Chương 282: The Week Before The War

The morning after the ceremony, I woke up with a pounding headache. My performance had been convincing, too convincing, judging by the chaos I'd unleashed. Declaring war on the Red Sun Academy had sent the entire Blue Sun Order into a frenzy of preparation. The elders held emergency councils that stretched through the night. I sat on the edge of my bed, massaging my temples.

"Second thoughts, Master?" Azure's voice had a hint of amusement.

"Not exactly," I replied.

"I decided to play it safe and be honest about what I saw. The question is why the Blue Sun suddenly accelerated its timeline."

"Perhaps it feels you're skilled enough now to accomplish what it needs," Azure suggested.

"Your progress with the painting techniques has been remarkable, even accounting for your previous cultivation experience."

"It could be that," I nodded slowly.

"Or the Blue Sun was testing me, having detected something unusual about the Saint's Essence." The thought was concerning, but regardless of the reason, I could only hope my performance had resolved such suspicions.

As I walked through the academy grounds, I could feel hundreds of eyes upon me. Some gazes held reverence, others curiosity, and a few, particularly among the older disciples, showed clear skepticism. It wasn't every day that a new Saint declared war during the presentation ceremony. Kal was already waiting in his chambers when I arrived, standing by the window overlooking the academy grounds. Below, disciples were arranging supplies into neat piles: medical kits, temporary shelters, preservation boxes for food.

The machine of war was already in motion.

"You've caused quite the stir," he said without turning.

"I only shared what the Blue Sun showed me," I replied carefully. Now he turned, his eyes studying me with that unnerving intensity.

"Tell me everything. Every detail of the vision." I described exactly what the Genesis Seed had shown me: the battle at the Red Sun Academy, my journey to the World Tree, the awakening of the ancient entity, and the destruction of the red sun, and then peace. The only difference to the previous vision was the addition of an extra scene: Tomas proclaiming war during the ceremony.

"The Blue Sun made it clear, we must strike now," I concluded.

"I'm meant to reach the World Tree in the Skybound territory during the battle. Though I'd feel more confident with your guidance. Would you consider accompanying me?"

"You'll be given guards to escort you," Kal shook his head slowly.

"My place will be at the forefront of the battle. Hiron must be dealt with." He turned away, muttering something under his breath that sounded like, "The Saints always play their part, but it's me who fails to deal with Hiron." It seemed Kal believed the world's end came from his personal failure to defeat Hiron, not because the Saint was being manipulated into weakening the world's barriers. He had no idea he was fighting the wrong battle.

I wanted to tell him the truth: that the Blue Sun's instructions were deliberately designed to weaken the world's barriers, that the vision was a manipulation. But I couldn't risk it, not yet so I remained silent. Telling him would only make him more suspicious, I had already decided to play it safe this cycle. Attempting to convince Kal that the blue sun was the enemy wouldn't be easy, it would take extensive planning, and perhaps multiple cycles, or maybe even revealing my identity as a looper…

"Let's begin today's lesson," he said, abruptly changing the subject.

"War preparations or not, your training must continue." Our fifth lesson focused on more advanced conditional behaviors. Kal provided a series of increasingly complex scenarios for my creations to navigate.

"Today we'll practice layered conditions," he explained, setting three colored stones on the table.

"Create a rabbit that will approach the red stone, avoid the blue stone, and hop in circles around the green stone." I spent the morning mastering these complex patterns, learning to embed multiple instructions into a single creation. By the end of our session, I could create a small fox that would perform a sequence of six distinct actions based on different environmental triggers. Before I left, I had decided to ask for more resonance stones for practice. Kal's smile was gentle but firm.

"The stones are rare, Tomas. Creating them requires a master to pour their understanding into physical form, a process both exhausting and time-consuming." He picked up one of the stones, turning it thoughtfully in his hand.

"More importantly, I don't want you becoming dependent on them. They're training tools, useful for learning established patterns, but they can kill creativity if relied upon too heavily." His eyes met mine directly.

"And for Lightweavers, creativity is perhaps the single most important factor determining how far we progress." I nodded, understanding both his reasoning and the implicit challenge.

"I'll focus on developing my own patterns, then."

"Good," he approved.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. After my lesson with Kal, I met with Elder Neria in the historical archives, a vast chamber filled with tablets that recorded the Academy's most important events. The elder had requested my presence to document my vision and compare it with those of previous Saints.

"Thank you for coming, Saint Tomas," she greeted me.

"I've gathered the records of visions experienced by the last seven Saints." She guided me to a table where several tablets were arranged chronologically.

"I thought it might be illuminating to see how the Blue Sun's guidance has evolved over time." As we reviewed the tablets, a pattern emerged that was obvious to me though perhaps not to Elder Neria. Each vision had pushed the Blue Sun Academy toward increasingly aggressive actions against the Red Sun, while simultaneously directing Saints to perform rituals at various World Trees around the realm.

The language was always couched in terms of "protection" and "salvation," but the underlying intent was clear to anyone who knew what to look for: the systematic weakening of the world's barriers.

"Interesting that the visions have become more urgent over time," I murmured.

"Almost as if the Blue Sun senses greater danger."

"Indeed," Elder Neria agreed.

"And your vision is the most direct yet. Previous Saints were instructed to 'strengthen' or 'purify' the World Trees. You're the first specifically directed to awaken one." Awakening seemed like a strange euphemism for destroying. I recorded my vision on a blank tablet, using a stylus imbued with blue sun energy. The tablet absorbed my account, glowing briefly as it preserved my words for future Saints to study, though with my title as 'Last Saint', it seemed there wouldn't be any.

