Ebony's Fable

'Boiler Knight? Even with so much Will Five was basically evaporated in a single strike, and they couldn't use Aether properly. Legendary as their fame suggests.' Every Boiler Knight was fully decked out in Legendary gear, it was not out of expectations that they could use Aether to some degree on Teheil too.

Ebony could use mana too so he shouldn't be surprised an Emperor could resist the Worldcore's effect.

Five had more Will stored than Ebony had in himself. While it did not translate to power output and did not translate to proportional mental capacity it did give Five many options that other Numbers did not have.

Unexpectedly, Five brought along something else besides the 30 gravity cubes that hold value to them.

'These gold and grey particles are living creatures?' There was a small amount of Cushioning, and a small amount of energy-giving particles circling within the blob of ice that Five was. These two light separated themselves perfectly, taking half of the space each.

Ebony did not sense life force, could not Mana Discern them as living creatures and could not recognise any signs of life or intelligence beyond their natural behaviour. Thinking that Five was able to seal them and transport them safely for so long, he fused the blob into Spine, Preserving the two lights separately while Five walked out with a new body.

No longer having blood, he kept Ebony's hair so he still had more Will than the average Number.

Five didn't bother saying a word to Ebony and directly walked out of the house without looking back.

Ebony did not question that part of himself. In any case, they didn't need verbal communication. His personal Will capacity had grown shockingly with Five's reconnection. A huge 25 points capacity increase from a single Number after a couple of months was incredible growth.

Their absolute frustration with being so helpless against the Boiler Knight despite all the power they had stood out even after Five's memories were diluted by Ebony's mind.

By Five's tenth Flicker, he gained Spectre's Oscillation. By his tenth Oscillation, he gained a fully crystallised mana body. Yet not a tinge of happiness of this massive gain registered as he left for whatever goal he had in mind.

'Dusk, don't let Five out of range." He got his trusty Domain core to make sure to keep a line connected. This was tough when his Numbers could Oscilate and their Will Relay Buffer network was no longer as widespread.

"He deleted quite a bit of your Will. Are you worried he'll go on a killing spree?" Ebony ignored Dusk's question. The Core knew his answer and asked redundantly.

As he was Preserved by his own spell he could still move his body, but he lay comfortably and let the soft body embrace him.

This was still a trial Ritual. He'd pretty much simulated that he could run Blood Witch's Acumen dry or push it out with dense Will so he didn't feel that pressured. He liked the care and worry so he didn't immediately heal himself.

'Numen, huh. It takes so much Will to be able to interact and push it away.' His wife did not know how to use it properly and it was still a thin energy source. His Will wasn't potent enough for anything stronger.

Volume of Will can indeed make him capable of 'anything', but it wasn't like he could turn water into wine. The strength or potency of Will would make it less Will costly for the same task.

Before the rank of Emperor, a baseline human's Will was simply not potent enough to be able to exhibit any sort of manifestation in the physical plane. Mages, especially if they were from a long generational line have a higher chance of being able to do something with Will by the rank of a King, as per what was observed on Elcra. The same for Intent and warriors but the bar was lower for it to manifest. Either that or it was because warriors had been the main force for generations before mages were a thing around these parts.

Will and Intent always existed in them, even as an Unclassed.

Xin eventually found a workaround. She didn't use another Ritual, but Stamped him with her skill for life force recovery. A conversion of stamina to life force. Cancelling out the effect of loss of life force while retaining Acumen. Leaving Spine would still put him at a state of deficit however he was no longer dying.

She calmed down and smashed her small fist into his chest when she realised he could remove Acumen. A little pissed but altogether just relieved that he wasn't out of options and no longer dying. So he did her Ritual research with her for another day before he forced Acumen out of his body with Will.

Perhaps the Worldcore's evolution had reached a calmer state, but the first sign of monster movement near them had been sighted.

The Xengs were watching intently, wondering if monsters finally grew the courage to walk towards their village. Ebony's house was slightly further away but well within sight, and his house was not nearly as intimidating as Xienor, which had been around for thousands of years.

They weren't attacked or trespassed but the frequency of wild monsters creeping about the corners of his Domain was increasing.

