Chapter 24 – The Ancient Master in the Ring
Luke looked up at the silver and violet lights still hovering gently above his head. The raw power contained within those two tiny fragments was something he still barely understood, yet it had just secured him an alliance with one of the most powerful beings to ever exist.
He lowered his gaze back to Petra Kross. The ancient mage was no longer looking at him like a curiosity or a doomed sacrifice. She was looking at him like a key.
"So," Luke asked, his curiosity overriding the lingering tension in the room. "What exactly are you going to do? If we don't need the other two rings to open the portal, how are we getting out of here?"
Petra extended her pale hand, gesturing to the massive, shadowed pillars and the endless ceiling of the ancient hall around them. "This space we are standing in… it does not exist within the normal boundaries of your world. It is an isolated domain, completely cut off from the Will of the World and the laws of the outside reality. It was designed as a prison to keep my incarnation hidden."
She lowered her hand, her silver eyes locking onto the small, glass-like band Luke had tossed to her earlier.
"I am going to take this entire spatial domain, and I am going to fold it into the 3rd Ring of the Deep Sea," she explained smoothly. "You will take the ring back out into your world and wear it. Using the unique authority of your Time and Space fragments, I will tether this domain to the ring's core. Furthermore, I will use their innate hiding power to completely cloak my existence from the World's Will and any other prying eyes."
Luke’s eyes widened slightly. Folding an entire dimension into a single piece of jewelry? The sheer scale of the magic she was proposing was difficult to comprehend.
"With this method," Petra continued, "I will not only be free to travel with you, but I will be able to see, hear, and perceive the outside world exactly as you do, safely hidden behind the veil of your anomaly."
Before Luke could fully process the mechanics of her plan, Petra moved.
She raised both of her hands. The atmosphere in the giant hall instantly shifted, growing heavy and thick with ancient, oppressive energy. Her pale fingers danced through the air, drawing complex, glowing runes that Luke couldn't begin to understand. The symbols burned with a fierce, golden light, linking together to form a massive, intricate magical formation that hovered between them.
"Stand still," Petra commanded, her voice echoing with a strange, layered resonance. "This will require a direct extraction."
The golden runes spun faster, and suddenly, a magnetic pull grabbed onto the silver and violet lights floating above Luke’s head.
Luke gasped. A sharp, searing pain shot straight through his chest, originating deep within his soul. It didn't feel like physical damage; it felt as though an invisible hand had reached inside him and squeezed the very core of his being. He gritted his teeth, his breathing turning ragged as the silver thread of Time and the dark violet thread of Space were forcibly drawn out, mingling with Petra’s golden runes.
Deep within his mind, a cold, clinical awareness—a lingering echo of his soul's interface—registered the loss.
Time essence active reserve... depleted by 5%.
Space essence active reserve... depleted by 5%.
Luke’s eyes widened in alarm. The World's Will had only managed to unlock 10% of each fragment during his second awakening, sealing the remaining 90% away because his soul power was too weak to hold it. Now, in a matter of seconds, Petra’s ritual had drained exactly half of his active, usable reserves.
The pain faded, but an intense feeling of loss washed over him. His trump cards, the very foundation of his newly evolved powers, had just been severely weakened. He couldn't hide the wince on his face.
Seeing his distressed expression, Petra lowered her hands. The golden runes faded, sinking directly into the 3rd Ring of the Deep Sea, which now glowed with an ethereal, shifting light.
"Do not look so panicked, little one," Petra said, her tone amused but comforting. "The power I extracted is not gone forever. Origin treasures like the fragments of Time and Space are not stagnant batteries. They are alive. They breathe. They will naturally recover the energy I borrowed to forge this tether."
Luke rubbed his chest, feeling the hollow ache inside his soul. "How long is that going to take?"
"On their own? Quite a long time," Petra admitted truthfully. "But you do not need to worry. The outside world is vast, and as the 10th Trial approaches, the earth will begin to produce rare elemental treasures and ancient resources. Once we find the right materials, I will teach you how to absorb them. You will be able to accelerate the recovery of your fragments significantly. In fact, doing so will likely help you unlock the remaining ninety percent that is currently sealed."
That managed to soothe Luke’s anxiety. If the energy could be replenished, and if Petra knew the methods to refine worldly treasures, then this temporary loss of power was an incredibly cheap price to pay for what he was gaining.
"Now," Petra said, her massive stone hall beginning to tremble. The giant pillars groaned, and the statues along the walls began to blur at the edges. "It is time to leave. Hold out your hand."
Luke raised his right hand.
Petra gently tossed the ring back to him. The moment the cool, glass-like band slipped onto his index finger, the entire world around them shattered.
The colossal stone hall, the shadowy ceiling, the ancient statues—they all folded inward, collapsing into streaks of light that swirled violently before rushing directly into the gem of the ring.
Luke squeezed his eyes shut against the blinding flash.
When he opened them again, the heavy, dusty smell of the ancient domain was gone.
He was standing back in the middle of his small, freezing apartment. The open window let in a biting chill, and outside, the heavy snow of the night had finally stopped. The sky was turning a pale, bruised purple. Morning was breaking.
“Fascinating…”
The voice did not come from the room. It echoed directly inside Luke’s mind, clear and resonant.
Luke looked down at the ring on his finger. The deep, oceanic blue energy inside the band swirled peacefully, but he could feel a faint, ancient consciousness resting just beneath the surface.
“So this is the modern era,” Petra’s voice continued in his head, carrying a mixture of curiosity and distinct unimpressed judgment. “The elemental energy in the air is terribly thin. And your dwelling… is remarkably plain.”
"It's a temporary arrangement," Luke replied aloud, a genuine smile breaking across his face for the first time in days. "We'll be moving to better accommodations soon enough."
He walked over to his bed and sat down, staring at the ring. The reality of what had just happened began to fully settle in his mind.
As a transmigrator who had spent his previous life reading countless web novels after long days at work, Luke knew exactly what he was looking at. He recognized the trope immediately.
The "Old Grandfather in a Ring."
It was one of the most classic, overpowered setups in modern fantasy. The protagonist finds a dusty, forgotten ring, only to discover a supreme, ancient spirit living inside it. The spirit acts as a mentor, offering lost knowledge, unparalleled alchemy recipes, hidden cultivation techniques, and perfect tactical guidance from the shadows. It was the ultimate cheat code.
And now, Luke had one.
In the original novel, Emily’s System was the absolute peak of "cheat" abilities. It guided her, gave her quests, and warned her of danger. But Luke realized that what he held on his finger was just as potent. Petra Kross wasn't a rigid, mechanical system bound by programmed rules. She was a living, breathing ancient supreme mage with thirty thousand years of experience, a vast arsenal of forgotten Arcana magic, and the ability to perceive the world through his senses.
She was his Golden Finger.
A quiet, dark sense of satisfaction filled his chest. He was supposed to be the villainous ex-husband. He was supposed to be a tragic stepping stone, a disposable pawn manipulated by the Silver Moon Corporation until he was thrown away to highlight the male lead's triumph.
But by stealing the ring early, he had stolen the very mentor the System had intended to give to Emily. He had fundamentally altered the balance of the board.
“You are smiling, little one,” Petra’s voice echoed in his mind, sounding slightly suspicious. “What are you plotting?”
Nothing," Luke said. He fell back onto the mattress, completely drained from the day's events, and let himself drift off to sleep.