Zorya finished mapping the final defensive perimeter across the glowing brick walls.
She possessed absolute control over the ancient foundation now, and her eyes tracked the invisible currents of mana running through the stone.
Raziel pulled the heavy bronze map from his tunic and dropped it onto the wooden table.
CLANG.
He secured five of the six Forbidden Gifts.
He owned Architectural Inscription, Soul Resonance, Bond Forging, Chronoperception, and Anchor Blood.
He needed the sixth weapon right now.
He tapped his scarred finger against the final marker on the metal plate.
The Devourer.
The Church banned this specific magic above all others, and they burned every single record of its existence.
It allowed the user to absorb and repurpose the Gifts of other living beings.
It was the literal power to steal magic.
If someone mastered the Devourer, the Exarchs lost their absolute monopoly over divine power, and the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy would collapse.
