Chapter 165: Jade’s Bloodline Magic: Eternal Dominion
[After making that decision, you arrived at the fourth underground floor where Jade, Scarlet, Old MacDonald, and Astraea were busy reading magic books.]
[Although Scarlet might not have mana, she didn’t have anything better to do, so she decided just to read books about magic in her free time so that she wouldn’t be clueless when going against it.]
[Seeing the four of them, you immediately took out three Bloodline Magic Awakening Scrolls and tossed one of them each to Jade, Scarlet, and Old MacDonald.]
[Although you could use the Bloodline Magic Awakening Spell directly since you already mastered it, there wasn’t really any major difference between using a spell scroll and a magic spell since they would both result in a mage’s bloodline magic being awakened.]
[If there were any difference, it would be the difference between a spell scroll and a mage spell cast by a mage. In other words, it’s the difference between spell usage limit.]
[A mage’s spell is limited by their mana pool, while a spell scroll is limited by the number of uses they have when they were created.]
[Upon creation, a Bloodline Magic Awakening Scroll only has one usage each. Although it’s not impossible to add more, the difficulty would rise exponentially since it’s difficult to inscribe a magic spell on a scroll and ensure that the spell scroll wouldn’t be destroyed.]
[If you had better materials like a more durable spell scroll, it wouldn’t have been impossible to create a Bloodline Magic Awakening Scroll with a high usage count limit.]
[However, you didn’t attempt it since there was no point in doing so. Unlike other magic spells, the Bloodline Magic Awakening Spell could only be used once per individual.]
[Due to that, even the royal vampire clans didn’t bother making it difficult for their Spell Scroll Inscriber Masters. If they needed more, it’s not like they couldn’t just ask their Clan Elders to make new copies.]
[Receiving the Bloodline Magic Awakening Scroll you had given them, Jade, Scarlet, and Old MacDonald didn’t hesitate to tear it.]
[After the Bloodline Magic Awakening Scrolls were torn, the magic spell inscribed on them immediately took effect, causing Jade, Scarlet, and Old MacDonald to awaken their respective Bloodline Magic.]
[After approximately half an hour had passed, their bloodline magic awakening ceremony finally ended, with them successfully awakening their own Bloodline Magic.]
[After they awakened their Bloodline Magic, Jade was the first to introduce it, "The Bloodline Magic I awakened is called Eternal Dominion."]
[Jade looked at her own hand as faint golden particles flickered around her fingertips before slowly fading.]
["Eternal Dominion allows me to impose permanence on a chosen target or state," Jade explained as she clenched her hand slightly, as if trying to grasp the feeling of the newly awakened bloodline magic.]
["It does not directly manipulate time itself, but rather fixes something in its current state and prevents it from changing for a certain duration."]
[Hearing that, Scarlet immediately understood why the name of the bloodline magic sounded related to eternity rather than time.]
[Although Jade already possessed abilities related to time through her Golden Time spirit avatar, her newly awakened Bloodline Magic clearly belonged to a different concept.]
["For example, if I use it on a wound, that wound can remain exactly as it is. It will neither worsen nor heal unless the effect is lifted."]
[As she spoke, Jade extended her finger toward a nearby candle placed on one of the reading tables.]
[A faint golden light quietly enveloped the small flame.]
[The candle flame continued to burn, yet despite the slight movement of air in the underground floor, the flame no longer flickered.]
[It remained completely steady, as though even the surrounding disturbance had been denied the right to affect it.]
["This flame is being preserved in its current state," Jade continued.]
["As long as my Bloodline Magic remains active, outside interference will have difficulty changing it."]
[Old MacDonald narrowed his eyes as he observed the unmoving flame.]
["So it is similar to freezing something?"]
[Jade shook her head.]
["Not exactly. Freezing would still be an act of altering temperature or restricting movement. Eternal Dominion is closer to declaring that a chosen state must continue existing as it currently is."]
["If the flame was larger before activation, it would remain large. If it was about to extinguish, it would remain on the verge of extinguishing without actually going out."]
[Scarlet immediately grasped the terrifying aspect of that explanation.]
["That means if used properly, even an injury, poison, or magic effect can be locked in place."]
["Yes," Jade nodded.]
["The stronger my control becomes, the more complex the target I can preserve. Right now, I can only maintain relatively simple targets or conditions, and the duration depends on my mana consumption."]
[You silently listened while inwardly acknowledging that her awakened Bloodline Magic suited her far better than ordinary time-related abilities.]
[Compared to direct time manipulation, Eternal Dominion possessed far greater potential once its mastery reached a higher level.]
[After all, preserving a state indefinitely was sometimes far more troublesome than merely stopping time for a short moment.]
[Astraea, who had been quietly listening from the side, finally spoke.]
["If your spirit avatar governs time, and your Bloodline Magic governs permanence, then the combination between the two will be troublesome to deal with in the future."]
[Hearing that, Jade herself seemed to realize the implication.]
[If Time Stop halted an instant, Eternal Dominion could potentially preserve what happened within that instant.]
[If Future Sight revealed an opening, Eternal Dominion could prolong that opening beyond its natural duration.]
[Even Time Skip might eventually be combined with it to erase intervals while preserving chosen outcomes.]
[The more one thought about it, the more terrifying the potential of that bloodline magic became.]
[Scarlet was the next to examine the changes within her body.]
[Unlike Jade, whose newly awakened Bloodline Magic manifested as calm golden fluctuations, Scarlet’s body gave off a faint silver glow that seemed to pulse together with her heartbeat.]
[Even without deliberately doing anything, the air around her already felt slightly heavier than before.]
[After sensing it for a moment, Scarlet raised her head and spoke.]
["Mine is called Lunar Ascendance."]