As defeat''s bitter taste filled his mouth, he red at the useless tower. ''Come on! I know you''re overflowing with energy!'' He thought, clenching his teeth hard enough to make popping noises resound in the silent za. However, the circle''s light continued to dim, unable to support its activation.


    With a sad grimace, he sank to the ground, his eyes fixed on the glowing residue, and his hands cradling his aching head. Despair tightened around his heart, and tears of frustration welled up in his eyes.


    Just as his efforts seemed in vain, a terrifying hum resonated through the za, causing the air to vibrate around him. Shocked by the unexpected sound, he raised his head and squinted, trying to identify its source.


    At that moment, he witnessed something he never imagined was possible. The air split before his eyes into dense, swirling wisps, each shimmering with a different color.


    At the same time, the tower rumbled and shook as if expressing its rage.


    He looked down at his feet, watching the symbols'' fading glow intensify. They absorbed the colorful dancing lights in a silent sh against the towering construct.


    A broad smile spread across his face, his arms trembling as he clenched his fists.


    "I was right! The ritual found an alternative energy source! HAHAHA! " He yelled, hisugh reverberating under the red moon and dark sky as his heart burst with intense joy.


    Simultaneously, the materials rose from the ground, hovering mid-air in their ces. Next, blinding light extended from the circle he stood in, crisscrossing and lightening forgotten natural symbols on its way.


    As if animated by its own will, the light reached Selene''s ancestral grimoire before the fusion pool. Then, it darted to the ghost''s essence.


    Within a minute, vibrant multicolored lights illuminated the za, transforming its gloomyndscape into a life-filled one for the first time.


    Meanwhile, the tower''s shaking intensified as Kwame''s natural symbols, acting as mas for natural mana, siphoned its energy with merciless thirst.


    Thirty minutester, the light reached the eighth material, revealing the circle''s ridiculous size. After all, who was Adam? He only wanted the best. So, its circumference spanned the entire za, meaning several kilometers wide!


    As the circle absorbed the mana wisps, their different colors revealed their unique effects. The elegant bs froze, burned, distorted, sprouted vegetation, turned metallic, became sand, aged, teleported, or exploded. Many mysterious events unfolded, with each affinity disying its power in a grand spectacle, as if bowing in respect to Kwame''s genius.


    Amazed and his heart pounding, Adam watched the dreamlike scene unfold like a boy witnessing magic for the first time. Yet, he knew the main character had yet to make an appearance.


    Fortunately, his anticipation didn''t linger for long. Like a freed prisoner, a massive cloud of swirling dark-blue energy burst from the tower, signaling the entrance of the final element.


    "Catch them all!" He yelled, his tense right arm cutting the wind.


    Behind him, the archaic medal hovered, exuding powerful grey mists that pressured and froze the ground below.


    Each artifact and material involved in the ritual responded, unleashing its stored energy to sh against the fast-approaching cloud, treating it as amon enemy.


    However, the dark blue energy was the base of their powers. Without mana, no affinity could manifest!


    In an instant, the cloud snuffed the rebellious children, extinguishing the powerful sr and soul energies with ease. Then, it epassed everything, reaching the dream ce''s eleventh area''s edges and absorbing all the affinities'' properties like a vacuum.


    Ominous arcs of condensed power danced on its surface, lightening its shade and causing Adam to back a step. The hovering artefacts nked powerlessly to the ground, drained of what made them reach their tiers.


    Except for the stubborn sigil.


    Despite the cloud''s dominance, it fiercely defended itself, creating a safe sphere only a few centimeters wide to sustain its survival.


    As if provoked, the cloud swirled and condensed for a second. Its size shrunk to shape itself into a swirling humanoid entity crackling with energy. Under Adam''s trembling eyes, it clutched the archaic medal''s defenses between its palms.


    Space shattered, and the fabric of reality trembled. After a short second, its hands pped thest item with ease, proving how vain its arrogant resistance had been.


    "Even tier eight items can''t resist pure mana!" Adam eximed, his eyes fixed on the mana siphoning the magus'' powers from the sigil.


    Soon, a burst of energy boomed across the dream ce, its shockwave sting his hair and almost causing him to fall. He gazed at the now sky-blue energy with yearning as his fingers inched towards it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Unfortunately, his knowledge about the ritual ended here. He could only go with the flow without doing anything foolish. Instead, he slowly withdrew his hand, taking a deep breath to steady himself.


    And his wait didn''tst long. The mana entity turned towards him and moved its featureless face up and down as if to appraise his worthiness. Then, it tilted its head to the right. Its gaze lingered on the tower before its frame dispersed into a beautiful sparkling mist.


    ****


    Simultaneously, an individual engulfed in billowing grey energies rose from his seat abruptly. Loud noises echoed in the dimly lit ce as his heavy throne crashed on the ground. Flickering shadows danced on his face as his upper lips rose in dissatisfaction. "What happened to my sigil?" he muttered, sensing its drained energy.


    Closing his left eye, he gazed up, his vision piercing kilometers of rocks until itnded on the southern continent''s red desert. He then observed the emperor''s copy with a frown, sensing nothing wrong with it.


    ''Strange,'' he thought, using one of the archaic medal''s features to see, hear, and smell what happened around the archmage for thest twenty-four hours.


    However, his discoveries only added to his confusion. He only witnessed his resting figure in the beast temple. Irritated by the mysterious urrence, he ground his teeth for a moment before shrugging. "I don''t have time to manage rebellious kids.


    Have all the fun you want in the few years you have left before the great war," he said, mana dancing behind him to restore his throne''s position before he sat on it.


    "You''ll need all the help and resources you can get to survive," he snickered, closing his eyes to focus on the underground. Many kilometers below, he monitored hundreds of ethereal entities. Their chains rattled against the ground as they worked like ves to excavate what he desired.


    However, one froze among them. Its luminous eyes danced with ethereal joy for a moment before it continued drilling the ground, acting as if nothing had happened. Yet, a single ethereal tear rolled down his cheek.