Three days of intensive training had left Astraeus stronger but exhausted. His mornings were spent in the restricted library, absorbing knowledge about dimensional mechanics and Voidborn behavior. His afternoons were brutal physical conditioning under Kha'Zul's relentless supervision. His evenings were practice—essence manipulation, combat forms, sealing techniques.
He was improving rapidly, but the pace was taking its toll. Which was why, on the fourth morning, he decided to use his essence chamber allocation.
The essence chambers were located on the guild hall's second floor, in a wing marked with blue runes that pulsed with concentrated magical energy. A young attendant sat at a desk outside, managing the schedule.
"Name and rank?" she asked without looking up.
"Astraeus Ren, Apprentice."
She consulted her ledger. "You have two hours per week. Would you like to use them now?"
"Yes, please."
"Chamber Three is available. The door will seal behind you—don't try to leave early, as it disrupts the essence flow and can cause backlash. Use the time wisely." She handed him a small crystal. "This will glow when you have five minutes remaining."
Astraeus took the crystal and entered Chamber Three. The room was small, perhaps ten feet square, with smooth stone walls covered in intricate rune work that glowed with soft blue light. The air itself felt thick, saturated with essence so concentrated it was almost visible—a faint shimmer like heat waves rising from summer pavement.
The door sealed behind him with a soft click, and immediately, Astraeus felt the difference. His essence pool, which had been at full capacity, began to tingle as if responding to an external call. The ambient essence in the chamber was trying to merge with his own, seeking equilibrium.
Don't resist it, Kha'Zul instructed. Let the essence flow into you naturally. Your pool will expand to accommodate it, and your control will improve from managing the increased volume.
Astraeus sat cross-legged in the center of the room and closed his eyes, focusing inward. His essence pool was like a reservoir—currently full at ninety units. But as he opened himself to the chamber's energy, that reservoir began to deepen, widening, accepting more.
The sensation was strange and slightly uncomfortable, like stretching a muscle that had been tight for too long. But gradually, the discomfort faded, replaced by a feeling of expansion. His essence pool grew from ninety to one hundred, then one hundred ten, then one hundred twenty.
[ESSENCE POOL EXPANDING...]
[CURRENT CAPACITY: 90 → 120 (TEMPORARY)]
Good, Kha'Zul said. Now practice your techniques while maintaining this expanded pool. The chamber gives you a safe environment to push your limits without risk of complete depletion.
Astraeus began working through his skills systematically. First, Ethereal Manipulation—creating spheres of essence, transforming them between elements, maintaining multiple constructs simultaneously. With the expanded pool, he could sustain five constructs at once, each one stable and responsive.
Then combat techniques—essence-enhanced strikes, defensive barriers, movement augmentation. The concentrated ambient essence made everything easier, more fluid. He could feel his understanding deepening with each repetition.
Finally, dimensional sealing. He practiced the Resonance Seal technique, creating imaginary rifts in his mind and sealing them with precise essence patterns. It was purely mental exercise, but Kha'Zul guided him through it, correcting his form and suggesting improvements.
You're getting it, the demon said after Astraeus successfully completed his twentieth mental seal. The key is matching the frequency exactly. Too high and you force the rift, which requires more power. Too low and it won't respond. Perfect resonance means minimal effort, maximum effect.
Time passed in focused concentration. Astraeus lost himself in the training, his awareness narrowing to just essence manipulation and technique refinement. The chamber's energy supported him, sustained him, pushed him to levels he couldn't normally maintain.
[SKILL IMPROVED: INTERMEDIATE ETHEREAL MANIPULATION (50/200 → 65/200)]
[SKILL IMPROVED: BASIC COMBAT TECHNIQUES (45/100 → 55/100)]
[SKILL IMPROVED: RESONANCE SEAL (DIMENSIONAL) (1/100 → 15/100)]
The crystal in his pocket began to glow—five minutes remaining. Astraeus started the process of releasing the excess essence, letting his pool contract back to its normal capacity. The transition was gentler than the expansion had been, like exhaling after holding a deep breath.
