Chapter 323: New Partner

Inside the orb, Priam remained floating in a completely empty and dark environment, wearing a neutral and indifferent expression.

The moment he entered that space, a terrifying spatial pressure struck him, crushing him from all sides.

The force was brutal enough to reduce the body of any Enlightened Sage to a shapeless mass of flesh; even a Philosopher Sage would die with extreme ease unless they were someone far above average and specialized in defensive techniques.

However...

Priam simply activated the System’s Domain. End of story.

Half an hour passed without incident. He remained there, simply sensing and analyzing the immense power surrounding him.

Through the System, Priam had obtained theoretical knowledge about Space-Time energy. However, learning to directly manipulate and use any energy with which his bloodlines had no innate affinity required a colossal amount of time and effort.

’Now that I’ve advanced to the next Rank, I urgently need to obtain a new bloodline... Hopefully, some powerful bastard looking to die, carrying an incredible bloodline, shows up at my doorstep soon. I don’t want to absorb some random bloodline just for the sake of having one.’

A race that could control space would be the perfect scenario. Still, any peculiar ability that fit well with his existing set of techniques would do.

Luckily, this world was full of powerful bastards. Sooner or later, a good opportunity would come along.

When the forty-minute mark was reached, the space around him abruptly froze.

Right above him, a pair of white eyes and the silhouette of a colossal face emerged from the darkness. Priam could feel a vast and oppressive aura emanating from that presence, which surprised him.

It was the unmistakable pressure of Creation Essence.

However, that figure clearly wasn’t a Sage.

At that moment, a powerful voice echoed through the dimension like a resounding thunderclap:

"Less than thirty years old, and already a Celestial Enlightened Sage. Compared to the hundreds of millions of disciples throughout the entire history of the branch, you can be considered to be at the absolute peak..."

The entity paused briefly, letting out a heavy sigh.

"I’m pleased to see that the sect was capable of producing someone at this level. If the Sovereign Goddess were still alive, she would certainly accept you as her direct disciple."

Priam let out a discreet snort.

Him becoming Dandara’s disciple? Just imagining himself in that position already seemed bizarre.

The creature speaking was none other than the consciousness responsible for controlling the pavilion’s great inscription. Just like the weapons and artifacts of the Sages, which possessed lives of their own, its core had been installed to manage everything.

It was certainly the core of an Ancient Artifact. Something with intelligence high enough to perform such a task.

Judging by its words, that entity had existed and witnessed events since the time when the Sovereign Goddess was still alive.

’Oh!’

Suddenly, a bold thought crossed Priam’s mind.

That figure was one of the very few existences that had actually known Dandara in the past.

Could it recognize her?

Probably not in the state she was in now. Perhaps that would only be possible once Dandara became a Sage and managed to manifest her "inheritance" at a much higher level, approaching her former glory.

"You have passed the test to obtain this Spiritual Artifact," the voice continued solemnly.

"However, as the evaluator, I received a direct order from the Goddess in the past: all young individuals with extraordinary talent must undergo a bonus test. Ever since my 11th Branch fell into disgrace, I have never performed this procedure. Even in ancient times, I witnessed only half a dozen talents comparable to yours. You may choose whether to accept or refuse."

"Hmm? And what do I get if I accept?" Priam asked calmly.

"A fraction of my core energy will be granted to you. I can sense that the Creation Essence in your meridians is still suffering from colossal rejection by your physical body; this conflict will be completely corrected at your current level. But that is only a secondary benefit. The main beneficiary will be the Spiritual Artifact, which will receive a direct infusion of Primordial Energy."

Priam became excited at the first point, but frowned when he heard the second.

"Primordial Energy? I’ve never heard of anything like that."

"That’s natural. This energy does not manifest spontaneously in our world. You can only obtain it by undertaking missions in distant worlds," it replied calmly. "I heard there was a recurring mission in which everyone invariably failed—restricted exclusively to Mages—where a peculiar stone could be found that was capable of being converted into this energy. A great deal of this power could be found in that mission. But there are several other places with similar resources. In any case, I have a considerable reserve of this energy and can give you a portion of it."

