Paragon of Destruction

"You can help?" Darkfire gave Arran a doubtful look. "With my Realm?"

"I can," Arran said confidently. "Just wait a moment…"

It didn't take him long to find one of the Realm Opening Pills he had left in his void bags, and after taking it out, he held it up between his fingers.

"Know what this is?"

At once, Darkfire's eyes went wide. "Is that… a Realm Opening Pill?!"

"You're familiar with them?"

"I know they're used to open Realms," Darkfire said, his eyes focused on the pill as if it was a precious gem. "I've never seen one with my own eyes, though."

"It's yours if you want it," Arran told him. "With that, you should be able to open your Realm tonight."

An astonished look came over Darkfire's face, and for several moments, he said nothing "I can't accept it," he finally said, his expression pained. "It's far too valuable."

"Nonsense," Arran replied. "I don't have much use for them anymore, and I have more treasure than I know what to do with."

"You don't understand," Darkfire said, his voice low. "Within the Shadowflame Society, Realm Opening Pills are unimaginably valuable. Just with this, you could buy yourself a position of power in the Society."

"How so?" Arran asked. Although he knew that they were valuable, he imagined that an organization as powerful as the Shadowflame Society would have plenty of them.

"The Society has nine Valleys, each of them home to millions of people," Darkfire said.

"Millions?" Arran knew the Shadowflame Society was large, but somehow, he had imagined it to be like a larger version of Windsong's monastery.

Darkfire nodded, then continued, "The children of Society members are given Realms when they are young, and those who succeed in opening them can join without having to be recruited. But there are many thousands like me, who are unable to open their Realms."

"But if the Shadowflame Society is so powerful, can't they just get more?" To Arran's mind, Realm Opening Pills were rare, but not that difficult to get — all told, he had used well over a dozen just by himself.

"Each Realm Opening Pill requires the condensed Essence of a Grandmaster," Darkfire said with a sigh. "No matter how hard the Society tries to gather them, there are never enough for even a fraction of those who need them. There are just too many people who need them."

"Then what happens to those who can't open their Realms?" Arran asked, finally understanding that things were more difficult than he had imagined. "Do they all head to the border cities, like you?"

"Most stay in the Valleys," Darkfire said. "Even if they can't become true members of the Society, life in the Valleys isn't too bad. The rest of us… we head to the border cities, hoping to get recruited. Surviving the initiation means you become a full member of the Society, even without an opened Realm."

As Arran looked at the pill in his hand, now understanding how valuable it was to those without magic. For those who failed to open a Realm, it could mean the difference between living as a commoner or a mage.

"Just that one pill you're holding is enough to buy you a life of comfort within the Society," Darkfire said. "And there are many powerful families who would stop at nothing to get it."

Arran gave it some thought. Finally, he shrugged. "It's a good thing I have more of them, then."

"You mean…?"

"It's yours," Arran said, tossing the pill over to Darkfire.

Darkfire looked like he was about to object, but after a few moments, he let out a deep sigh. "Thank you," he said.

"Before you take it," Arran said, "do you have any other Realms?"

Darkfire shook his head. "Just Fire. They wouldn't give me any others until I succeeded in opening that."

Arran furrowed his brow, then dug into his void bags. A short while later, he held up two scrolls.

"Before using the pill, read these," he said. "They'll give you Shadow and Wind Realms."

"That's too much," Darkfire said, shaking his head. "You've already given me a Realm Opening Pill. I can't accept more."

"Don't be an idiot," Arran replied. "If you're going to use a Realm Opening Pill, it's better to open several Realms at once."

Darkfire had no response to that, and he accepted the scrolls, albeit reluctantly.

The next two hours, Darkfire diligently studied the scrolls as Arran sat and waited, using Lord Jiang's circulation technique to speed up his injured shoulder's healing. While the injury had mostly healed already, it still felt slightly sore.

Finally, Darkfire finished, the second scroll crumbling to dust in his hands.

"So how does it work?" he asked, taking the pill in his hand with a nervous look.

"You just swallow it," Arran said. "It'll hurt like hell for a few hours, but once that passes, your Realms will be opened — and you'll have access to more Essence than someone with several years of training."

"How bad is it?" Darkfire looked more curious than worried, and Arran could tell that to Darkfire, gaining a Realm was worth any amount of pain.

"It's like being doused in oil and set on fire," Arran answered truthfully. "But as a Body Refiner, you shouldn't be in any real danger."

"That bad, huh?" Darkfire said with a slight frown. "Well, here goes." Without hesitating, he took the pill in his mouth and swallowed it.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Arran watching Darkfire as they waited for the pill to take effect.

"This isn't too bad," Darkfire said finally. "It just feels slightly warm, and—" Suddenly, his eyes went wide with shock. "Fuck!"

Arran only barely managed to suppress a laugh as his friend cried out at the sudden pain. "It gets worse," he said with a chuckle.

"Worse?!" Darkfire stared at him wide-eyed, face twisted in agony. "Just how much worse can it— Ow! Shit!"

Arran watched with some amusement as Darkfire let out a litany of curses and screams while the pill did its work. He did not feel too bad for Darkfire — the pain was only temporary, and he knew that just a few hours from now, his friend would have something he'd longed for all his life.

After an hour, a worried-looking servant stepped into the room, drawn by Darkfire's screams, and his eyes went wide with panic when he saw Darkfire's twisted body.

"What's wrong with him?!" the man asked frantically. With a fearful look at Arran, he added, "Did you do this?"

"Ease up," Arran said. "He's just doing some strenuous training. In a few hours, he'll be fine — better than fine, really."

The servant gave Arran a distrustful look, but he backed out of the room, undoubtedly realizing that even if Arran had performed some dark magic on Darkfire, there was nothing he could do about it.

Another hour passed, and finally, Darkfire lost consciousness. Arran could not help but think being a Body Refiner had not served him well — someone else would have passed out within the first hour, avoiding much of the pain.

As Darkfire lay unconscious, Arran examined the sword he had won a few days earlier. Long and heavy, it was forged from a dark type of steel that he did not recognize, and once more he was impressed by its quality. Although he couldn't be certain, he thought it might well match up to the starmetal sword.

One of these days, he thought, he should get his treasures looked at by someone who knew more about these things.

Arran's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Darkfire groan.

Immediately, his eyes shot toward his friend. Despite knowing that there was not much danger, he had begun to feel somewhat worried as Darkfire lay unconscious, and he was relieved when he saw Darkfire slowly opening his eyes.

"That," Darkfire said, his voice slow and hoarse, "was bloody terrible."

Arran relaxed as he heard the words. If Darkfire was able to complain, then he should be all right.

It took Darkfire some time to recover from the ordeal, but he eventually sat up, a weary look on his face.

"So was that it, then?" he asked.

"You want some more?" Arran replied with a chuckle.

"Gods, no," Darkfire said hurriedly. "I'd rather gnaw off my own leg. But… did it work?"

"See for yourself," Arran said, smiling in anticipation. "Just close your eyes, and focus on what's inside of you."

Darkfire did as Arran said, and some moments later, he opened his eyes again, his expression ecstatic. "I can feel it!" he said loudly. "I can actually feel the Essence inside my body!"