When the door unsealed and he stepped out, he felt different. Lighter, clearer, more capable. Two hours in the essence chamber had accomplished what would have taken days of normal training.
That's why higher ranks get more time, Kha'Zul explained. Essence chamber access is one of the most valuable resources the guild offers. Use your two hours every week without fail.
"I will."
The attendant looked up as he returned the crystal. "Productive session?"
"Very. Thank you."
"Good. Your next allocation is in seven days. Would you like me to schedule you for the same time?"
"Yes, please."
He left the essence chamber wing feeling energized despite the intensive training. His essence pool had returned to normal capacity, but his control and understanding had improved significantly. He was getting stronger, faster than he'd thought possible.
You're still nowhere near ready for an Ethereal Lord, Kha'Zul reminded him. But you're progressing well for someone who's been at this for less than a month.
"Less than a month," Astraeus repeated. "It feels like longer."
That's because you've crammed more growth and experience into three weeks than most mages achieve in three years. The pace is unsustainable long-term, but for now, it's necessary.
Astraeus was heading toward the guild's dining hall for lunch when he heard raised voices from the main entrance. He turned to see a group of mages entering, their robes torn and stained with blood, their expressions grim. One was being supported by two others, barely conscious.
Marcus appeared from somewhere, moving quickly toward the group. "What happened?"
"Voidborn attack," one of the mages said, a woman with short dark hair and a nasty cut across her cheek. "We were investigating reports of essence disturbances near Millbrook, twenty miles west. Found a rift—not stable, but active. Three Lesser Voidborn came through while we were assessing it."
"Casualties?"
"None dead, but Garrett took a bad hit. He needs a healer, now."
Marcus's expression darkened. "Garrett?" He looked at the injured mage being supported—his nephew, the same Garrett Thorne who'd bought them drinks at the Brass Griffin.
"Get him to the infirmary," Marcus ordered. "I'll find Helena—she's the best healer we have." He turned to the dark-haired woman. "Kira, report to the guildmaster. He needs to know about this immediately."
The group dispersed, and Astraeus found himself following Marcus toward the infirmary. He wasn't sure why—curiosity, concern, or just the instinct to help.
The infirmary was a clean, well-lit room on the first floor, with several beds and shelves full of healing supplies and potions. They laid Garrett on one of the beds, and Astraeus got his first good look at the injury.
It was bad. Three parallel gashes across Garrett's chest, deep enough to show bone in places. The edges of the wounds were blackened, as if burned, and dark veins spread from them—corruption from Voidborn essence.
"Void corruption," Marcus said grimly. "If it reaches his heart, he's dead."
A woman arrived—Helena Voss, the senior instructor whose name Astraeus had accidentally used as one of his fake identities. She was in her fifties, with silver hair pulled back in a severe bun and eyes that missed nothing.
"How long ago was he injured?" she asked, already examining the wounds.
"Maybe an hour," the dark-haired woman—Kira—said. "We got back as fast as we could."
"That's too long. The corruption is spreading." Helena's hands glowed with soft green essence as she began working, but Astraeus could see the strain on her face. "I can slow it, but I can't stop it. Not alone. The void essence is too strong."
"What do you need?" Marcus asked.
"Another mage with sealing capability. Someone who can contain the corruption while I heal the physical damage."
Marcus looked around the room, then his eyes landed on Astraeus. "You. You've sealed dimensional rifts. Can you seal void corruption?"
"I... I don't know. I've never tried."
"It's the same principle," Helena said without looking up from Garrett. "Void corruption is just void essence leaking into living tissue. If you can seal a rift, you can seal this. But I need you now—he doesn't have much time."
She's right, Kha'Zul said. The technique is similar. You'd need to create a seal around the corrupted area, cutting it off from the void energy source. Then she can heal the damage.
"I'll try," Astraeus said, moving to the other side of the bed.
"Don't try," Helena said sharply. "Do it. Half measures will kill him."
