Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1206: Passed

For a brief instant, the patient's breaths grew steady...

"You're safe..." Cielo murmured softly upon noticing Daren's eyes fluttering open. Those eyes appeared sharp now, with no trace of madness showing through, at least for the time being.

Still, Cielo understood this calm wouldn't last forever... His Thought Link had merely tethered Daren to the here and now, and it could fade away if Daren couldn't pull himself back together on his own.

Even so, the caretaker let out a deep sigh of relief and began murmuring quiet prayers to himself.

Yet from behind Cielo, Zhang Wei's fingers twitched ever so slightly. He grazed a concealed talisman tucked inside his sleeve, unleashing a subtle pulse of Arcane Energy.

The ripple was tiny, barely noticeable, yet it sufficed to unsettle the clarity rune that Cielo had set upon the table.

Whom~

The talisman's light flickered and dimmed.

Daren's stare grew unsteady, and visions assaulted him once more!

"Chrono... shift... the symbols... they're all around..." His fingers spasmed wildly, as though battling an invisible foe.

The caretaker let out a sharp intake of breath. "He's fading away again!"

Cielo scowled at the unfolding scene.

He sensed the disturbance right away. The clarity rune hadn't crumbled by itself; some kind of meddling had clearly occurred moments earlier.

'Hold on...'

His potent Mental Energy activated swiftly, bolstering his Thought Link. Though he disliked shoving too much of his power into another's thoughts, he saw no alternative here, or risk total collapse.

Before long, he infused serenity into Daren's consciousness while imposing order on his swirling ideas.

"Remain here with me, Daren," Cielo declared with resolve, all the while scanning for further threats nearby.

At last, Daren's respiration eased off again...

The clarity rune flared back to life, shining even more intensely as Cielo's Mental Energy overwhelmed the recent sabotage.

Out of sight behind him, Zhang Wei's grin twisted into a grimace. 'Did he catch on?'

Mica advanced, pretending worry. "Cielo, perhaps you ought to take a break and allow us to assist. Your Thought Link might not suffice by itself."

But Cielo refused with a shake of his head.

"No. I've got this under control."

Liang Chen grinned slyly as he chose that instant to act.

In a flash, he tossed a talisman down to the ground, etched with an agitation rune.

Truth be told, deploying Rune Talismans wasn't his usual style, but he'd acquired this one the previous evening precisely for such a moment.

With that, a gentle surge of power permeated the space, rousing the shattered fragments of Daren's psyche.

Suddenly, Daren seized up, his whispers escalating into a piercing cry!

His state deteriorated rapidly! "The shadows! They're present! They're observing me!"

The caretaker freaked out. "What's going on?!"

Cielo's gaze sharpened. He was set on seeing this task through to the end.

Moments ago, he'd detected the alien force bearing down on Daren's mind, seeking to heighten the turmoil. His Mental Energy rose to meet it, unleashing a flood of lucidity to batter the invader.

"No," Cielo breathed. "You won't shatter him."

He broadened his Metaphysical State, letting his Thought Link fully encase Daren's mind. His Mental Energy battled the agitation rune, stripping away its hold bit by bit.

Eventually, the talisman on the floor splintered, its radiance snuffed out.

Daren's wails softened to whimpers, then trailed off into quiet.

In that moment, the man found himself healed!

"The voices... they've vanished..."

The caretaker dropped to his knees, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. "You pulled it off... You really did..."

His fingers shook as he pressed them together, his gaze brimming with deep appreciation.

He couldn't help but think back to the day he'd pleaded with the Priests of the Church of the Fortune Goddess for aid. They'd arrived bearing golden charms and blessings, intoning songs of wealth and destiny. But their rituals changed nothing.

Back then, Daren's psyche stayed fractured...

Afterward, he'd approached the Sorcerers of the Divine Sorcerer Church, one of the five Orthodox churches. Cloaked in somber robes and wielding staffs, they'd called upon divine sorcery to cleanse the corruption from his thoughts. Yet their incantations proved useless too.

By then, it dawned on them that Daren's affliction stemmed not from demonic influence, hexes, illness, or earthly forces they could banish. It was a derangement forged deep within his spirit, beyond their grasp.

The caretaker's voice quivered as those memories resurfaced.

"Even the Orthodox couldn't succeed... Two of the mightiest churches were powerless against it. Thank you!"

The caretaker declared, fixing his eyes on Cielo, who hadn't surrendered. He'd resorted to lesser faiths, clinging to hope that somebody, anybody, could make a difference.

