At the entrance to Liza's floor, Rafael and Zaya found a man awaiting their arrival. He had pale white skin, black hair, and emerald green eyes, the same color as Zaya's.
As Rafael approached and exchanged glances with the man wearing an elegant dark green cloak, he recognized Esmer. It had been over 80 years since he had seen the powerful Bloodmage of Valyria.
His appearance was still the same as the last time he saw him, but as soon as Rafael stepped onto Liza's tower floor, he felt a familiar energy emanating from him.
The same happened to Esmer; as soon as Rafael arrived, he also recognized him by the familiar energy, and a name arose in both their minds: "Primordial."
Esmer smiled and asked, "So it was you who caused all those changes with the creation of a new affinity? At the beginning of the earthquake, I felt my blood heat up and boil for a second…"
"Apparently so… You seem to have succeeded in changing race again… Was it that egg? When I look at you, it seems like I'm in the presence of a dragon…"
Esmer smiled and looked at his daughter, who seemed a little confused by their conversation. Although she already knew a little about Rafael's new race, she was still ignorant about her own father's changes.
As they entered the room and walked to a kind of glass coffin, Rafael asked, "What do you know about the Primordials? I know there are 9, including me…"
Esmer expressed some surprise at learning that 9 beings had reached such a level. After his own racial change, he realized that Bloodmages of this level could be even stronger than the most powerful Necromancers and Shadowmancers he had ever known.
The fact that the Bloodmages' origins are even older than Asshai and Stygai themselves proves this point.
"There were some reports in Valyria about a very powerful mage named Malgor the Black King. If you were responsible for creating the Blood Affinity, he may be the creator of the Dark Affinity. We can then trace that point and find some Primordials who are creators of other, stranger, and more unusual affinities. But remember that I haven't created any affinity and I'm still at this 'level,' so everything is speculation."
Rafael recognized the name; Jack had made some kind of contract with this entity upon mastering the peak of the Dark Affinity.
"Thank you, I will continue investigating. If I discover anything more about them, I will inform you," Rafael thanked him.
Esmer nodded and thanked him back. After all, at least now, thanks to the Red Sage, he knew that nine Primordials existed. And thanks to him, Rafael knew more details about one of them. Standing beside the glass coffin, Esmer, who was more experienced, explained with just a glance:
"Liza's situation is similar to ours; she needs many years of rest for her mind to adapt to her new body and new racial powers, but she will need external help with healing spells, regeneration potions, and other magical materials that accelerate her recovery and fix the instabilities of her race…"
"She was very ambitious in wanting to create a race without a physical form, but I was confident that perhaps she would have succeeded if she hadn't been forced into such a desperate situation against Vitarys." Rafael sighed.
When Rafael mentioned Vitarys' name, both Esmer and Zaya had heavy expressions. Upon dying amidst the Calamity of Abominations, which bore traces of the Calamity of Souls, his soul was transformed into a Shadow Soul, and his death became permanent…
Noticing the tense atmosphere, Rafael lightened the mood, adding another sentence: "If that hadn't happened, I think Liza would have been the Tenth."
"Indeed…" Esmer agreed, smiling. After all, a race without a physical body, and which was not a soul, would have unimaginable potential…
"Red Sage, I must awaken before you, but I will await your awakening. I will help you get Zaya and the others who wish to leave Asshai out."
"Thank you for your help; it would have been difficult to get everyone out alone. After this, we will go our separate ways, but we must continue our investigation into this mysterious organization that Blood Armor and Baron Bones belonged to, and discover what their true objectives are…"
After Esmer said goodbye, Zaya accompanied him to the catacombs of Tower City, where Vitarys was buried, and after paying his respects, he left the Tower of Distortion.
Rafael, who had been left alone with Liza, watched her body return to human form from time to time before becoming a mass of mist again. The cycle repeated itself every few minutes…
Rafael poured two drops of blood into her mouth and poured eight more drops into a vial, leaving it beside her glass coffin. He then wrote some notes instructing Zaya to feed her constantly in the coming years. Since his blood was one of the most powerful magical items when it came to restorative abilities, it even had a special effect on it now…
After leaving Liza's floor, Rafael also went to the catacombs. Inside, he paid his respects at the graves of Vitarys and Jhon. Soon after, he also made a brief visit to the graves of Little Liushiam, who lay with his parents, and the grave of young Ted.
He refused to believe in Zhang's death; therefore, he ignored his grave…
In the following days, Rafael officially said goodbye to everyone and gave several orders and missions on how to proceed in certain situations during his absence. He asked them to try to gather some natural treasures of the Mind affinity during this time, and allowed Vulcano to live freely in the Volcanic Biome of the Tower of Distortion, just as Varnak lived in the Icy Biome, after all, dragons needed space to live wildly and continue growing… Only then did he finally isolate himself within his personal floor, taking only one person with him.
Inside his room, a huge black coffin made of magical metals had been prepared according to his request.
The only person who would accompany Rafael was a young Asshai'i woman with pale white skin and long black hair. She was his most loyal servant, who had followed him since she ceased being a slave in Valyria. After becoming a Half-Demon, Aisha had regained her youthful appearance, becoming the same woman Rafael had known so many years ago; the only difference was her completely black demon eyes.
"I count on you to protect me during my sleep. When I wake up, I will give you a gift and grant you a wish."
Aisha opened her mouth, but no words came out; tears welled in the corners of her eyes, and she nodded.
"I will eagerly await your return, master!"
"Hm…"
With a final nod, Rafael lay down in the metallic coffin, and the lid closed. But inside, Rafael had not yet fallen asleep. The word "Status" was spoken internally, and a menu containing all of his new abilities and spells appeared.
Besides details about the new race, there was the mysterious Bloodlines tab, and the miraculous Primordial Magic menu tab, which had now changed greatly and expanded… In it, the name "Divinity" stood out in a brilliant golden color…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Parsa, Scott Robertson, Pato Senalima, Lily Monarch, and Adriele Rodrigues!
Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, 704Corleon, Rodrigo, WhoisMitch, Leery Falcon, Grave Walker, adam, Evil King, and Emotional!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley, Avacus, and TabbyRabbit!