Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1213: The Unexpected Protection

Armin remained unaware that the Spirit Queen was already mocking him.

He simply ascended the newly revealed staircase, driven by his ambition to claim ownership of the Arcane Tower...

With this achievement, upon his return to the Academy to aid it or assist the students, he would prove far more dependable!

Armin's breaths steadied momentarily, yet as he advanced toward the upcoming trial, his frame began to quiver under the toll of the earlier ordeals.

Evidently, despite the Spirits' support, his physical limits were reaching their breaking point...

The sixth floor had almost shattered him entirely, yet the spirits had pulled him forward. Now, upon entering the seventh floor, he instantly perceived a profound difference.

The room stretched wide and round, brimming with Arcane Energy that echoed the essence of Chaos Arts!

"What challenge awaits this time?"

The entrance sealed shut behind him abruptly, as though sealing off any chance of retreat. Then, in the heart of the room, a massive silhouette emerged. It was neither human nor creature, but Armin quickly discerned it as the very embodiment of the Tower.

Its shape flickered incompletely, ready to vanish in an instant...

As Armin peered more intently, he noticed the silhouette shifting: at times a cloaked wise man, at others a winged protector, and occasionally a shadowy form without features.

It proved rather fascinating...

Before long, the Tower Guardian's voice resounded... It carried a more robotic tone this time.

"You have withstood reflection, paradox, and essence. Yet the Tower rejects mere survivors. To rise higher, demonstrate that destiny itself yields to your command."

Armin gulped nervously. "What exactly do you mean?"

The Guardian lifted its arm, and the entire chamber morphed.

In an instant, Armin found himself encircled by illusions... Innumerable life paths diverged from him like flowing streams. One depicted him as a despot devoured by Dark Arts. Another showed him overlooked, shattered, and lingering in the orphanage... That was surely his destiny without the Elixir's opportunity or the unexpected inheritance of the Pocketwatch.

Still, in one more path, victory crowned him as the Tower Master.

The Guardian intoned...

"What destiny claims you? Choose it... But each selection brings repercussions. For acceptance, confront the future you dread most... endure it fully."

Armin's heart pounded fiercely. He grasped it slowly, realizing he had to live through all his potential destinies!

True enough, the mirrors had revealed these outcomes earlier, but now he needed to experience them firsthand.

Abruptly, the chamber altered... and Armin suddenly found himself immersed in a realm of Darkness.

In that moment, he understood his Dark Arts had overwhelmed him, likely plunging him into the insanity induced by Dark Arts.

Nevertheless, he witnessed himself commanding the shadows. Yet trailing him were the corpses of his fallen allies, including even Vale, his mentor!

The twisted self advanced. It resembled a deranged or grimy caricature of him.

"This is your true nature. Unbridled might. Destiny devoid of allegiance. Yield, and the Tower shall bestow all upon you."

It persisted in deceiving him, and Armin at last comprehended the trial's nature.

The allure proved utterly overpowering. Infinite strength, eternal life, absolute rule... all for forsaking everything, even his mentor!

'However... They ought to intervene soon, before I choose wrongly.' Armin pondered.

True to form, the spirits stirred in his shadow, murmuring gently.

They presented glimpses of Vale's lessons, of his comrades who battled alongside him, of the devotion that propelled him onward.

Armin balled his hands into fists.

His thoughts sharpened once more...

"Thanks for this advantage... I'd surely flop without your aid."

With a fierce yell, he released his Mystic Energy, ensnaring the corrupted self!

The figure wailed, then promptly dissolved into vapor.

"That was straightforward..." Armin swelled with pride, certain he'd chosen wisely here.

Yet the ordeal persisted...

The chamber transformed anew. Now Armin beheld himself as shattered and ignored in the old orphanage... His name erased from memory, his achievements uncelebrated. In this route, he amounted to nothing...

Fortunately, before despair and self-pity could engulf him, the Spirits yanked him free again...

A voice addressed him, "This is unavoidable. Oblivion awaits you. Why resist? Why battle? Embrace your lot."

