Chapter 4143: Over 10,000 (Part 2) The elemental crystals already Bonded on the top of the staff syphoned the conflicting energies and neutralized them. Normally, elemental crystals needed to process world energy to replenish themselves, but the Balor’s eyes absorbed so much light and darkness elements that the crystals acted as exhaust ports, taking what they could and discharging the rest. "Don’t worry, it’s working." Solus answered to Lith’s worried look. "I’ve checked with the Ears and Eyes thrice." Lith nodded and repeated the process two more times. When the final elemental eyes and crystals merged with the Yggdrasill wood, the power they conjured produced an audible hum. ’This never happened during the simulations.’ Lith said via a mind link not to waste time while he cast the Bonding spell for the Spirit Crystals. ’There is no trace of the network that should link all the eyes with all the crystals.’ ’That’s because you always connected them at the same time as the Spirit Crystals.’ Solus saw the conflict between the elemental energies grow more violent by the second. ’If I’m right-’ She was. The moment the Spirit Crystals fused with the Sage Staff and completed the circles, the Balor’s eyes stopped clashing with their opposite twin. The energy of the six eyes now flowed into the emerald gemstone, which redistributed it evenly among them until they matched. The elemental crystals on top of the Staff, instead, became capable of redirecting the excess energy they received from the Balor’s eyes into the Spirit Crystal, forming a mana circuit. It was a permanent mana circle that only needed one or more proper sequences of runes to become an array. "Wow, this amazing! Much better than our previous version of the Sage Staff." Solus said while checking on both the sets of eyes and crystals. "The elemental crystals fuel the mana circuit with no burden on the wielder or the staff itself. "The extra energy produced by the Balor eyes is now channeled into the circuit instead of being discharged out of the staff. Not even a speck of world energy goes to waste. Royal Forgemasters can teach a thing or two even to ancient Awakened bloodlines." "Please, Epphy, you’re making me blush." Menadion said, blushing as if she were the inventor and Forgemaster of Vorgh’s staff. "The best part is that even though we don’t have any legacy to guide our work, no offence, Ripha..." Lith said. "Much taken." She snarled. "We have one advantage even on the Royal Forgemasters, and I’m not referring to the Spirit Crystals. That’s something any Awakened can do." Lith ignored her remark and continued. "Take a good look at the Sage Staff’s new mana circulatory system." Solus blinked a few times in confusion until the realization dawned on her. "By my Mom, you’re right. How could I forget about that?" She activated her breathing technique, Sky Blessing, to observe how much the Yggdrasill wood had changed since the last time she had taken a good look at it. When Bonded to magic metals, mana crystals created a unique mana circulatory system based on their position, number, the shape of the metal, and the impurities it contained. The Yggdrasill wood, however, had once been part of the World Tree, a powerful Awakened who had constantly refined their body for almost ten thousand years. Bonding the eyes and elemental crystals to the wood had revitalized the dead branch. The world energy naturally flowed through the wood fibers without encountering any resistance because the Yggdrasill staff already had a perfect mana circulatory system. One that had been refined by the World Tree first and then by the tower’s Spark. "It’s not that you forgot about it. There was simply no way to notice the changes in the Sage Staff." Salaark shook her head. "As long as it was enchanted, the flow of mana was forced to move along the old mana circulatory system because it was the most stable configuration. "Dismantling the Staff removed the runes, the power core, and everything that was in the way of the new and improved mana circulatory system formed by further refining the branch in the Spark until this moment." "Yeah, that’s also the reason finding the proper configuration for the eyes, crystals, and runes gave me such a headache." Lith rubbed his temples at the memory. "Everything we’ve learned about our piece of Yggdrasill wood has become useless. "I had to redo everything from scratch with the Ears." "How ’old’ is our branch now?" Solus asked. "A little over 10,000 years." Salaark replied. "I can’t tell you exactly how much because it’s already beyond what any World Tree can reach in their natural lifespan. I have nothing to compare it with." "Now, it’s time to apply the rune sequences." Lith said. "Do you want to do the honors?" "Gladly!" Solus split the Eyes with Lith and donned the Ears of Menadion before moving on to the Runesmithing phase. The first sequence of runes she applied was something they had devised after their first failure in enchanting Yggdrasill wood. Unlike magical metals that rejected the foreign mana that formed a power core, Yggdrasill wood absorbed it like a dried sponge with water. While dealing with the Yggdrasill wood, a Forgemaster encountered the unique challenge of fighting to keep the power core from being sucked inside its vessel instead of struggling to push it in. For that reason, the first sequence of runes Solus engraved in the wood had the ability to regulate the affinity of the Sage Staff for her energy signature instead of just enhancing it. It would allow Lith and Solus to alternate between attracting and rejecting the power core during the Forgemastering process, depending on the circumstances. As soon as the runes covered the wood, world energy and mana alike entered the Sage Staff in rhythmical pulses, as if it were breathing. More mana vessels and capillaries came back to life across the staff, but that was not all. Solus could already perceive a subtle change in the monotone flow of energy coming from the eyes and crystals. If before it had been akin to a constant, uninterrupted note, now it had a cadence. The second set of runes would amplify the effects of the pseudo cores that would assemble into the future power core lodged inside the staff. It granted the artifact the ability to boost not only its single enchantments, but also their combined effects. Something that the Yggdrasill wood’s properties and the mana circuit on top of the staff would bring to a unique level if the Forgemastering were completed successfully. Once the second set fell into place, the rhythm of the energy flow became more complex, but also filled with flat notes. The third set of runes could act either as a safety valve or as a recharge tool. Whenever too much mana was channeled through the staff or the simultaneous use of many enchantments would overload its mana circulatory system, the runes would discharge the excess energy before it could build up to dangerous levels. While the Sage Staff was at rest, instead, the runes would absorb the surrounding world energy and reduce the time required to recharge and stabilize the power core fully after prolonged use. Many flat notes faded, and the rhythm of the energy flow started resembling Solus’.