"I presume the rest of the council has not yet received information regarding what is currently happening"
Nythraxis announced, his deep voice carrying a commanding, heavy resonance that instantly brought silence to the room.
"The World Tree has personally summoned me and the elder spirits to address a matter of grave importance."
"What is the nature of this summons, Lord Vorn?"
Vielther inquired, her gentle smile vanishing instantly as her expression turned entirely serious.
"Are the demons attempting to invade our outer boundaries?"
Nythraxis slowly shook his head, his crystal-blue eyes flashing in the dim light of the chamber.
"The threat of the demons remains quiet for now. This matter concerns the sudden birth of a new elemental spirit."
" " "...?!..." " "
An absolute, breathless shock rippled across the stone table, leaving every ancient dragon completely stunned by the revelation.
*Bang!
Ignaryss violently slammed his calloused hands onto the wood, leaping straight up from his seat as his voice boomed against the high ceiling.
"But that is entirely impossible! For centuries, the lower sanctuaries have failed to produce a single new spirit, leaving only the remaining five elemental guardians to suffer beneath the weight of the ancient curse! Where did this sudden miracle emerge? Where is this newly born entity hidden?!"
"We do not know its exact location."
Nythraxis replied, his stoic face remaining unbothered by the sudden outburst.
"However, the World Tree informed me that she and the five spirits clearly sensed its presence within a human kingdom."
"What?!" Ignaryss growled, a predatory fire burning in his ruby eyes.
"Then the path ahead is simple. Let us mobilize our vanguards at once and destroy that entire human kingdom!"
"Calm yourself Ignaryss." Lady Vielther intervened sharply, looking at him with deep concern.
"Your judgment is far too rash. It is entirely unacceptable to suddenly destroy an innocent human kingdom over a mere misunderstanding."
"But that spirit might get taken by those greedy, parasitic humans!" Ignaryss shot back fiercely, his massive red aura flaring.
"We must march upon their borders immediately and wipe out—"
"Be quiet Ignaryss... Do not make me ask you a second time."
Ruth's voice cut through the argument like a heavy blade.
The golden dragon didn't even move from his seat, but the exact moment he spoke, a suffocating pressure of dragon aura flooded the room.
The sheer weight of his aura forced Ignaryss back into his chair, instantly silencing his protests.
"Fine..." the red dragon muttered under his breath, crossing his arms in irritation as he forced himself to calm down.
"Where exactly is this spirit located?" Ruth asked, his tone dropping into a calm, calculating register.
But deep beneath his calm exterior, Ruth's mind was suddenly sent into a state of absolute, frantic panic.
'Wait a single damn minute... three years ago? A new elemental spirit appearing out of nowhere in human territory?... Isn't that the exact same timeline when that ridiculous, fluffy white ball of a creature suddenly showed up by Fainyx's side inside the Aetherium? ...Oh, please don't tell me that tiny, useless creature is the cause of this...'
"The residual mana paths lead directly toward the kingdom where we established a blood covenant with a human who became king a hundred years ago" Nythraxis explained, adjusting his dark robes.
"Ah, that specific human kingdom called Eckart Kingdom."
Lady Caryndral murmured thoughtfully, her deep ocean-blue eyes showing a flicker of interest.
"I recall the descendants of that line being rather remarkable over the generations."
She turned her majestic face toward the golden dragon, her tone laced with suspicion.
"So Rutherio, don't you maintain a base within that very territory? I know you have been monitoring the humans there for quite a long time."
"Yes," Ruth replied smoothly, his face remaining as unreadable as carved stone.
"Yet I have never felt any unusual presences regarding a new spirit. I must ask you, Vorn, when exactly did the World Tree first sense this fluctuation?"
"She said she sensed it three years ago," Nythraxis answered firmly.
"For now, we have already dispatched a squad of elite elves to search the human lands and locate it."
'Haa... based on the exact year they sensed it, it perfectly matches the timeline when that creature suddenly appeared... Haa... To think that small, useless fluffball was actually a legendary elemental spirit... I just hope to the gods that the silver-haired kid doesn't do something entirely stupid with it...'
