Chapter 3880: Favored Son (Part 1) "I won’t provoke Tezka and Orulm again until I’m certain I can beat them, and I won’t join an Organization that would force me to share my hard-earned knowledge with those who might become my future rivals. "Not when I’ve already replaced most of my pseudo cores with power cores and only need to learn the secret of artificial mana organs to become the perfect being who will stand above all." ’The ink dates to about thirty years ago.’ Leegaain pondered. ’It’s no wonder nobody remembered Raum. He was friendly to Zor, while Orulm and Tezka fought too many arrogant Eldritches to remember someone they fought only once.’ "Year 39,997 Day 236 "I can’t believe what I’m about to write, but there is no point in denying the truth. For the past few years, I feared that the Master might follow in my footsteps and replicate my work with the help of his witless associates. "That after witnessing Valeron’s miracle, the other Eldritches would have pooled their resources to achieve in years what it has taken me almost forty millennia. I was wrong, and I couldn’t be happier for it. "Those very same Eldritches who gained the strength and skill to humble me have lost their minds and followed what I assume must be a human down the most inane path possible. "They escaped the illusion of the flesh only to seek its smothering embrace on their own will. According to my sources, the Master has caused a phenomenon called Monster Outbreaks. "He bred and unleashed flawed meat sacks in the hope of replacing the original, perfect meat sacks that my fellow Eldritches discarded ages ago. I would laugh at their stupidity if it didn’t serve my interests. "Competition would hinder my research, and by following the lead of a feeble mortal’s mind, the members of the Organization are unwittingly playing in the palm of my hand." "Year 39,997, Day 302, additional notes. "They did it! The Master restored the flesh prison of my fellow Eldritches and somehow made them much stronger. It would be irrelevant information, if not for the good and bad news it carries. "The bad news is that, whatever the Master is, they granted their followers superior bodies whose strength I can neither understand nor gauge. These newborn hybrids are nothing compared to me (or at least I hope so), but what about tomorrow? What if I’ve taken the wrong path? "The good news is that Xenagrosh too has become part of the Master’s elite force. She now possesses a Dragon’s mana organs and a body that can withstand my tools. She is the perfect test subject for my experiments. "I’ll wait a bit before capturing her. Taking her alive is going to require special care, and I have to make sure she is not accompanied by someone who might foil my plans. My hope is that the Master uses this time to make her even sturdier." "Year 39,999 Day 192 "Another problem solved itself. Xenagrosh attacked the mobile fortress of the Mad Queen and turned out to be vulnerable to slave spells. Detaining her won’t be hard thanks to my expertise about Odi magic and what the Mad King taught me in exchange for my services." "Year 40,000 Day 187 "Everything is ready. I can finally set my plan in motion. I believe that my repeated efforts and indomitable will have garnered me Mogar’s favor. I’m certain that Xenagrosh has a romantic relationship with Bytra, the Fourth Ruler of the Flames. "Once I’m done with my little sister, I can use her to lure Bytra to my base. Once I regain my Dragon eyes and if Bytra shares Xenagrosh’s weakness to slave magic, I’ll be able to learn from the Fourth Ruler of the Flames everything she knows. "She’ll be my master, and I’ll craft the power cores of at least two of the five pieces of the legendary set of Menadion with her help. Bytra has successfully replicated the Fury and the Mouth with regular Forgemastery, she can help me convert their power cores into Forbidden Magic. "On top of that, everything she has learned from the Master, she will teach it to me. I’ll steal my rival’s knowledge and use it to destroy the Organization. Once again, I refuse to think this is just a coincidence. "I have been wrong many times in the past, but now I’m sure of this. Mogar is by my side, and no one will stop me from achieving my goal. This is her will, and I’m her favored son." "Boy, if my boy is wrong." Leegaain closed the volume and put it inside his pocket dimension like he had done with all the research journals that contained more than the ravings of a mad Eldritch. "What do you mean?" Aryk asked. "Azith renamed himself Raum, and he thinks himself a chosen one." The Guardian sighed. "He has lost his mind to the point of seeing the entire Mogar as something that either benefits or hinders him. "He doesn’t care about the will of anyone but himself." "I’m sorry for your loss." Lilax patted his back. "Don’t be." Leegaain moved them to the next room. "He’s not my son anymore. Raum has chosen to become the monster he is today. With his actions, he didn’t just turn his back on Mogar, but on his entire family." A human-sized desk lay in the middle of the chamber, its surface covered by open books. The Guardian needed but a glance to recognize studies about Zoreth’s life force that mirrored his own. According to the notes written beside Raum’s drawings of the Shadow Dragon’s various mana organs, the wonderer planned to replicate all of her bloodline abilities and make them his own. The drawing of the Dragon Eyes mana organ was circled, while the one of the Origin Flames was underscored twice. The rest of the mana organs had either a small number or "useless" written next to them. Raum deemed Xenagrosh’s ability to alter her density redundant since his energy body could already do it, whereas he seemed intrigued by the possibility of creating a clone from his own shadow, like she did. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 Leegaain stored the book inside his pocket dimension and examined the others, discovering that they were filled with Raum’s future plans for the rest of the members of the Organization. He wanted to capture and study them as he was doing with Xenagrosh. His goal was to learn how the mana organs belonging to the bloodlines of the six original Guardians had to be modified to resist the influence of Chaos and recreate and implant them into his body with Forbidden Magic. "Once I possess the powers of the first Guardians and those of the most powerful Eldritches on Mogar, my dream will become true." Raum wrote. "Orulm’s Break ability will allow me to kill Guardians and white cores with ease. "Tezka’s Suneater will give me a reliable power source even while away from a mana geyser, making me invincible. Nandi’s ability to control the world energy combined with Theseus’ ability to absorb it non-stop, will make me an Eldritch mage tower. "I’m unsure if capturing and studying Abthot is worth the effort. She’s knowledgeable, but her fighting abilities are a little thing compared to the Breaker’s and the Suneater’s.