Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Arran stared at his outstretched hand, amazed at what he saw. From his palm surged forth a small stream of fire.
For a moment, he worried that his hand was burning, but he felt no pain, and his hand remained untouched by the fire. Oddly, it barely even felt warm.
After some moments, the fire dimmed. Soon, it had disappeared entirely.
"How did I do that?" he asked. He knew he had produced the fire, but he did not understand how.
"You used Fire Essence to create fire," Master Zhao said.
"Why didn't it burn me?" The fire in Arran's palm had been real, yet it did not burn him like normal fire would have done.
"The fire was created from the Fire Essence in your body," Master Zhao replied patiently. "It's as much a part of you as your hand itself."
"So I can control it?" Arran asked.
"Magic wouldn't be much use otherwise," Master Zhao said curtly.
"How?" Having tasted a small bit of power, Arran already longed for more.
"First, close your eyes and concentrate, then try to sense the Realms and Essence inside you," Master Zhao said. "After that, I will show you how to control it."
Arran did what Master Zhao told him. Sitting still, he closed his eyes, then focused his attention inward.
At first, he could not sense anything. Yet slowly, he started to feel a peculiar energy flowing inside his body. It was thin, like mist, but it was there. This, he realized, was Essence.
When he first sensed it, all of it seemed the same, but as he examined it more closely, he found three different types, mixed together in what appeared like a thin fog.
The first type was distinct and abundant, glowing brightly and moving with vigor. Immediately, Arran knew that this must be Fire Essence.
The second type was less abundant than the first. It flowed inside him like a fog, barely discernible, as if it was trying to conceal itself. Only with effort could he sense it within himself. This, he guessed, should be Shadow Essence.
The third type was wholly different from the first two. He could barely sense it, and compared to the other two types there was only a fraction of it present in his body. When he examined it, it shocked him how wild and violent it was, as if it would resist any attempts at controlling it.
This last type, he realized, must be the Essence from his forbidden Realm.
As he became familiar with the Essence within his body, Arran was surprised to learn that it seemed to emanate from three distinct spots within his mind.
Focusing his mind on the spots, he soon realized that these were the sources for the different kinds of Essence he sensed. He knew these would be his Realms.
"I can sense the Essence, and the Realms!" Arran said excitedly, opening his eyes.
"Good," Master Zhao said. "Then we can move on. Time for you to get your first real taste of magic."
Arran nodded eagerly. He had many questions, but right now, all he could think about was actually using magic.
"We will start with Fire Essence," Master Zhao said. "You already got a taste of that earlier, so it should be the easiest one."
"What do I do?" Arran asked.
"Focus on the Fire Essence within your body," Master Zhao said. "Once you sense it, use your will to move it into your hand."
Arran followed Master Zhao's instructions, trying to sense the Fire Essence in his body once more. This time, he succeeded faster than he had earlier.
Sensing the Fire Essence, he tried to move it into his hand.
Nothing happened at first, but after a while, he could feel the Fire Essence in his hand grow denser. At the same time, it seemed to grow thinner in the rest of his body.
"It's there," Arran said. He held out his hand in front of him.
"Now try to push it outward," Master Zhao said.
Using all his willpower, Arran tried to urge the Fire Essence from his hand, but despite his efforts, absolutely nothing happened.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Master Zhao cut him off before he could say a word. "Keep trying."
For the better part of an hour, Arran tried to force the Fire Essence to emerge from his hand, failing repeatedly.
At last, he felt something happen. His eyes went wide as he saw a small flame emerge from his palm.
"I did it!"
He looked in fascination at the fire. Feeling he had only used a fraction of the Fire Essence that had pooled in his hand, he forced out more, and the fire in his palm grew until it was as large as the head of a torch.
Soon, he felt the Fire Essence in his body depleting, and the fire shrank quickly, then went out.
"Before you can continue, you need to draw more Essence from your Fire Realm," Master Zhao said.
"How do I do that?" Arran asked, eager to continue.
"That's a matter for a later time," Master Zhao replied. "For now, just let the Fire Essence in your body replenish naturally. Meanwhile, we will move on to Shadow."
Arran was unwilling to move on from Fire, but with his Fire Essence depleted, he had little choice.
Repeating what he had done earlier, he stretched out his arm, then focused on the Shadow Essence inside of him.
Having already controlled Fire Essence, Shadow proved to be much easier. Again he willed the Essence into his arm, then into his hand.
