Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 157. Lupus Hoffmann’s Conviction

“This is hardly a spar…” Aurora remarked, narrowing her eyes.

They weren’t training normally, far from it. Their ruthless strikes could have killed each other at any moment, if not for the chamber’s perpetual healing system.

“Had enough?” Jovian panted, having just landed a critical blow.

Lupus scrambled to her feet, the swirling luminescent leaves enveloping her. She spat out blood, and her split lips began to mend.

Her eyes now shone crystal clear — wide, alert, and full of something primal.

Aurora had seen eyes like these before, across the centuries.

It was hatred, refined to its purest, densest form. It became vengeance.

Jovian closed his eyes, letting the moment settle within him. To him, time moved in a slowed frame.

“A mage progresses through their journey driven by many emotions, each offering an intensity of willpower,” he said inwardly. “Be it desire, love, greed, wisdom, beauty, chaos… or vengeance.”

He reflected on what he had witnessed in others.

“That’s how Ziyue was, when she massacred the entire clan. But she repurposed that rage for something greater. That’s why I brought Lupus into the regime.”

His mind fell into a trance.

His eyes, flickering with a violet glow, snapped open with conviction.

“Now it’s your turn, Lupus. Harness your hatred. Fuel your strength.”

“Unleash your power!” Celestius Jovian bellowed, grinning wickedly.

Mana surged and combusted, engulfing the Wildren in a menacing aura, a dark red glow, ominous and terrifying.

“Is that mana? I can see it with my own eyes!” Cartier gasped in awe.

Aurora pulled her close, protective, her eyes fixed on the unfolding event. Nearby, the two Virgo mages began to whisper inaudible prayers, their faces tense as though they couldn’t bear to watch the horror about to emerge.

“YAAAA!” Lupus’s primal scream echoed through the chamber as she launched herself forward.

Each step cracked the reinforced stone tiles beneath her.

With a fluid pivot, her leg snapped outward like a whip.

Jovian narrowly avoided the blow, dashing sideways. The air tore. Space itself seemed to rupture. A searing pain stung his chest, a grazing wound.

“What?!” he gasped, his body moving instinctively. He shadowstepped back almost in an instant.

Then he sensed it, the danger came from above.

“Huh?!”

In a blink, Lupus was airborne above him.

Her foot hammered down.

The air vibrated violently.

“Magnetos!” Jovian cast the spell just in time.

A deafening explosion erupted, blasting smoke and debris in every direction. The gust howled through the space.

On the sidelines, Aurora raised her arms, casting a barrier to shield the spectators. Cartier ducked behind her, yet her head peeked with curiosity.

“That power… it rivals the Mythic-tier essence of might, Dynamis,” Aurora whispered, her tone analytical. “Yet there was no chant. Hmm. Could it be a passive essence?”

“Time!” Jovian’s voice rang out desperately.

But his barrier cracked and dissolved into glowing mana sparks.

Lupus’s foot landed, striking between his crossed arms.

His gauntlets shattered.

Blood dripped down his forearms.

“Jovian!” Vivian cried out, her eyes wide in horror.

Lupus said nothing. She bowed respectfully and stepped back. Jovian collapsed to one knee, groaning in pain.

“I never thought you’d make me cast Magnetos… and then break through it…” he muttered between wheezing.

Vivian rushed to his side, Triss following to provide immediate treatment.

“Hers too,” Jovian added, nodding towards Lupus.

Her legs were bleeding, bruised and battered.

The conservation of energy was always true, and never kind.

"Can’t say I’m not impressed," Aurora noted inwardly. To wield such raw strength without a single chant... I haven’t seen anything like it since the day I wrestled the might of the legendary beast Ventiff, centuries ago.

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It had to be the effect of this sophisticated chamber. Its design not only healed but seemingly accelerated growth in both combatants. She noted it all silently.

Once Lupus took her leave, Aurora exhaled deeply. She could feel the rejuvenating force swirling around her.

The pain in her back was absent. Her mana flowed more freely than before.

“What do you think of her?” Jovian asked, cracking open a can of soda and offering one each to Cartier and Aurora.

She accepted it with a smile, took a sip, and let out a satisfied ah.

“I’m impressed,” she replied. “She’s incredibly strong. It’s as if she fights for a single purpose.”

Aurora stared thoughtfully at the fizzy liquid bubbling through the slit of the can.

“And this chamber is amazing too, Vivian,” she added, turning to the Celestius of Virgo.

Vivian beamed and nodded cheerfully in response.

Jovian rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “She sure does… but at least, that’s what keeps her alive,” he said, then exhaled through his nose in exhaustion.

“If I may, Empress, I’ll be needing some rest.”

“Please, Jovian. I’m not your commander. Do as you wish,” Aurora replied flatly.

Jovian nodded and made his way towards another exit. As he reached the door, he turned halfway, his glowing eyes glinting faintly in the dim light.

“Oh, Empress, don’t worry about the rogue Celestius. If I had an arc blade, I’d eliminate him before he even blinked.”

With that, he departed.

Aurora acknowledged the comment with a subtle closing of her eyes.

