"...Cough, or to the grave." The Vampire coughed bashfully right after.
Ikaris grimaced, but it didn't affect his curiosity for the box's contents.
"What do you mean?" He asked calmly. "And is it me or is this box incomplete?"
Indeed, there were five empty slots left in the box, as if Magnus hoped to place more trophies in the future. Obviously, this was no longer possible for him.
"This box is indeed incomplete." The old man sighed as he stared fondly at the objects arranged inside on a red velvet case. Instead of answering, he abruptly switched topics while chuckling to himself,
"Hey, do you know why the mangy dog I was fighting with was so pissed off?"
Ikaris remembered the dialogue he had overheard and said tentatively,
"Did you steal something from him?"
"Oh fuck yes! Do you see the snow white fang in the box? It's his grandfather's Bloodline Spark, a Werewolf Emperor. At his peak, he ruled over thousands of Werewolf Kings, who themselves had thousands of Alpha Werewolves under their command... Cough, cough!"
The Vampire was interrupted by another coughing fit, and it only ended after he coughed up a copious amount of foul black blood. With a worn-out face and a wheezing voice, he resumed with less enthusiasm,
"The other items in the box are other trophies of the same quality. The sapphire blue scale belongs to a Blue Dragon similar to the one that took part in the group assault on the Narvath earlier. The purple eye... belongs to a very devious Demon. The white feather is that of an Angel of Zar, the black feather that of an Angel of Faulch and the red feather that of an Angel of Anrasil. These are three of the Twelve Major Saints of Neia. As for this pearl... I don't know what it is, but it's a Bloodline Spark. A particularly extraordinary one."
"What is a Bloodline Spark?" Ikaris asked with confusion.
"When a Sorcerer reaches his limits and sees his end approaching, he will usually make a last ditch effort to leave a legacy for his descendants, his kingdom, or the Free Races if need be. It's still much better than watching your body and soul slowly decay in a drawn-out agony. This is also the time in their lives when their Divine Spark, Body Spark and Soul Spark are at their peak...
"What I'm about to tell you is not a secret to the Confederation, but to the stray Sorcerers it is. Some discover this secret about the Divine Sparks through sheer luck, while some advance much faster than others because they rely on it subconsciously. So listen carefully.
"In addition to the Principle of Optimization and Transcendence, there is a third one: the Principle of Sacrifice. You must have already realized that even when your visualization is not perfect, the spell still works as long as the intention is clearly established. The spell just costs you a lot more stamina, right?"
Ikaris nodded knowingly. He had indeed experienced this with Heart-Puncturing.
"What do you infer from this?"
Ikaris mulled over the question for a moment, then answered with a look of realization,
"That Divine Spark understands what we want to do and does its best to grant our wish. It's sentient."
"Yeeees but no. Well not quite." Magnus mercilessly doused his enthusiasm. "But you're right about one thing, the Divine Spark does try to understand us, or rather Neia, the Source to which our Divine Sparks are all connected by an invisible umbilical cord. This is what allows them to grow. It is almost like signing a Contract every time we cast a spell. If we perform well, the Source nourishes our Sparks and they grow."
"A Contract?" Ikaris frowned. He didn't really like the sound of this.
"The word Contract has its importance." The Vampire confirmed as he sat down heavily on the floor. He finally couldn't stand.
"If you're willing to sacrifice something to ensure the success of a spell, your Divine Spark will perceive it as proof of your emotional investment. In other words, it increases the resonance with your Soul Spark. Emotions like anger or fear are a crude way to amplify magic, but with the Principle of Sacrifice you can do much better. As long as you pay the price.
"The most common price is suffering. You sacrifice your well-being. It is also a feeling, which will amplify your spells much more effectively than an emotion like anger or fear. But because of the Principle of Optimization in Divine Sparks, the pain will only escalate as your spells improve, until you find yourself in permanent pain. This is a choice that few young Sorcerers are willing to make. But for those who do, their progression is terribly fast, but they soon go mad or end up committing suicide after a few years."
The teen shuddered as he imagined what a horrible life it would be. He didn't know how long he would be able to endure such a life.
"The second price is the sacrifice of your health, or even your life. It may mean giving up one of your senses, becoming unable to walk, or reducing your lifespan. When a Sorcerer is willing to die for his ideas, his country or to save someone else, he does so without realizing it. Never underestimate a cornered Sorcerer, Ikaris. That's when their magic is at its strongest.
Ikaris carefully memorized all the details. He hadn't fought any real Sorcerers yet, but he was sure that day would come if he wanted to fulfill the Vampire's last wishes.
"The third prize is the sacrifice of your potential. In some ways, such a sacrifice can be worse than death. When a Sorcerer with the potential to become a Saint performs a spell with such resolve, even if he or she is only an Apprentice, they can momentarily rival an Archmage."
Magnus paused at this point and let him digest this information. It was also to catch his breath. He didn't have much time left. He had not been able to say everything about these Contracts, but he had to cut it short. When he felt up to speaking again, he concluded,
"When a Sorcerer or Demonic Beast dies, their Secondary Sparks may survive by condensing a core, crystal, or other object matching their position, but the likelihood is relatively small. They are also notoriously tricky to absorb or use because they are unique to their creator.
"A Bloodline Spark is when a Sorcerer, in a culminating spell, decides to condense the essence of the abilities he has accumulated over a lifetime into a part of his body that will serve as an anchor. Each time you use a spell, your body is slightly altered, but these changes are not easily passed on to your descendants. The Bloodline Spark guarantees success. The difference from a naturally condensed Secondary Spark is that it contains the intention of its creator to be passed on to others. Anyone can absorb a Bloodline Spark, even if it's that of a Werewolf Emperor or a Sacred Magus.
"Or that of a Vampire Emperor like me..."
Magnus' face grew somber and he said,
"The time has come for me to leave you my gift. I hope I won't regret it. What I will leave in my ring will aid you in your quest and reveal the remainder of my wish when you are ready.
The Vampire gazed at the gold ring set with a huge ruby and Ikaris got the hint and removed it from his finger. The old man had long since become unable to move and cracks had begun to spread across the surface of his body.
The boy stepped back with a solemn look on his face, feeling nothing but respect and gratitude for this Vampire who was willing to sacrifice himself to give a stranger he had met less than an hour ago a chance to succeed.
Suddenly, the dying old man emitted a deep crimson aura and the veins under his skin began to glow brightly. A network of scarlet light manifested itself under his translucent skin. The red light flowed back to the Vampire's heart and when all the unpoisoned blood was gathered inside, it gushed out of his chest, leaving a gap in his thorax.
A luminescent blob of blood hovered in the air before him and Magnus rasped,
"Blood Legacy."
Hundreds of dots of multicolored, but mostly crimson lights lit up in different parts of his body, then suddenly they went out. The blob of blood suddenly condensed, forming an egg-shaped Blood Crystal the size of a fist.
As soon as the Bloodline Spark was created, the body quickly disintegrated, returning to dust. A breeze blew and its ashes were blown into the sky, erasing all traces of its existence.
The wind stopped blowing, his rings, clothes and possessions fell to the ground and silence returned, leaving an Ikaris suddenly feeling desperately lonely, as if he had just been abandoned. Depressed and somewhat sad, he picked up the blood egg with a conflicted expression, then moved to the rings left by the Vampire.
Remembering that the ruby ring had something in it to help him in his quest, the boy picked it up as well, but his face froze when he touched it with his fingertips.
In his mind, the specter of a swaggering Magnus appeared.
"Fuck me sideways!" Ikaris cursed.
"Yo." The old man said with a crooked smile.
Ikaris decisively threw the ring aside and walked away without looking back.