TDE Book 6 Chapter 18 - Gifts

“I was controlling the Dao?”

Calron murmured to himself as he replayed the memory of touching the grass dao. It was like the dao acknowledged him and was bowing down of its own will. That was a trait belonging only to the Ancients. But why did Calron have that ability?

“Yes, little one. Although you’re not using the same ‘Authority’ like the rest of us in this rank, you’re enforcing the same result with your left eye.”

Nature flew out from behind the Blood Titan and greeted Calron by gently landing on top of his shoulder.

“It was burning me.”

Calron raised his hand and placed it over his left eye, recalling the scorching sensation right before Martial intervened. They weren’t normal flames that he’d experienced before from other Fire Walkers or Fire Elementalists. The heat seemed to affect his soul directly.

“That ability is beyond the limits of your body, idiot. It might only be a measly grass dao, but it’s still a dao. You can’t just bend part of the World’s Law without consequence. Blood, you have any ideas about that kid’s left eye?”

Martial grunted from the side as he turned to the Blood Titan.

The giant stepped closer to Calron, hovering his palm over his left pupil. He didn’t touch it carelessly. A few seconds passed as the Blood Titan stood there silently as waves of red energy spiraled out of his hand. Calron didn’t move, letting the giant do his inspection.

“It’s part of the Blood Dao.”

The Titan concluded with a sigh.

“Nonsense!”

Martial exclaimed.

“But it was only added to the Blood Dao recently.”

Blood glanced at Nature as he finished.

“By ‘added’, you mean someone interfered?”

The dove appeared to understand what Blood was trying to imply. A pensive expression etched on her face as she stared at Calron.

“Why is this kid involved in every bad thing in this sector?”

Martial groaned. There were very few entities capable of tampering with the World’s Law, and this brat now seemed to have ties with another faction as well.

“Want to tell me what you guys are talking about?”

Calron scratched his head as the Blood Titan took away his hand and stepped back. He alternated from looking at Blood, Nature and Martial.

“We can’t say the name, little one. It’s only a guess for now, and not worth the risk entailed by ushering their name. Besides, we have a more pressing concern to deal with now.”

Nature replied, turning to Blood. She had a sad expression on her face.

“Unfortunately, you need to leave this dimension, Calron.”

The Blood Titan spoke gloomily.

“Huh? Didn’t you want me to train here until I completed my domain?”

Calron was taken aback at the unexpected news. That explained why the dove had been giving him melancholic glances the whole time. She appeared to have already known about this decision.

“It’s because your new ability changes everything. You can’t step inside the Geyser without all the dao rushing toward you. And just like with the grass dao, you won’t have the control to stop yourself from interacting with them. The moment you do, all the immortals in this sector will discover that someone from the mortal realm has the power to manipulate the dao like the Ancients.”

Martial teleported beside Calron and kicked at the young man’s shin with irritation.

“Unlike the outside world, this dimension is abnormally close to the astral space. That’s why we wanted you to stay here until you completed your domain. However, that boon has now turned into your bane. With such a close proximity to the astral space, the immortals will have no trouble locating you if you enter the Geyser once again.”

Blood added with a shake of his head. The Titans were happy that Calron had a tool he could rely on in case he encountered an immortal. Yet, that happiness was shadowed by the fact that the young man could no longer spend time with them.

If Calron accidentally triggered one of the nearby daos to his will, all hell would break loose. It was best that he return as soon as possible to the outside world, where the World’s Law was more stringent.

“Maybe you can teach me how to control the Bloodsight, so I control it without exerting my will on the surrounding dao.”

Calron interjected, unwilling to depart so soon. He’d learned so much from the Titans, about his past, the Lightning Primordial, and the history of this sector.

“We can’t teach you what we don’t know, little one. That’s an ability none of us are familiar with.”

Nature rubbed her tiny head against Calron’s neck in consolation. She could feel the young man’s heartsickness. The Titans didn’t want to part ways as well, but the danger grew every second Calron spent here.

“Guess this is a farewell, then.”

Calron chuckled bitterly. He didn’t expect his time with the Titans would come to an end this soon. Now that he was returning outside, he’d need to plan how to reach the Archaic Council in time before the competition for the Dao Fruit.

“Wait. We were going to give you these gifts after your training was concluded, but no time to wait anymore.”

The Blood Titan gently grabbed Calron and took out a packaged bundle from his storage ring. It was wrapped in a pristine beast leather.

