Chapter 346: The Handover

"Alright. Now that things here are settled, head back with me. Matters on the other side should also have been resolved by now."

Sieg's voice rumbled from the dragon's maw. Those who had worked with him in the Council of the Arcane were all dumbstruck.

So their newest member was actually... a giant dragon.

"Obstacles have been placed in your way. Even this Fire Elemental Lord was but another pawn of the Skyborne City's Central Assembly. Their aim was simple: to prevent you from returning to the Council of the Arcane and concluding the research on hypermagic."

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Sieg calmly explained what the researchers already half-suspected: the strange disturbances dogging their expedition to the elemental plane of fire had all been orchestrated.

"I knew something was amiss," one scholar muttered. "But why the Central Assembly? What's in it for them? Our research would only grant us recognition, higher standing, and a few paltry rewards. There's no reason for them to stop us."

"That's not important. All you need to know is that everything is over. Mount my back. I'll carry all of you back to our anchor and bring you back to the material plane.

"As for those who schemed against you—once the Council of the Arcane claims its rightful seat in the Central Assembly, it will obtain partial rights over the Beacon Bridge. And unless those saboteurs intend to languish here forever, they'll be caught once they attempt to make their way back to the material plane."

There would normally have been no reason for Sieg to destroy the Fire Elemental Lord outright. His task was merely to see the Council's scholars safely home.

Yet the path was perilous. Unlike the silver dragon Aurelian, who boasted absolute dominion over space, most could not traverse the planes unaided. They required extraplanar transport, which meant that they had to return to the precise site where they had been deposited onto this plane.

Sieg himself had torn a one-way rift into the elemental plane of fire by consuming a portion of the mark that Aurelian had gifted him. The others had no such luxury.

And the elemental lord, witless though it was, would have hounded them without pause as it sought vengeance for its disturbed slumber.

If that giant elemental whose body was a furnace of raw flame managed to reach the site first, the leakage of its power might shatter the gateway outright. The researchers would have been trapped in the elemental plane of fire until another bubble could make its way there.

"Mr. Sieg," one scholar asked from his back as they flew, "you said that the Council of the Arcane would obtain a seat in the Central Assembly... but aren't members of the Central Assembly appointed for life?"

The Central Assembly hadn't shifted hands in centuries. Everyone thought that the assembly members were guaranteed their positions for life, but Sieg's words and the Assembly's treacherous hand behind their trials suggested otherwise.

"You'll see soon enough," Sieg replied, a faint smile gracing his lips. "I believe it'll be rather a pleasant surprise."

Through the Prayer Network, the Lady of Night had already sent him the latest news: Wang Yu had overturned the Assembly itself. They were now in the process of helping him heal.

What Sieg and the researchers had to do in the meantime was prepare their manuscript on hypermagic and submit it to the machine spirit Astartes.

"A fine turn indeed," Sieg thought to himself. "Wang Yu has done his part. The rest is up to us."

His wings beat as they descended onto a relatively stable plain free of lava and volcanic eruptions. The planar gateway would appear there.

The scholars drew forth their planar anchor as space unraveled into a gateway. Together, they and Sieg, who had resumed his human guise, stepped through.

Icarus awaited them by the far end of the Beacon Bridge, his wings of light unfurled. He greeted their return with a knowing smile.

"I bring glad tidings. Our research into hypermagic is complete, and our achievement will reshape our place within Skyborne City."

As the scholars broke into excited chatter, Sieg raised a hand toward Icarus.

Icarus nodded. He lifted Sieg, who could not transform into a dragon in the material plane without being cloaked from Its sight, up into the air and brought him back to the ruins of the Council of the Arcane's headquarters.

There among the rubble, survivors that Icarus had shielded from the alchemical legions were laboring without rest to put finishing touches on their research.

Though their headquarters had been pulverized, the scholars had anticipated such an outcome. Much of the theory had been memorized in advance; the rest was stored in enchanted devices that could be carried upon their persons.

Amidst the desolation, ragged scholars now bent over makeshift desks and continued to scribble furiously.

In Skyborne City, such a scene of mass destruction would ordinarily have drawn throngs of onlookers.

Yet the streets lay empty. The only ones who had warily crept back were those unlucky researchers whose own guilds had been destroyed incidentally during the alchemical legions' attack.

The reason for the lack of attention soon became obvious. Around the ruins of the Council of the Arcane's headquarters were ranks upon ranks of war machines—Astartes' army of brass and steel.

Vast airships patrolled from high above, their metallic forms bristling with menace. Their oppressive presence alone kept curiosity well at bay.

