Having reached a mutual understanding with Latenna, the Tarnished intended to set Sellen's restoration in motion. Clutching the Larval Tear in his hand, he led Millicent back into the Academy of Raya Lucaria—an institution now dead in all but name.
The Academy was even more desolate than before, devoid of apprentices and teachers. However, for a scholarly power like the Academy, as long as recruitment notices were posted, they would never lack for people—unless the stars faded entirely, which would signal true ruin.
"Is this the Academy? The hall of learning for the study of glintstone sorcery?" Millicent looked around; the architecture was indeed elegant, and coupled with the unique atmosphere of Liurnia, it possessed a truly magical feel.
"But why is it so empty?" Millicent looked around in confusion. According to custom... shouldn't a horde of people be jumping out to attack them? Had the Tarnished already subjugated the Academy?
The answer the Tarnished gave her was starkly different: the Academy had been almost entirely purged by the Carian Knights. The two factions shared an irreconcilable hatred, and Millicent learned just how conservative and self-isolating the Academy's sorcerers had become.
"Erh... I see." To see the most famous academy in the Lands Between decline so rapidly was a sobering thought, but she then remembered the Tarnished's master, Sellen.
The Tarnished's first entry into the Academy had been unopposed; now, with no obstacles left, he and Millicent quickly reached the Grand Library where the Queen resided. Outside the doors stood the Carian Troll Knight, Bols, who had earlier arrived at the Academy to rendezvous with Moongrum.
"Oh~ it's the Tarnished. It has been a while." Bols's massive frame, paired with his relatively small Carian helm, looked somewhat comical. After a brief greeting, the Tarnished stated his purpose.
Bols looked troubled upon hearing it. The Queen did indeed possess that forbidden art of birth, but those she birthed were always born frail and incomplete.
"Just like those girls you see in the library," Moongrum said as he walked out, picking up the topic. He was referring to the young girls crawling on the floor; they were incomplete lives created by the Queen's forbidden art.
None of them were perfect; some had fractured personalities, while others suffered physical deformities. This forbidden art was a sorcery born from the Queen's absolute grief. However, a Queen was still a Queen; even in her current madness, she could still wield such complex magic.
"If I have a Larval Tear, can these defects be removed?" The Tarnished showed the Larval Tear to the two. Bols scratched his head, looking bewildered, but Moongrum clearly recognized the item.
"Ha, with that, there shouldn't be a problem. Before the Queen fell completely into her current state, while she still held a sliver of sanity, she had sent others to find these Larval Tears. Unfortunately, the Academy's revolt occurred; the Queen was further traumatized, her mind fractured entirely, and she never found a single tear." Moongrum glanced at the Queen behind him and sighed.
"We have the item, but in Rennala's current state, can she still perform the sorcery?" The Tarnished felt a hint of doubt. Moongrum quickly dispelled the thought; the forbidden art of birth was now a matter of instinct for the Queen—the last anchor of her broken mind.
It was also the reason she remained secluded in her own world, for in her fantasies, she watched those "sweetings" being born.
Moongrum led the Tarnished and Millicent to the Queen. He gestured for the Tarnished to hold the tear above his head. Sure enough, the Queen reacted.
"Ah... a sweetling... come... I shall give you birth, make you a proper swaddled babe..." The Queen raised her slender left hand, cradling the tear. As she channeled her magic, a vessel like an embryo quickly enveloped the Larval Tear. At the moment it was about to seal, the Tarnished swiftly threw Sellen's Primal Glintstone inside.
Moongrum naturally saw this and vaguely guessed whose glintstone it was, but he did not intervene. Under Rennala's continuous casting, the tear and the glintstone miraculously fused. The Primal Glintstone was the essence of a sorcerer, containing that person's unique personality, soul, and even bodily memories...
Influenced by the glintstone, the embryo was completely engulfed in a light so bright that nothing could be seen inside.
"Bols, we're going outside." Seeing this, Moongrum nudged the troll beside him.
"Eh? Why?" Bols asked, confused.
"Inside there is a woman, and she is bound to be a woman without a stitch of clothing. What business do we have watching? It would be an insult to etiquette." Moongrum extended the blade of his knight's sword and smacked it against Bols's forehead.
Only after being hit did Bols realize the situation. The two hurried out.
"Um, Tarnished, shouldn't you also... eh?" Millicent had intended to tell the Tarnished to close his eyes; even in this age, she believed some things required modesty. To her surprise, the Tarnished had already closed his eyes of his own accord.
Only Millicent and Asimi—the female entity within the Tarnished—watched the changes within the embryo. It remained a void of white light that obscured everything.
But a miracle occurred again. Time within the embryo seemed to accelerate wildly. Within moments, the light gathered to outline an infant's form. The infant radiated a silver-white glow, then grew and developed... until the figure became slender and graceful.