“Heh, you better not lose any of them.”

Martial grinned, knowing what was in the contents of the package.

“The first one is from Nature. She was worried that the Ancients would detect your Divine Element, so she wanted to give you this Ring of Mirage. It can camouflage your lightning element, so it appears as the Lightning Dao. Not even Ancients will be able to dispel the effects of the ring. It won’t work on Gods, but I doubt you’ll encounter any of them in the Ancients’ territory.”

The Blood Titan unwrapped the bundle and procured a jewelry box from within. Opening the ornate box, he held out an exquisitely crafted golden ring with a row of sapphire stones embedded in the center.

The ring could help him pretend to be a Lightning Walker if the need ever arose. That was actually one of the biggest issues Calron faced after getting his element back. He couldn’t use it in the presence of a path walker. Any one of them would be able to notice that the lightning had no dao energy inside it. It was an anomaly for a path walker to have two different daos, but it was better than explaining why a path walker had both the dao and an element.

The ring exuded an otherworldly aura, and Calron was sure that even immortals would have envied an item such as this.

“Thank you, Nature.”

Calron whispered with gratitude as he equipped it on his right hand and leaned his head towards the tiny dove on his shoulder.

“Be safe, little one.”

Nature beamed, happy that Calron liked the gift.

“The second gift is from Star. He apologized for not meeting you, but he promised you’ll see him soon in the outside world.”

Blood continued, picking up a strange talisman from the bundle.

“This is a unique item called the Seeking Talisman. It will only work alongside a portal. It lets you override the existing portal coordinates to any destination of your choosing. Of course, it will have to be a place you’re familiar with.”

The giant carefully handed the talisman to Calron.

Hearing the what the talisman could do, Calron only had a single thought inside his mind.

He could go home!

“You can only use this once, Calron.”

The Blood Titan patted Calron, aware of the young man’s desire. He could use this talisman to escape whenever he wanted. Its only drawback was that Calron had to be near a portal to use it.

“This… I don’t know what to say. Tell Star that I’m in his debt.”

Calron clasped his hands and bowed to the Titans before him. He wasn’t going to use the talisman until he achieved his goals, but he was elated that he at least had a path to return home whenever he wanted.

“If you’re grateful, bring me some candied hops at our next meeting.”

Martial snorted through his tusks, but Calron could sense the black pig was elated at his response.

“It’s a promise.”

Calron nodded with a playful thump to his chest.

“The next gift is from me, Calron. As a Blood Walker, there is only one crucial resource we need. It’s blood. Without blood, we’re no different from a babe. This was an item I used in my earlier days and even as an Ancient before I became a Titan.”

Blood spoke in his deep voice as he took out a metal belt from the bundle. It was a simple belt with a silver band and a crimson crystal for the buckle. However, judging from the reverence Blood was treating it, Calron had a feeling that it was one of his most prized possessions.

“You should already know when we absorb the blood of our enemies, it goes directly into our dao circles. But what if you don’t want the blood to be used to grow your dao circles? The belt is called the Blood Prism. The red crystal can store an unending amount of blood and acts as a reservoir.”

The Blood Titan leaned forward to snap the belt onto Calron’s waist. The silver metal morphed to adjust to Calron’s dimensions.

“Does this mean?”

Calron’s eyes widened at the realization.

“Yes, Calron. With the Blood Prism, you’ll be able to use your Blood Berserker for much longer.”

The Titan nodded with a smile. Calron’s Blood Berserker was an overwhelming ability that he couldn’t use often due to the exorbitant amount of blood it consumed every second. The dao circles didn’t have a separate storage facility, so Calron had to resort to use his own blood or the limited blood he found during battle.

With the Blood Prism, Calron would be able to store the blood from his easier fights and use it for any tough opponents. The extra blood also meant that Calron would never be injured so long as he had enough of it.

“Gratitude isn’t enough. I will never forget your kindness.”

Calron humbly bowed once again. What the Blood Titan had given him wasn’t just a simple gift, it was a second lifeline for Calron.

“Psh, wait for my gift, kid. You’ll bowing down before me for days. I saved the best for the last.”

Martial climbed up on Calron’s other shoulder and tapped his hooves with glee, waiting for the Blood Titan to present his gift.

“The final gift is from Martial. He seems very excited, so I’ll let him tell you about it.”

The giant slowly took out the last item from the bundle.

The instant Calron’s eyes landed on the object, the dark-golden wings on his back shook in a frenzy.