no longer remain hidden.

"Your Black Rage will not overwhelm you as easily as it did before. You still need to control it, and you still have much to learn, but you now understand the difference between your true emotions and the rage that tries to consume them. That understanding will make you stronger."

Erend remembered his own Trial. He remembered the rage, the fear, the guilt, and the illusion of his mother and Arty.

More importantly, he remembered the moment when he finally recognized the Black Rage as something separate from his genuine emotions.

He nodded slowly. "I understand."

Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven lowered their gaze with a thoughtful expression. Each of them had faced something they had spent years trying to bury, and each of them had survived it.

Erend almost smiled. For a brief moment, the atmosphere became lighter.

Then Erend remembered something else.

"Askar," he said, his expression becoming serious again. "Do you know about the cosmic beings?"

Askar’s expression changed slightly. He sighed before answering. "Of course I do. Cosmic beings are not all the same. Some can become enemies. Some can become allies. Some may even help mortals under certain circumstances. But most of them simply do not care about the affairs of mortal worlds.

"They exist on a level far beyond ordinary mortals. Most of them have their own purposes and concerns. A mortal kingdom rising or falling means very little to them."

"Well, we just fought two of them," Eccar said with a frown.

Askar immediately looked at him. "What?"

"We fought two cosmic beings."

For the first time, genuine surprise appeared on Askar’s face. "I am surprised that you survived at all."

Erend shook his head. "They did not show us their full power."

Askar’s expression relaxed slightly as he considered that.

"That explains it," he said. He looked at the four Dragonborn again. "If they truly fought you without holding anything back, the situation would have been very different."

The room fell quiet again.

Erend knew that Askar was probably right. Nyssara’s power and the Void Architect had never truly revealed the full extent of what they could do.

Askar’s words only reinforced one uncomfortable truth.

The world they lived in was much larger than any of them had understood.

"Can we ask for your help if we face one of them?" Erend asked boldly.

Askar looked at him with a deep frown.

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