Two days later.
Outside the city of Fosbarrow.
"I hope you'll come visit Fosbarrow again next time. When that day comes, please allow me to host you properly!"
Judge Giselle clasped Duke's hand tightly, thanking him again and again. As a widowed woman, her only pillar of support was her son.
And Duke had helped her reunite with that son. For Giselle, her gratitude toward him was boundless.
If Duke's heart had been a little less upright, perhaps that child of hers would have found himself a new father by now.
"You're too kind. If I have the chance, I'll be sure to visit again."
Duke gave her a courteous smile, then turned to look at Lux, who stood by the carriage. The young girl had changed into a traveler's garb: a sheepskin cloak draped over her fitted attire.
Her golden hair was tied into two ponytails that hung neatly behind her.
Ciceria had already left the night before, heading to Ervindale to report back and rejoin her unit.
Lux's parents had also departed yesterday, taking her and Garen to pay their respects to their ancestor, Fossien, before moving on ahead.
Poppy, too, had set off on her own, saying she wanted to test her strength, to see if she was truly worthy of the hammer she carried.
Now only Duke and Lux remained. The rest of the journey would be theirs to travel together.
Duke had packed away all his mechanical constructs, storing Gluttony and Pride along with the others in his inventory. Instead, he purchased a simple carriage and an old horse from the locals, planning to take the road slowly, and use the time to guide Lux along the way.
After exchanging parting words with Giselle, Duke walked up to the carriage, waved politely one last time, then climbed aboard with Lux and set off.
Giselle and her attendant stood at the city gates for a long time, watching the carriage sway off into the distance.
"What an outstanding young man," she murmured.
"Indeed," the attendant agreed.
But Giselle's expression soon darkened with sorrow. "It's a pity… we are all sinners."
"Yes…"
The shame in their hearts was something only they themselves truly understood.
That evening.
The carriage rumbled to a stop at the edge of a forested hill. Lux set down the reins, blowing into her reddened hands to warm them. She called toward the inside of the carriage, "Brother Duke, it's already dark. Let's camp here for the night."
"Alright. Just give me a moment."
Duke stepped out, closing his notebook, and after finding a clearing, retrieved a tent from his inventory with a wave of his hand.
Lux blinked in amazement as a large tent appeared out of thin air. To her, Duke seemed like a living treasure pouch, producing whatever he needed, whenever he wished.
With the same casual ease, Duke drew out food supplies for dinner and handed them to Lux, asking her to prepare the meal and see to the horse.
He then sat cross-legged on the grass, reopened his notebook, and resumed his research.
"The modifications of the Beast Cages seem to depend on the nature of the creature itself. A predator at the top of the food chain might undergo a far stronger evolution.
But what about creatures lower on the chain? Or those in between?
Does the state of the subject, healthy or dying, affect the results?
If I could refine this process, then perhaps I could establish a single, perfected template… and from it, forge a third Original Sin."
Duke tapped the notebook with his pen, question after question flooding his mind.
"For now, I only have Ciceria's dragon-bird as a sample. Its entire skeleton and musculature were reconstructed, its organs replaced by machinery.
But it cannot generate its own energy, making it, in truth, a failure.
This is far from the true Ascension I seek. Mechanical Ascension should be perfection, not this half-measure.
Shurima's Ascension ritual… what was it like? Perhaps I should travel there, search for records and relics.
There are three paths of Ascension: mechanical, genetic, and psionic. All can transform life, but I have touched only the first. Genetic Ascension… yes, the super-soldier serum could be considered a crude version. But no further."
"Brother Duke, dinner's ready!"
Lux approached, gently calling out. Curiosity drew her eyes to his notebook, dense formulas and complex derivations that made her head spin.
So this was Duke's research?
It was so deep, so profound, she felt faint just from a glance.
No wonder he was hailed as the youngest master artificer in history.
"Hm?" Duke looked up, caught by the smell of food. He blinked, then quickly shut the notebook. "Got it!"
"Brother Duke, what exactly were you researching?"
"Remember Ciceria's dragon-bird?"
"Of course!"
Lux nodded vigorously. She would never forget. She had seen many magical beasts before, but none so breathtaking, so unique, as that one.
"Just related to that," Duke said, waving it off, and invited her to eat.
Over the meal, he pulled out a rolled-up blueprint and laid it on the table. "This will be your first test."
It was a design for a pair of clockwork-powered boots.
"Study it carefully. Try to assemble them. I'll provide the components."
"Yes, Brother Duke! I'll do my best." Lux clutched the blueprint, her bright eyes shining. She had a sharp mind, learning magic came easily to her. Now, on a new path, she would apply that same diligence.
"Effort is important," Duke said, "but so is accumulation. These will help."
He set down a thick stack of manuals. "I wrote these myself, everything from the basics of clockwork to the most advanced principles."
Then he brought out a heavy chest. "And here, three thousand components. You'll need only five hundred of them to build the boots. Your task is to find which ones fit together."
Lux stared at the chest, then back at the design in her hands. Her resolve burned brighter.
"I will succeed!"
Duke shrugged, unconcerned. For a novice, this was like solving university calculus with elementary-school arithmetic, but if she studied the manuals and blueprint closely, she'd discover it was like following a single loose thread: once found, the rest unraveled naturally.
Simple, yet not simple.
After arranging her test, Duke finished his meal quickly, notebook in hand again.
"I need more samples… Maybe I should let Tahm fetch me one at random."
Summoning Tahm, he startled Lux so badly she nearly unleashed a flash of magic from her fingertips. Duke smirked, her magic was indeed potent.
Tahm's gaze lingered on Lux, unsettled. "What powerful light magic… Boss, where did you find this girl?"
"She's my registered apprentice," Duke answered lightly.
At the word apprentice, Lux's heart dipped for a moment. But then she straightened, her spirit rekindled, she would prove her worth to him.
"Alright then, Boss. What do you need?"
"Bring me a dying beast. Not too strong, not too weak. Ferocious, but not from Demacia."
Tahm's lips curled. "Hm… tricky, but doable. Once I bring it back… perhaps you'll let me, "
Duke cut him off with a glance. He already knew Tahm's little schemes: nothing more than wanting another chance to humiliate Nocturne.
He placed the bottle containing Nocturne on a chair beside him. "Go, and be quick."
Tahm cast a sly look at the imprisoned shadow, then disappeared back into the vortex.
Freljord.
The howling wind swept across the snowbound land.
In that vast whiteness, blood stained the ground. A wolf-dog, its body torn and mangled, dragged itself forward with its last strength. Only its forelegs could still move; its hind legs trailed limply, leaving a crimson path behind.
Its wounds were ghastly. Each breath came shallower, the heat leaking from its body fading fast. Death's shadow crept near.
The wolf-dog whimpered, tried to rise, and fell again. Its cry was bitter with unwillingness.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Heavy legs stepped into its fading vision. Looking up, it met a pair of scarlet eyes staring down.
"Little one… it seems luck is on your side."
Tahm returned before long, dropping the half-dead wolf-dog at Duke's feet.
Duke studied it carefully. Blood matted its black-and-white fur. Its back was dark, its belly pale, three flame-like markings burned across its brow. One eye was blue, the other brown.
Even on the verge of death, the beast glared at him, growling, struggling to rise again.
Duke arched a brow. "Wait a minute… isn't this a husky?"
End of chapter....
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