When I finished, Elder Neria leaned closer.

"I sense there's something you're not saying, Saint Tomas. Something about your vision troubles you."

"I'm merely concerned about my readiness for such an important task," I replied carefully.

"The fate of our world seems to rest on my shoulders, and I've had so little time to prepare." She studied me for a long moment, then nodded slowly.

"A reasonable concern. But remember, the Blue Sun chooses its vessels with perfect wisdom. If you are the Saint for this moment, then you are precisely what is needed." A shame. Just when I was wondering if Elder Neria's perceptiveness had allowed her to see cracks in the Blue Sun's image of perfection, she begins preaching empty propaganda. What she would think if she knew the truth: that the Blue Sun hadn't chosen me at all, but was trying to use a vessel it didn't fully control.

On the second day after the ceremony, I made time to visit Professor Thara in her laboratory. Her experiments had progressed significantly, the vine-like creatures in her containment spheres now responded to simple commands and demonstrated rudimentary intelligence.

"They're remarkable," I said truthfully, studying a specimen that closely resembled a miniature version of Yggy.

"How did you achieve this?"

"Blue sun energy provides structure and consciousness," Thara explained excitedly, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"The challenge was creating physical forms durable enough to maintain integrity without constant energy infusion." Looking at her creatures, I could see exactly what was missing: the red sun component that gave Yggy its physical resilience and adaptability. These creatures were intelligent but fragile, just as Yggy would have been overly aggressive and unstable without the blue sun influence.

"If you had access to stable red sun energy," I asked casually, "do you believe full integration would be possible?"

"Theoretically, yes," she said, eyes alight with enthusiasm.

"But convincing a Skybound to channel their energy…" She shook her head.

"It's the unsolvable problem." Not unsolvable, I thought, just…difficult.

That night, in the privacy of my chambers, I checked on Yggy through our soul bond. The connection felt stretched thin by distance but remained intact. Closing my eyes, I slipped partially into Yggy's perceptions. The familiar laboratory of the Red Sun Academy came into focus, Elder Molric's chaotic workspace filled with specimens, runic arrays, and bubbling concoctions. Molric himself moved around the laboratory with manic energy, occasionally pausing to scribble notes or adjust equipment.

Despite the impending attack, he seemed unchanged, absorbed in his research with the same eccentric intensity I remembered from my time as his student. Through Yggy's understanding, I gathered that the Red Sun Academy was already received news of what occurred during the ceremony and were now preparing for war. Formations were being reinforced, disciples were training day and night, and the elders had been holding regular strategy sessions.

Yet Molric appeared unconcerned, as if the coming conflict were a minor inconvenience rather than an existential threat. His confidence was either madness or knowledge, knowing the elder personally, it was likely the former.

The rest of the week passed in a blur of lessons, meetings, and preparations. Despite the looming conflict, Kal continued my training without interruption. Each day brought new techniques, more complex applications of energy patterning, and increasingly sophisticated creations. I learned to blend elements into my paintings: a simple flame that actually provided heat, a small pool of water that truly flowed, a gentle breeze that could ruffle real leaves.

Kal called these "Rank 2 fundamentals" and seemed impressed by how quickly I mastered them.

"Most disciples require months to achieve stable elemental integration," he remarked after I successfully created a small campfire with genuine warmth and flickering light.

"You've done it in days." In truth, my progress came from understanding the underlying principles of energy manipulation, something my prior cultivation had already taught me. The forms were different, but the essence was similar.

It was during that session that I had asked about progressing through the ranks of Lightweaver cultivation, Kal had explained that advancing required three distinct elements: accumulating sufficient blue sun energy to cause a qualitative change, further developing one's Cerulean Vein with appropriate designs, and most crucially, deepening one's comprehension of the fundamental principles.

"For Rank 2, most cultivators need to add an elemental design to their Cerulean Vein," he began.

"But your Arboreal Spiral already contains natural element affinities and you have sufficient elemental comprehension. What you need is to accumulate enough blue sun energy to spur on a qualitative change required for a true breakthrough." The irony wasn't lost on me. My situation mirrored my status as a pseudo Rank 2 Skybound. In both cultivation systems, I understood the principles and had the proper foundation, but needed that qualitative transformation in my energies to make it official.

Different suns, same problem. As for the meetings, I was constantly summoned to war councils. The elders treated me with reverent deference, seeking the "Blue Sun's wisdom" on tactical matters. I provided vague guidance, careful not to contradict the vision while avoiding specific commitments that might endanger lives unnecessarily. During my evenings, I spent hours in the Academy's library, absorbing everything I could about Rank 1 and Rank 2 Lightweaver cultivation.

Azure helped me process the information, organizing theoretical knowledge into practical frameworks I could apply in my training. As the loop got closer to its end, it only made sense to acquire as much knowledge as possible.

"The most interesting texts are those comparing the different methods," Azure noted after we'd gone through dozens of scrolls.

"The underlying principles are identical, but the expressions vary dramatically." I nodded, staring at a diagram showing how painters and calligraphers channeled energy differently despite creating similar effects.

"It's all about finding the method that resonates most naturally with your mind. The technique is just a vehicle for intention."

"Precisely," Azure agreed.

"And your intention shapes the outcome as much as your skill." Each night, I retreated to my inner world. The blue mini-sun continued to grow as I practiced absorbing and channeling its energy. I didn't have much hope in breaking through to Rank 2 this loop, but it didn't hurt to make progress. On the eve of what would be our final lesson before the battle, Kal sent me a message through Novice Kon: "Tomorrow we begin calligraphy. A different discipline, but one that will enhance your painting significantly."