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Damn it. The hairs across Aldric's body standing on end, the man, who'd been about to act, forced himself to a halt, his eyes full of alarm and doubt. Could it be that Lilith made a move?
He was an Immortal Realm Card Master. The only things capable of stirring a crisis-pang this intense in him were the stronger tiers above, the Undying Realm and The Supreme.
The Supreme he could set aside for now. Even the twelve Capital Governors saw The Supreme only a scant few times across an entire year, and the odds of it being on Luke's account were slimmer still. That left only one possibility: Lilith had made a move. The two were teacher and student, after all, so perhaps Lilith had left some manner of mark upon Luke, one that allowed her to sense any abnormality in his condition.
If that's truly the case, then Luke's standing in Lilith's heart is higher than I imagined, Aldric murmured inwardly. Original Cards, and perhaps a good many more secrets we've no knowledge of.
Aldric's murmuring came across as little more than talking to himself, and with the suppression of his strength layered over it, Victor and the others couldn't make out the words clearly. But seeing him abruptly halt left them all thoroughly puzzled.
"There's no need to worry. Luke's situation isn't as dangerous as it appears." Seeing this, Aldric could only speak up again to smooth things over. "The violent mana within him is gradually clearing. From here, we need only wait for him to adapt to the changes of absorbing the Space Seed."
In Aldric's judgment, Lilith had unquestionably made a move, and that being so, there was no need for him to lend a hand of his own. It was just that, thinking how his good intentions had nearly turned into a disaster, Aldric couldn't suppress a wry laugh in the privacy of his heart.
He was getting on in years. He genuinely couldn't take frights like this.
"Then that's a relief." Hearing Aldric's words, Victor and the others let out breaths they'd been holding, exchanging glances all around, each reading the same meaning in the others' eyes.
This kid Luke, kicking up fresh news every other moment!
*「 Affected by Spirit-Value Aegis, the Space Seed is exhibiting signs of mutation. Nurturing speed increased by 500%. 」*
Nurturing speed up 500%? The instant the system's message arrived, Luke felt the mana within him riot, draining away madly at a terrifying speed.
For crying out loud. You may have the word "seed" in your name, but you're not an actual plant seed! And Spirit-Value Aegis has THIS effect too?
Luke's eyelid twitched wildly. The potency of Spirit-Value Aegis was beyond dispute, that much was certain, but Luke hadn't expected this blessing to boost the Space Seed's nurturing speed fivefold, which turned the originally constant, gentle mana absorption into something downright terrifying. In the span of mere seconds, the mana within Luke's body was all but drained dry.
Crack.
The three lone mana crystals within him shattered one after another, transforming into a terrifying quantity of mana that surged toward the Space Seed. Yet even with the support of the mana crystals, at this rate of absorption, perhaps only a few more seconds would pass before he was sucked dry all over again.
Oh.
As if sensing the abnormality in Luke, the special blessing linked at his heart, the Spirit-Value Aegis, abruptly gave off a rich aura of life-force, mana continuously mingled within it. The two energies converged and surged toward the Space Seed's position, forming an eerie equilibrium with its rate of absorption.
"Luke?" Celestine's distinctively gentle voice rang out in Luke's mind, as though she'd only just woken, carrying a faint trace of drowsiness and confusion. "You obtained a World Seed?"
A World Seed? That sounds rather impressive. But wasn't what the Governor gave me a Space Seed? And why am I hearing Celestine's voice?
"The Spirit-Value Aegis link allows me to faintly perceive your situation, and lets me speak with you directly, mind to mind." Seeming to sense the confusion in Luke's heart, Celestine's voice rose again to explain. "And with the Spirit-Value Aegis as the core, I can, to a certain degree, transmit life-force and mana to you, the one I'm linked with, though only to this degree and within this range."
"What's more, the quality of my life-force and mana is too high. Were I to transmit it to you over a long stretch, it would place an enormous burden on you."
"As for the World Seed, it's in fact what you know as the Space Seed."
"The essence of a Space Seed is the last pillar that supported a world, the final remnant left behind after that world was utterly destroyed, a special object that preserves the world's existence."
Hearing Celestine's explanation, understanding dawned on Luke. It seemed the Spirit-Value Aegis blessing was nowhere near as simple as he'd imagined. The backup-power-source function, at the very least, was a welcome surprise, and very likely something only Celestine could actively bring about. He had no way of absorbing her energy on his own, otherwise there would have been a description of it on the skill panel.
As for the Space Seed, from Aldric's account he'd already known the item was no simple thing, but he hadn't expected it to be the remnant pillar of a world that had been utterly destroyed.
That, then, made the Space Seed's ability to open a dimensional space within a Card Master's body something he could finally make sense of.
"Is the Ancient Spirit Tree also a world pillar?" Celestine's description of a world pillar called to Luke's mind the Ancient Spirit Tree, that special existence at the center of Crescent Moon Land.
"You're right." Celestine's voice rose once more. "Though the existence that supports a world doesn't always manifest in the form of a World Tree. It takes on a form suited specifically to that world."
If that's the case, then there must absolutely be an existence akin to a World Tree within the Magic Card Civilization too. Luke mused. I just don't know what form it takes in supporting the Magic Card Civilization's development. Could it be a card as well?
Had it not been for this sudden upheaval, he'd never have come to know so many hidden truths.
For now, though, the priority was still handling the mutation of this Space Seed, or rather, this World Seed, within his body.
"Luke, would you be willing to hand this World Seed over to me to deal with?" Abruptly, Celestine's voice came again, carrying, ever so faintly, a thread of entreaty.
"Is this World Seed useful to you?" Luke asked in return.
"Yes."
"In that case, I'll leave it to you." In the next moment, Luke agreed, without much hesitation at all.
From Aldric's behavior, and from his conversation with Celestine, Luke knew the World Seed was anything but simple. Across the whole of the Magic Card Civilization, only a tiny handful of Card Masters possessed a World Seed and could open a dimensional space of their own.
But set against the World Seed, Luke cared far more about the Spirit-Value blessing and about Celestine, and her help to him, in his eyes, had already surpassed the World Seed's worth. With his own people, Luke was never one to be stingy.
Within Crescent Moon Land, hearing Luke's unhesitating reply, Celestine's face suddenly bloomed into a smile of such radiance it could have dimmed the very stars.
As a tree-spirit, Celestine by rights shouldn't have possessed emotions this rich. But owing to the Spirit-Value Aegis, Celestine could feel her own emotions being subtly shaped, little by little, under Luke's influence, and it wasn't something she disliked.
The Ancient Spirit Tree, as the main body, regarded all things with equal impartiality, while Celestine, as the tree-spirit, was the embodiment of the Ancient Spirit Tree's "selfish" side.
Her lotus-white arm lifted gently, the fair, snow-pale skin faintly visible beneath the gauze. In that instant, the Spirit Core within Celestine spun madly, the energy representing her source and core dispersing outward, channeling continuously through the Spirit-Value Aegis link into the World Seed within Luke's body.