Somewhere deep in the high mountains of Fae'lor Island.
She wore a set of black mage's robes. Though it looked like it was made of leather, the outfit was actually woven entirely from pure dark energy. Hovering in mid-air, three Dark Spheres orbited Syndra like planets, constantly spinning and revolving around her.
Over a decade of consistent, daily training—mental counseling and organization from Faen, along with experience from Ryze—had benefited Syndra immensely, allowing her to avoid countless detours on her path of cultivation.
Just like now. Although these Dark Spheres continued to emit a heart-stopping aura of dark energy, a closer look revealed that this energy had already submitted to Syndra's will. While she couldn't yet control them as effortlessly as breathing, she had achieved a significant degree of mastery over them.
"Your teacher is going to leave soon—the only person who unconditionally accepted and embraced you."
Suddenly, a voice echoed by Syndra's ear. Syndra didn't show the slightest hint of surprise. She merely closed her eyes in apathy, sinking her consciousness into her own Spirit Realm.
Very few people are capable of cultivating their own unique Spirit Realm—also known as a sea of consciousness, an inner sanctuary, or a mindscape.
In essence, they are all different names for one's personal spiritual domain. Of course, this "very few" did not include Syndra. Because of the Darkness of Ionia, even before Syndra began formal training, a portion of the Spirit of Ionia itself already belonged to her spiritual domain.
Now, almost the exact moment Syndra's consciousness sank into her Spirit Realm, she saw a familiar figure. It was a tall silhouette, completely filled with pitch-black darkness, but its outlines and curves were identical to her own body.
Syndra knew who she was. Her teacher had told her that this was the darkness within the Spirit of Ionia—the aggregate of all negative emotions harbored in the hearts of the Ionian people. In the very beginning, Syndra was terrified of this consciousness. Having grown up in Ionia, even though her childhood trauma made her thoughts different from ordinary people, she still lived within that social atmosphere. The greatest benefit of a positive and stable social environment is its ability to forge a stable core within a person.
As long as a person's core is stable, even if they stray down a crooked path, it usually just manifests as an extreme obsession with a specific thing—like a peculiar fetish. But if the core is unstable, there's truly no telling what horrific things they might be capable of.
Thanks to Faen's guidance, the current Syndra wasn't as overwhelmingly powerful as the one in the original timeline who had fully accepted—or rather, been swallowed by—the darkness. However, her stable core made her power far more controllable, ensuring she wouldn't become a mere puppet of the dark.
Looking at the dark consciousness before her, which represented all of Ionia's negative emotions, Syndra's face showed little expression. She simply stated calmly, "You cannot shake me, Darkness."
"I never intended to shake you. I am merely stating facts." Hearing Syndra's words, the Darkness replied dismissively, "In the end, we are one entity. Before merging into your Spirit Realm, I existed eternally within the Spirit of Ionia. Even that fool Karma had to bow her head and listen to my discipline. The only reason you can converse with me so composedly right now is simply because of my momentary pity."
As she spoke, the Darkness shook her head listlessly, looking around Syndra's Spirit Realm. "It's just a pity that a momentary lapse in judgment got me sealed in here... Your teacher may have reversed the misfortunes of your childhood, but unfortunately, he cannot reverse your destiny of being my living cage. Likewise, he cannot reverse the future where he will eventually leave you."
Hearing the words of the Darkness, Syndra shook her head and said peacefully, "Everything you're saying, these attempts to bewitch me... Teacher has already told me about them. He didn't hide things from me like you claimed he would. Before every training session, he explained why things were the way they were. You are the darkness in my heart; you can amplify the darkness within me, but ultimately, you cannot turn everything into darkness."
"I don't need to turn everything into darkness."
Hearing this, the Darkness chuckled lightly and said, "Because we are already one. I know what you fear, what you worry about. In fact, with the passage of time and your growth, you should have already sensed it: your teacher is about to leave this place. And after he leaves? Where will you go once you've been abandoned?"
This time, Syndra didn't retort to the Darkness's words, nor did she feel angry. She simply lowered her head peacefully and said, "That is indeed something I need to consider."
With that, Syndra waved her hand, shattering the Darkness and preventing it from disturbing her further. After organizing her thoughts for a moment, she concluded her meditation for the day.
Opening her eyes, surging energy separated from the Dark Spheres orbiting her, wrapping around her body and taking physical form. In mere moments, it reshaped her mage's robes into a set of black leather armor. Calling it "leather" wasn't entirely accurate, because Syndra's current attire was exactly like the one in her official splash art: a light armor woven from a small amount of fabric and a large number of leather straps, giving off a heavy "mature queen" vibe. It featured black stirrup stockings and a somewhat extravagant black headdress.
Well, even if it looked a bit strange, it had to be said that it perfectly matched Syndra's aura. Especially when floating in mid-air, her pale toes peeking out from the black stirrup stockings—the stark contrast of black and white was enough to make any foot fetishist ecstatic at a single glance. At the very least, Syndra was very satisfied with this outfit, because every time she appeared before her teacher like this, he would always take a few extra glances.
A woman makes herself beautiful for the one who pleases her. The attention from the person she trusted and was closest to made Syndra feel that she was full of charm.
While Syndra was lost in thought, a familiar and gentle voice drifted over from nearby.
"Finished with your meditation? How do you feel today?"
The familiar voice brought Syndra an inexplicable sense of peace. Turning her head to look at her approaching teacher, Syndra chuckled lightly and said, "How else would I feel? It's just the same old rhetoric: darkness, negative emotions, destruction, and so on... The dark consciousness is always so boring. She's been nagging me with similar words for over a decade. You'd think she'd learn a few new phrases by now."
Hearing Syndra's words, Faen lowered his head slightly. Looking at the peaceful Syndra, he remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "Syndra, I'm preparing to leave."