Sovereign of the Ashes

Deep within a vast silver palace complex, Sein finally met Fathis, the Rank Six Lumimancer.

The native creatures of the Sanok Star Domain generally had dark, almost ebony skin, yet they seemed extremely fond of silver.

In fact, silver artifacts were the most extravagant luxury goods in this region.

However, only the former Sanokian King possessed the power and wealth to build an entire palace complex out of silver metal.

Upon entering the palace grounds, Sein stared at the nine-colored light radiating from the buildings and could not help blurting out, “Is the entire surface of this place plated with Mithril?”

Mithril and adamantine were among the most precious metals accessible to the Magus Civilization.

They were considered “accessible” only because both metals could be extracted and purified using derivatives of gold and silver.

They were considered “precious” because the purification rates for Mithril and adamantine were extremely low.

Mithril was the best mana conductor, while adamantine was famed for its unmatched durability.

Both were sold at sky-high prices throughout the Magus Alliance.

Even with Sein’s current wealth, he could not possibly afford the absurd extravagance of building a palace complex coated in Mithril.

It would be too... wasteful!

With that much Mithril, there were far better things to spend it on.

No wonder interplanar warfare was said to be the fastest way to plunder resources.

This single palace complex, plated in Mithril, would be enough to catch the eye of any Rank Five being. Even a Rank Six would probably walk away satisfied.

Sein had been so dazzled by the palaces they passed earlier that his mind was still spinning when he finally stepped into the presence of Master Fathis.

Karazo, Darian, and the others barely reacted. They simply did not know how valuable Mithril was within the Magus Alliance.

Master Fathis was an elegant woman with long blonde hair gathered into a tidy bun.

With an alchemist’s sharp senses, Sein picked up the gentle, unmistakable aura of Mithril coming from the white-and-gold magic robe draped over her shoulders.

He had no idea whether Master Fathis had already put her spoils to practical use, but the purity of the Mithril woven into her robe seemed incredibly high.

When they met, the lady offered high praise for Sein’s performance in the previous war.

Sein had barely known any Lumimancers before this.

He was just considering whether to strike up a conversation, or maybe even ask about the deeper mysteries of lumen elemental magic, when Master Fathis suddenly cut off his report and told him someone was waiting for him in the side chamber.

“Hm?” With a curious look on his face, Sein floated toward the chamber.

Karazo, Darian, and the others stayed behind, as Master Fathis still needed to speak with these foreign deities about joining the Magus Alliance.

The moment Sein stepped into the side chamber, his mild surprise melted into genuine delight.

Two women stood waiting for him—his mentor, Lorianne, and his grandmaster, Feylis.

Grandmaster Feylis’ Verdant Flame aura felt even more refined than before.

As he stepped deeper into the room, Sein had not sensed the presence of another Rank Six being.

Sein and Grandmaster Feylis kept their emotions in check during their reunion, but Lorianne could not hide hers at all.

Sein was her only apprentice. After he was deployed to the Grand Eye Demon World’s star domain, his fate had remained uncertain for centuries, and Lorianne had assumed he was dead.

And now, out of nowhere, he was standing in front of her again.

The shock and joy of his survival hit her so hard that she did not even register that he had advanced to Rank Five.

“You have done remarkably well,” Grandmaster Feylis said. “I hear you’ve also brought several foreign beings into our Magus Alliance?”

“Yes. They are from Klythera and Blue Star. Beyond that, the Shadowbat Civilization, Marvelous Plane, and Aquaria are also potential allies,” Sein replied.

Even so, his eyes drifted again and again to Lorianne, who was standing behind Feylis.

Her eyes were still red. It was the first time Sein had ever seen his mentor like this.

Feylis did not linger on official matters. She clearly saw that master and apprentice had far more personal things to speak about. After catching up a little longer, she excused herself.

Once Grandmaster Feylis left, the room immediately felt warmer and more relaxed.

Sein had never been particularly close to his grandmaster. His feelings toward her were mostly respect and admiration.

But with Lorianne, it was different. There was a warmth and familiarity he simply could not find with Feylis.

Lorianne was definitely not like Feylis, who kept every interaction with Sein strictly professional.

The moment Feylis left, Lorianne immediately asked about his physical condition, then pulled out a generous stash of high-quality potions from her space ring.

Truth be told, Sein’s supply of potions had run dangerously low over the years.

He had burned through them during battles fought with the Klytheran powerhouses, and he had given many of his high-grade potions to them as well.

As a result, Sein was now running on fumes.

Lorianne’s batch of top-grade potions came at the perfect time.

And from a single glance, Sein could tell his mentor’s potion-making skills had grown even more refined in recent years.

Judging by their appearance and the faint elemental rhythm pulsing from each vial, they were already better than his own work by a wide margin.

To put her at ease, Sein uncorked a purple potion made for restoring stamina and drank it on the spot.

Seeing that, Lorianne’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled.

The difference between his mentor and grandmaster was striking.

Feylis mainly asked about his experiences in foreign territories and for intel on the surviving Klytherans and the natives of Blue Star. She also showed great interest in the Gray Quartz he had mentioned.

But with Lorianne there, Feylis chose not to press deeper into those topics, seeing that her apprentice was extremely concerned about Sein’s well-being.

Lorianne’s questions, meanwhile, were far more personal.

She asked whether he had been injured in recent years, whether he had faced any life-threatening moments, whether he still had enough ingredients and energy crystals to get by...

Even so, Sein still found himself preferring his mentor just a little more.

It was only with Lorianne that he finally felt at home again.

For a brief moment, he even regretted establishing the Divine Tower of Ashes.

Perhaps staying at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring under Lorianne’s wing would not have been such a bad choice.