Chapter 289: An Anomaly Named Regaleon

While Aelric was occupied contemplating the potential consequences Regaleon’s presence might bring to the Sanctuary, the Halberd’s ascension continued unabated.

By now, the radiance had intensified to such an extraordinary degree that it commanded the attention of everyone within the ruined temple.

Those who had been concentrating on replenishing their Aether Veins with Aether Cores abruptly emerged from their meditative states, startled by the brilliant light piercing their closed eyelids.

For several bewildering moments, the silver illumination was all they could perceive, forcing several of them to shield their faces before attempting to determine what had interrupted their cultivation.

Vaelorin opened his eyes with a frown, his fiery red orbs narrowing like those of a predator disturbed in the middle of a hunt. Aureleah’s silver eyes narrowed into gleaming crescents, their cold brilliance reflecting the silver radiance flooding the chamber.

"What the hell?" Veyrath exclaimed, immediately regretting his decision to open his amber eyes.

The light flooded his pupils, producing an unpleasant sensation that made him wince and squeeze his eyes shut again. His eyesight is already sensitive due to his cultivation base, and the sudden brilliance felt less like illumination and more like someone had shoved a miniature sun directly into his face.

"Did somebody accidentally detonate a flash talisman?" he demanded, his voice dripping with incredulity, irritation, and theatrical indignation.

But nobody answered him.

Even Kaeloris, whose spectacles were supposed to help him manage visual disturbances, found the situation entirely unbearable.

The lenses could correct his vision, but they could hardly defend against a radiance powerful enough to illuminate the entire chamber through closed eyelids. If anything, the reflected brilliance made the experience even more disorienting.

Fortunately, the rest of the cohort handled the disturbance with considerably more dignity. They allowed their eyes a few moments to adjust before turning toward the source of the light.

And then they saw it.

Regaleon’s Halberd hovered above him, surrounded by magnificent spirals of silver radiance. Its elongated shaft gleamed beneath the illumination, while the crimson markings running along its surface pulsed with an unmistakable vitality. The weapon appeared to be undergoing a fundamental transformation, its very structure being refined by the energy pouring from Regaleon’s body.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Their expressions ranged from astonishment to disbelief, with a healthy measure of envy creeping into several faces.

"What the hell..." Vaelorin muttered, looking as though someone had just informed him that the laws governing Soul Essence cultivation had been rewritten overnight.

He stared at the weapon, then shifted his gaze toward Regaleon, whose composed figure remained at the centre of the spectacle.

"Don’t tell me this is what I think it is."

"I suspect we are thinking the same thing," Kaeloris replied, pushing his spectacles higher on the bridge of his nose. His usual analytical composure had been replaced by an expression of reluctant amazement. "Regaleon’s Halberd is ascending to another Tier."

He paused, watching another wave of silver light sweep across the chamber. "...Again."

That final word captured the sentiment everyone else had struggled to articulate. It was not merely the ascension itself that astonished them, but the sheer frequency with which Regaleon seemed capable of achieving such a feat.

Even Valmyr, who was not particularly renowned for his intellectual contributions, studied the transformation with the solemn attention of a scholar examining a priceless relic.

After several moments, he released a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"What a lucky bastard."

His envy was so palpable that it might as well have been another presence in the chamber. He clicked his tongue, folding his arms across his broad chest as he continued watching the weapon.

"At this rate, won’t his Soul Essence catch up to ours within a few days? It might even surpass ours before long."

Although his words sounded exaggerated, none of his companions could dismiss the possibility outright.

This was already the second time Regaleon’s Halberd had ascended to a higher Tier, with the previous advancement having occurred barely a week earlier. If the weapon continued progressing at anything approaching that pace, the disparity between Regaleon and the rest of the cohort could shrink far sooner than anyone had anticipated.

Of course, assuming that the Halberd would continue ascending every week was an assumption of almost comical optimism. Soul Essence advancement was notoriously difficult and almost impossible, and no sensible Etheryean would expect such progress to continue indefinitely.

Unfortunately, Regaleon had already demonstrated that sensible expectations were not particularly effective at predicting his behaviour.

If his Halberd reached their level within the coming weeks, or perhaps a month, then the consequences would be difficult to ignore. Given enough time, his Soul Essence might even surpass theirs, turning the Knight who had once struggled with an inferior Tier into the most formidable members of their group.

The thought was enough to make Vaelorin’s expression sour.

"Why couldn’t I have been born with this sort of ability?" he complained, his red eyes burning with undisguised envy. "I would gladly trade every Essence Rune I possess for it. Every single one!"

His declaration earned several sympathetic nods.