'Well, I just have to ensure these old fossils never find out the truth about the boy's pet. For now, at least...'
Ruth let out a massive, exhausting sigh deep inside his mind.
'This entire meeting is turning into an absolute nightmare.'
***
Meanwhile, back in the human capital, Fainyx was dealing with his own set of urgent problems.
'Now... I need to change my disguise before tomorrow...'
Fainyx quickly left the area of the Adventurers' Guild, walking down the dark streets until he found a completely empty, pitch-black alleyway.
After making sure absolutely no one was watching, he quietly opened a spatial portal to the Aetherium and stepped straight inside.
The private dimension was exactly as he had left it.
The clear river streamed peacefully through the grass under the warm light of his artificial sun.
The moment he unclasped his heavy black cloak, Lumi, who had been hiding on his shoulder, finally woke up.
The little creature let out a cheerful squeak and hopped down to play in the soft fields of grass.
"Kyuu~!"
"Lumi~ you can play out there as much as you want, but don't get any mud and dirt on your white fur, alright?"
"Kyuu!" Lumi chirped happily in agreement, immediately rolling around in a patch of wild clover.
Fainyx walked straight into his small wooden hut, tossing his cloak and dark mask onto the table before sinking into a chair he had created from the wood here in the Aetherium.
"Sigh... I really don't have any regular adult faces that I can safely use for this banquet... Should I just copy the face of someone else in the city? No, that is far too dangerous. They might get into massive legal trouble with the guards, unless... I use that exact face again..."
He held his small, pale hands out in front of his chest, closing his eyes to focus his mind.
He began to manipulate his internal mana to activate a complex illusion magic.
Over the past few years, he had heavily upgraded the basic structure of this spell by combining the advanced draconic principles Master Ruth taught him with standard human magic, allowing him to maintain the physical alteration for a long time without running out of mana.
He couldn't use a full biological polymorph spell just yet, but this customized illusion acted in a remarkably similar way, changing his outer shell without altering his core human race.
'It is perfectly fine. I don't need to transform myself into another form entirely right now, I just need to focus on the memory.'
As he focused his energy, his long silver hair began to shrink rapidly in length.
The bright silver color and the unique olive-green gradient tips completely faded away, turning into a short, messy crown of dark brown hair.
His exceptionally pale, smooth face began to reshape, turning slightly tan and rugged, while his skeletal structure expanded, forcing his body to grow larger into a finely built adult frame.
His muscles filled out into a solid, athletic build.
As the facial features finalized, a sharp, jagged scar manifested cleanly over his upper right eye.
He held out his hands to inspect the change.
The small, pale fingers of his child self were entirely gone, replaced by large, tanned, and calloused hands covered in old, faded scars on each side.
His adult legs were equally marked with old wounds hidden beneath his pants, giving his entire frame the distinct look of a hardened man with a very dark, complicated history.
He stared down at his palms, a self-deprecating smile forming on his lips.
"Hah... to think I would see this old body of mine even in this life... how typical..."
He stood up to check his height, which was now tall and imposing.
Since his entire frame would be hidden beneath a loose cloak, long sleeves, and thick leather gloves during his outings, absolutely no one in the city would be able to guess the color of his skin anyway.
Even the Guildmaster Leo and Elene wouldn't realize he had structurally changed his body, as the only person who had ever seen his disguised height was Elyra.
'And that elf lady won't even question the discrepancy anyway, since she firmly believes I am an ancient spirit king who merely chooses to disguise himself as a mortal adventurer.'
He walked out of the wooden hut, heading over to the riverbank where the clear water acted as a perfect natural mirror.
He looked down into the stream to inspect his reflection.
His face was exactly the same as in his past life, a very big scar on his upper eye and his listless black eyes looking back at him.
He slowly reached up a gloved hand to touch his cheek.
