Chapter 392: [390] Back
After the minister's death, August left the rest of the aftermath to Esdeath. With no interest in the empire's political games, he returned to the Grand General's estate and immediately entered his pocket dimension. There, he initiated a process that required complete focus and an unwavering resolve.
August called upon the sapling of the World Tree that resided within the pocket dimension, instructing it to devour the void energy in his body. This included his own magic—all of it, down to the last drop.
As the process began, August experienced an agonizing sensation of loss. Magic, the very foundation of his strength, was being stripped away. It wasn't merely painful; it was disorienting, as though a part of his very essence was being unraveled.
Hour after hour, the World Tree sapling consumed the void energy and magic that had defined August as a being of overwhelming power. By the end, his once-mighty magic reserves were gone, leaving him at rock bottom—a person without even the slightest trace of magic.
And yet, this wasn't a catastrophe. While his magic was gone, his physical body remained that of an eighth-tier powerhouse. This meant August didn't need to climb the ranks of magical progression from scratch. He merely had to refill his depleted reserves, a process unhindered by any bottlenecks or barriers.
If magic was water, then the body was the vessel that contained it. August's vessel remained immense, capable of holding the magic of an eighth-tier entity. The process of refilling it, while daunting, was far simpler than the arduous journey of initially strengthening the vessel itself.
"Papa, are you okay?" The soft voice of the World Tree sapling echoed in his mind, carrying a note of concern.
"I'm fine," August replied, his tone calm despite the lingering discomfort. "Starting anew isn't a bad thing. Sometimes, breaking everything down is necessary to rebuild stronger than before."
"If I were a little stronger, I could help you even more, Papa," the sapling said softly.