Chapter 293: A Tug Beneath The Surface

Aureleah, who had remained silent throughout the conversation about Regaleon’s Soul Essences, finally spoke.

"But how exactly did you use the Essence Crystals to facilitate your Halberd’s ascension?"

Her silver eyes settled upon the weapon in Regaleon’s hand, studying its gleaming blade with an intensity that suggested she expected it to reveal its secrets through sheer scrutiny.

Ordinarily, Aureleah preferred to observe rather than participate in prolonged discussions, offering the occasional remark only when she considered it necessary. Words, in her opinion, were most useful when employed sparingly. There was little point in filling the air with unnecessary noise when a carefully chosen sentence could accomplish the same purpose.

This time, however, she seemed unusually determined to understand what had happened.

Even she could not deny that the circumstances surrounding Regaleon’s advancement were intriguing. His peculiar Soul Essences had always been a subject worthy of attention, but their recent behaviour had surpassed anything she could have reasonably anticipated. The fact that his Halberd had ascended twice while his Armour remained comparatively unchanged only deepened the mystery.

Regaleon turned towards her, momentarily surprised by the question, having never expected her to be so interested with his Soul Essence. Nevertheless, he still answered the question.

"Well, Caelestra explained that there was essentially no difference between the energy contained in an Aether Core and that found within an Essence Crystal. From that perspective, substituting the Cores with the crystals shouldn’t have been particularly unreasonable."

He paused, recalling his initial reluctance.

"Of course, I wasn’t entirely convinced at first. The two materials might contain similar energy, but that didn’t necessarily mean my Soul Essences would respond to them in the same way. Still, after thinking it over and examining the possibilities myself, I began to understand her reasoning."

He glanced towards Caelestra, who acknowledged his words with a small nod.

"After she explained the process, I managed to establish a connection with the crystals and draw out their energy. Once that happened, I simply allowed my Soul Essences to absorb it."

"Hmm..." Aureleah murmured, nodding thoughtfully.

For a moment, she appeared satisfied. Then her brows drew together, and she took a step closer.

"If that is the case, why didn’t you simply crush the Essence Crystals? Your Soul Essences devoured the Aether Cores before. Wouldn’t crushing the crystals have allowed them to absorb the released energy in the same manner, without requiring you to manipulate the crystals individually?"

Before Regaleon could respond, Caelestra interjected.

"Ah, about that. I specifically warned him against doing so."

The silver-haired Merchant folded her arms, adopting the composed expression of someone explaining a financial principle to a client who had just proposed setting fire to his own money.

"Once an Essence Crystal is crushed, the energy contained within it begins dissipating almost immediately upon contact with the atmosphere. The crystal’s internal structure maintains the stability of its Aether, preventing it from escaping prematurely. Break that structure, and the energy disperses before it can be used effectively."

She tilted her head towards Regaleon.

"Unless his Soul Essences could absorb the entire release instantaneously, crushing the crystals would have been an exceptionally wasteful experiment. And considering how difficult acquiring valuable cultivation materials can be, I would rather not watch him turn a fortune into a brief display of pretty lights."

Valmyr chuckled before saying. "So, in other words, he would have been throwing money away?"

"Precisely," Caelestra replied with a pleasant smile. "And I would have been thoroughly offended on behalf of the money."

The failed Vanguard laughed, while Veyrath shook his head as though the failed Merchant’s priorities had once again confirmed his suspicions about the peculiarities of wealthy people.

Aureleah, however, remained focused on the matter at hand.

"I see. That makes sense."

She fell silent for barely a moment before turning her attention back to Regaleon.

"Then why has your Armour barely advanced at all? Surely the Halberd wasn’t the only Soul Essence benefiting from the energy you absorbed. Why is it that your Halberd continues to ascend while your Armour seems content to remain where it is? This has happened twice now."

Her question hung in the air but Regaleon did not immediately respond. Instead, he regarded Aureleah for several seconds, his golden eyes resting on her composed face.

Something about the exchange struck him as unusual.

Aureleah had always been observant, and he had never mistaken her silence for a lack of intelligence. Nevertheless, she rarely pursued a subject with such persistence.

Ordinarily, Kaeloris would have been the one to bombard him with questions about the mechanics of an unexplained phenomenon, likely following each answer with three more inquiries and a speculative theory that nobody had requested.

Yet the failed Gnost had been content with asking about the superficial circumstances of Regaleon’s ascension before leaving the matter alone.

Aureleah, meanwhile, seemed determined to examine every aspect of it.

Regaleon could understand her curiosity. His advancement was unusual, and understanding the relationship between his Soul Essences might prove valuable in future battles. Nevertheless, he had not expected the development to make her so talkative.

He wondered briefly whether there was something else behind her questions.

Perhaps the extraordinary nature of his ascension had simply captured her interest. Perhaps she wanted to understand the process well enough to recognize similar phenomena in the future. Both explanations were perfectly reasonable, and neither warranted further speculation.

After all, he had more pressing matters to occupy his thoughts than wondering why one of his companions had suddenly developed a passion for interrogation.

"That is a sensible question," he eventually replied, nodding. "Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer."

He released a quiet sigh and shifted the Halberd in his grip.

"Despite being the owner of both Soul Essences, I barely understand how they function, much less why they behave differently. Sometimes, I feel as though I’m the last person who ought to be asked about them."

"That’s a rather unfortunate predicament," Kaeloris remarked dryly. "Imagine possessing two mysterious relics and being unable to consult their owner’s manual."

"If such a manual exists, I would gladly purchase a copy," Regaleon replied. "Preferably one that doesn’t require me to decipher three thousand pages of ancient inscriptions before explaining how to turn the first page."

Veyrath snorted, and even Aureleah’s lips seemed to soften by the faintest degree.

Yet just as the conversation threatened to settle into familiar banter, Regaleon’s expression changed suddenly as his eyes narrowed slightly.

It wasn’t because of anything Aureleah had said, nor was he troubled by the mystery surrounding his Soul Essences. Instead, an unfamiliar sensation had stirred somewhere within his awareness.

It was faint, almost imperceptible, like a thread brushing against the edge of his consciousness.

He paused, attempting to identify its source but nothing immediately presented itself...

Meanwhile, Regaleon was not the only person who had noticed Aureleah’s unusual behaviour.

Veyrath had glanced at her in surprise when she began asking question after question, then shifted his gaze towards Regaleon with the unmistakable expression of someone who had discovered an unexpected development and was desperately resisting the urge to comment on it.

His lips even parted but unfortunately for him, Kaeloris noticed.

The bespectacled youth gave him a warning look sharp enough to make a particularly careless alchemist reconsider his entire profession and because of that Veyrath had closed his mouth.

There were mysteries best left untouched, and he possessed enough self-preservation to recognize one when it stood directly in front of him. Whatever had prompted Aureleah’s sudden enthusiasm, he had no intention of becoming collateral damage in the process of discovering it.

Valmyr, despite being considerably less perceptive in matters that did not involve combat, had also detected the peculiar atmosphere. He glanced between Aureleah and Regaleon, his brow furrowing as he attempted to make sense of the situation.

Eventually, he decided that the matter was too complicated to justify his involvement.

He had faced monstrous Animas without hesitation, but there were certain dangers against which even a sturdy shield offered little protection and Aureleah’s displeasure was one of them.

Sylveris, meanwhile, remained blissfully oblivious. At fourteen, the young girl had yet to acquire the experience necessary to recognize the subtleties of adult interactions, and the conversation about Soul Essences had occupied most of her attention. To her, Aureleah was merely asking questions, and Regaleon was answering them.

What else could there possibly be to it?

Caelestra’s position was more difficult to determine. Whether she had noticed the peculiar atmosphere or was simply choosing not to acknowledge it, her expression revealed nothing.

She maintained the same pleasant, enigmatic smile she wore whenever she was considering a transaction whose full implications had yet to become apparent.

Perhaps she knew something... Perhaps she knew considerably more than she intended to reveal.

With Caelestra, the distinction was rarely easy to establish.

Aureleah, for her part, remained entirely unaware of the attention her behaviour had attracted. Untroubled by the silent observations of her companions, she continued asking questions, pursuing each answer with the diligence of an investigator determined to uncover the truth.

Regaleon did his best to respond, although his attention had begun to drift towards that strange sensation within his consciousness.

At first, the feeling was so faint that he mistook it for a lingering aftereffect of his Halberd’s transformation. The recent ascension had been accompanied by an unusual expenditure of energy, and he reasoned that his body might simply require more time to settle into its new condition.

And because of that he dismissed the sensation without giving it much thought.

Unfortunately, whatever had stirred within him was not finished making its presence known.

A moment later, the tug returned, noticeably stronger than before and this time, it pulled at his awareness with the insistence of a thread caught on a sharp hook...