It wasn't long before a faint shadow appeared in the palm of his hand.
Seeing the result, Arran was not impressed. "That's it?"
With his current skill, Fire might not yet be of much use, but he could imagine that eventually, he would be able to throw deadly fireballs at his opponents.
Compared to that, Shadow seemed downright disappointing. The ability to form a shadow in his hand did not seem like something he would ever need.
"You think Shadow is useless, do you?" Master Zhao said the words with a grin.
In an instant, the man disappeared. With just the light of the campfire, Arran found himself completely unable to find him.
"Still think it's useless?" Master Zhao's voice sounded amused.
Arran hastily shook his head.
Master Zhao appeared in the same place where he sat earlier. "But there is another reason you need to learn to use Shadow," he said. "A more important one."
With a serious expression, he continued, "Now that you have opened your Realms, skilled mages can easily sense your Realms and your Essence."
Arran was startled. "So the first mage I meet will know about… about my forbidden Realm?"
"The first skilled mage, yes," Master Zhao said. "The only Essence that others cannot sense is Shadow Essence. That is why, by using Shadow Essence, mages can conceal their powers."
"Then I can hide it?" Arran asked nervously.
Master Zhao nodded. "Once you become skilled at using Shadow magic, you can conceal your forbidden Realm."
"Once I become skilled?" Arran wondered how long that would take.
"For the time being, I will seal off your forbidden Realm," Master Zhao said. He reached out with his hand, putting his fingers against Arran's temple.
Arran's vision briefly went blurry. When it cleared, he found that where the forbidden Realm had been earlier, there now was a tangle of threads that seemed to be made from pure Shadow Essence.
"The remaining Essence from the forbidden Realm should dissipate within a day or so," Master Zhao said. "After that, not even I could find it — if I didn't know about it already."
"I thought you said others can't sense one's Shadow Essence? Why can I sense the seal you made?" For every answer Master Zhao gave him, Arran could have asked a dozen questions.
"It's much easier to sense Essence when it's inside you," Master Zhao said. By now, he looked somewhat weary.
"How long will it last?" Arran asked, although he could tell that Master Zhao's patience with his questions was wearing thin.
"Until I remove it," Master Zhao replied. "Once you learn to control Shadow Essence, you will be able to remove it as well."
"If you don't remove it…" Arran had a sudden thought. "Won't I be able to live a normal life, as a mage?"
"As long as the seal remains there, nobody will know about the forbidden Realm. Now, enough with the questions. Get some sleep, we leave in the morning."
The tone of Master Zhao's voice made it clear that the conversation was over.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 9
Arran stifled a yawn. He had not slept at all the previous night, instead practicing his use of Fire Essence until the break of dawn.By now he could form a flame in his hand almost instantly, and each time he did, a big grin appeared on his face.To Arran's surprise, Master Zhao did not chastise him for his overeagerness. Instead, he merely looked on in approval."The more you practice your magic, the stronger you will get," Master Zhao had said, and Arran was only too happy to follow the man's advice.Halfway through the morning, Arran was once more waiting for his Fire Essence to replenish. As he walked beside the cart, he looked at their surroundings.It had been several days since he had last seen any sign of other people, and not a single farm or cottage could be seen amid the low hills that surrounded them.Arran did not know which part of the Empire they were in — nor, truth be told, did he know what parts the Empire even had — but it was clear that this region was more sparse
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 10
Arran looked at the town ahead of them with some excitement. It had been months since they had last visited anything bigger than a village, and he missed the feeling of being around people other than Master Zhao."I almost forgot," Master Zhao said. He tapped two fingers against Arran's head, and the seal that covered Arran's forbidden Realm disappeared."Why did you remove it?" Arran asked anxiously. With the seal gone, he immediately worried about being discovered by the Academy."There should be no Academy mages nearby," Master Zhao said. "And we're about to visit someone who could help you hide."The words did little to reassure Arran, but he had no choice but to accept them.When they entered the town, Arran was reminded of Riverbend. It held a few thousand people at most, and the houses looked old and cozy, with smoke wafting from stone chimneys.They followed the main street for a time, passing by houses and stores, with the townsfolk
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 11
