Chapter 392: A Princess's Promise
I hadn't originally planned on including Cecilia in the scheme. It wasn't that I doubted her capabilities—far from it—but there was a reluctance, a hesitation I hadn't quite shaken off. Trust, true trust, was a difficult thing to grant, even to those closest to me.
But then again, wasn't this why I had anchored their souls to mine? Why I had guided them through the mind metamorphosis that had sparked their explosive growth? To deny them now would be to deny the very bonds I had forged.
Cecilia's growth had been extraordinary. She had scaled the Wall and stood now at low Ascendant-rank, a milestone that marked her as one of the most formidable mages of her generation. Of course, her path had diverged from mine. While my strength came from a relentless mastery of fighting, refined to its sharpest edge, the girls had ascended primarily through their mana rank, their raw magical power bolstered by the metamorphosis process.
I leaned back, letting my thoughts drift through the ripples of change I had set in motion.
'Lucifer,' I thought, 'is now mid Ascendant-rank, just like me. Ren, Rachel, Seraphina, and Cecilia are low Ascendant-rank, though Rachel and Ren are only months away from breaking into mid Ascendant-rank themselves. Ian and Jin, while not quite there, are closing in on low Ascendant-rank as well.'
It was staggering, really, to consider the gulf between where we were now and where we should have been according to the novel. The ripple effects of my actions had reshaped the landscape of Mythos Academy, tipping the scales far beyond what the original narrative of this world had ever intended. Lucifer and the three girls, in particular, had risen far higher than their counterparts in the novel.
And Lucifer... I couldn't help but wonder just how monstrous he had become. He had always been strong, but now? Now he could probably take on even seasoned peak Ascendant-rankers. Someone like Nolan would stand no chance against him.
As for Cecilia, her strength was nothing to scoff at, either. In this Tower, aside from its master, there was no one who could challenge her in a fight.
Still, something about the sheer magnitude of this growth left me uneasy. It felt... unnatural.
"It's like cheating," I murmured to myself, the thought unbidden.
'That's because the mind metamorphosis process specifically helps with scaling the Wall,' Luna's voice chimed in telepathically, cutting through my musings like a blade through fog.
I tilted my head, acknowledging her point. Scaling the Wall was no small feat. For most, it involved either the formation of the metaphysical Heart that came after Resonance or the conceptualisation of seven-circle magic, both of which were monumental undertakings.
But the mind metamorphosis, that strange process of transformation, had given us a shortcut. It had accelerated those processes, smoothing the path to Ascendant-rank in a way that seemed almost too good to be true.
'Makes sense,' I replied to Luna, my thoughts aligning with hers.
Had Art chosen this path for me, I wondered? If I had undergone the same process, would I now be standing at peak Ascendant-rank? Probably. But at what cost?
The truth was, my battle ability would have suffered. The edge I had honed through countless hours of training, the sheer instinct and precision I wielded with a blade—it would have dulled. My growth in raw mana rank would have come at the expense of my mastery.
And yet, that was precisely why this arrangement worked. Because my fighting ability had been pushed to such monstrous extremes, I could afford to focus on my mana rank now while just tuning my fighting ability slightly. The foundation was there, solid and unyielding, ready to support whatever heights I chose to climb.
I exhaled, letting the thoughts settle as Luna's presence lingered in the back of my mind. The path ahead was clearer now, though no less daunting.
The Wall was a threshold few could cross without great struggle, a boundary that separated the exceptional from the merely talented. Yet for the three girls, the metamorphosis had turned it into little more than a stepping stone. They were strong—perhaps stronger than even they fully understood.
And yet, Luna's voice broke through my thoughts, sharp and cautionary. "It's not easy, Arthur," she said, her tone weighted. "You understand that the beginning requirement for anchoring is that the anchor-holding soul must have undergone the process themselves, right? That means someone, somewhere, has faced this without an anchor."
The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Anchors weren't just helpful—they were vital. The process of anchoring souls wasn't just a bond; it was a lifeline, a way of stabilising the immense weight of metamorphosis.
"You're lucky Art intervened when you tried to anchor those three," Luna continued, her words laced with a scolding edge. "If he hadn't stepped in, it wouldn't have been surprising if your soul had simply collapsed under the strain."
I nodded silently, the weight of her words settling in. She was right, of course. Anchoring wasn't something done lightly, nor was it something to take for granted. It required more than strength; it demanded love—not just in the romantic sense, but in all its forms. A bond so profound that it could withstand the maelstrom of change.
That was why Art had been able to anchor my soul even when my feelings toward him had been uncertain. The bond transcended simple categories—it was something far deeper, forged in the crucible of necessity and survival.
I exhaled deeply and activated Mind's Aegis once more. My consciousness fragmented into streams, each one picking apart the plans I had crafted with Cecilia. Every detail was scrutinised, cross-checked, and adjusted against the complex reality of the Tower of Alchemy.
The Tower wasn't weak. No, that would be a dangerous underestimation.
While it lacked truly powerful individuals, the Tower itself was a fortress—a monument of knowledge and strategy. Its strength lay not in brute force but in its mechanisms, its wards, and the cunning of those who had built it over centuries.
I pursed my lips slightly, my thoughts swirling.
The current me was far stronger than Lucifer had been in the novel when he tackled the Tower. That much I was certain of. But strength alone wasn't the answer. My goal wasn't merely to confront the Tower but to eliminate the Paladin of Void—to uproot the threat entirely before it could fester and spread.
And therein lay the rub. Lucifer had failed to achieve this in the novel. Despite his strength, the Paladin's revival had spiralled into a disaster that sent shockwaves through the narrative. My task wasn't just to fight—it was to succeed where he had failed.
Yet, for all my planning, a faint nervousness lingered in my chest.
In this world, nothing ever went according to plan.
I exhaled slowly, forcing the tension to bleed out of my shoulders as I pushed my mind further. More streams of thought diverged, each one peeling back another layer of doubt, another contingency to consider.
Be logical. Be rational.
That was the mantra I repeated to myself as my thoughts churned. This wasn't about ego or sentimentality. Even I was just a piece on the board, one that could be sacrificed if it meant achieving the greater goal.
But not Cecilia.
And, to a lesser extent, not Rose either.
Their safety was non-negotiable, not just because of their connection to me but because of the roles they played in the intricate web I was weaving.
The Tower of Alchemy loomed in my mind, an obstacle both daunting and unavoidable. But as my streams of thought coalesced back into a single thread, a faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
If there was one truth I had come to understand, it was this: no wall, no tower, no seemingly insurmountable obstacle was unassailable.
And as long as I kept moving forward, one careful step at a time, even the Paladin of Void would crumble.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone