Xavier, still in shock, blankly stared at the ashes of the doll.
He wondered if he would ever be able to pull off such a feat; with a chuckle, he thought, "Who am I kidding? I can't even harness Ziy, not to talk of conjuring a spell. I should just focus on my healing and get out of here.
" Aham", 'Xavier, I don't have much time left, neither do you,' Asrotth said, making a head gesture towards Xavier's feet, which were almost transparent as before. 'So, unless you want your soul to be one with my library, I say we start with your healing.'
Xavier nodded,"Yes, let's start.'
Four hours later, Xavier sat on the floor in a padmasana position, his golden brown hair sticking closely to his forehead. He sweated profusely, with drops of sweat dripping down his pale skin onto the silk-white floor, immediately evaporating and leaving no spots.
He remembered Asrotth's words before leaving him alone again, "Your affiliation to Ziy is very low; it will be a miracle if you can actually harness enough Ziy to fill up your core. But that shouldn't stop you from trying. Just do your best to harness enough Ziy before I get back."
That was three hours ago.
Throughout those three hours, he had been in this position, using the breathing technique Asrotth taught to increase his soul's connection to Ziy in and around the air. However, after three hours of grueling effort to absorb Ziy, his core wasn't even halfway filled with a blue-like liquid.
Xavier could see the shape and size of his cracked core using "Essence Perception," a technique Asrotth had taught him. It was easy to learn and didn't require much Ziy. The user just had to transfer a small amount of Ziy to his eyes, then focus on the traction of Ziy in his body or any living being.
Right now, Xavier wasn't sure if he would be able to absorb enough Ziy before Asrotth returned and decided 'he' wasn't worth Asrotth's time, leaving him to fade out of existence.
Six hours later...
Xavier was excited; his core was about eighty percent filled up, and he could feel his body or soul fill up with energy. His sight was sharper than it ever had been, his muscles, which had been aching since he woke up in this place, started relieving him bit by bit.
His use of Ziy had improved slightly with the continued use of Essence Perception. Although he knew he still couldn't use Ziy in any combative way, it was a big step up from what he knew about the energy that granted men God-like powers.
As he searched his body for the changes brought by the Ziy, he felt something he had never felt before - true fear. Every cell in his body could feel an intense energy , It felt like one turning his back on the abyss unaware of what truly lurks within, no something more dangerous than that, something he couldn't comprehend.
Xavier's stomach churned as a sour liquid crept up the back of his throat, inching its way toward his mouth.
Berf...
He vomited a yellowish water like liquid, but it immediately evaporated before hitting the silk floor, His body was weak, but with what energy he had left, he pushed himself up to his feet, taking the first step to run for his life; he fell back down.
As he was about to lift himself up, he noticed a shadow drop over him; for some reason, he could feel his body's reluctance to face what or who had that shadow.
As he was about to stand up to flee, he heard a familiar voice, "What are you doing?"
Asrotth looked at the profusely sweating boy whose features fit that of royalty but, for some reason was short for his age. His golden brown hair was scattered and soaked with his sweat.
Asrotth had many questions but decided not to bother himself, for some reason understanding that knowing the answers to his questions would leave him more confused than he was.
"Hmm... I see your core is almost filled up," Asrotth said, looking at Xavier's cracked core without any malice in his gaze, but for Xavier, this wasn't the case. Ever since he was here, his mind couldn't comprehend the features of the being right in front of him, but right now, using Essence Perception, he could now see Asrotth's features.
It was not anywhere close to bad or disgusting but very much the opposite - a male-like being with icy blond shoulder-length hair. He wore a pure white suit with a knee-length chlayms, the same color as his hair, with a tint of gold ends dripped on his right arm; his emerald-colored eyes stared down at Xavier.
But what frightened Xavier was not the god's appearance but his aura; Asrotth's green-tinted aura raised to the sky of the library, and much like the library that had no end. It filled the vast library; if one looked closer, they would notice that Asrotth's aura was connected to the library, meaning everything within the library, even the library itself, was just an extension of Asrotth's full power.
What stood before the young boy was not anything words could describe; all fibers of his body and soul were on high alert, screaming at him to run. But he knew he couldn't, for the "being" in front of him was his benefactor, his only way to return to his family. He had to stand the crushing aura of the being in front of him if he ever wanted to return home to his parents.
He finally gathered courage to push himself off the floor and onto his feet but was still hesitant to get close to Asrotth, even though he knew Asrotth didn't have any ill intent.
Asrotth, who had figured out what had happened to Xavier, hastily withdrew his energy before he mentally scared the child for life. Xavier watched in awe as the emerald-like aura moved like ocean waves and gradually retracted back, as if sucked into an endless void.
After over an hour, Asrotth's aura still filled the library, but it had long relieved Xavier from its hold. Currently, Asrotth was examining Xavier's core for any impurities in his Ziy, but to his surprise, it was okay at least for a being with no knowledge of Ziy refinement.
"Hmmm, this human is interesting; he could withstand 20% of my force, and his Ziy is clean. I've not met a human with Ziy as clear as his, or is he one of them?" Asrotth wondered. At least my work load has been reduced.
Thinking of this, Asrotth retracted his silky left arm behind his back and produced a small, red pouch. The pouch floated out of his palm and mysteriously opened, revealing a vial of white, elliptical pills. Each pill had a golden orb embedded in its center, surrounded by blood-red lines that orbited in a clockwise direction.
As soon as the pill pouch was opened, a breathtaking scent wafted through the air, its aroma unlike anything Xavier had ever encountered. Having grown up in the last compartment, where inhabitants barely scraped together enough to survive for a month, Xavier was unfamiliar with refined fragrances. Luxuries like essence were never a priority for people struggling to make ends meet.
"Take one from the pouch." Xavier slowly sunk his left arm into the pouch; he gradually took one pill, and for some reason, his hands were shaking uncontrollably. The aura he could see coming from the pill was beyond what he had ever imagined.
To the average person, this pill was nothing but an ordinary pill with an Ambergris scent, but to Xavier, who was still using the technique he learned from Asrotth, he could see the void-like energy the pill had. He watched as the pill attracted his Ziy, forcing it to leave his core and swallow it like it was nothing.
If it was doing this to his Ziy now, what would it do to him when he ate it? He brought it to his mouth; he could now fully take in the pill's majestic aroma, but he had no time to appreciate the scent as he downed the pill.
For some seconds, he couldn't feel anything until he used Essence Perception on his core; then, he noticed it looked like his Ziy was set on fire, boiling like water. The golden core of the pill started melting and turned into liquid; it gradually made its way down to his core, ignoring the Ziy within it, and coated itself around the core.
But it wasn't for protection; rather, more cracks started appearing around the core. That's when Xavier fell back down on the floor; he was in so much pain. Blood trickled from his eyes, ears, and nostrils. Xavier, still in pain, hadn't noticed that he was losing blood and fast, but for some reason, he still trusted Asrotth.
He gradually pulled himself toward Asrotth and looked upward, but he was met with a cold glance before he lost consciousness and fell back down.