Rivers of the Night

GONG. GONG.

The mountain shook.

Even hidden so deep within it, Theron could feel the vibrations as though it was loud enough to cut to the depths of even the mountain itself.

'Not good.'

Theron didn't feel like it was a coincidence, and he also felt that there was a problem with the gong as well.

It wasn't just designed to penetrate far and wide—that would probably shatter the ears of the weak.

The reason he felt that the mountain was shaking around him was because the gong itself was designed to detect life and send pulsing sound waves directly toward them.

It was an application of Sound Mana more advanced than any Theron had ever seen. He had only read a few books in the new library of his, but he knew from the sheer changes alone that the vast scope of knowledge in this world was well beyond him.

This was just the tip of the iceberg.

'Can they use this to find me?'

Theron concluded that the odds were likely no. It was possible, but it would probably take a relatively powerful Sound Mancer to reverse engineer it.

From what Theron could tell, this Sect—or at least this mountain—should be purely for Dark Mancers. If they wanted someone like that, they would have to call them over.

These were just Theron's guesses, and it was impossible to tell for certain. But guesses were all he had to go on for now, and they would be what decided his life and death here.

He was in trouble.

He didn't know how he had been found out, but he also had no choice but to guess that those gongs weren't a coincidence. They were definitely coming after him.

Should he continue trying to cut his way out of the mountain and hope that they wouldn't call a Sound Mancer, or that he was overthinking things?

Technically, the amount of skill a Sound Mancer would have to have to find him with those gongs was off the charts. They'd have to be capable of replicating at least 80% of the control Theron himself could display with Water Mana.

In the world he was used to, the odds of finding such an expert were slim to none. But in this one?

'No. I need to get out of here. But first…'

BOOM!

The earth around Theron exploded as he expelled a great amount of Water Mana.

The surroundings churned as Theron turned incredibly pale. But the focus in his eyes didn't fade for a single instant of time. He pulled out another treasure.

The Mandate Core.

From Theron's understanding, the nine treasures in his hands now—all of which were hidden away in his father's necklace—had been the main treasures of the greatest powers of the continent.

The Dagger Call Platform was the core treasure of the Daggers of the Night, the Karmic Needle and Thread were the core treasure of the Seijin, and this Mandate Core… it was the core treasure of the Mandate Guild.

The Mandate Core looked like a simple glass ball. It was perfectly smooth, just large enough to perfectly fit in Theron's palm, but it had nothing inside of it. It was completely transparent.

Theron huffed for breath, soaking up all the Water Mana in the surroundings with a great amount of speed. Then, he brought out an Ebonstone and pressed it against the glass ball before waiting.

The abilities of these nine treasures in his possession were a bit vague to Theron, but they seemed to whisper their functions to him. From what he could tell, the degree to which he understood how to use these treasures was dependent on his Third Eye and his connection to his father's necklace.

His father's necklace was responsible for the growth speed and potential of his Third Eye, so though he couldn't explain what was going on with 100% certainty just yet, it somewhat made sense for the time being.

The Mandate Core's function was quite simple. It could replace the function of a Mandate Plaque. It was essentially a reusable and infinitely upgradeable Mandate Plaque.

One could easily see just how valuable this was when acting in conjunction with the Bloodline Slab—or more accurately, the Bloodline Marble.

There was a catch, though. The Mandate Core needed a reference in order to form the Laws and Mandates Theron was looking for.

But that left an obvious question. Theron wasn't a Dark Mancer, so why was he using Ebonstone as a reference for the Mandate Core right now?

The answer to that was locked away in a memory that Theron hadn't even realized he'd long buried. The fact he had buried it, though… likely told of the truth of how much that day really set him on a different path.

During the culling of the Daggers of the Night, Theron had almost died and been on the run. After just barely surviving, he ran into a fellow assassin he quickly learned was actually Sadie, after she revealed her identity to him.

He could remember those feelings of betrayal so clearly even now… He had truly treated her like his little sister. She had probably been the only light left in his life at the time, but she…

She was just like everyone else. Just chasing after power and manipulating those around them to get what they wanted. Just the same…

Theron shook his head and bit his tongue, regaining his focus instantly. The sharpness in his eyes radiated outward as the Mandate Core began to turn and change, its clear body gaining a dark fog.

Quickly, Theron pulled out yet another Ebonstone and fed it once more.

The reason Theron recalled this story wasn't because he was mourning Sadie—it was because of what he realized that night: that she wasn't a Wind Mancer at all, but was instead using a treasure to replicate the aspect of Wind Mancy.

Since then, Theron had never seen something like that again. So how could she have possibly done such a thing?

It finally clicked here.

If Theron wanted to escape, he couldn't do it as a Water Mancer. He would be found out too quickly and then suffocated to death.

He needed to be a Dark Mancer.