Had he remained dazed, he'd have surrendered without question. But circumstances had shifted!

"So close..."

Armin's legs wobbled as exhaustion gripped him... The Spirits drained his reserves too, but knowing their aid was vital, he pressed on.

As anticipated, the spirits persisted amid the ongoing trial... They echoed in his thoughts to bolster his resolve!

Armin lifted his gaze. "Exactly... Being forgotten doesn't matter to me..."

With that, the fractured self vanished, plunging the space into quiet.

***

At last, the chamber changed for the final time. Armin faced the Guardian again.

"You have confronted the trials directly... Now, confront reality. Who are you?"

Armin shut his eyes.

This query demanded depth...

He sensed the spirits inside him and their purpose. Memories of each trial, each setback, and each rescue by the Spirits flooded back.

Drawing a steadying breath, he declared.

"I am Armin... Disciple of Immortal Vale. Imperfect, yet I welcome aid. I welcome destiny... and I welcome who I am."

The Guardian's shape solidified into a radiant colossus. It extended its arm, igniting the chamber's Formation Arrays.

"You have welcomed choice and certainty. Acceptance is yours..."

Abruptly, the chamber quaked.

Without announcement, numerous Arcanists within the Tower sensed the impending event from the shifts in the Mystic Arts Tower.

It appeared the Mystic Arts Tower was sealing itself!

Likely, it had identified its rightful master!

In a flash, across the inferior levels, myriad Arcanists engaged in training or their personal trials were abruptly ejected... Energy surges transported their forms outward.

"What in the world?! Did someone conquer it?!"

"Oh no! How long until it reopens?!"

"I'm nearly finished with my Spell Model! Why now of all times?!"

"Ugh! The one responsible owes us big time."

Countless Arcanists voiced their frustration openly.

But resistance proved futile!

***

Meanwhile, within the Tower, as the Guardian's words dissolved, the chamber started crumbling into fog.

Armin's legs buckled, and his sight dimmed.

Oppressive pressure bore down on his torso, and before uttering a word, his form collapsed.

Unconsciousness claimed him!

The ritual commenced.

Similar to Lisa's experience in the Dark Arts Tower, Armin's form entered the inheritance stage. This metamorphosis would span days, likely altering his build and remolding his core with the Tower's might.

Yet as his body rested still, his shadow stirred... The motion was faint at first, but it grew bolder.

Suddenly, the ten concealed spirits within him began to shift...

By now, they required no aid from the Spirit Queen. Freedom to act independently had arrived!

"The time is ripe... With him asleep, his guards lowered."

"Strike swiftly, and we seize beyond his shadow... We claim dominance."

Gradually, strands of spirit force wound around Armin's dormant soul, testing for vulnerabilities. They aimed to embed deeper, to grasp partial sway over his vessel amid the Tower's reshaping inheritance.

And distant, in the depths of Vale's Immortal Tower, the Spirit Queen detected it.

Concern flickered for her spirits, yet she recognized interference was impossible—such a distant meddling defied control...

"Don't falter here..." The Spirit Queen whispered, resigned to observation...

Fortunately, the spirits proved sly, masking their aims within the inheritance's currents. Briefly, triumph seemed within reach.

Then, without warning...

Armin's golden pocketwatch, the heirloom he constantly bore, erupted in brilliance!

"What?!" The Spirit Queen recoiled in surprise. Her prior inspection deemed it no mighty Artifact!

Yet now, a surge of golden luster pierced the gloom.

The spirits shrank back, snarling in agony as the watch's sheen incinerated their grasping tendrils!

Defeat struck!

"That pocketwatch... It's shielding him?!"

The golden radiance fortified Armin's core, barricading his soul against invasion.

The spirits retreated into quiet, barred from further meddling!

All this transpired as Armin slumbered on!

The Spirit Queen gripped her fists in irritation.

"Ah, so that's why Vale placed faith in him... That pocketwatch is far from a mere bauble."