When Valdis opened his eyes, he immediately saw a dozen pairs of eyes on him.
The first person who walked up to him was his mother, unlike the rest in the room. Elanor had no faith in the soul inhabiting the sword. To her, Nyxaria was a powerful soul that was capable of annihilating the son's soul during the fusion process.
So when she saw him open his eyes, she hurried to check if he was completely fine.
After she examined him from head to toe and found nothing amiss, she let out a sigh of relief. Looking into his eyes, she smiled and ruffled his hair, after that she walked back towards Draven and continued standing by his side.
"Did you meet Nyxaria?" Mircalla suddenly asked
Valdis turned towards her and nodded. His response made her face light up as she smiled, then she asked again.
"Can I see her?"
"Mircalla, calm yourself. I really doubt she can leave the sword right now. Don't forget she's just a divine soul right now, you have to give her some time to stabilize herself," the Second ancestor said
"Yeah, and what makes you think that if she could, she would want to meet someone as annoying as you?" Akan added
As he finished speaking, the hall's temperature dropped a few degrees, and Mircalla turned towards Arkan, eyes ready to spit venom.
Arkan saw this and just laughed without a care in the world. Grand Elder Thalor, on the other hand, just shook his head and said
"Mircalla, if you keep responding to Arkan's words, you'll die of a heart attack one day."
"There's no use advising them, they've been like this since they were little, and I don't think they plan on outgrowing it any time soon," the third ancestor said
Draven, who sat on the central throne, gave his grandfather a helpless look as Elanor, who was beside him, kept giggling.
To her, this was one of the rare moments the Ebonharts acted like a normal family, and it was, giving his grandfather a helpless look as Elanor, beside him, amused to watch the the woman once known the frozen witch and the man once known as the Crimson Juggernaut, both individuals both feared across multiple battlefields, renowned for their strength and their immense brutality towards their enemies, sitting, laughing and exchanging friendly banter.
Meetings of this nature in the Ebonhart house are mostly called to discuss imminent battles or wars. Such a warm atmosphere was a rarity in the Ebonhart house.
"We've deviated from the reason we came here," the second ancestor said
After saying that, he looked at Valdis and asked him
"Let's see the sword you created."
As he said this, all chatter in the room silenced, and everyone's focus returned to Valdis
Valdis, being the center of attention, nodded and called to the weapon, and immediately it answered.
The sword appeared in his hands, its silvery surface adorned by tiny dark lines that gleamed in the light. The sword was nothing less than a work of art, but the beauty of the sword was not what pulled people's attention towards it; it was the aura the sword was giving off.
The aura felt suffocating, and it felt as though they were staring at the sword of the reaper. The sword's aura screamed death and bloodlust. The power the sword emitted was that of one at the peak of the tenth tier.
Another odd thing about the sword was the shape of the blade, as most swords were usually long, straight, and double-edged, but this sword was curved towards the tip and was sharpened on one side.
"That's a weird way to make a sword," Arkan said
Everyone nodded, agreeing with what he said, as the sword looked unusual
The only people whose reaction slightly varied were Grand Elder Thalor, together with First and Second Ancestors
Unlike the others who hadn't seen such a sword, they had and where they saw it was on a battlefield in the hands of the most terrifying enemies they had ever faced in their lives. As for Thalor, although he didn't fight in the millennial war, he was born a few years after the war, so he grew up learning about the enemies that almost conquered Eldoria and forced some races into extinction.
"She helped you create a demon sword. Has she lost her mind?" the second ancestor blurted out.
The first ancestor said nothing, but his silence proved he agreed with the second ancestor completely.
Grand Elder Thalor was also quiet, but the reason he was silent was that, unlike the First and Second ancestors, he didn't personally experience the horrors of the millennial war, a war that claimed the lives of about fifty percent of the inhabitants in Eldoria at the time.
The others who heard his outburst became puzzled, and from the words of the second ancestor, this was not his first time seeing such a sword, and his reaction signified that the sword's history was probably terrifying.
Elanor raised the first question, the second ancestor, as she felt that his reaction was a bit excessive.
"Is there anything wrong with the sword? Apart from the weird craftmanship I see nothing wrong with the sword," she said
But the second ancestor, who seemed to be engrossed in his thoughts, didn't hear a word she said.
Seeing the lack of response, she wanted to ask again, but Grand Elder Thalor cut her off before she could even speak.
"The problem is the craftmanship. I don't know the exact details, but what I do know is that some people might kill Valdis on the spot for owning such a weapon."
His response stunned everyone in the room.
In Eldoria, where strength dictates everything, and people die for the stupidest reasons, but getting killed because someone didn't like the way your sword was crafted was new.
But before he could speak further, the second ancestor said
"Let's finish the sword's analysis first before we speak on such matters."
Hearing that, Thalor nodded and closed his eyes
Seeing this, the second ancestor turned to Valdis and asked
"Can you give me the sword I want to test something?"
Valdis nodded and placed the sword in his outstretched hands
The second ancestor stepped back a bit and began swinging the sword. After a while, he stopped and said
"This sword internalizes two opposing concepts seamlessly, built for both speed and power, and due to the adamantine, it won't break mid-battle."
With a few glances and swings, the second ancestor uncovered everything about the sword in his hands, showing his immense knowledge in crafting.
"Now to the main test," he said
The second ancestor then proceeded to inject a tiny amount of aether into the sword; the result was shocking.
The aura the sword gave off tripled in power and intensity.
Seeing this, the second ancestor laughed heartily and said, "This is the true reason adamantine is highly sought after. It not only allows the smooth flow of aether but also amplifies it as it moves through it."
Everyone in the room now understood why the metal had such a legendary status among metals.
"When it's still an ore, unlike other metals which will only conduct aether after aether channels have been drawn on them, adamantine conducts aether naturally while slightly amplifying the aether that moves through it. When the channels are drawn, the amplification triples, making the users' attacks three times as effective, and it does this while being the most durable metal in the world," he said
Everyone now looked at the sword in his hands in a new light; the only thing they still couldn't wrap their heads around was how such a stunning sword was once a silvery blob at the beginning.
As they wanted to ask the second ancestor a few questions, the first ancestor's voice cut in, and he said
"All your questions should be reserved for later; right now, we have a more pressing issue to discuss."
Hearing this, everyone fell silent as they knew it concerned the origins of the sword's craftsmanship.
The second ancestor then walked back towards Valdis and handed his sword back to him. Valdis took the sword in his hands, and immediately the sword vanished, fusing with him again.
As the second ancestor walked back, he said
"Malrik, Isolde, and Valdis, please excuse us for a moment."
Hearing this, the three of them nodded and immediately bowed and turned to leave, but that was when the first ancestor's voice rang out again.
"Malrik can stay."
The second ancestor looked at him in confusion
"He has attained the minimum level of strength needed to know about this information, so he can stay."
The second ancestor thought for a moment, but eventually nodded in the end
Both Valdis and Isolde stared at Malrik for a few seconds before leaving the hall.
As soon as the doors closed, everyone's focus returned to the second ancestor, seeking an explanation for his earlier outburst.