Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1213: The Unexpected Protection

Armin had no idea that the Spirit Queen was already mocking him.

He simply ascended the freshly revealed staircase, fueled by his ambition to claim ownership of the Arcane Tower...

By doing so, when he went back to the Academy to aid it or assist the students, he'd prove far more dependable!

Armin's breath steadied momentarily, yet as he advanced toward the upcoming ordeal, his frame began to shake from the toll of the earlier tests.

It appeared that despite the Spirits' support, his physical limits were reaching their end...

True enough, the sixth floor had almost shattered him, though the spirits had pulled him forward. Now, upon entering the seventh floor, he instantly perceived that this level stood apart.

The room stretched wide, round, and brimmed with Arcane Energy akin to Chaos Arts!

"What challenge awaits now?"

The entrance behind him slammed shut abruptly, blocking any chance of retreat. Next, in the room's heart, a massive shape emerged. It wasn't human or animal, yet he grasped that it embodied the Tower's very essence.

Its shape remained incomplete, as though it might vanish in an instant...

Then, peering more intently, Armin saw the figure shift: at times a cloaked wise man, others a winged protector, and occasionally a shadowy form without features.

It proved rather fascinating...

Before long, the Tower Guardian's voice resounded... It carried a more robotic tone too.

"You've withstood reflection, paradox, and essence. Yet the Tower rejects mere survivors. To rise higher, demonstrate that destiny itself yields to your command."

Armin gulped nervously. "What exactly do you mean?"

The Guardian lifted its arm, and the room morphed entirely.

In an instant, Armin found himself encircled by illusions... Innumerable life routes extended from him like flowing streams. One depicted him as a despot devoured by Dark Arts. Another showed him overlooked, shattered, and lingering in the orphanage... That was surely his path without the Elixir's opportunity or the unexpected Pocketwatch inheritance.

Still, in one more route, victory crowned him as he rose to Tower Master.

The Guardian intoned...

"Which fate claims you? Select it... Though each selection brings repercussions. For acceptance, confront the destiny that terrifies you most... endure it fully."

Armin's heart pounded. He grasped it slowly, realizing he needed to live through all his potential destinies!

Sure enough, the mirrors had revealed these options earlier, but now he had to live them.

Abruptly, the room altered... and Armin materialized in a realm shrouded in Darkness.

At that moment, he understood his Dark Arts had overtaken him, likely plunging him into the insanity bred by Dark Arts.

Even so, he witnessed his shadowed rule. Yet trailing him lay his fallen allies, including Vale, his mentor!

The twisted self advanced. It resembled a deranged or grimy likeness of him.

"This reveals your true nature. Unbridled power. Destiny devoid of allegiance. Yield, and the Tower bestows it all."

It persisted in deceiving him, until Armin comprehended the trial's core.

The allure proved utterly overpowering. Boundless might, eternal life, absolute rule... all for forsaking everything, even his mentor!

'But... They ought to intervene soon, right before I choose wrongly.' Armin pondered.

And true to form, the spirits stirred in his shadow, murmuring gently.

They revealed glimpses of Vale’s lessons, his comrades who battled alongside, the devotion that propelled him here.

Armin balled his hands into fists.

His thoughts sharpened once more...

"Grateful for this edge... I'd crumble without your aid."

With a fierce yell, he released his Mystic Energy, ensnaring the warped self!

Quickly, the shape wailed, then dissolved into vapor.

"That was straightforward..." Armin swelled with pride, certain he'd chosen wisely here.

Yet the trial persisted...

The room transformed anew. Now Armin beheld himself ruined, ignored in his old orphanage... No soul recalled his name, none celebrated his actions. He amounted to zilch in this route...

Fortuitously, before despair and self-pity could grip him, the Spirits yanked him free again...

He caught a voice saying, "This is unavoidable. Oblivion awaits you. Why resist? Why battle? Embrace your lot."

Maybe, if he'd lingered in confusion, he'd have surrendered easily. But things had shifted!

"So close..."

Armin's legs wobbled as fatigue washed over him... The Spirits drew on his vitality too, yet since they aided him, he resolved to press on.

As anticipated, the spirits pressed forward amid the ongoing test... Armin received their mental nudges to steady him!

Armin lifted his gaze. "Exactly... Being forgotten doesn't faze me..."

With that, the shattered self dissolved, plunging the space into quiet.

***

At last, the room changed for the final time. Armin faced the Guardian again.

"You've tackled the trials directly... Now, confront reality. Who do you truly become?"

Armin shut his eyes.

This query demanded depth...

He sensed the spirits inside and their purpose. Memories flooded of each ordeal, each setback, every rescue by the Spirits.

After inhaling deeply, he declared.

"I am Armin... Disciple to Immortal Vale. Flawed I may be, yet I welcome aid. I welcome destiny... and I welcome who I am."

Instantly, the Guardian's shape solidified into a radiant giant. It extended its arm, igniting the room's Formation Arrays.

"You've welcomed choice and certainty. Acceptance is yours..."

Abruptly, the room quaked.

Without announcement, numerous Arcanists throughout the Tower sensed the impending shift from the Dark Arts Tower's alterations.

It looked like the Mystic Arts Tower prepared to seal itself!

Likely, it had chosen its rightful master!

Thus, on the floors below, myriad Arcanists training or facing trials got abruptly ousted... Energy surges bore their forms outward.

"What in the world?! Did somebody claim it?!"

"Oh no! How long until it reopens?!"

"I'm nearly finished with my Spell Model! Why right now?!"

"Ugh! The one behind this owes us big time."

Countless Arcanists voiced their frustration.

Still, they held no power to alter it!

***

Meanwhile, within the Tower, as the Guardian's words ebbed, the room started crumbling into fog.

Armin’s legs buckled, and his sight dimmed.

A crushing burden squeezed his chest, and before uttering a word, his form collapsed.

He blacked out!

The ritual commenced.

Much like Lisa's earlier in the Dark Arts Tower, Armin now underwent the inheritance stage. This shift would span days, reshaping his build and refining his core with the Tower’s might.

While his body rested still, his shadow stirred... Faint at first, then gaining force.

Suddenly, the ten concealed spirits within him began to shift...

By now, they required no Spirit Queen’s help. Freedom to act independently arrived!

"The time has come... As he slumbers, defenses down."

"Strike here, and we'll seize beyond his shadow... Full dominance awaits."

Gradually, spirit tendrils wound toward Armin’s dormant soul, seeking flaws. They aimed to embed deeper, grasping body control amid the Tower’s reforging.

And distant, in Vale’s Immortal Tower depths, the Spirit Queen detected it.

Concern flickered for her Spirits, yet she recognized remote meddling proved impossible...

"Don't falter now..." The Spirit Queen whispered, reduced to observing...

Fortunately, the spirits schemed slyly, masking aims within the inheritance surge. Briefly, triumph loomed.

Then, without warning...

Armin’s golden pocketwatch, his constant heirloom, burst into brilliance!

"What?!" The Spirit Queen jolted. She'd examined it earlier, deeming it no mighty Artifact!

Yet now, golden waves pierced the gloom.

The spirits shrank back, shrieking as the watch’s sheen scorched their grasping strands!

Defeat struck!

"That watch... guarding him?!"

The golden glow steadied Armin’s core, barricading his soul against invasion.

The spirits retreated into quiet, barred from further meddling!

All unfolded as Armin slept on!

The Spirit Queen gripped her fists in irritation.

"No wonder Vale entrusted him... That pocketwatch hides true power."