Jarren who was about to make his way to the Scholar's Vault felt his sigil pulse faintly and with it a message rang through his mind. "Your presence is required at the Faction Spire."
'I guess it would make sense to point their fingers at me.' Making his way over, most students parted ways with him out of fear. At first it was out of reverence and intrigue but now it was induced by fear. Some stating that the death of the three ladies was Jarren's orchestration.
The doors towered above his figure, his breathes ever constant as he made his way in. The walk through the halls was short before he came to the main hall. Above him were the four leaders of the factions looking over him. Some with intrigue and others wariness.
"Jarren Velros, I'm sure why we have chosen to summon you here." The one at the middle started. A lady with red hair, her demeanor crisp and sharp as her crimson beads locked onto Jarren's figure. She was Lirale Thorne, leader of the Aurex Sanctum. To her right was Vhorren Dren, leader of the Black Whet.
On the left wing was Eldrion Veilheart, leader of the Eyrie and to his right was Saevin Caedryn, the leader of the Gravemire Fold. "Is it about my glyphs or about the death of the three girls?" His tone casual as he looked at the quartet.
"We have a suspicion that you may be linked to their deaths however we can't jump to rash conclusions in such fashion. You were the last person sighted with Meryln leaving the Arcane Archives. She made her way to the dormitories only for her to be found dead alongside her friends. Our question is simple, what did you two do at the Arcane Archives?"
Jarren paused before giving his answer. "Well Meryln had informed me before hand that I should meet her. Unsure I went to her dormitory to which she wished for some privacy thus we went to the Arcane Archives where she confessed her love to me however I rejected. I left her tearing and I guess she got over it and made her way back."
All four were shocked with how casual he relayed such information however their faces didn't portray it. 'How can you be so heartless to leave a pitiful girl in such a state?' Saevin cursed in her mind, already viewing Jarren in a negative light.
"During the autopsy it would seem that her throat tissues were roughly damaged. Not from the hands of the two ladies but it does suggest that it occurred much earlier. Do you know anything about this?" Lirale's eyes narrowed in on Jarren.
"Her throat... I guess it would be from the felatio she gave me after confessing her love. She was barely capable in that field sadly and it came off as choppy." Eldroin who was hoping that Jarren just so happened to be in the clear gave a heavy sigh.
"Felatio? You do know that sexual acts in public spaces is punishable and in your case seemed to be the cause of Meryln's death." Vhorren posed, his face twisting into disgust. "I wasn't the one who told her to go kill herself after I said no and definitely didn't know about her two friends who beat her to death."
The room fell silent. If Meryln claimed her life because of rejection then the punishment would be present but something failed to add up. 'Why did her friends beat her to death?' This piece of information felt like a piece of a puzzle that had no place. Not to mention all of their minds were liquefied which added another problem to the table.
Such could have been the works of a Phrenomancer, something Jarren wasn't so it made associating him with the murder less likely. The four leaders took glances at each other before looking at Jarren. "Jarren Velros, you have been found not guilty for the death of the three students but that doesn't mean you won't face any repercussions."
Lirale spoke in full authority however never once did Jarren ever seem bothered. "Your association with the Eyrie faction will be terminated from now on. Not just that but from now on you are meant to refrain from participating in any factions whatsoever." Jarren felt that it was personal given that he had declined Ravien's offer.
"Very well. Is that all?" The sigil fell unceremoniously to the cold hard floor echoing through the room, his hands pocketed. 'The audacity of this student!' Most of them concluded. "That is all." Saevin concluded and with that he took his leave. Eldroin looked at the sigil on the floor, his gaze deeper than it was meant to be.
"Don't tell me that you would side with such an arrogant student like Jarren Velros." Vhorren mused as his armor moaned faintly with his movements. "No, it's his demeanor throughout that felt off. He wasn't bothered at the slightest and gave up without a second thought."
"Well he had to face some form of punishment and as a fourth year student with no faction , it'll be harder for him to have a pleasant time advancing. I still can't believe that he would use that girl like that." Saevin said, her tone rich with contempt.
"It's an experience that no one should feel. Not to mention as a fourth year student he's required to participate in the mock tournaments regardless. And with no proper backing it should serve as retribution for Meryln." Lirale sighed as she looked at the folders in her hands.