Dusk maintained a fully compressed liquid Domain with saturated Will. Since volume mathematically followed the power law, it was cubic. The range of their Domain was quite limited. Growing by the day, yes. Its growth rate only slowed down as the volume required increased with radius.

The Authority of Will Domain consumes 1.8 million mana per minute within a 5-metre radius. Constant consumption was key to limiting his expansion. Ice, Sound and gravity mana Fortification reduced the mana consumption to about 14,404 mana per minute. At these levels of mana efficiency, it was possible even for a baseline human to keep up a small domain. Furthermore, most people can rely on physical mana ores and technology to use the mana to upkeep their domains. It wasn't any different from running a magic tower.

Compressed liquid mana not yet coagulated, based on Crystalline Mana Matrix's current skill level was 369.25x denser than base regenerated mana. This brought the mana consumption for a 5-metre-radius Dusk to 5.318 million points of mana per minute. Fortunately, the mana consumption wasn't constant either. If Dusk didn't use any mana to enhance a spell, this 5.318 million mana per minute wouldn't have to be totally consumed.

Ebony had finally gotten some sense of mana conservation over the decades.

It would require roughly 3.723 points of Will to saturate it this space. It would fade away but rather slowly. Will greatly reduce resting mana consumption as well.

Dusk was capable of regenerating both mana and Will. Ebony let it continue to expand as he didn't need to worry about either resource. His Domain was currently under 500 metres in every direction, including underground and Dusk could upkeep it without Ebony. Dusk's mana and Will regeneration came from Unfading Will and to some degree runic conversion of ambient mana. The range they could take ambient mana was as far as his Will Relay Buffers go.

Mana was easily being stockpiled within Dusk and Spine, but it took way more time for Will to saturate this amount of mana hence the slow growth of his Domain's reach despite the plentify mana and Will he was using to grow Dusk.

Ebony would make this a solid crystal but his wife would be unable to move until his control was greater. His plants would also be unable to grow. His plants were already under a lot of stress, Dusk had only recently made the Will around the garden gentle enough and the mana there did not warp the poor plants.

The small potted plant that the Frost Elves gave him for his wedding gift was not affected at all but so far no growth has been seen. It was the same as the day he received it. Living inside Spine without being affected by the Coreflame of Preservation. This was the location the plant liked most.

His liquid mana was completely transparent and no longer had a visible film like clear water, so looking at his house was no different from the surroundings. He could technically make them invisible through traditional sight but he didn't activate the mirage.

However, while he was in a bubble of extremely dense mana it did not dissipate into the surroundings at all, as all excess is drawn back into Dusk. The monsters being able to clearly sense the reach of his Domain and not walk in showed levels of perception and ability above that of average monsters before Elcra started evolving.

His wife had communicated to him that her Profession required her to hunt. She was feeling cooped up.

However, he got her to be a little patient. At least till the evolution of the planet was done.

So he fed all her appetites, satisfying his own in the meantime. She was the only drug he let himself drop his meditation for. Without her, he couldn't even force meditation to drop anymore. It was no longer a choice, Boundless Serenity Geyser cannot be shut off by force anymore, not his own. It made them a lot more intimate.

Her emotional balancing skill actually made her more competitive. She'd been using it to compete with whose feelings and desires for each other were heavier.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

After losing in the contest of physical desire, she cheated and converted other desires into one just to one-up him.

That stopped quickly since they decided to rule emotion balancing as a power, despite it not being magic.

This household's rules were that within their walls only normal human capabilities were allowed. Exceptions were of course, when their safety was concerned. Their definition of 'normal' was also a stretch, to say the least.

This wasn't just a rule that was decided and done with.

It was a rule they started to enforce on Will. A rule that she was trying to enforce in her Ritual.

This way, any intruder would be turned weak.

He took inspiration from the Shi Clan's entrance obstacle course that could turn him into a normal human of equal physical stats as anyone else.

However, to strengthen the Will's effect and her Ritual the two of them would face the same restriction. Within his Domain, it would be relatively absolute.

They spent a full month designing their Will and her Intent and Blood Ritual to put it into effect.

