The memory changed again. The sapphire cocoon surrounding Veneri finally began to crack.
Thin fractures spread slowly across its glowing surface while light leaked out from the inside. The structure trembled violently for several seconds before the entire cocoon burst apart in a shower of sapphire fragments, scattering radiant energy everywhere like a butterfly finally emerging after years trapped inside darkness.
The air itself felt lighter, though the sheer density of power lingering around him still made the cave shake. Veneri dropped ungracefully onto the cave floor.
He immediately coughed. Liquid spilled from his mouth while he pushed himself upright with visible annoyance. He was soaked completely from head to toe because the cocoon had apparently been filled with some strange fluid. Wet hair clung to his body while remnants of glowing sapphire liquid slid down his skin, making the entire thing look dramatically majestic in the worst possible way.
"Why was there liquid inside? Who designed this nonsense?"
He wiped his mouth.
"This feels disgusting."
Adelasta stared and completely froze.
He was massive. Actually, being massive was understating it.
Veneri had become unbelievably tall, standing somewhere above five meters now while his proportions somehow still looked perfect instead of awkward. His body had changed dramatically. He has a better muscle definition and a frame that somehow balanced elegance and overwhelming presence at the same time.
His white hair had grown longer too, falling far past his shoulders in messy strands still wet from the cocoon. His skin had also darkened further from becoming Aeterium. His eyes looked brighter too, Adelasta stopped thinking straight for several seconds.
Her husband had somehow become even hotter.
The wetness from the cocoon somehow
made everything worse because now everything looked more defined than usual. The faint sapphire glow under his skin made him look less like a person and more like some mythical being carved specifically to ruin people's self-control.
Adelasta bit her lip immediately. When they met, he had used Body Reconstruction on himself. That meant that this was what he actually looked like. He changed his appearance when they met.
The peony tattoo across his back had changed too, spreading beautifully in brighter markings that now extended through his prosthetic arms all the way toward his biceps. The design somehow looked even more elegant now.
Adelasta struggled to look away but failed. Veneri glanced down at himself while stretching.
"You know what? I'm actually keeping this. No shrinking."
Just then, Melody walked inside carrying supplies. Her eyes widened. The basket in her hands nearly dropped. Then all of a sudden, she started drooling. Veneri immediately looked horrified.
"Oh, come on. Please don't start."
Melody blinked slowly and wiped her mouth with zero shame.
"You got hotter."
Veneri looked offended.
"That is your first response?"
"You were already handsome before. Now this feels personally disrespectful."
Her eyes moved up and down.
"Five meters? Really?"
Veneri crossed his arms.
"I did not choose the height."
"You kept it!"
"That's different."
Melody walked closer, still staring.
"You know, I could become the sixth."
Veneri stared at her for a moment and immediately pointed toward the cave entrance.
"No."
"That was uncalled for! You didn't even hesitate!"
"I already have five terrifying women. I am not adding another problem."
"I am not a problem—"
"You absolutely are."
Melody placed a hand over her chest dramatically.
"That hurts. I help you and this is the appreciation I receive?"
"You drooled at me."
"Can you blame me?"
"Yes."
"No reasonable person would blame me."
"You are older than me."
She crossed her arms.
"And?"
"You say that like it helps."
"Technically, I reincarnated over two thousand times."
"That somehow made this worse."
"Think about it though. I'm experienced—"
"No."
"I'm wise."
"No."
"You reject me too quickly."
°°°°°°
Veneri spent the next several minutes drying himself while Melody shamelessly kept staring at him. Every few seconds she looked away pretending to be respectful, only for her eyes to drift back immediately. At some point he gave up pretending not to notice and simply sat near the cave wall while using his energy to remove the slimy remnants left by the cocoon.
Melody eventually cleared her throat and sat across from him, crossing her legs casually while resting her chin against her palm.
"So, how do you feel?"
Veneri flexed his fingers slowly before opening and closing his hand several times. Even though he couldn't feel anything, his finger movement somehow looked faster. Everything felt lighter and heavier at the same time.
"I feel stronger. Much stronger, actually, which is honestly concerning because I already had enough problems before this."
Melody nodded immediately.
"That makes sense. You've been asleep for twenty years."
"I'm sorry. Did you just say twenty?"
"Yes. You became a Stellar Mage."
Veneri looked completely confused now.
"What does that have to do with sleeping for twenty years?"
Melody leaned back slightly, clearly excited that she finally got to explain something important.
"Stellar Mages are different from ordinary mages. When someone reaches the Stellar Rank, they develop something called a Stellar Mage Constitution, which completely restructures the body, soul and mystical foundation into something capable of handling higher Magecraft systems."
"That still doesn't explain twenty years."
"The transformation had to stabilize. Your body was basically rebuilding itself from the inside out while your Magecraft foundation adjusted to becoming compatible with Stellar systems. Twenty years is fast."
"How long is slow?"
Melody smiled awkwardly.
"A century. I think it's because of your Body and Soul Reconstruction that the Aeterium have."
"You know, I miss when my biggest problems involved almost dying in ruins."
Melody laughed.
"So I am actually a Stellar Mage?"
"You are a First Stellar Mage," Melody corrected immediately. "And not a weak one either since you skipped the Tenth Star entirely. The Universal Laws practically forced you into Stellar Rank because your sacrifice exceeded the threshold for normal advancement. You really gave up almost everything."
Veneri went quiet at that. For a moment, he simply stared toward the cave entrance while processing everything he had lost. He could still remember the emptiness from destroying his foundations and the feeling of forgetting parts of himself piece by piece until only fragments remaining.
"Was it worth it?"
Melody did not answer immediately. Instead, she pointed at him.
"You're alive."
"Fair enough."
Melody stretched slightly before standing up.
"The good news is that your Stellar Mage Constitution gives you complete dominion over Magecraft foundations. Which means learning Magecraft again is going to be much easier for you than for literally anyone else alive."
"So you can still train me?"
She looked offended.
"Excuse me?"
"I thought maybe there would be a difference between our systems now."
Melody folded her arms.
"I can train you. I just can't carry you anymore. I will teach you foundations and you'll handle the rest because your constitution literally cheats. Which means we are starting immediately."
He frowned.
"With what?"
"Rune Drawing."
"I can't use Xinoraci anymore."
"I know."
"So?"
"You are going to make a new language."
"What?"
"You heard me."
Veneri stared at her like she had completely lost her mind. What the fuck was she talking about?
"You want me to invent an entirely new magical language for Rune Drawing, Rune Speaking and Mystic Circles in ten years."
"That's impossible."
Melody immediately shook her head.
"No, impossible is almost dying and somehow becoming hotter. This is just difficult. You literally have thirty years left. You slept through twenty so now we only have ten years for each Magecraft capability."
She held up fingers while counting.
"Ten years for Rune systems."
Another finger.
"Ten years for Mystic Circles."
Another.
"And ten years for rebuilding Castless Magecraft. So we really don't have time for complaints."
"This sounds terrible."
"You're a Stellar Mage now. Your foundation is extremely stable, which means your growth speed is ridiculous. If you had become a Tenth Star Mage instead, this would have been much harder. So congratulations, your suffering paid off."
He looked deeply unconvinced.
"You say that like this is comforting."
"It should be."
"Well it's not."
"You have ten years to invent a language capable of supporting Stellar Rank Magecraft. No pressure."
Veneri slowly stood up and then immediately sat back down again.
"I hate this."
Melody laughed so hard she almost fell over.
"You'll start tomorrow."
He wanted one day of peace before suffering academically for an entire decade.