The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 416: Destruction and Recovery (1)

The Dragon and Phoenix Body Method.

Hex moved through the pages of the Knight’s Path. He scoured the texts for the umpteenth time. A lot rode on this. A single mistake and regret would be futile.

Wash the body first with the Sunfire water, soaking in it for a single hour during the first ray of the day.

Hex picked the vial with golden colored liquid in it. The heat burnt his fingers. It was painful but nothing he couldn’t bear. H

The material of the vial was a treasure in itself. His burnt fingers were nothing compared to the real damage the liquid was capable of inflicting. Sunfire water was as the name suggested, water as hot as the fire of the sun. The contain that much heat required an unordinary material, netherfrost crystal. The crystals were found at the bottom of the coldest trench of the sea. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

’To think that they have such a material available and use it as a container...wow.’ A brief moment of admiration later, he refocused on the text. ’The first ray of the sun. The baron has underlined that part.’

Hex pondered the reason behind his master’s action. He stood close to the window, allowing him to observe outside of it. The darkness still draped the city within. Relying on his enhanced vision, he stared above, toward the closed off leaves.

’Wrixian days and nights don’t overlap with the actual day and night pattern outside of the tree. This will be tricky indeed.’

He rummaged through the open box filled with books and scrolls. It had been delivered the night before. It was a collection of information mundane yet so important, they could decide the success of his endeavor.

Leaves: The doors to day and night

The book spoke about the timezones, how the leaves turned, and relative and absolute time. An interesting read if you had the time. Hex didn’t have the time. He browsed through it and found what he searched in Appendix C: Tables of Time.

’I missed the first ray of the day by two six hours.’ Although not precise, dawn at the center of Wrixia occurred when the sun was at the zenith, so about six hours after the rest of the world had awakened.

Patience was key. And it was perhaps for the better. It gave him time to properly prepare the materials and himself for the first step.

While soaking in the sunfire water, the body will be set ablaze. Use this period to add the drops of Blue Phoenix tears into the water. It will help with the regrowth.

It sounded simple but was harsher than the first step. According to a note of the baron, the pain of soaking in the boiling water robbed one’s mind. Thinking, or worse, measuring the dosage while in pain would turn out to be impossible.

The drops of phoenix’s tears balanced the heat of the sunfire water with its freezing cold. Even his Frost Dragon constitution didn’t prevent his teeth from clattering as he admired the dreamy blue captured inside the vial.

Hex used almost the entire day of preparation to be ready for the process. Success could come in different grades. The highest would push into the Transformation stage. Less, he would end up close to it but it would make the final step that much harder.

He had notified Sterling to not disturb him. None of the others were close enough to even think of paying him a visit. Despite the dangers they faced, the Silver Serpents considered him an outsider, a notion he was too familiar with. At least, they would still have his back and consider him a worthy partner.

...

"It’s time."

Hex stood in his room, close to the window. He had chosen the balcony at the back to complete his process.

Carefree as he was, even he didn’t feel comfortable being seen nude, early in the morning.

The days and nights were shorter in Wrixia. According to the table, the leaves would open soon, allowing the morning sun to trickle down. It wouldn’t last long. Most people wouldn’t even notice it.

The city was silent. It helped hear the leaves move.

The ribbons of morning light swirled downward, creating patches of light. One of the ribbons landed on the tub he had prepared.

’Now that is what I call luck.’ It wasn’t completely true. He had chosen based on hundreds of drawings. The roof of the Inn and the parking lot would suffice too. If he didn’t mind being seen naked.

The sunfire water glowed golden in the morning rays. The iron tube turned scalding red in the heat.

"Oh fuck!"

Hex groaned through clenched teeth as he lowered himself into the fiery water. It was hot. His skin screamed before melting away.

The pain blanked his mind but in the nick of time his reliable Dragon Bear roared. A stream of cold air pushed through his heart and rushed toward his mind.

’Get the tears,’ his mind screamed. With boney hands he picked the vial and downed a drop into the tub.

The fire froze. A cooling sensation filled his body, shooting towards his head.

’Oh crap.’ Losing the feeling of being burned was good but not when he felt his body freezing, his muscles stiffening, and his thoughts slowing down.

With his stiff fingers, he wrestled open the tap on the pipe connected to his tub. Water flowed in. Regular water. As a neutralizer.

The water absorbed a lot of the heat and cold. Hex gasped for breath. But he wasn’t done.

Blood of Giant lizard, Hundred years soaked mud...

One after another, he continued to pour resources into the tub. His body absorbed everything greedily.

By the time his flesh had restored he felt drained, both physically and mentally. He wanted nothing but to lay down and rest. Alas, he couldn’t. This was only the first round. Two more rounds appeared.

’Now I understand why the notes said this would push my spirit to its limit. I nearly wish to give up.’