Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein was currently engaged in long-distance interplanar communication with Leena.

In the Magus World, such communication was a capability reserved for only a few mages of Rank Two or Three.

The method Sein and Leena used for communication was independent of their physical locations in their respective worlds.

Even when both of them were in the Magus World, they were still communicating through the Undead World.

Therefore, even though Sein was now in Thunderfall World, his ability to communicate with Leena remained unhindered.

This communication channel could be established because the Thunderfall World, Undead World, and Magus World were relatively close in proximity.

Communication spanning several large star domains would likely require the capabilities of a Rank Four or higher being.

Once Sein reached Rank Four, he would no longer need to rely on the Undead World as a transit point.

The formidable powers of beings at or above Rank Four allowed them multiple ways to establish contact over vast distances.

This capability allowed Lorianne, in the Magus World, and Feylis, in the Neisse Star Domain, to communicate smoothly.

Sein realized he had been neglecting Leena due to his busy schedule filled with experimental research and war preparations.

The last time they had spoken was during his stay in the Alveroth Empire.

The empire’s flourishing magical civilization had deeply impressed Leena, who was in Blackhaven of the Western Archipelago.

Interplanar communication, once a costly endeavor, was now more manageable.

Sein had optimized the process by directly connecting the energy transmission device of the magic array to the magic tower where he was stationed.

This time, their communication was effectively sponsored by the order of knights, though Sein made sure not to exploit this arrangement.

He also utilized several surrounding magic towers to convert atmospheric lightning into a usable energy source through a specialized magic array.

The active electro elemental particles in Thunderfall World could be considered hidden resources of immense value.

In the expanded basement of Sein’s magic tower, a Thunder Beast was kept in captivity, nursing significant injuries.

While the beast’s injuries would take time to heal, it was still strong enough to charge up the magic tower using the electricity stored in the pillar-like crystals on its back.

In his conversation with Leena, Sein not only expressed his feelings of longing but also delved deeply into his recent experimental research and its findings.

Mages rarely conversed without discussing their research, as it was a universally shared topic of interest among them.

Sein also showed Leena his partially elementalized right hand and proudly announced, “Based on my experiment’s progress, I should be ready to attempt a breakthrough to Rank Two in six months.”

Sein’s rate of development had indeed surpassed many.

Even Leena, celebrated as a “genius”, would need several more years, perhaps even a decade, to reach Sein’s current level.

Leena could have actually advanced her rank sooner.

However, as a mage with vision and foresight, she understood that a solid foundation would enable her to achieve greater heights in the future.

To her, the distinction between Rank One and Rank Two was trivial; her ambitions lay far beyond—exploring the path of truth alongside Sein.

“Given your progress, I think your foundation is indeed solid enough for a breakthrough to Rank Two in six months,” she affirmed.

“You’re currently in a realm called Thunderfall World, right? What’s unique about it?” Leena asked, her curiosity evident through the screen.

Sein responded by sharing his experiences since arriving in Thunderfall World.

He described how the environment had inspired him to elementalize his body and went into detail about his other recent experiments.

His explanations also included several of his own experiment ideas and research hypotheses.

Leena proved to be an excellent listener, attentively absorbing the details of Sein’s recent research.

Her questions, interjected occasionally, were focused on the most crucial aspects, which helped Sein expand his thinking and gain significant insights.

During their conversation, Sein used the elemental vortex before him to send several unique materials and biological specimens from the Thunderfall World to Leena.

“A few creatures in the Thunderfall World could absorb lightning and power themselves up. It’s pretty strange. You can study specimen number three that I sent later,” Sein added.

“All right,” Leena responded.

Regrettably, Sein and Leena’s spatial experiments had so far only enabled screen communication and the teleportation of inanimate objects.

They had yet to figure out the teleportation of living beings.

If it had been possible, Sein would have brought Leena directly to Thunderfall World to explore this low-level plane and the path of truth together.

That would have been far superior to their interactions being limited to mere interplanar communication.

The communication with Leena lasted a total of two hours, constrained mostly by Leena’s circumstances.

She was utilizing the necromantic energy from the Catacomb Chasm of the black tower, which, if overused, could draw unwanted attention and dissatisfaction from other black mages.

Currently stationed at the Black Tower of Cinderbones, Leena faced hostility from many who were jealous of her access to extensive resources.

Fortunately, she was supported by the black tower master and Gypson, the demigod-level dean whom Sein had previously met, both of whom favored her greatly.

This high-level backing kept Leena’s position within the Black Tower of Cinderbones relatively secure for the time being.

There were rumors that the black tower master intended to take Leena as an apprentice after she completed the trial on the Knight Continent, but nothing had happened yet.

Speculation suggested that this delay might be linked to the black tower master discovering Leena’s association with Sein and White Stella’s family.

Before ending their communication, Sein shared, “The sea lizards were injured quite badly in a recent battle. Third, in particular, was nearly reduced to charcoal by electrocution—I almost thought we’d lose it, but surprisingly, it pulled through.”

Third was the smallest of the four sea lizards under Sein’s command.

During the battle on the plains west of Thunder Marsh, Sein was too preoccupied to pay much attention to the sea lizards.

After the battle, all four of the young sea lizards made it back to him alive.

Third was carried back by the other three. Though not related by blood, they were as close as brothers as they had been together for more than twenty years.

The Thunderfall World creature that had severely injured Third was slain by Heisse, the eldest of the four.

It was a rare quasi-ranked creature of Thunderfall World and its corpse was now in Sein’s underground laboratory, preserved as part of his specimen collection.

Leena nodded and replied, “All four of them are likely as resilient as an undead chimera. As long as they’re still breathing, there’s a good chance they can be saved. Feeding them high-quality flesh should help accelerate their recovery.”

“Don’t worry, I know what to do,” Sein assured her, nodding.

After the communication ended, Sein returned to his experiments.

During their conversation, Sein made no mention of House Grantt arranging a marriage for him.

Perhaps it was because he was still in denial.

In his heart, Leena was the only one he would acknowledge as his wife.

He chose not to tell her about the arrangement, hoping to spare her any sadness.