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2024-10-29 19:42:56From the center of a vast, sprawling city rose a single colossal tower. Like the buildings that surrounded it, the tower was as white as untouched snow, and it stood so tall that it looked as if it were on the verge of touching the clouds.
On the top floor of the tower was a large circular chamber, thirty feet high and a hundred wide. It was empty but for a single man. The man was tall and gaunt, with long hair as white as that of the marble from which the tower was wrought.
He stood silently, looking out over the city from one of the chamber's windows.
A knock sounded on the door.
"Enter," the man said.
The door opened, and another man entered the chamber. This man was short, with sharp features and jet-black hair.
"Lord Magistrate," the short man said. "I bring troublesome news."
"Oh?" the white-haired man said.
"Th
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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 22
"Is that a Realm Opening Pill?" Jiang Fei said, looking in wonder at the small black pill Master Zhao held in his hands.Arran frowned. Again, he found that she knew far more about the world of magic than he did."It is," Master Zhao replied."So that's how you did it!" Jiang Fei looked at Arran as if she had finally figured him out. "That's how you opened your Wind Realm so quickly!"Arran didn't correct her. Although he had not used a Realm Opening Pill for his Wind Realm, Jiang Fei did not know about his forbidden Realm.Looking somewhat smug, Jiang Fei turned her attention back to the pill. "Is it as painful as they say?" she asked, a hint of apprehension appearing in her voice."It's bad," Arran said honestly. "I passed out from the pain when I took it."Jiang Fei nodded thoughtfully. Then, she reached out to Master Zhao, who handed
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 23
"You're leaving tomorrow?!"Master Zhao nodded. "With the attention the battle at Windsong's monastery has drawn, it won't be long before the Academy sends new mages, stronger than the previous ones.""But can't we hide?" Arran asked. "After we fled Fulai City, we didn't see any signs of the Academy for half a year. Why can't we do the same again?""Because I killed over a dozen Academy mages," Master Zhao said plainly. "Before, they were just looking for an initiate with a forbidden Realm. Now, they're looking for someone who attacked the Academy."Arran frowned. "So there's no way for us to hide?""By myself, I can hide quite easily," Master Zhao said. "And even if they find me, I will have little difficulty escaping. But with you along, it will be far more difficult.""If they find us, can't you just fight them?" Arran asked. The battle at the monastery wa
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 24
Master Zhao was quiet, and Arran spent his time thinking about the journey that lay ahead of him.Just moments ago, he had believed that would learn magic with Master Zhao by his side to protect him from the Academy and any other dangers he might encounter.Now, he understood that the journey ahead would be far lonelier and more dangerous than he had previously imagined.He cast another glance at Jiang Fei. Her earlier spasms and convulsions had subsided, and now she looked peaceful, as if she was merely sleeping.Arran wondered whether she would join him on the journey to the Shadowflame Society. Master Zhao said he would invite her, but Arran doubted she would agree. She had joined them to become an apprentice to Master Zhao, after all. Now that the man was leaving, there was little reason for her to remain with Arran.As Arran gave the subject some thought, he wasn't entirely
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 25
"Can it do anything useful at all?"Jiang Fei looked at Arran with a look of frustration. She had spent much of the morning testing out her new Shadow Realm, but so far, the only thing she had accomplished was sending out a large blast of Shadow that merely disappeared the moment it touched the tree she had targeted."Nothing I've been able to accomplish," Arran answered honestly. "But Master Fireheart could use it to make himself disappear."He still called Master Zhao 'Fireheart' when speaking to Jiang Fei, although by now he was starting to doubt whether either identity was actually real."Disappear?" Jiang Fei knitted her brows. "So it's not completely useless, then…"They practiced as they walked, occasionally sending blasts of Shadow at the roadside, or trying to manipulate it into moving. Whatever they tried, however, none of it was useful in the least, and Arran fo
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 26
Although Jiang Fei had said Redwater wasn't much of a town, Arran still found himself impressed by the sight. It was several times as large as Riverbend, with numerous houses and stores, all featuring slanted black tile roofs.At first, he was confused by the town's name, but when he saw the reddish color of the river that ran through the town, he understood."It's iron," Jiang Fei explained. "There's iron in the hills between here and the mountains, and it turns the river red. Doesn't hurt the taste, though."Arran nodded, although he quietly resolved he would stick to drinking ale while he was in town. Not that that was much of a punishment, of course.As they searched for an inn, Jiang Fei made them stop several times to try the dumplings and steamed buns that were being sold by vendors on the side of the road."Try this one," she said, thrusting a steamed bun into his hands.
