Chapter 816 Four Pillars: Sellifer
After waiting in the darkness for a while, Valyr eventually found his surroundings undergo a gradual change, bringing color to what was essentially a blank canvas.
Noticing how the world that appeared before him seemed to be somewhat muted, the young man furrowed his brows for a bit as he wondered whether his earlier thoughts were correct.
Though, by the time he saw the ground being covered in vast stretches of water alongside trees having trunks made out of leaves, that worry had instantly disappeared.
"I had a feeling my hunch was correct," Valyr muttered to himself as he faintly chuckled. "The owner had something to do with the Shadow Plane."
At the very moment he focused his attention on the Azure Serpent Staff, Valyr took note of the aura it was emanating, its ferocity more or less similar to the weapons within the same layer.
However, unlike the other weapons in the vicinity, the Azure Serpent Staff seemed to have another kind of aura overlaid on top of its original.
Then again, Valyr was only able to sense this aura after focusing his attention on the staff for a long time...
As well as being attuned to the same type of energy the second aura was emanating. nove(l)bi(n.)com
With the energy's more than obvious flavors of destruction, despair, and chaos, Valyr instantly knew that he was dealing with a weapon that had something to do with Shadow Energy.
Focusing his attention on the weapon itself, he soon noticed that a considerable portion of the grooves were etched out with Shadow Energy in mind, working alongside the grooves that were etched for mana.
Seeing both mana and Shadow Energy work in tandem in a weapon, Valyr's eyes widened in realization at that moment as it seemed that the weapon was showing him the goal that the Triad Gates had given him a glimpse of.
A complete fusion of both mana and Shadow Energy into a greater form of energy.
Thanks to the rewards he had gotten from both the Gates of Enlightenment and Awakening, Valyr had been introduced to the concept of fusing mana into a skill that was inherently powered by Shadow Energy.
Then, with the insights he had gained in Shadow Energy from the Chambers of Enlightenment, he found out that Shadow Energy and mana acted as two sides of the same coin.
While one focused on destruction and chaos, the other focused on creation and order.
From the name of the weapon alone, Valyr took his chances, especially after Vaughn had indirectly confirmed the thoughts in his mind.
And with the Shadow Plane appearing before him as he began his journey in inheriting the owner's path...
It seemed that his gambit had paid off.
Whoosh!
After the entire Shadow Plane had manifested before him, Valyr watched as his surroundings turned into a blur for a brief moment as he was dragged along towards another part of the plane.
"What..." By the time his sights stopped moving, the young man was soon greeted to a sight that he did not expect to find within the Shadow Plane.
Returning her attention back to the sight before them, she then faintly uttered, "Makes sense that you've chosen to inherit my path, then."
"As stipulated by the agreement I have with the Gates of Awakening, I have no choice but to aid you in understanding the path I've taken whilst we go through my journey of power," said the woman with a shrug.
"In any case, let me introduce myself first."
"With how long I've lived so far, I've accrued a number of titles and monikers that people call me by."
"The Azure Mage, the Sage of Azure Destruction, the Blue Queen of Calamity, the Empress of Azure Shadows..."
"But as you are the inheritor of the path I've created..."
"You can call me Sellifer."
"Valyr." Seeing the woman extend her hand for a handshake, Valyr returned the greeting as he introduced himself. "Valyr Zeihardt."
Unsurprisingly, as the young man mentioned his surname, Sellifer's eyes widened in slight surprise. "Who knew a Zeihardt would eventually start dabbling in the world of Shadow Energy?"
Though, she shrugged her shoulders soon after. "Then again, who am I to judge? The road to power may have one peak, but there are a myriad number of paths that lead to it."
Letting out a faint sigh after that, Sellifer urged Valyr to return his attention to the sight before them.
Watching the couple handle the small Shadow Serpent that would eventually grow up to become the woman beside him, the young man could not stop himself from glancing at Sellifer every once in a while, wondering what her reaction would be.
"As I've mentioned earlier, I've been tasked by the Gates of Awakening to aid you in understanding the path I've taken." Seeing Valyr continue to stare at her, Sellifer inwardly scratched the back of her head as she began to speak once more.
"Whether you incorporate the path I've taken into your own or inherit the path I've taken in its entirety, that's all up to you."
"Speaking of which, I have a feeling that you think the sight before you seems incredibly mundane, but it's actually showing you a lot of information that would become useful in understanding my path later on."
Seeing Valyr tilt his head in slight confusion, Sellifer looked back at the trio down below, feeling a sense of nostalgia at the sight.
"My parents are what you would consider the usual adult Shadow Serpents," said the woman with a slight longing tone. "Their control over Shadow Energy is average, their strength is around the average for Shadow Serpents, and their talents are quite average as well."
"With that, the two of them found it quite peculiar that I was born not only with superb storage for Shadow Energy, but also great potential in terms of talent."
"After a bit more scoping, they found out that my attributes and potential abilities in every aspect were at the level of elites," she continued. "However, through their scoping, they also found out that I had an affinity for an energy that was considered to be forbidden in the Shadow Plane."
Listening to her words, Valyr raised his eyebrows in curiosity, only for his eyes to widen as he immediately understood what Sellifer was trying to say.
Seeing the young man quickly shift expressions, Sellifer inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she nodded back. "Indeed, it is what you think it is."
"Though I was born in the Shadow Plane..."
"I've been shown to have an affinity for mana."