Cielo offered a gentle smile, well aware of the others' shortcomings. Such a dilemma demanded the skills of Psychic Arts Practitioners alone. Moreover, techniques like Thought Link or their equivalents were utterly essential...

"Fascinating... Have you sought aid from other churches?" Cielo inquired.

The caretaker paused in surprise before affirming with a nod.

Evidently, two nearby churches had attempted intervention as well.

The Church of the Silent Moon dispatched its monks, delivering contemplative chants and lunar benedictions. They insisted the moon's tranquility would soothe the spirit. But Daren had only howled more fiercely then.

The Church of the Green Path followed suit, arriving with natural cures and woodland invocations. They concocted elixirs, ignited fragrant herbs, and summoned forest entities. Yet their treatments merely numbed Daren's form, leaving his mind untouched.

Little surprise Daren's thoughts were in such disarray... He'd endured a string of botched healings.

All the same, Cielo at last wiped the perspiration from his brow.

His robust Mental Energy had seen him through, though he realized the trouble lingered on.

The patient's volatility wasn't the sole fight he'd waged.

He pivoted gradually, his stare pinning Zhang Wei, Mica, and Liang in place.

The trio traded looks, concealing their frustration. They'd schemed for Cielo's downfall. Yet he'd triumphed where the churches had faltered.

Their feigned grins might have fooled him once, but Cielo wasn't foolish. He'd perceived the undermining, the intentional meddling.

"You three..." he murmured softly. "You had no intention of assisting."

A tense hush fell for an instant. The caretaker glanced among them, bewildered.

Zhang Wei let out a light laugh, veiling his annoyance. "You're seeing things that aren't there, Cielo. We were merely worried about your well-being."

Mica chimed in with honeyed tones, "Exactly, we just aimed to back you up. You're far too distrustful."

Liang Chen sneered. "Plus, you pulled it off, right? That's what counts."

Cielo glowered at his cowardly peers.

That said, he chose not to pursue it. Not right then, not with the caretaker and patient watching...

Deep down, though, he'd already doomed them. Kind as he was, he valued hard work, fairness, and aiding the needy, but naivety had no place in him.

He'd witnessed their spite and endured their tampering.

...And he would hold onto that grudge forever.

Odessa, lurking in the shadows beyond, grinned at the unfolding drama.

She'd observed it all and admired Cielo's approach to the crisis.

Without question, Cielo would represent in the Academy Competition come a few months, as Vale's apprentice...

'Excellent... You'll rise even higher upon becoming his true disciple.' Odessa pondered while eyeing the three troublesome pupils depart the structure.

Though tempted to discipline them herself, she figured Cielo would prefer handling it personally.

With that, Odessa slipped from the humble dwelling.

***

On this occasion, Odessa headed to the Transformation Arts section of the Academy.

She navigated the urban sprawl nimbly until arriving at a serene enclosure by the Academy's southern flank. There, she spotted the young woman she sought—a fellow first-year called Darlene Arkwright.

Darlene possessed a lithe build, fair complexion, and flowing silver-white locks.

Despite her youth, she drew envy from countless others.

Odessa observed as Darlene trained alone.

She'd already perfected the trio of basic spells in Transformation Arts:

Morph Flesh, which lets her tweak small features of her physique, like altering skin feel or tinting hair.

Bone Shift, a technique for reinforcing or reshaping bone framework, providing short-term toughness or suppleness.

Essence Adaptation, the trickiest among them, yet it permits syncing her bodily essence to surrounding elements, such as enduring extreme warmth, chill, or poisons.

"She's progressing nicely..." Odessa whispered after witnessing Darlene's incantations blend fluidly in sequence.

However, Odessa then spied something odd. As Darlene halted to regain her wind, a subtle wriggle occurred under her shirt.

A petite black serpent emerged just far enough to reveal its head...

"Ahhh..."

Odessa's inhale hitched. She knew it at once.

It belonged to Vale's pet serpent! A Spirit Beast or similar, glimpsed previously in Vale's Immortal Tower!

Moreover, its aura stood out vividly, for she sensed divinity emanating from the creature!

'Has he dispatched his Spirit Beast to her already?'

In the serpent's presence, Darlene showed no alarm.

She merely caressed it tenderly, treating it like a faithful ally.

Odessa curved her lips into a subtle smile.

'Thus... Vale has selected her. He never breathed a word to me. I'd assumed he was still watching closely...'

After a head shake, Odessa spun around and departed the yard.

Further examination of Darlene proved unnecessary.

Vale's choice shone plainly now...

Yet as she strode off, a sound echoed within her thoughts!

The serpent was addressing her!