Hearing that for the first time, Priam’s eyes lit up intensely.

It was referring to the Great Mist Stone!

He possessed crystals overflowing with that energy—a practically infinite amount!

Priam already knew that Sages coveted the power contained within that stone and paid fortunes for it, but until then, he had been unaware of its actual applications. Apparently, this was one of its major uses.

"I accept," Priam replied calmly, hiding his excitement.

At that moment, the space in front of him subtly distorted. Then... a black flame emerged.

In a single second, the flame twisted and condensed, taking the shape of a metallic black sphere.

"Receive your reward. Use the test to experiment with it and familiarize yourself with its functions; throughout the entire process, it will automatically absorb the energy."

Priam nodded and reached out to grab it.

The object was extremely cold and rigid, but he could feel that it was hollow inside. That Etherium Artifact could change its shape into any structure he desired.

"Channel your soul energy into the core. The flow will be absorbed, sealing an unbreakable bond with the weapon," the voice instructed calmly.

Priam did exactly as instructed. Inside the black sphere rested a glowing energy core.

Within seconds, Priam’s soul energy fused with the Artifact’s core. The connection was instantaneous, as if a new nerve ending had appeared inside his body.

"Let’s fight together..." Priam murmured.

In his mind, he projected the exact image of a pair of gauntlets—a peculiar design he remembered from some famous game on Earth.

As if reading his thoughts, the sphere of Etherium in his hand trembled.

The amorphous metal split into two halves and flowed like black liquid toward his fists, wrapping around his hands, wrists, and forearms.

The material quickly took shape, solidifying into articulated plates of absolute matte black. Sharp, geometric segments overlapped with millimeter precision, covering his knuckles and extending up his forearms in a sturdy and intimidating structure. They looked as if they had been sculpted from pure darkness, gleaming with a subtle, threatening metallic sheen.

"It’s incredibly light...!"

Remembering Elder Nozan’s words, Priam channeled his Ether directly into the Artifact’s core. The core was located in the center of his right palm—his dominant hand.

*BUZZZ!*

With a deep hum, the gauntlets reacted. As the Ether flowed through them, the amorphous metal became denser. The weight began skyrocketing at an absurd rate, transforming its initial lightness into an overwhelming mass.

Priam continued feeding it his Ether little by little. The weight kept increasing and increasing... until Priam was startled by just how heavy it was becoming.

He stopped the flow. More than half of the Ether he had was burned up, and the weight had already reached a point where even he felt it was excessive.

’What’s the limit of Ether I can inject?’

Before he could even fully formulate the question, a clear answer echoed in his mind: he had only used 20% of its maximum capacity.

It was as if the Artifact had sent the answer directly into his mind. Its consciousness couldn’t speak, but it understood his questions and desires perfectly. It could even answer things related to itself with precision.

’You need a name...’ Priam thought. ’How about Ananke? It’s the name of a mythological deity. It means Necessity, Inescapable, or the Force of Destiny. It fits your rigidity and inflexibility perfectly.’

A satisfied vibration resonated through the metal around his fists.

’Great. Let’s fight together for the first time, Ananke,’ Priam said, banging his fists together with a resonant metallic clang.

Since this Artifact was a true consciousness, with a soul and everything, Priam couldn’t think of Ananke as an object, but rather as a new partner.

The natives of this world probably thought about things completely differently. But Priam didn’t want to change who he was. No one truly deserved to be treated like an object, even if they looked like one.

As he clenched his black fists, he noticed that his fighting potential had multiplied.

How could gauntlets be this heavy? And he’d barely used 20% of their maximum weight.

Priam had never imagined himself using any kind of weapon in his life. After all, his imagination had never been able to predict that this world would have something as strange as this metal.