"It's strange. Two days ago he was Iron Strider and now he's Silver Vow. His combat in terms of the Knighthood path is impressive, capable of holding his own against me. As for the Maga path, his shadow is something we have yet to decode." Eldroin's muse simmered with the other three.
"His improvement is impressive however as a fourth year student he should have been that rank way long ago. As for Maga, it won't be as swift or quick. Seeing his opponent, he'll need to be Wrymkindled to match him." Lirale finalized hee thoughts before rising to her feet.
Taking her leave, it wasn't long before the rest followed suit. 'It's a shame that I lost such a promising individual.' Eldroin couldn't help but wonder as he made his way down the hall.
***
For the next couple of days, words of the death of the three remained the hot topic. Some speculating that maybe it was one of the professors, others a demon that had managed to infiltrate their ranks or Jarren due to his glyph but overtime the conversation died down.
As for Jarren, he went on with his days as normal. Answering questions when asked, expertly dealing with flaws the professor asked and posed remarks that made Harven pause and ponder. In terms of theory, he remained unrivaled in his class.
A couple of days later passed and it was the weekend. The day before he had made his purchases at the Scholar's Vault, something he knew would draw attention but callous as ever went through with it. Due to his relationship severed with the Eyrie, he had a lot of time to himself.
Nothing new as he took this time to properly digest the working of those around him. As for Veriyal, he had refrained from making any more moves on her. At first she was glad but as time passed, her heart felt unease with each passing day. She felt that something was gravely wrong with his absence but never took the initiative to make contact with him.
The silver crest gates were open and students could be seen leaving in droves to the nearby town. As for Jarren, he remained isolated in his room. In his hands were what he had bought at the Scholar's Vault.
A malcore imbued tongue of a Gravechant now faintly pulsing in a jar, around his feet were fifty blue malcore bars. A Soul Drenched Censer with the ashes of a Gravechant Beast in it and a Cursed Choir Nail used in binding spells and glyphs to the mage.
The air came to a standstill, his breathes slowed as all of the ingredients slowly hovered around him. The malcore bars serving as catalyst in he process, the ashes meant to refine his soul, the tongue enlighten his mind and the nail to cement the founding of his enlightenment.
A process suicidal to a Vein Weaver given that he had no other expert to call to should it go awry. 'Let's see how well this Silver Vow body holds when faced with a Gravechant breakthrough.' He was sure that he would die but for him, death was nothing new.
The nail was the first to move, equivalent to a lobotomy phased through his orbit and straight to his skull before he swallowed the tongue. It was rich with concepts that were an insult to his intelligence however his body could barely keep up with the comprehension rate.
As for the ash, it formed a small tornado around him as he began to waft it in. The process easy at first however as time passed on, his malcore pools could barely keep with the overwhelming malcore that invaded his body. His organs ruptured, bones broke but he went through with it regardless.
'If it wasn't for this Silver Vow body then I would have died but that's a matter of time.' The nail bore deeper into his mind, concepts he was far aware of kept on pouring in while the ash storm started to grow. His mind remained unaffacted however his body was in ruin.
'There it is.' With a smile, blood trickled down his nose and...
*Blam!!!*
His heart ruptured due to the steep concentration of the foreign malcore invading his body. His body slumped to the floor and convulsed however with a single thought all of the damaged organs were instantly repaired. Picking up from where he left off the process went on for hours.
With the excess malcore, the process went on for the rest of the day and spilled over to the next as well. The mentally jarring sounds of his bones shattering could be heard, his tendons ripped apart and his heart put through the constant agony of rupture and repair.
Pain wasn't anything new as he endured with ease, his gaze at times shifting elsewhere. Roaming about the world observing everything with nothing more but a glance. 'I almost forgot that you died.' A laugh only heard by him echoed through the vast expanse of the thin fabric of reality as he gave a light snap of his fingers.
Two days through purgatory his body finally adapted and the healing outmatched the damage inflicted. By midnight the gruelling process had come to an end. He had missed the weekend but there was nothing of interest he had outside of the academy walls thus didn't think much of it.
Inspecting his body, he felt his malcore pools were now stronger and could hold more. A thin mist of darkness enveloped his body masking his rank on both fronts which would serve as a treat for his entertainment. 'I'm eager to see the looks on their faces.'