Yet Andar still observed for a while without noticing any visible change in the demeanor of this creature that came to relax in his Spirit Matrix, and there seemed to be no adverse reaction with his Engraving Tiles so he left it for now, after the tests, he would begin his investigations.
As part of his Meditation Art, he should have access to the understanding of how this creature came to reside inside him and what abilities it had, but for now, he had other priorities. The prize that was to be given to him by the Archmage would surely be important and would be of invaluable help to him at this level of power.
The same thing goes for his Endless Vault which was merged to his spine and existed in a kind of spectral state. He could not investigate it now, but Andar quickly discovered a use of this treasure, which was to store items and even people, like himself.
He could enter inside the Endless Vault and it would seem to everyone around that he disappeared from existence, and he could stay inside for as long as he wanted, and while inside he would have no need of any kind of sustenance.
The Endless Vault existed in a place outside of time, yet it still kept pace with time. This was a weird function that Andae had no method to wrap his head around.
This place would be the best place for him to study and perform his experiments in the future, he could live for centuries inside or store perishable items inside it without worrying about what he placed inside going bad.
This place could be his greatest laboratory.
He opened his eyes and looked at the Bracer that had caused him so much trouble and given him so many benefits, he instantly understood its name, and he snorted in annoyance. Andar kept it inside his Endless Vault and proceeded to look around.
The name of the Bracer was Weeping Child! Andar did not want to think why this Bracer had such a strange name and whatever ability it had would be explored at a later date.
Calling up a mental clock, he saw he had spent a total of five hours on the previous two tests, and with the entire drama that was ensured during the Talisman Creation Tests, he had spent another six hours, making a total of eleven hours spent.
The entire testing time frame was slated for twenty-seven hours, which means he had only sixteen hours left, leaving him with not much time to complete the last four tests, which include, Alchemy, Weapon Refinement, Inscription, and Spiritual Plants.
He heard a loud call from the distance, and Andar nearly cried in relief when he saw the bedraggled form of his Cloud Whale returning to him, on his back was a smiling Mira, the only person other than Andar the Cloud Whale would permit to climb its back. 𝘪𝘦.𝘤𝑜
The cloud Whale stopped a few hundred feet away from the ground, most likely because it was still seriously injured.
Mira Leaped down from the Cloud Whale without a thought for her safety, Andar sighed in exasperation as he sent a warm cloud to catch her fall and bring her to his side,
“Are you alright?….”
“Will you be able to continue your test?….”
The two of them spoke at nearly the same time, and both paused before they smiled at each other, feeling high on his achievement, coupled with the vibrancy he had felt since he merged with the Light Devourer, Andar pulled Mira to him, and as natural as it could be, his lips found hers.
She froze for the barest of moments before she leaned into his kiss. Time lost all meaning for a short while as Andar luxuriated in a sensation he had never experienced before, his every cell drinking in every single detail of this moment.
Andar was the one that ultimately ended the kiss, no matter how much he luxuriated in this sensation, he knew he still had other difficult tests to face, and until it was over, there was no possibility for him to relax.
He pulled back and noticed that Mira was still frozen in bliss, her eyes were closed and it seemed like tears were escaping from the edges of her eyes. If he had not detected the raw passion inside of her, he would have never understood that Mira had this side to her.
Leaving Mira behind he floated onto the Cloud Whale which hooted in triumph, Andar smiled at this display, his heart pained at the wounds she had sustained for his sake.
Sending an endless wave of Aether into the body of the Cloud Whale, Andar sighed in relief as the body of the Whale began to rapidly heal under the effects of his Aether.
This was a feature of the Cloud Whale that developed after it mutated from being fed with Andar’s Aether while inside the Aegis Script.
It would rapidly heal from any wounds as long as Andar was supplying her with Aether. With Andar’s impressive stores of Aether, the Cloud Whale would be virtually impossible to kill as long as Andar was by her side.
“Let us break the rules we have set down, take me to the Inscription Testing Area, I want something that is a bit relaxing on my senses, Cloudy.”
Yes, Andar named his Cloud Whale, Cloudy. It was an unimaginative name, but for someone as busy as Andar, it was amazing that he was able to bother naming his Cloud Whale. The important thing was that Cloudy liked her name.
Along the way, Andar cut his excessively long hair that was trailing behind him like a black curtain and burnt it to ash, and he continued heating the ash until it was vaporized to nothingness and even that vapor was placed inside his Endless Vault.
Andar knew anything from his body was now valuable and he would have to protect himself from outside influence as soon as possible.
The remaining tests went along as Andar had expected them to go, there were no surprises, and he even managed to complete them far more easily than he expected, which should not be surprising knowing how much he had gained in the last few hours.
Updated from 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