Alcaeus Indrath

Taegrin Caelum

Alcaeus Indrath

Series came rushing in to find me on the ground, gasping for air.

I could fight a war for weeks without sparing a single bead of sweat. But the battle for dominance in my core had left me exhausted beyond belief. 

When I looked up, I realized I could still sense Seris' presence, but something was off. She was...blurry. If I closed my eyes and let my focus slip, I could easily be convinced that I was alone. 

"Alcaeus! What's going on!?!" 

"Don't...shout."

...

I was able to collect myself with a few liters of water and couple hours of rest.

"Are you using a different technique? I can't feel your presence at all." Weirdly enough, it was Seris who asked that question.

"It's complicated. There's a possibility that I can't use mana anymore." Thankfully I covered her lips with my hand before she could scream.

"B-But...wait what? I don't understand. You're an Asura..."

"Aether." One word to explain everything.

"Oh, shit." 

...

We had a very lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of this. 

To be honest, the entire time I just was focused on my core, which seemed to contain only pure Aether. And my control over it seemed unreal. If I wanted the surrounding Aether to come to my hand, it came.

I managed to make a sword, though it only held its shape for a few seconds. 

And don't even get me started on God Step.

The primitive technique that we Asuras used to apply to move faster than the eye could see was nothing compared to actual literal teleportation.

By the end of our conversation, Seris was smiling like a madman. Even I was creeped out for a moment.

"Hehehehkhhekekeke....Agrona's defenses won't work against Aether!!!! She exclaimed.

Let's ignore her.

The main problem with my new core is that its frustrating. As an Asura, I was able to sense mana from the moment I was born. For me, it wasn't a privilege or a blessing, it was second nature. I relied on my ability to sense mana as much as I relied on my sight and hearing. 

Right now...I feel paralyzed.

Going into battle this way...is suicide. 

At least I'm not losing my cool. It would a normal response to losing your best weapons. I...don't think I can manipulate time anytime soon. My realmheart used to basically autopilot that. The good thing is that was an Aether-related technique. Meaning, with an Aether core, it won't be impossible to replicate it.

Plus being sneaky just became way easier. 

The only people who can 'sense' aether on this continent are Sylvia, and maybe Agrona. The reason I say that is because I don't know how else Agrona managed to defeat a battalion of Dragons.

I wanted to delete a few more than a handful of Vritras from this world during my escape but that can wait.

"You remember the layout for the 12th floor right?" 

I didn't expect that question. Did I spend that long during my getaway that it was time? 

"Yeah, I remember."