Astraeus took a breath and focused on the wounds. He could see the corruption now—dark tendrils of void essence spreading through Garrett's body like poison. They were moving slowly but steadily toward his heart.
He gathered his essence and began forming a seal, not around a dimensional rift but around the corrupted tissue. It was different from sealing a rift—the corruption was integrated into living flesh, fighting back, resisting containment.
Use the Resonance Seal technique, Kha'Zul suggested. Match the frequency of his natural essence and encourage the void corruption to separate from it. Don't force it—guide it.
Astraeus adjusted his approach, feeling for Garrett's essence signature and matching it. Then, carefully, he began to resonate with the healthy tissue while creating dissonance with the void corruption. It was delicate work, requiring absolute focus and precise control.
Slowly, the corruption began to respond. The dark tendrils stopped spreading, then started to retract, pulling back from healthy tissue. Astraeus maintained the seal, containing the corruption in a smaller and smaller area until it was isolated to just the wounds themselves.
"Now," he said to Helena. "It's contained.
"She didn't waste time responding, her healing essence flooding into Garrett's body. The physical wounds began to close, flesh knitting together, bones mending. With the corruption contained, her healing could work unimpeded.
Five minutes later, Garrett's breathing steadied, and the blackened veins faded. The wounds were still visible but no longer life-threatening.
Helena sat back, exhausted. "He'll live. He'll need rest and more healing over the next few days, but the immediate danger is past."
Marcus let out a breath he'd been holding. "Thank you. Both of you."
"Don't thank me yet," Helena said, looking at Astraeus with sharp interest. "Where did you learn to seal void corruption?"
"I didn't. I adapted dimensional sealing techniques."
"On the spot? While someone's life was at stake?"
"Yes."
She studied him for a long moment. "You're the one everyone's talking about. The Initiate who sealed a stable rift and got promoted to Apprentice in his first week."
"That's me."
"Interesting." She stood, brushing off her robes. "Marcus, I want to work with this one. If he can adapt techniques that quickly, he has potential that shouldn't be wasted."
"I've already offered him private instruction," Marcus said."
Good. Make sure he takes it seriously." She looked at Astraeus. "You did well today. Garrett would be dead without your intervention. But don't let it go to your head—you got lucky. Void corruption is unpredictable, and if you'd made a mistake, you could have accelerated the spread instead of containing it."
"I understand."
"I hope you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to rest. Healing work like that takes a toll."
She left, and Marcus turned to Astraeus. "You continue to surprise me. Adapting sealing techniques to medical applications in real-time—that's master-level thinking."
"I had good instincts," Astraeus said, not mentioning Kha'Zul's guidance.
"Instincts or not, you saved my nephew's life. I won't forget that."
[QUEST COMPLETE: SAVE GARRETT THORNE]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 150]
[REPUTATION INCREASED: THORNHAVEN MAGE GUILD]
Astraeus left the infirmary, his mind racing. He'd saved someone's life using techniques he'd learned less than a week ago. The growth was real, measurable, significant.
But so was the danger. Garrett was an experienced Journeyman-level mage, and he'd nearly died to three Lesser Voidborn. If that was the baseline threat level, what would Greater Voidborn be like? Void Horrors? Void Lords?
One step at a time, Kha'Zul reminded him. You can't face everything at once. Focus on getting stronger, one day at a time, one challenge at a time.
"I know. But it feels like the challenges are accelerating faster than my growth."
They are. The dimensional barriers are failing more rapidly now. The frequency of rift openings is increasing. Eventually, you'll reach a point where you can't keep up, where the threats outpace your ability to respond. That's when you'll need to make hard choices about what to save and what to let go.
"I don't accept that. There has to be a way to stop it, to fix the barriers permanently."
Maybe. But that's a problem for the god you'll become, not the apprentice you are now. For now, just focus on surviving and growing stronger.
Astraeus nodded and headed back to his room. He had training to do, skills to practice, knowledge to absorb.