He used to be a bit handsome back then, but because he never had enough money to buy proper food and spent his days playing video games twenty-four hours a day, his body had been painfully thin, and his eyes always looked permanently exhausted and sunken.
'I don't feel any pain in my arms at all since this is just an illusion.'
Still, he decided to change it a bit to look healthier. He focused his mana, altering the illusion until his sunken cheeks filled out slightly, and the listless, exhausted look in his black eyes cleared up. It was the first time that he had seen himself look a bit healthier, though the prominent eye scar remained intact.
"Hm... not bad. To think my old face is this handsome. I guess since I never had a healthy life back then, I never really cared about my appearance. Okay, this will do, this will be my disguise for now."
But for now, he desperately needed to find a size that fit this large adult frame, as tomorrow a guide would come to him.
"I also need to upgrade the golem clone tonight, ensuring that when I am not focusing, it will act as my independent alt body back at the mansion."
Thanks to Master Ruth teaching him advanced runic principles, his golem constructs were now incredibly durable.
The decoy Fainyx could now run, walk, and carry out a normal routine without any mechanical stiffness, and even if it accidentally bumped directly into a guard, it wouldn't instantly crumble into dust like his early versions did.
And what was far better... the golem could now process words, logic, and independent thoughts without requiring his constant, manual orders.
It functioned exactly like an independent set of limbs that could execute the host's desires seamlessly, even asking him for permission before managing specific household tasks.
It was exactly like possessing a double body, and he could instantly see whatever the golem was seeing simply by blinking his eyes.
He had truly upgraded his magical skills over the past three years of isolation, and he couldn't help but feel a small spark of pride in his hard work.
Satisfied with his preparations, he threw his long sleeves, leather gloves, dark mask, and heavy cloak back over his new adult body.
The fabric felt incredibly tight and uncomfortable against his expanded chest, but it would have to do until he reached a tailor.
He opened the spatial portal to leave, choosing to leave Lumi behind in the safety of the Aetherium since the little creature had already curled up and fallen fast asleep on the soft grass.
"...Lumi has been sleeping for days lately... is he going through his growth phase?"
He resolved to thoroughly investigate the creature's hidden abilities once this banquet farce concluded.
Right now, he only knew that Lumi possessed the unique power to slip in and out of the Aetherium entirely on his own, but he had never seen the pet manifest any real combat abilities.
Perhaps because the spirit was still technically an infant, its true elemental powers were locked away by a biological seal.
Fainyx stepped through the portal, materializing back in the dark, quiet alleyway near the commercial district.
He walked out onto the main cobble street, heading straight toward a luxury clothing boutique.
His footsteps felt a bit uneven due to the tightness of his small boots against his illusionary feet, but as he finally reached the grand glass entrance of the store, his path was abruptly blocked by a pair of armored private guards.
"Stop right there!" one of the guards commanded harshly, resting a hand on his sword hilt.
"State your official business inside this luxury establishment."
Fainyx pulled out his cheap notepad, scribbling a quick sentence.
[ I am simply here to purchase a high-quality set of clothes for an event. ]
The guard read the note and let out a loud, mocking scoff, scanning his worn black cloak.
"We have absolutely no need for mute commoners and peasant adventurers ruining the atmosphere of this store! Get out of the district right now!"
'Sigh... I guess I am forced to utilize the classic noble option to solve this annoyance.'
Fainyx reached beneath his cloak, pulling out a small leather pouch from his inventory.
He opened the drawstrings, pulled out some ten glittering gold coins, and casually tossed them straight into the first guard's face.
The arrogant eyes of the two knights instantly turned incredibly greedy as they watched the gold hit the dirt.
They let out a synchronized, nervous cough, quickly snatching up the coins before scrambling out of his path to hold the grand doors open for him.
Fainyx walked straight into the luxury boutique, a small, hidden smirk forming behind his leather mask.
'Hehe... so this is the true privilege of having massive amounts of disposable wealth.
I must admit, doing that cliché move was actually incredibly fun~.'
He let out a quiet chuckle in his mind as the heavy glass doors closed behind his grand frame.