It was a work in progress, but the last fire lance his wife tried to throw inside the open window was extinguished like a matchstick. A physical shockwave and pressure were similarly treated like air the moment it gets past the lines that demarcated his house.

He asked the nearby, but growing distant Xengs to come try something. Anything, without destroying his house.

So far, Xin has only stopped Cui from even attempting. By Intuition, she knew better than to ask the older lady to try anything. A couple of the seriously hiding or training Xengs didn't come and try either but they were able to make all the others become a normal human on entry. It was good that he had experience with the Shi Clan's obstacle course and could model his Will after the effect.

A couple of Intent users could force themselves free of the influence, which put both back to the drawing board.

As for other mages, Ebony's Domain suppressed all their Wills so much that not even a spiff could escape their bodies. Perhaps he can't do it outside of Dusk with their accumulation, but this place has quickly become dependable and not something he could copy on the spot, anywhere and anything he wanted, like casting an augmentation spell. Of course, this was only for fresh Will casting.

While no Xeng casts a Domain over Xienor, they each have their own Domains somewhere. Ebony has not visited any of them, but he assumed that each of them was individually stronger than Dusk for now. In the end, Domain's strength was highly reliant on accumulation over time.

After asking, it seemed like many of them had their Domains within their Masks. It did make sense, Kong Jing seemed to be the same, but he thought that was only the case because she was a Space Mage and her Domain is more mobile than most.

Apparently, the Xengs didn't worry so much as they were merely Kings. Their Wills weren't strong enough to make their Domains a fixture in space yet.

It was news to him that almost all mages of the Xeng used their masks as the core of their domains.

Ebony would have a mask too. All of a sudden, he recalled that he used to wear the necklace Kong Jing gave him all those years back. The rings were on his and Xin's fingers, but they similarly don't appear if they don't want it to.

But the necklace was taken away, supposedly having absorbed his soul signature or energy to be crafted into a mask. It was far more troublesome because he didn't have it made while he was still young and growing.

It also wouldn't have the benefit of a few evolutions, but that wasn't a large issue. It would still be soul-bound to him and his strength would be linked to the abilities of his future mask. He wondered when they would finish crafting it.

Ebony wasn't sure who was crafting it either, but it definitely wasn't Kong Jing. To make something as indestructible was beyond the young genius.

"We're staying right here," Xin replied to his question about where to move their house to without even flipping a coin. "Tidal and Arcta won't be far."

With their speed and his transport capabilities, she wasn't wrong. He just didn't know how much the distance had increased over the past month or so.

"Wouldn't this place become like the Sector station once it opens up to foreigners?"

Ebony cocked his head at his wife's question.

"I mean, the restrictions would be off, and those spreading faith would build warp portals everywhere."

"…" He did not even consider that. The Empire wouldn't have to spend money if the invaders were the ones building the portals.

The Empire would no longer have full control over its lands. The warp station in space would hold no purpose as people who land here can just build wherever they want. Unless Navin had the manpower and power to stop people throughout the new landmass, then new forces landing and making this place their home was inevitable.

Ebony still had great confidence in the Empire of Ebbing Waves, but they weren't as old or powerful as many civilisations that had conquered multiple Worldcores. At most, Tidal won't fall into others' hands so easily IF the Elves and Oplot remained protective of them.

"Besides, wherever we live here will be temporary. We won't get our home yet."

"Is that your prediction?"

"Just gut. All the aunties and uncles have homes somewhere else and not Xienor or Sky's Edge. Legendary Worldcore is good but do you really want to stay here forever?"

"No." That feels restrictive and the opposite of his desire to travel and see what the world…the universe had to offer.

Dusk had already portioned Will to restrict spatial openings. They decided to allocate 20% of Dusk's Will regeneration for the Domain itself. 25% of Will regenerated to restrict spatial magic preventing any warps or the like from opening directly within his home. 30% was required to work with his wife's Intent Ritual to make his house magic-proof. The remaining for Spine's Coreflame of Preservation and all Coreflame effects he wanted to upkeep, such as maintaining a few plum bombs.