The woman curled within the embryo opened her eyes—beautiful, deep-blue pupils as brilliant as the stars. She gazed deeply at the Tarnished, who sat with his eyes closed, and then looked at Millicent, giving her a soft nod of gratitude.
Then, the embryo shattered, and the woman descended gracefully. Silver flakes like stardust adorned her body. Her form was silver-white and perfectly smooth, exceptionally beautiful. Though her face lacked distinct features at first, every movement was undeniably Sellen herself.
She carefully examined her new body. Her mind was now free from the shackles of a mortal frame; her thoughts were clear. While not achieving godhood, she had gained insights into sorcery far beyond her previous self.
She walked to the Tarnished, knelt down, and cradled his head, bringing their foreheads together. As they touched, the outline of clothing began to form on Sellen's bare body.
It was a light, star-adorned armor with a skirt, based on the Carian Knight armor the Tarnished wore but adjusted to Sellen's own aesthetic. On her chest was a pattern of the stars and moon intertwined.
Afterward, Sellen's face gradually took on the color of flesh, and her features emerged. It was Sellen's original face, for that face was already stunning...
"Apprentice... you have done your master a great favor." Sellen felt her new body; her thinking was more agile, and her inspiration was like a gushing spring. So this is the Silver Tear—the product of the Nox's plan to forge a lord and a god?
"It's good that it was resolved smoothly." The Tarnished stood up and opened his eyes. "It seems you have accepted the union of star and moon as well."
"All thanks to you, my dear apprentice..." Sellen used her own body as a catalyst to spread a field of stars across the library. Millicent was captivated by the sight. "Apprentice... surely now I am better qualified to continue your tutelage?"
"Indeed," the Tarnished said, looking at the dense and brilliant starry sky.
"...Cursed luck. The Primal Glintstone has returned to a body... the location is..." Jerren had already crossed Stormveil and arrived in Liurnia. "The Academy..." Jerren's mood was at its worst. If it were just Sellen alone, he wouldn't be so panicked.
But he feared Sellen had helpers. No matter who they were, he had to complete this final request... if only to give himself closure.
Sellen had fully awakened. Hearing that the situation inside had stabilized, Bols and Moongrum returned to the library. Seeing the revitalized Sellen, Moongrum couldn't help but marvel at the mystery of the Larval Tear and the forbidden art.
"Apprentice, I have some minor business to attend to... When I return, I shall continue your lessons." Sellen smiled faintly. She had discarded her identity as the Graven Witch of the Academy. Now, she was the Sorceress of the Stars, Sellen—and perhaps, the Master of the King.
"Witch! Where do you think you're going!" Just as Sellen was about to bid them temporary farewell, Jerren appeared from nowhere.
"My, my... look who it is... the grand debut of our Witch-Hunter Jerren~" Sellen looked at Jerren playfully. She was not the same woman she once was; with the power of the Silver Tear body, Jerren would be no match for her.
"Witch, surrender yourself! I will not let you commit further atrocities!" Jerren gripped his Flamberge and channeled magic to coat it in fire, ignoring the Tarnished and the others nearby.
"Does a tiny flame truly wish to vie with the moon and stars...? Jerren, has your playing with fire made you stupid?" Sellen mocked. She felt nothing for the man; she knew what he fought for, but if he insisted on opposing her, she would have to kill him.
"Wait." The situation was on a knife-edge, but at that moment, Moongrum stepped between them.
"Moongrum... do you mean to stop me? Do you intend to shield this witch?" Jerren's tone was displeased, but Moongrum shook his head and pointed toward the Carian Queen, Rennala.
"If you want to fight, take it outside. If you disturb the Queen, I will step in to stop you both." The recovered Moongrum radiated a terrifying aura. Though he had suffered a setback at the hands of Rennala, it didn't mean he was useless.
"Did you hear that, Jerren? Such a crude man..." Sellen took the opening to continue her mockery. Jerren clicked his tongue and prepared to walk out of the room. Sellen glanced back at the Tarnished.
Feeling Sellen's gaze, the Tarnished, who had been silent, stepped forward. "The farce ends here."
"Tarnished... do you also mean to stop me...?" Cold sweat dripped down Jerren's face. He knew exactly how powerful this Tarnished was. At full strength, the man was a presence capable of wrestling with General Radahn at the festival; now that he possessed the General's Great Rune, his strength was only greater.
"Stop you? Take a look at this first." The Tarnished didn't waste words. Black Flame ignited in his right hand, and he cast the fire outside. After the god-slaying flames burned and extinguished on the ground, they had carved out a series of sequential images.
"This..." Jerren stared at the images, unable to look away. As for why... it was because the drawings recorded the past of the Academy... and the protagonist was a group of Academy sorcerers and... the Graven Witch Sellen...