After giving the potions to Vaelari, I quickly shifted the Window to Amon. I planned to give him the same potion, along with the rest of the magic books I had acquired from V. It seemed wiser to let him study them first and then tell me which ones he believed would actually benefit the velmoryns.
Unlike Amon, I had never used magic. And without experiencing mana myself, or at least conducting thorough research, I would never be competent enough to judge what would help a race like the velmoryns. Certainly not as well as Amon could.
“Can’t you leave those eggs alone for a few minutes and show me how to cast two diagrams at the same time?” Amon complained. “I think the method is directly connected to how spells function. Think about it. If mana is nothing more than the energy we use to cast spells, what actually decides the nature of those spells?”
Amon’s excited smile widened as Karla raised her head. Though her hands were still placed over the eggs as a silver aura covered both her palms and their shells.
“I think it’s our minds,” he continued. “Otherwise how would spells affect our emotions? If mana itself altered our personalities, it would happen constantly, whether we were casting magic or not. So it must be our minds struggling to contain the magic spells we memorize. I’m not sure how it affects us, but magical knowledge must be what reshapes our personalities.”
“We already knew that, Amon,” Karla said with a soft chuckle.
“You didn’t let me finish.” Amon shook his head and stepped closer. “I can’t think of a method that would completely remove the negative effects of magic, but imagine this. If our mind, our understanding, is what causes mana to transform into a spell, then it shouldn’t matter whether we use diagrams, runes, or any other method. What matters is that we clearly imagine the effect of the spell and understand how it functions.”
He grabbed a charcoal pencil and a sheet of parchment from a nearby wooden table and brought it closer to Karla, quickly sketching a diagram.
“How many mages do you think actually comprehend all the runes in just this one diagram? And more importantly, how many understand how those runes interact with one another?” Amon paused, giving Karla time to consider his words. “With engravings it’s even worse. Almost no one understands the full process. So what if we tried something different? What if we chanted the spell out loud while visualizing its effect, instead of memorizing and visualizing these runes? Wouldn’t that make casting spells easier and, more importantly, wouldn’t mages understand spoken words better than these runes?”
The smile on Karla’s face faded as she listened. The playfulness in her eyes disappeared, replaced with respect.
“Karla… if my theory is correct, and I’m not saying it is, but this might even reduce the negative effects of magic.”
“It… it could work. But we cannot know until we test your theory.” She lowered her gaze back to the eggs. “And I have no time for that. I must complete Father’s orders first.”
Seeing that Amon and Karla were in the middle of what might become a breakthrough, I decided not to call him into my realm and instead wait until he was free.
But that didn’t mean I intended to listen to their discussion. I turned my attention back to my realm and willed the droplet to move closer.
Excited to learn whose blood it belonged to, first I checked whether I shared any connection with that velmoryn. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to be absolutely sure.
Even after focusing on it, I felt nothing.
Well, nothing surprising there…
A bright red droplet of blood hovered before me as my divinity swirled around it. I had no idea how the process actually worked, so as usual I relied on instinct.
I imagined the connection between this droplet and its owner and guided my divinity through it, hoping to reveal the thread linking them. I expected something similar to the bond I shared with my believers, but what I felt instead was a presence.
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The sensation was similar to how one remembers where they last placed the object. Sometimes merely thinking about it is enough for the memory of its location to surface.
And this felt exactly like that. One moment, I had no idea where that velmoryn vampire was, and the next I instinctively knew.
I shifted the Window, hoping it would be able to reach the place. In truth, I had never even tested whether the Window still had limitations after my ascension. Before, it had only allowed me to observe the forest, but after I became a higher-ranked deity it had also evolved.
Now that I think about it… I didn’t even question it when I realized I could see beyond the forest. I just went with it.
Wait, does that mean I can see everything now? The entire world?
The Window was already moving toward the vampire’s location when I willed it to zoom out as far as it could.
A breathtaking world unfolded before me.
Slowly, the forest that had once defined the limits of my vision shrank until it was nothing more than a small green stain. On one side, it was bordered by an enormous ocean, while on the other, it stretched into a vast landmass filled with snowy mountains, green fields, and forests.
I wanted to see what was beyond the ocean, but the Window stopped zooming out at some point. It seemed I still couldn’t see the planet itself.
Even so, the sight revealed a great deal.
There were three major continents.
The one containing my forest was in the middle, while the two others were positioned above and below it. Narrow seas separated them, while vast oceans surrounded the outer edges.
Immediately, I had to resist the urge to begin exploring those continents.
To satisfy my curiosity, I even promised myself that once I could spare the resources, I would create an avatar whose sole purpose would be to sit beside the Window and examine every corner of the world.
But for now, I needed to refocus on my immediate goal and locate that velmoryn vampire. I needed to establish a connection with Lilith as quickly as possible. Because if I failed at that, I would have to search for a different ally.
At my command, the Window began zooming toward the continent. The velmoryn vampire appeared to be somewhere on the opposite side of it from my forest.
As the view moved across the land, I caught glimpses of several castles and even a large army marching along a distant road. The Window continued traveling toward my target until it finally reached the place.
Thinking of vampires or even velmoryns, I had expected a lady with a taste for gothic luxury. Since she had married a noble, I assumed she would not be short of wealth and could easily dress however she pleased.
But what I saw exceeded even my wildest expectations.
The place looked exactly like where Dracula himself would live.
The castle was built beneath a mountain, located on the southern slope where neither sunlight nor moonlight could reach it. A heavy mist covered the entire area. The torches lining the streets and walls glowed like dim candles.
Dozens of guards stood watch along the walls, while even more patrolled the streets inside the castle grounds. They were all well-equipped. Clean steel armor covered their bodies, while thick pants and tunics protected them from the cold. The blades at their sides and the spears and shields in their hands made it clear that the lord of this place was no corrupt noble who neglected his soldiers.
It was nighttime, so I couldn’t judge how well the civilians lived, but the stone-paved streets and well-maintained houses looked promising.
At the very least, the place didn’t resemble a vampire den or a beggar’s slum.
The Window kept moving until it finally reached the woman I had been searching for.
She stepped out of a bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her. She wore a half-transparent silk robe decorated with lace that resembled moons. It hung open at the front, revealing her pale skin glistening with sweat.
Oh… it seems I missed a spectacle.
Not that I particularly wanted to see whatever had caused her to sweat, but… she was undeniably beautiful.
Her long black hair gently knocked against her back as she walked along the corridor, dimly lit by candles hanging on the walls.
As she moved, she pulled the robe closed and tied it loosely around her waist. A maid passed by, and the woman greeted her with a warm smile, and surprisingly, the maid returned a gentle look.
Is she really a vampire?!
The woman turned right and unlocked a door with a key she produced out of nowhere. Once inside, she locked it behind her and only then channeled her crimson mana into a crystal placed beside the entrance.
The room lit up immediately, though the faint red glow still left corners in shadow.
Even so, it was enough to reveal a tall, pale statue depicting a feminine figure.
The woman slowly approached it and kneeled just a step away.
“Mistress of the Moon and Mother of the Sanguines,” the woman said softly, bowing her head, “heed the words of Your humble spawn.”