'The problem is that Dusk will slowly be fixed in space. And Xienor villagers' masks aren't proper mature Domains either. How do the Emperors and seniors deal with that?' It's not like he couldn't leave his home or his Domain but it was troublesome if he was travelling spatial Regions if not greater distances. He wouldn't be able to benefit from or continue growing a Domain.

Xin got the sudden urge to feast non-stop, a sign to him that she was gonna need the energy soon.

"What…I made your share there." She suddenly gave him a glance from her mound of a platter and pointed with her glare.

They've been together for decades, and she still thinks he was going to steal her food?

"You can have it if there's not enough." Ebony pushed his share closer. He was already working on Mana Digestion and had long been full.

After some time, Ebony turned from amusement to wary to confused. Amused she defended food when they had as much food as she could fit in her belly. Wary that he needed to prepare his defences for whatever she was preparing for. Then confused when it looked like she was just eating for the sake of satisfying herself and not to prepare for an impending attack.

The feast lasted literal days, but it slowly died down to intense snacking.

Her blood can saturate with energy. To go beyond natural saturation is whether or not she wants to keep her Mask within her bloodstream. If she does, she hasn't found out her percentage capacity beyond natural 100%. Before evolution, she could hold dozens of times more so it should only be greater. However, if she extracts the Mask to form a nearly indestructible object as a shield for whatever reason her bloodstream would immediately feel the loss of energy.

For someone leaning towards transmutation into a flame she doesn't really need a shield. It made sense that she was augmenting her blood, pumped through her heart for all her Core Skills.

Another reason why her natural physical stats were a lot higher than Ebony's, except for Constitution.

She did have higher base Endurance but she couldn't it up as long as Ebony. With Ebony's Constitution, general biological make-up, his muscles and bones don't wear down nearly as fast. His regeneration put into the mix, just doesn't allow her to outlast him in any contest of endurance. Unless her current energy capacity was orders larger than before, she wasn't running him dry any time soon, if ever.

"Open up!" Kong Jing's voice hammered through Eidolon. Odd coming from her.

She usually never uses this convenient form of communication for privacy reasons.

Ebony quickly had Dusk ready itself to recognise Kong Jing as a friend.

He highly doubted the mana poisoning would be a problem if Kong Jing had her usual spatial skin on. Nothing could touch her including mana radiation if she were in a different space,e even when she stands inside his Domain.

Domains were a mage's spatial control using mana and Will to enforce their rules in their territory. A sufficiently skilled space mage can exempt themselves or even a group of people from this control. After Singularities and Darkness magic, space magic was also one of the most preferred methods. It would be higher than darkness if it weren't for the fact that 'sufficiently' skilled was a high yet questionable bar.

The Domain they were in may be under too strong a spatial control by the host. Space mages were rare enough as it was after all. The fact that Kong Jing asked him to 'open up' was gratifying. Knowing her personality, she wouldn't have bothered if she could have directly smacked his head.

The mana density and Dusk's Will had already reached a point where Kong Jing, the best space mage he knew outside the Kong Clan seniors, could not directly spatially place herself inside.

This was still one of the most important factors of a secure Domain after all. All his defence would be useless if space magic could 'teleport' into his very face. No doubt, a space mage's Domain would be an interesting topic for him to study. They should not be a fixture in space, or were they more perfect fixtures and stabilisation of space?

Ebony and Dusk made a pocket that removed their Will. It was not easy. The Will that was packed into this space was like lead. They could move the mana away yet the Will would drag them back. Still more than possible for him to move, but it was only a matter of time before it was completely locked by their means.

However, Kong Jing never came.

"What was that about..."

"Sister Jing called you?" Xin off-handedly took her coin out. "She's not coming. What did the message say exactly?"

After repeating the extremely short message, Xin got more information to divine.

"Hmm….she didn't send this message today." She muttered.

Ebony understood that his wife was telling him he only received the message now, but it wasn't just sent to him.

"Hex, how long do your message delays go?"

"Delays? There should barely be any within my entire Region."

"…Is she still in this Region?"

His wife then confirmed that that was the case.

Was Hex lying, or Xin's divination just wrong?