The other initiates stared at Arran as if he had told them he had never seen the sun."You don't know what stages are?!"Arran could not see who spoke, but the voice sounded dumbfounded. From the looks on the initiates' faces, it could have been any of them.Adept Kadir turned toward the initiates. "All of you, get back to your training," he said in a firm tone that allowed no argument.Reluctantly, the initiates followed Adept Kadir's command, although several of them shot curious looks at Arran. It was obvious that his words had shocked them."Did I say something wrong?" Arran asked Adept Kadir, feeling uncomfortable.The man turned toward Arran. "Not wrong, exactly. Follow me, we should talk."Arran followed Adept Kadir to a small room at the side of the training hall. Inside were a desk and some chairs, but little else. The stone wall
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 12
Arran narrowly dodged the sword slashing at his head, then countered with a quick thrust to his opponent's chest. His opponent parried effortlessly, in a single slash knocking Arran's sword aside and striking Arran's ribs.He staggered backward, rubbing the painful spot where he had just been struck."Demon's balls!" Arran cursed. "Brother Amar, how do you do that?""Just a bit of luck, Brother Wei An," Initiate Guha said. Grinning, he added, "Luck, and a slow opponent."It had been over a week since Adept Kadir had told Arran he would ask Grandmaster Windsong for a Wind Realm scroll, but the man had not broached the subject since then.Moreover, since that first day, there had been no sign whatsoever of either Master Zhao or Windsong, and Arran had been left with nothing to do but practice with the initiates.At first, Arran's initial display had brought him
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 13
Arran looked at the scroll that lay in front of him. It looked much like the ones he had seen before, but this time, he would have to open the Realm it gave without the aid of Master Zhao.With a deep sigh, he picked up the scroll and began to study it.The characters were completely different from the ones on the scrolls that gave him his Fire and Shadow Realms. The strokes were thinner and sharper, almost as if they had been written by someone using his pen like a sword, slashing the paper with ink.As he read the scroll, he felt the familiar tingle of Essence. Now that he was more familiar with Essence, he could sense that the type held within the scroll was lively and turbulent, like a strong autumn breeze.He pondered it for a moment, understanding that the scroll must be infused with Wind Essence. Drawing the Wind Essence from the scroll into his body, he thought, somehow created a connection b
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 14
When Arran reached the training hall, he found no one inside. Of course there was no one there, he thought — he did not know the time, but the sky was dark and the monastery grounds were empty. It would be either very late at night or very early in the morning.He briefly considered heading to the cottage where Adept Kadir lived, but then rejected the thought.While he was eager to show Adept Kadir his newly opened Wind Realm, he very much doubted the man would appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night.After a moment's thought, he headed to the room where he had stayed before he was sent to the Realm Opening Cell. It was in one of several buildings that housed the monastery's initiates, and as he entered he took care not to wake the others.He found his own room empty, with the bag that held his belongings placed in a corner. The room itself was not much different from the one where
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 15
"Grandmaster Windsong!" Adept Kadir banged his fist against the hardwood door for the third time, and still, no reaction came.He shook his head with an annoyed sigh, then opened the door and stepped inside. Arran quickly followed him.The first thing that caught Arran's eye once they entered were the bottles. There were dozens, most of them empty, scattered all across the room. It was as if half an army had spent the night drinking in the chamber.At the far end of the chamber stood two couches, with a small table in between. Grandmaster Windsong and Master Zhao each occupied one of the couches, and on the table, Arran saw a board of stones.As they entered, Windsong raised his head. "Adept Kadir? Why are you disturbing us?" He sounded irritated, and it was clear that he did not welcome the interruption."This could not wait," Adept Kadir said. "Master Fireheart's apprentice is
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 16
Arran looked at the monastery in wonder. From where he stood, it looked like a miniature.The journey up the mountain had taken them the better part of the morning, and now, they were on the side of the mountain, a thousand feet above the monastery and the town.The view filled Arran with awe. It was like standing on top of the world."Not scared of heights, are you?" Initiate Guha grinned. The young man navigated the narrow mountain paths with terrifying neglect, and several times, Arran had been convinced he would plunge down into the depths below."I've never been up this high," Arran said. "It's…" He lacked the words to describe what he felt."You'll get used to it," Initiate Guha said with a grin.Initiate Jiang silently glared at them. Ever since Adept Kadir had come to take her and Initiate Guha away from the other initiates her mood had been fo
Latest Chapter
- 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
- Forbidden Sphere
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
- Forbidden Sphere
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
- Forbidden Sphere
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