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 27
"They're the ones!" the shopkeeper said. "Came in and spent half a dozen gold crowns, without even haggling. At that age!"One of the white-robed figures stepped forward, a tall woman in her middle years, with black hair and coarse features."I'll take a look at them," she said with an ominous glance at Arran and Jiang Fei.As the woman approached them, Arran instinctively put his hand on his sword, although he understood the gesture to be futile. The woman noticed, and her lips twisted in a mocking smirk."You don't believe that will help, do you?"Arran was about to speak, but at that moment, Jiang Fei cut in."So now Father has sent the Academy after me?" Her tone was harsh, almost as if she was trying to provoke the Academy mages.The white-robed woman frowned in confusion. "Your father? We're not—""I will
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 28
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Arran raged at Jiang Fei.They were back at the inn, and it had been over half an hour since Stormleaf had left. They had patiently waited until they were certain they weren't being listened to, but now, Arran could finally vent."I was thinking a little lie was better than letting us get killed," Jiang Fei said flatly."A little lie?!" Arran was dumbfounded. "You agreed that we would travel with him! What are we going to do? How can we stay hidden if they're right there with us?!""It was the only choice," Jiang Fei said. "Even without finding Realms, we were too suspicious. And the Academy…" She sighed. "They would rather kill a few innocents than risk letting an enemy escape."Arran wanted to protest, but he thought she was probably right. Still, it took him some moments to calm down. When he finally regained his composure, he thought
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 29
"A proposition?" Jiang Fei asked."I assume you have at least one Realm, even if you haven't opened it yet," Stormleaf said. "I can offer you a way to open whatever Realms you have."Jiang Fei looked at him in shock. "You can do that?"Stormleaf smiled at her, then reached inside his robe. When his hand appeared again, he was holding a small black pill.Immediately, the eyes of the other two Academy mages went wide with shock."Elder Stormleaf—" the middle-aged woman began to speak, but Stormleaf silenced her with a gesture."Is that… a Realm Opening Pill?" Jiang Fei asked.The question seemed to take Stormleaf by surprise. "You know more about magic than I had expected, Miss Jiang," he said. "Although I suppose that's to be expected from a daughter of the Jiang Clan.""I have heard of them, although I ha
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- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 156
True to Snowcloud's word, she had them leave the castle at dawn.Stoneheart and Tuya saw them off as they departed, offering them wishes of good fortune on their travels, along with several small gifts.Tuya gave Arran fifty Essence Crystals, which she said was a token of gratitude for his help in disposing of the army. Arran accepted it gracefully, not bothering to point out that she'd taken twice as much for the armor he'd used. Tuya, he suspected, would have been able to easily handle the matter herself had she wanted to.Stoneheart, on the other hand, had little to offer but his gratitude. The tall novice had last his own void bag in battle months earlier, and it appeared that Elder Naran had confiscated all the belongings of the novices they'd defeated in battle.The giant Elder himself, finally, did not appear. From what Snowcloud said, he'd locked himself away weeks earlier, and it seemed that
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Chapter 155
"You idiot!" Snowcloud looked at Arran with tear-filled eyes. "I thought you had died!"Arran didn't respond. She had repeated variations on the same words at least a dozen times in just the past half hour, and by now, he understood there was nothing he could say that would make a difference.When he returned to the castle, he had expected her to be angry, even furious. What he had not expected was for her to hug him while nearly crying her eyes out.In Arran's view, this was considerably worse than anything he'd been prepared for. Her anger, he could weather. But this, he had no idea how to handle. It was clear his absence had hurt her, and that she had spent the weeks he was gone in worry, fretting that he had died or been captured.He had apologized, of course, but it seemed an apology wasn't what she wanted. As for what she did want, Arran had no idea.Part of him blamed Ston
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Chapter 154
