Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1234: Discovered

The Time Manipulators refrained from joining the Chaos Immortal's invasion of Vale's Shadow Domain because of the crucial mission assigned to them.

It appeared they were locked into a quest that allowed no disruptions. Even the smallest interference could have led to their deaths.

This quest didn't involve combat, but exploration instead.

Vale had given them an assignment demanding utmost patience and discretion. Their goal was to locate a subordinate realm ripe for exploitation, which could ultimately raise their own realm to a superior level through Vale's guidance.

Vale hadn't discovered this knowledge from the Shadow Realm directly, but rather from the insights of the Time Manipulators.

Only they grasped the intricate conditions needed for a realm's ascension. One key element among them was the Will of the Realm.

The Will needed sufficient power to host Immortals, to exert pressure on them, and to impose curses if they broke the unspoken rules, like the ban on massacring mortals. Lacking this power, no realm could ever elevate itself.

This particular condition had already been met.

The Realm's Will possessed the strength to challenge even High Immortals. Yet that alone wasn't sufficient. It also required a link to another realm, with their own holding dominance.

Moreover, Vale's ambitions reached even farther. He desired his followers to grow, to dominate, and to gear up for the unavoidable conflicts between realms. Thus, he sought not merely a connection but a domain they could harvest for vital resources.

To achieve that, discovering a fresh lower realm became essential... It created an ideal opportunity for him...

After all, elevating this realm would allow them at last to harvest Divinity!

Truly, the Immortals' drive to ascend stemmed primarily from the scarcity of Divinity in their current domain.

"Soon..." Vale whispered, envisioning the realm someday gaining true divinity.

***

One year prior, three dedicated figures labored deep within the Shadow Realm.

Following Vale's orders, they concealed themselves from all prying eyes...

They set up a hidden outpost that no Immortal could breach without effort.

Liora, petite with keen eyes, fine-tuned the Formation Array inscribed on the ground.

Cyper, a sturdy man with broad shoulders, waited close by. His short dark hair and green eyes lent him the appearance of a fighter more than a time weaver. Still, his grip remained firm as he positioned the massive Divine Crystals fueling their probe.

Elysia, elegant and statuesque, with her lengthy black hair appearing moist, glided her fingers through the empty space to weave the temporal strands into the arrays.

She possessed the deepest connection to time's currents, serving as the anchor to keep their probes from veering into disorder.

United, they comprised Vale's elite squad of Time Manipulators.

Their duty involved utilizing the secret coordinates known solely to the Time Faction to identify conquerable realms.

The endeavor proved lengthy and grueling.

Every trial demanded synchronizing numerous arrays, directing temporal forces, and securing the delicate links spanning realms.

Obviously, one error could result in total destruction.

Their initial probe connected to a superior realm.

As soon as the coordinates fixed, the Will's force crashed over them like a massive surge. Cyper faltered, his frame quaking beneath the burden of Immortal edicts. His protective aura fractured, and briefly, he feared being pulverized.

"Pull him out!" Liora yelled, her rapier slicing sharply through the temporal strands that held them.

Elysia's fingers danced rapidly, shattering the coordinates just before the Will could afflict them. The arrays flickered and failed, leaving the trio panting in the subterranean room.

Cyper sank to one knee, perspiration streaming across his brow.

"Thank you... both of you. If you hadn’t pulled me out, I’d have been cursed beyond repair."

Liora scowled. "That was too close. We can’t afford mistakes like that again."

Elysia nodded, her tone steady.

"The coordinates we have are just too unreliable... We have to be careful."

***

Weeks later, after full recovery, they launched their next attempt...

This one was guided by Elysia, who threaded the coordinates with precision until the array revealed a passage...

It drained a substantial amount of Divine Crystals, but such costs were irrelevant now...

Regrettably, peril erupted once more as the path formed. The realm they reached was turbulent, its Will shattered and erratic. Shadowy entities reached out, seeking to haul their souls into oblivion.

"Cut it!" Cyper bellowed, pounding his fist against the floor to shatter the array.

The room trembled, and the coordinates began to unravel.

"That’s..."

Elysia stumbled backward, her hair lashing wildly across her features. "That one was worse. If we had lingered, we would have been lost."

Liora let out a sharp breath. "We need better coordinates. These old ones are unreliable."

Cyper agreed with a somber nod. "We have at least a hundred coordinates... We can slowly try them, no matter how many years we have to take. Vale trusted us with this mission. We can’t return empty-handed."

In this manner, weeks stretched into months.

The trio of manipulators toiled without pause, experimenting with coordinates, fortifying arrays, and charting the tenuous bridges across realms. Every setback imparted fresh wisdom. Every narrow escape strengthened their determination to uncover a viable option...

At last, after almost a full year of dedication, victory came.

The coordinates synced perfectly, the arrays held firm, and the gateway unveiled a realm entirely new to their experience...

The Will's influence could be felt, but it didn't dominate them. It enforced its rules with strength, without the crushing weight that could overwhelm.

Even better, the realm stood unoccupied. No signs of Divinity or Immortal activity remained, and no superior realm had staked a claim!

"We’ve done it!" Cyper whispered.

"Wait! Don’t celebrate yet!" Liora cautioned, suspecting it could be a snare!

Before long, she chose to project her Temporal Body downward...

Through this, they caught sight of woodlands, peaks, and above all, cities inhabited by humans!