Chapter 438: Chapter 437- Forgiveness?

Breath in. Breath out.

Adrian sat in the heart of the Time Chamber, spine straight, eyes half-closed, breath steady.

He wasn’t calming his emotions—he was sharpening his grip on the mana swirling around him like a restless tide. He had an ocean within, yet all he could do was scoop with a spoon.

That alone was maddening. But no matter how much he pushed, he couldn’t handle anything larger without losing control.

Magic, for him, was a process of breaking the impossible into manageable steps. First, draw mana from the well—his core. Then, carry that small portion into various nodes, distributing and storing it carefully. Only after that could he collect those fragments to form a spell, a single functional creation. A delicate cycle, repeated endlessly.

Spells were manifestations of imagination. A simple truth most Acolytes failed to grasp. The moment one couldn’t envision how a phenomenon formed, shaped, behaved, and completed its cycle, the spell collapsed into a crude imitation—usually forcing them to settle for a single element all their lives. But Adrian wasn’t trapped by that. His memory, knowledge, and instinct were sharp. He saw everything clearly, down to the invisible threads holding an element together.

When he finally opened his eyes, four spheres floated before him—each one pulsing with a different element. He dismissed the violently unstable one and the water orb, letting them dissolve back into mana before focusing on the remaining two.

The flaming orb crackled, heat waves rippling off its surface. The stone sphere, on the other hand, rotated steadily with slow grinding sounds. Adrian exhaled and drew them closer. Merging them wasn’t simply placing fire on rock; he had to melt every grain, maintain the integrity of the flame, and simultaneously form a new, cohesive identity. If his concentration wavered even a fraction, the entire thing could burst, or worse, solidify into tangible matter with disastrous effects.

Mana was life to a spell. The moment the mental connection broke, the element reverted to its raw state. Light use of mana meant safe disintegration into particles. Heavy use meant the spell remained, becoming dangerously real—capable of burning, breaking, and scarring the chamber itself.

The two orbs in front of him had already crossed that threshold. If he let go now, they would scorch the floor and possibly him along with it.

Sweat ran down his temple. Each stone began to liquefy under the intense heat, glowing red, then orange, then a molten yellow. The flaming orb grew fiercer as he fed mana into it, weaving both together, threading heat into mass and mass into heat without letting either dominate.

He kept watch on the system panel hovering beside him.

[Magic control: 38%]

Still safe. Still within his boundary.

Adrian clenched his jaw and pushed a little more. The two elements finally blended, fusing into a dense sphere of magma—volatile, heavy, and far more lethal than either flame or stone alone. The pressure radiating from it was enough to make the chamber tremble.

He needed to test it.

“Pull a dummy,” he commanded.

The ground shifted. A seam opened and a training doll rose from the hidden mechanism beneath the floor.

Adrian rose, stepping back, dusting his palms as he measured the distance with a single glance. The magma sphere hovered beside his shoulder, humming with restrained violence. He inhaled, grounding his thoughts, aligning the spell with his intent.

Then he thrust his arm forward.

The orb shot out instantly, tearing through the space between him and the target.

**BOOOOOOM**

The explosion was immense. A shockwave rushed out, forcing Adrian to leap back as a wave of blistering heat rolled over him. He shielded his face with his forearm, feeling the sting of scorching air graze his skin. The training doll didn’t just break—it detonated, fragments splintering and flying across the chamber like shrapnel.

When the smoke thinned, Adrian lowered his arm and let out a slow breath. The spell worked. Maybe a little too well—but it worked.

And that alone was enough to make the burn worth it.

Adrian looked at the mess he created.

The melting floor before him, the smoke rising.

His own clothes were burnt with several black marks on the side of his arms and ribs.

And yet, his first reaction was,

“I am a genius.”

….

After finishing his training session, Adrian finally stepped out of the Time Chamber. Eight hours inside had stretched his mind thin, yet his mana still hummed with the remnants of intense concentration. He had successfully mastered the second step of the fifth thread—a milestone anyone would celebrate with pride.

