Under the starry sky, it felt as if one were lost in an endless void. The only indication of time passing was the rise and fall of the moon and stars. Looking around, Fars found himself questioning not only where he was but also where he was headed. He began to doubt whether Joanna and Agno were genuinely captivated by the celestial display. After all, it took a certain audacity to enter the seal of a legendary mage without any plan—relying solely on luck was clearly not the strategy of someone as astute as Joanna. Taking such a gamble was reckless, especially when they had already achieved great wealth and status.
If it weren't for the contract binding him to them, Fars would have considered eliminating them on the spot; this was a rare opportunity. Just as they had refrained from taking advantage of Fars when he was incapacitated by the demon's forced awakening of his legacy, Fars felt he couldn't harm them either. Keeping them around served as a safety net for himself.
On the other hand, the demon had waited for thousands of years for a chance to break the seal and escape. Over such a long period, it had thoroughly understood the mechanics of the starry seal. Flaws certainly existed, but the demon itself was sealed away, and its limited mental power couldn't manipulate the elements controlled by the seal. Although it had the mental capacity, it couldn't use magic to interact with the elements around it. To break the seal, it needed someone else's assistance.
Fars's arrival provided that opportunity. The blood clan, in some respects, always bore the shadow of demons behind them. Collaborating with Fars would be easier.
The contract had been signed, initiated by Fars himself, costing him a precious magical contract. If he failed to uphold his end of the bargain, it would be a significant loss for him. According to the demon, breaking the starry seal wasn't particularly difficult. The items and nodes supporting the seal were located on its periphery, precisely where Fars and the others currently stood. The influence they experienced was merely a slight effect of the seal, not a full immersion. Initially, Fars had been entranced by the starry sky.
However, if one were to close their eyes and not look at the stars, it would be impossible to locate the seal's core. According to the demon's research, the secrets of the seal were hidden within the trajectories of the stars. Each star had its unique path, some moving quickly and others slowly, making them difficult to observe. The entire cycle of the starry sky was long; if Fars wanted to see a night sky identical to the current star distribution, he would have to wait a thousand years. These trajectories had been calculated by the legendary master, and only someone with a comparable level of mental power could deduce the intricate details of a seal that spanned nearly a millennium.
Such a grand seal undoubtedly required immense energy to sustain it. While the demon couldn't manipulate the elements within the seal, it could sense where the elements were dense or sparse. The distribution of elements changed unpredictably with the movement of the stars. After observing for thousands of years, the demon had identified several locations where the elemental distribution was particularly unusual—some spots were almost devoid of elements, while others were extremely dense. The seal functioned like a magical array, drawing on various elements from the surrounding space. If it were connected to the outside world, it would operate like breathing, inhaling and exhaling excess elements at specific points.
These unique points often served as the nodes of the seal, where special magical items suppressed and supported its normal operation. Fars's task was to collect or disrupt these magical items. As long as he could hinder the seal's operation, the demon could seize the opportunity to escape.
The demon's guidance for Fars was straightforward: follow the stars. There were no clear directions here; wandering aimlessly could lead one directly to the center of the seal, resulting in a grim fate—being trapped like the demon itself, with both body and soul suppressed. In that case, Fars would have to wait for another chance to escape, just as the demon had waited millennia for Fars and his companions to arrive. Given the longevity of the blood clan, Fars could only hope to survive in a dormant state for a thousand years at most.
Fars couldn't simply follow one star to find the seal's core; if that were the case, the legendary mage who set up the seal wouldn't be considered legendary. Each star passed through the center of the seal, and the demon's guidance was to help Fars find another star that was approaching the destination before the first star reached the center. It was akin to transferring between vehicles. However, with no clear sense of direction, only the trajectories of the stars provided a reliable guide.
This method might take some time, but according to the demon's calculations, it was the safest approach. Fars, not lacking in intelligence, followed the demon's lead and navigated through the seal without accidentally wandering into a dangerous area where he could be completely trapped. Although the path was easy to find, Fars successfully reached the first seal node, but he found the large, unusual "star" above him quite challenging. The demon had indicated that this star was a magical item, and Fars's task was to make it fall.
From a distance, the unusually large star appeared quite ordinary, but from directly beneath it, it looked entirely different.
"Are you suggesting I just blast the star down with magic? Can you guarantee I won't be hit by a backlash from the seal?" Fars asked, perplexed. His self-dialogue was quickly answered. The demon had prepared for this moment and had a plan to destroy the seal nodes: "It's not about shattering the star; just causing it to shift slightly will suffice. Do you think you can destroy a magical item carefully selected by a legendary mage to support the seal? While that might be a bit much for you as a high-level mage, you could try to collect it, which might result in it shifting."
"Do you know how to collect a sentient magical item that has already chosen its master?" After clarifying, the demon, having observed Fars's performance since entering the laboratory, doubted whether Fars truly knew how to proceed, hence the question.
Fars, who had been troubled by his lack of knowledge and had faced numerous setbacks, candidly replied, "I don't know how."
In truth, even a random high-level mage would likely not know how. The skills and knowledge one possessed were limited to their level of experience. Sentient magical items, typically made from rare materials, possessed significant intelligence. Lesser materials, when crafted into magical devices and used by mages over time, could develop some degree of sentience. However, once a magical item gained sentience, its value increased. The challenge was that, aside from the original owner, anyone else wishing to become its new master would need special methods to refine it to gain its approval. If one were to erase its sentience, they could use it directly, but they would lose its value and have to re-nurture it.
Learning on the fly was possible, and fortunately, the demon knew several methods humans used to refine magical items belonging to others, which it imparted to Fars. After all, the demon had no way of knowing which method would be most suitable for refining the magical item above him.
Like erasing someone else's mental imprint, if one lacked sufficient power, it would be a slow process, but eventually, they would succeed. However, Fars's current goal wasn't to collect the magical item above him; he merely needed it to respond to his refining attempts, which would prevent it from perfectly aligning with the seal, causing it to shift. A slight shift at one node might not create a significant flaw in the entire seal, but if several nodes experienced a shift, no one could guarantee the seal would continue to function normally.
Using the hastily learned methods, Fars found it surprisingly easy. Initially clumsy, he became adept after just a few attempts. Fars delightedly thought it was due to his exceptional talent and strong comprehension abilities. The demon, observing Fars's self-satisfaction, pointed out that his quick understanding of these methods was primarily due to the inherent talent of the Hill family, which included the ability to charm others. Since the item had gained sentience, the refining process was essentially an act of seduction, making it easier for Fars to learn these methods.
Fars was eager to learn more about the Hill family, and he was sure the demon knew a lot. However, when he asked, the demon cleverly demanded a condition. Not wanting to engage in further pointless negotiations, Fars abandoned the idea of extracting more information from the demon, realizing that much of what it knew was likely outdated and irrelevant to the current state of the Hill family.
At least Fars now understood that his charm was not a trivial skill but a powerful and useful talent. The next steps became straightforward: Fars repeatedly cast the refining spell at the "star" above him. Initially, the "star" remained motionless, but after dozens of attempts, it began to tremble. With such a clear response, Fars pressed on, casting the refining spell again and again. Finally, after a particularly vigorous tremor, the star shifted slightly from its original position. The demon declared it sufficient, and Fars ceased his efforts.
Having completed this task, Fars moved on without hesitation to the next seal node. He repeated the same process, and after causing the sixth node's suppressive item to shift, the demon left him with a parting remark: "Alright, you wait here." Then, the seal began to tremble violently, and the starry sky grew unstable, as if the night itself were about to collapse.