Cartier shivered from the sharpness of his gaze, even though it hadn’t been directed at her. She clenched both hands around her fur ushanka, her tail curling protectively around one leg.

“Remember it well, Cartier. That’s why people called him the lord of shadowbringers.” Aurora lectured eagerly.

“Warmongers are a bunch of crazies, right?” Vivian joked, patting Cartier’s hair and her floppy feline ears.

Cartier nodded frantically, prompting a chuckle from Vivian.

“Anthosia,” Vivian whispered, and a pink peony materialised in her hand.

“Wow! Did you just cast that out of thin air?” Cartier gasped in wonder. She was fascinated, as her own version of the spell only made existing flowers bloom. She took the blossom and breathed in its faint, earthy aroma — lush and soothing.

“Astral Empress,” Terissa interjected gently, “we’ll still need to perform a healing ritual after we complete a proper diagnosis.”

Vivian nodded eagerly.

Terissa continued, “But first, Empress, we need to show you the apparatus.” She exchanged a knowing glance with Celestius Vivian, then gestured toward the central passage.

The source of the eternal Iasis leaves.

***

They arrived before a frizzling orb — the full bloom of a golden lotus, suspended in a state of perpetual motion. It rotated slowly, radiating a gentle yet unwavering luminance, as if time itself bowed to its rhythm. The soft hum it emitted harmonised with the mana-laced air, creating an ambient resonance that brushed against their skin like breath.

The orb was cradled atop an obsidian monolith, its polished surface etched with runes long faded by age. The monolith itself was not standalone, it merged seamlessly into the base of an ancient, towering bodhi tree whose roots had wrapped around it like a guardian's embrace. The tree pulsed faintly, its leaves glowing with a dull golden sheen, as if drawing life from the very core of the structure.

Encircling them was a column of massive Arcanite crystals, arranged with deliberate precision. Each crystal was equidistant from the others, forming a perfect ring of containment or amplification. Their surfaces shimmered faintly with refracted mana, reflecting fragments of the golden lotus's radiance.

This was no ordinary artefact. It was a fusion of nature, arcana, and ancient design, a relic that lived, breathed, and endured.

This was the apparatus responsible for the chamber’s continuous healing spell.

A marvellous innovation.

As Aurora drew closer, her senses flared. A subtle yet distinct aroma struck her.

She twitched slightly, nose wrinkling.

“It smells… ancient. Primal. Like the scent of a grand library... overflowing with lost knowledge,” Aurora murmured.

“Empress, this essence…” Cartier said softly, her eyes wide with fascination.

“It’s Primordial-tier,” Aurora replied. “And this scent~this is impossible.”

She sniffed the air again, this time more intently. Then her gaze shifted sideways toward Vivian, sharp and questioning.

“This is the Prime Disciple of Aries. There’s no mistake. How did you come by something like this? No one in recorded history has ever possessed anything from the beginning of the Gregorian era.”

“Gregorian era?” Cartier tilted her head in confusion.

Vivian gave a faint, thoughtful smile. “It’s the name of our calendar. The Gregorian marks the birth of arcane practice and the rise of the first magus to ascend to the Celestius rank. Some believe Celestius Gregorius was the one who designed and built the sky-challenging Tower of Babel.”

She glanced around the chamber, then returned her eyes to the Empress.

“Thinking about it now... maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched. In modern times, we’ve built battlecruisers the size of a small village, and skyscrapers that touch the stratosphere.”

Then she turned to Aurora, her expression growing solemn.

“Astral Empress… It’s time you learned the truth. The secrets the Zodiac Council has withheld from you.”

And so, Vivian spent the rest of the evening sharing the story of the boy named Zetius, his Primordial Essences, and how they ultimately came into the possession of the Celestius mages.

As the tale drew to a close, the soft hum of the golden lotus began to falter. The petals, once in constant rotation, slowed and dimmed.

Vivian's expression tightened. "As you can see, Astral Empress, this device is far from perfect. I've reached out to Celestius of Taurus," she admitted.

Aurora's eyebrows rose slightly. "Arc Monarch Caelia of Aethia?" she inquired, a nostalgic smile touching her lips at the memory of her visit to the sunburnt continent and Aethia’s harmonious solitude. The nation stood on the whole continent on itself, located on the far edge of the world.

"Yes, Empress," Vivian confirmed before gesturing politely for space. "It's time. I'll need to restart the apparatus," she said, signalling Terissa for assistance.

They stepped forward and raised both hands, the tips of their fingers glowing with a pale emerald hue. Closing her eyes, Celestius of Virgo drew a long, controlled breath, then began to channel her essence.

The Iasis leaves responded first, fluttering upward as if drawn by invisible threads. Light returned to the chamber like the first rays of dawn. The orb atop the monolith flared gold once more, the Arcanite crystals pulsating in synchrony.

Vivian’s presence merged with the rhythm of the apparatus. Her energy flowed through it like a current, quiet and resolute.

From the edge of the platform, Aurora watched in silence, captivated. Sure, it was imperfect, but alive, sustained by conviction.

And Vivian was its heart.

The golden lotus resumed its endless spin, and the leaves drifted softly once again.

The chamber pulsed with renewed life.