"Our town is called Riverbend," the woman said, her voice anxious. "I am the mayor."Arran spent some moments in thought. While the village — it was far too small to be called a town — shared a name with his old hometown, the two places were thousands of miles apart, and other than being next to a river, they seemed to have little in common.Still, the name reminded him of the life he had left behind. Even if he did not regret his decision to become a mage, he wondered what things would have been like had he stayed in the real Riverbend. Calmer, probably, and certainly less bloody.Arran shook himself from his thoughts. He had more important matters to handle."What about them," he said, gesturing at the soldiers. "What are they doing here?"Before the woman could respond, one of the soldiers stepped forward, a stocky, middle-aged man with dark skin and several old scars on his face."You gonna kill us?" Although the man's expression was cautious, there was no fear in his eyes. It see
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 153
In the days after the battle, Arran hunted the escaped soldiers with grim determination. Deadly though the battle had been, many survivors had managed to flee, and thousands of them now filled the woods surrounding the camp.After just three days, he had already killed more soldiers in his hunt than he had killed during the battle, and even if most of the temporary strength of the Blood magic dissipated quickly, he could feel that there were permanent benefits, as well.Perhaps he wouldn't be able to shrug off major wounds the way he had right after the battle, but any small wounds he sustained healed easily, and his strength had more than doubled.Several times, groups of soldiers tried to ambush him. They did not live to regret the mistake. Arran's Shadowsight allowed him to see through their ambushes easily, and even if most of the strength of the initial battle had dissipated, Arran was strong enough to crush them effortlessly.More troublesome were the ones who neither fought nor
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Chapter 152
Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized h
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 151
The mage's thunderous words immediately set the entire camp in motion, and within moments, Arran's Shadowsight told him that hundreds of soldiers were beginning to move into the woods, with many more following behind them.It was exactly what he had hoped would happen, and he could not help but feel excited at seeing his enemies fall into the trap so easily. While he had prepared for the possibility that they would see through the ruse — it was hardly subtle, after all — it looked like everything would go according to plan.His spirits rose further when he realized that his enemies' advance was chaotic, lacking any sort of organization. Rather than progressing in tight ranks, as he imagined a real army would, they moved forward in a disorderly mass.Their sloppy advance allowed Arran to continue attacking in much the same way as he had before, striking quickly and furiously, then disappearing into the woods again before they could respond.Several of the soldiers had the presence of m
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 150
Arran put on the armor as quickly as he could, but it still took him more time than he would have liked. Between his coat, the helmet, the gauntlets, the gorget, the greaves, the cuisses, and all the other parts, suiting up was a slow affair, and that was hardly the only downside of wearing full armor.The quality of the armor was impressive, all the more so because Tuya had managed to find in just a few hours during the dead of night. All of it was enchanted, and it fit him better than he had any right to expect.Even so, wearing it made him slower and affected his balance, and when he put on the helmet, it immediately restricted his vision. To any other mage, the sacrifice would be far too large for a little added protection.But Arran wasn't like other mages. The control he had gained from the Tempering easily compensated for the bulk and weight of the armor, and in the dark of night, his Shadowsight would be far more useful than his eyes.When he finished suiting up, whatever part
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 149
"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.Still, even if the scouts they found would not talk, they knew they were getting closer. Just in the past two days, they had encoun
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 148
"What did he say, exactly?" Snowcloud looked at Arran intently as she asked the question.They were sitting in her quarters, which Arran could not help but notice were far nicer than his own. While he had a single room with just a bed and a desk, Snowcloud had three full rooms to herself, including a bedroom, a small library, and the well-furnished sitting room they were currently using. Not that he was jealous, of course — although a bit more space would be nice.Arran quickly told Snowcloud about his meeting with Elder Naran and Stoneheart, and the offer Elder Naran had made them.When he finished speaking, Snowcloud frowned, seeming taken aback by the idea. "He wants the two of you to face an entire army together?""I assume he wants me to defeat the army, and Stoneheart to defeat their leader," Arran explained. "With the Blood magic, the soldiers' numbers won't make much of a difference to me.""But it's an entire army," Snowcloud objected. "With thousands of soldiers."Arran shoo
