Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1214 1214: The Timepiece
Previously on Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy...
The Spirit Queen was utterly baffled by the events that had unfolded.
Her spirits were on the verge of embedding themselves even further into Armin's soul amid the inheritance process, but the golden pocketwatch suddenly shone with a fierce light that repelled them...
Though she suffered no injury herself, she sensed that the spirits lurking in Armin's shadow had grown feebler.
She balled her hands into tight fists while attempting to scrutinize the object.
'That little ornament... I inspected it earlier. It seemed completely mundane. How is it defying me now?'
However, the reality was far beyond her grasp.
The pocketwatch was anything but ordinary. It had once been in Vale's possession, and though he had pulled out much of its usable power via his Divine Extraction System, it remained a profound mystical artifact.
He had harnessed its drawn-out essence to bolster his cultivation journey, acquiring knowledge and assets that propelled him toward Immortality.
Even so, Vale, for all his expertise, had found that certain depths of power in the watch lay beyond his ability to extract.
Those hidden depths were sealed by bloodline ties.
The pocketwatch's genuine might would only stir to life for the heirs of its first possessor, a bloodline almost certainly linked to the Paragons.
Vale had figured this out ages ago, and upon learning of Armin's ancestry, he grasped the fact: Armin was among those heirs.
This was precisely why Vale took him on as a disciple. Not just from compassion or luck, but to keep watch over the pocketwatch's sleeping potential and prevent it from landing with unworthy foes.
Vale had gained from the relic, yet he recognized its ultimate purpose wasn't for him to seize. Silently, he handed it to Armin, confident that eventually, its real essence would emerge.
The Spirit Queen remained ignorant of all this.
In her eyes, the watch was nothing more than a basic keepsake, a mere nostalgic bauble. She had totally misjudged its worth.
Nevertheless, she wouldn't yield.
From her throne of shadowy crystal, she channeled her determination into the spirits once more.
"Try once more," she ordered resolutely, even as her form grew frailer.
"Delve further. Spot flaws in his core and seize any fragment of his soul you can!"
The spirits complied, weaving into Armin's shadow while he remained out cold.
They twisted around his soul, hunting for vulnerabilities. Yet whenever they neared, the pocketwatch throbbed with golden luminescence, slicing their connections and scorching their forms.
The Queen muttered a curse. "Again!"
They launched a second effort. On this try, they avoided obvious tendrils, masking their approach within the Tower's inheritance currents. Still, the watch blazed even fiercer, its glow piercing all illusions.
"Again!" she snarled, her presence quaking with fury.
A third push came next, with every one of the ten spirits merging their forces.
They enveloped Armin's soul in a shroud of darkness, clenching their hold.
For an instant, victory appeared within reach. But suddenly, the pocketwatch's light swelled like a pulsing vein, demolishing their shroud and flinging them into retreat.
"This..."
The Queen slumped onto her bed, hacking up a cough... Her aura began to waver perilously. "Impossible... How dare a simple relic defy me? Defy us?"
Her mouth twisted into a sour grin. "Vale... you cunning Immortal. You foresaw this. You handed him that watch on purpose. You've concealed its real power from me."
She realized that no wretched Arcanist could ever claim the pocketwatch. The sole way he possessed it was through Vale's generosity.
She persisted, attempt after attempt, each one more frantic than before.
But the outcome stayed unchanged; the pocketwatch's golden sheen guarded Armin utterly, blocking her every meddling.
At last, she fell back, drained as her frame shook from the effort. "Curse you, Armin. Curse you, Vale. I won't abandon this... but right now, victory eludes me."
Her gaze sharpened, a subtle grin forming on her lips amid the irritation.
"Fine then. If direct control slips from my grasp for the moment, I'll bide my time. The Tower has chosen you, binding your destiny to mine. Since coercion won't work... I'll have to approach this with subtlety, it seems."
The Spirit Queen let out a sigh upon reaching this conclusion...
Her new scheme was to dominate the Mystic Arts Tower by forging a link with Armin!
She shut her eyes, concentrating her splintered aura. "Spirits... heed me. Cease all efforts to claim him. Instead, deepen your ties and steer him, earn his faith."
This strategy was straightforward, yet it demanded patience and time...
Regardless, once he rose as the master of the Mystic Arts Tower, it would serve their interests. That Tower suited their essence ideally...
With that, the ten spirits flickered softly in acknowledgment.
They knew their new role...
Should Armin embrace them wholly, they could embed into the Tower's heart, gradually extending their sway until the structure itself yielded to the Queen's desires.
The Queen grinned...
Via Armin, she was certain Vale would suspect nothing.
He'd assume his disciple was merely advancing, unaware that she was already shaping the young man.
***
Meanwhile, in a distant realm, Vale stayed oblivious to the Queen's plots. He immersed himself in meditation within his Immortal Tower...
Yet one of his Avatars, positioned at the Academy, caught wind of pressing updates.
He had just heard that the Mystic Arts Tower had abruptly sealed itself, expelling every Arcanist save for his disciple, Armin!
This pointed to just one possibility: a fresh master had emerged, and it was undoubtedly Armin!
Vale felt a surge of thrill...
"Lisa has taken hold of the Dark Arts Tower. And now... Armin has gained the Mystic Arts Tower's favor?"
Vale had anticipated Armin would challenge the Tower someday, but not this quickly, and especially not triumphantly. The Mystic Arts Tower wasn't even aligned with his primary Arcane Path! It could easily spurn even veteran experts.
"Fascinating..." the Avatar whispered. "I wonder if the Temporal Timepiece plays a part in this."