With distinguished scholars like Sieg and Icarus guiding the work, the final touches on the Council of the Arcane's theory of hypermagic were finished within half an hour. The weary scholars let out a cheer that split the air.

"At last! It's finished!"

"Our efforts weren't in vain! By the heavens, I thought I would die when the machines broke through."

"How in the world were those armies destroyed so suddenly? I still don't understand..."

"There must be a reason that Icarus hasn't explained everything to us. Better to think ahead: what will we pursue now, with a seat in the Central Assembly at last within our grasp?"

"You're right... yes, I'll devote myself to uncovering the very source of magic itself."

"That... is ambitious indeed. If you succeed, our names will be inscribed forever in the annals of history."

Amid laughter and embraces, the Council's members dreamed of futures yet to come.

In Icarus' hands rested a cube of gleaming metal, etched with intricate runes and delicate mechanical seams: the vessel of their labor. Within this unassuming metal cube lay the whole of their research on hypermagic, from the first spark to their final triumph. He glanced toward Sieg, who stood with eyes closed as he communicated silently with Avia through the Prayer Network.

"Where should we send it?" Icarus asked at last.

"To Wang Yu," Sieg answered, opening his eyes with a nod. "Astartes stands with him. Once its contents are confirmed, the seats of the Central Assembly shall pass to the Council of the Arcane."

Icarus looked down at the weighty cube in his palm, proud of what his Council had accomplished. Within it resided the essence of hypermagic. Any scholar with sufficient background in theory could retrace the Council's steps and reproduce the theory in full.

"We owe it all to Wang Yu," Icarus murmured. "His deeds have shaken me more than anything in many long years."

"Indeed," Sieg replied with a quiet sigh. "The rest of us feel the same way, too."

Sieg and Icarus stepped into the residence where Wang Yu and his companions sat waiting—the Lady of the Night, Avia, and Noelle. Wang Yu had since recovered enough to move about on his own. On the table before them was a small mechanical device, unassuming in size yet unmistakably the vessel of Astartes.

"On behalf of the Council of the Arcane, I thank you," Icarus said, setting the cube he bore onto the table. He gave Wang Yu a fraternal embrace. "For us scholars, there is no greater fortune than to develop an answer to a question long pondered."

"Then let's proceed," Wang Yu replied calmly. "Once Astartes verifies the theory, it'll confer the Council of the Arcane with its rightful seats in the Central Assembly."

Wang Yu gestured toward the device.

"Very well."

Icarus nudged the cube into place beside it.

For a long moment, the room remained silent. The cube rested against the mechanism, but nothing stirred. Astartes gave no response.

Seconds stretched into minutes, until at last the machine spirit's voice, irritable and sharp, broke the stillness.

"What exactly do you think you're doing? Expecting me to read your research from this half-crippled shell? You can't be serious. Stop wasting my time—open the door and let me in!"

Astartes's grumbling echoed from the inert device, punctuated almost at once by a knock at the door.

Embarrassment flickered across the gathered scholars' faces. Despite their exceptional intellect, they had somehow all overlooked the obvious.

Wang Yu stood up and opened the door. Standing outside was an alchemical automaton, clearly Astartes' desired vessel.

Without waiting for an invitation, the machine strode in, seized the cube from the table, and pressed it into the cavity at its breast. It began to read from it at once.

"This," Astartes declared after a mere moment, "is a revolutionary discovery. By the laws set down by my master Merlin, I hereby recognize this work. From this instant, I declare that the Council of the Arcane shall be given a place in the Central Assembly."

Its voice rang with solemn finality. "The registry has been amended. All members of this Council are now recorded as Assembly delegates. When you are ready, you may ascend the central spire to explore the rights and privileges your new station affords."

In conjunction with its declaration, in almost no time at all, Astartes updated the Council of the Arcane's status across the entire city.

"You need not fear that your claim will be immediately contested," it continued. "By Merlin's laws, seats on the Central Assembly will last for at least five years. Your station is secure for that period of time.

"Beyond that time, you shall need to produce research of the same caliber to maintain your position, lest another society—or even a lone savant—surpass you."

Then, Astartes turned toward Wang Yu.

"As for you, Wang Yu, by the authority I now wield, I shall bestow upon you a rare privilege. Within Skyborne City, you will be granted the freedom to pursue whatever you want without any obstruction—so long as it lies within my authority."

Wang Yu raised his brows in surprise.

"Thank you. Will this permit me to access even forbidden knowledge?"

"If you wish," Astartes replied.

Wang Yu took a deep breath. The chance to uncover what lay within the depths of space was finally at hand.