Even Aureleah, who rarely displayed her emotions openly, could understand the sentiment. Their individual abilities had required hours of training, talents, considerable effort, and no small amount of suffering. Regaleon, meanwhile, seemed to have discovered a shortcut that nobody else knew existed.

It was difficult not to feel envious when someone appeared to be advancing through obstacles that had consumed hours of one’s life.

Still, envy was not the only emotion present.

There was also curiosity, suspicion, and a growing awareness that Regaleon’s Soul Essences might be far more unusual than they had initially believed.

While the others continued watching the ascension, Aureleah silently approached Caelestra, who had remained near Regaleon throughout the earlier stages of his cultivation.

"Did you see what happened while he was cultivating?"

Caelestra turned toward her.

Aureleah’s question was carefully phrased, but its implication was obvious. She had not been present when Regaleon began replenishing his Aether, and she suspected that the Merchant might have witnessed something that could explain the current phenomenon.

Although Caelestra had not seen every moment of the process, she had been directly involved in providing Regaleon with the resources he needed. That made her an important witness to whatever had led to the Halberd’s sudden transformation.

Caelestra nodded.

"Initially, he asked me for more Aether Cores because the ones he had absorbed weren’t sufficient to push his Soul Essences across the threshold. Unfortunately, we had already exhausted our supply, so I suggested using Essence Crystals instead."

"Essence Crystals?" Aureleah repeated, her attention sharpening.

"Yes. I explained how to extract the Aether contained within them, and he decided to try it. I wasn’t entirely convinced it would work, but apparently, my concerns were unnecessary."

Kaeloris, who had been listening nearby, abruptly turned toward them.

"Hold on." His spectacles nearly slipped as he moved closer. "Are you telling me that Regaleon didn’t use an Aether Core this time to trigger this ascension?"

Caelestra shook her head before responding.

"Not this time. He used Essence Crystals."

"Essence Crystals?" Kaeloris repeated, sounding as though he had just discovered that stones could grow wings and migrate south for the winter.

"Yes," Caelestra confirmed, suppressing a small smile at his reaction. "I was surprised too. I genuinely thought the method might fail, but thank Aetherium, my concerns turned out to be unfounded."

Kaeloris barely heard her final words.

His mind was still struggling to reconcile the implications of what he had learned.

Regaleon’s Soul Essences were already unprecedented. Their ability to consume the strange reddish energy obtained from their slain enemies had been peculiar enough, and their apparent capacity to devour Aether with such insatiable enthusiasm was equally remarkable.

But Essence Crystals?

That was an entirely different matter.

Unlike Aether Cores, which were commonly used to replenish an Etheryean’s reserves, Essence Crystals were notoriously difficult to cultivate with. Their Aether was less accessible, and extracting it required a level of control and understanding that many ordinary practitioners lacked.

Even House Auricrest, whose members were particularly familiar with the use of Essence Crystals, did not always find them easy to handle.

Across Aetherium, these Crystals were used far less frequently than Aether Cores. Their applications were concentrated primarily in alchemy, craftsmanship, and other specialized professions, where their properties could be exploited through carefully developed techniques.

Even then, the Crystals often required extensive refinement and preparation before becoming suitable for their intended purposes.

Yet Regaleon had apparently learned to extract their Aether within minutes.

Kaeloris stared at him from a distance, his scholarly mind turning over the possibilities with increasing fascination.

Previously, Regaleon had encountered Essence Crystals only recently, when the group discovered them near the waterfall. Before that, he had possessed virtually no prior experience with them, yet he had somehow adapted to their peculiarities almost immediately.

Such adaptability was astonishing.

No, astonishing was insufficient.

It was the kind of intellectual anomaly capable of making even a seasoned scholar question whether the world operated according to the principles he had spent his life studying.

Kaeloris adjusted his spectacles, his gaze lingering on the Halberd as its crimson markings pulsed beneath the silver radiance.

Perhaps Regaleon was not merely fortunate... Or perhaps he possessed some monstrous talent that had yet to reveal its full extent.

And if that were the case, there was no telling what other secrets the silver-haired Knight might be concealing.

The thought stirred Kaeloris’s curiosity, but it was not the pleasant curiosity of a scholar discovering an interesting new subject.

It was something sharper and more calculating.

He wanted to understand Regaleon, to uncover the principles governing his extraordinary Soul Essences and determine just how far their peculiar abilities could extend.

For the first time, Kaeloris found himself wondering whether Regaleon’s greatest secret was not what he had already demonstrated, but what he had yet to reveal.

If only he knew the secrets Regaleon was keeping, Aetherium alone knows how he would had reacted...