But Adrian didn’t feel that rush of exhilaration he had felt when he first mastered the earlier stages. No triumphant warmth. No lingering satisfaction.

Why?

Maybe it was because Avirin’s memories were bleeding deeper into his consciousness, shaping the way he approached magic and runes. Maybe the overwhelming knowledge of a pinnacle Runesmith numbed his sense of accomplishment. Or maybe the standard he now measured himself against was simply too high.

Whatever the reason, only one truth mattered: every new memory, every new insight was sharpening him. And once he reached the peak hinted at within Avirin’s mind… the benefits would be unimaginable.

Stepping out of the temporal distortion and back into the real world, the stillness of his room greeted him. Soft moonlight filtered in through the curtains, and on the bed, Bella slept peacefully. Her breathing was gentle, shoulders rising and falling in a slow rhythm. She clutched a pillow with one arm, a small, content smile on her lips—as if her dreams were kinder than reality.

Adrian’s features softened. He approached quietly, brushing a thumb across her cheek before leaning down to place a slow, affectionate kiss on her forehead. Her nose twitched slightly, but she continued sleeping.

Moving away, he began unbuttoning his training shirt, ready to change into something clean. But halfway through, he froze.

A prickle ran up his spine.

Someone was watching him.

He turned his head toward the window.

A silhouette sat perched on the sill—Ariana. Her posture was tense, one knee drawn up, her arms resting casually but her expression anything but. Her brows were furrowed, ashy eyes fixed on him with an unreadable intensity, as if she had been sitting there for quite a while… waiting.

And she did not look pleased.

“What happened to you?” She asked, finally breaking the silence.

Ever since he had told her everything that happened between himself and Raven, this was the first time she had come to his room.

Adrian looked down at himself and said, “Just went a little too far with my experiments today.”

Ariana entered the room and said, “Take off your shirt.”

Adrian blinked in surprise before saying, “It’s really nothing-”

Ariana shot him a glare, silencing the man.

Heaving a sigh, he followed her words, not wanting to displease her further.

Ariana took out the medical box from the wardrobe as Adrian slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

Just as Ariana turned her heart skipped a beat seeing his bare form.

His back was wide, tense and standing just behind him, she felt quite small in comparison.

Adrian suddenly turned, exactly not something she wanted, and looked into her eyes.

“Are you going to heal me or just check me out.”

Ariana, being unusually shy, coughed and gestured towards a chair near the window.

Adrian smiled at her and sat down.

Ariana inspected his burn marks and frowned, “Exactly what were you trying to do?”

She took out a cooling ointment from the box and pulled the cap before taking some gel on her fingers.

Adrian exhaled a sigh, “Nothing too serious and these burns…it’s only because I didn’t anticipate my own strength.”

Ariana looked up, a wry smile on her face, “Is that pride I see in your eyes.”

Adrian huffed, “I succeeded in forming a merged spell.”

Ariana hummed before asking, “And how many attempts did it take?”

Adrian’s lips remained parted but no word came out.

The silver head shook her head before she brought her fingers to his chest, slowly applying the ointment.

Under the pale moonlight, Adrian’s well sculpted body seemed to be radiating a masculine charm which took her breath away.

The way she fidgeted while touching his warm skin didn’t go unnoticed by the man.

He suddenly held her wrist and asked, “Are you really trying to heal my wounds or is this a way to feel my body?”

Ariana narrowed her eyes before she suddenly sat on his lap, straddling him she said, “You belong to me. This body is mine. I can touch it anytime I want.”

Adrian smiled at the reaction as he held her waist and waist and said, “That’s true.”

Ariana huffed before she hugged his neck and said, “Did you have dinner?”

Adrian nodded, “Yeah, but I can surely eat if you make me something.”

Ariana chuckled before she was about to get up only for Adrian to hold her in place and said, “How about a little dessert now?”

Ariana’s cheeks warmed a little before she leaned closer and pressed her lips against his.

A giggle left her throat as she felt his hand roaming on her body.

At that moment, Adrian assumed he had received her forgiveness.

°°°°°°°°°

A/n:- Thanks for reading.

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