"Contact old man Vanis. Ask if it is, what I am sensing it is," I said to Zela. She looked at me in question, but I didn't answer.
 
"He said it is," she replied.
 
"Ask him, what grade it is?" I asked and walked with the Blitz Steps. "Grade III," she replied, and now the questions in her eyes deepened.
 
"He said, don't absorb it," she added. "Tell him, I won't," I lied.
 
Soon, we were out of city hall and sat in the carriage.
 
Click!
 
"To the establishment, be fast," I said to the driver before closing my eyes. I want to sense it better. I wasn't able to till, we had reached the outer range, when suddenly my senses amplified.
 
"What happened?" asked Zela, worriedly. "A legacy had died," I replied, before closing my eyes again and focusing. It is a sad thing, but it also gives me the opportunity, I desperately need.
 
The hosts of other legacies could sense birth as well as death. 
 
As I focused, I was able to glean some information about the dead legacy. It was from Oton and as the old man had replied, a Grade III legacy. I would have very much preferred if it had been Grade I or Grade II.
 
It wouldn't have been as risky as it is going to be right now.
 
Soon, the carriage reached the establishment, and I could feel it even more clearly. I could tell, it had been a bar and the type of emotion it absorbed.
 
Most hosts of legacies are quite secretive about their slate. The type of emotions their legacies absorb.
 
It is not they do it intentionally but asked by their Sovereign. It is a strategic resource and what type of emotional essence a legacy could absorb, helps enemies determine the type of essence-infused resources one could have.
 
In alchemy, some emotion essences work better with some potions than others.
 
There were people exploring the establishment. Watching the mist shows; that we do four times a day. 
 
I feel bad cutting it halfway and pushing people out of the legacy, but I need privacy, for the thing, I am planning to do.
 
Click!
 
I got out of the carriage, and the mist moved around me, becoming denser. Zela and Jon didn't follow me, seeing I needed to be alone.
 
I moved fast, and soon, I reached the center.
 
Caena was already there, and she took out that expensive witch ritual. We had prepared for this event.
 
In front of me is a circle of nearly a four-meter radius. Inside a circle is a thirteen-pointed star, both of which are made of runes. Covering different charms, crystals, plants, and a few other expensive things.
 
It is very costly, every single one of the things magical and of Grade III. There are seven, that could be classified into Grade IV.
 
I really hope, with all that money I had spent will be worth it.
 
"Will it work?" I asked. "I don't know. It is my first time trying the ritual," she replied, not moving her eyes away from it.
 
If it had been Grade 1 or Grade II, the legacy would have died. We wouldn't have needed the ritual but for Grade III. We need one; what we are doing is extremely dangerous to the legacy.
 
It would destroy its potential and chances of advancement if we are not careful. There is a reason why the old man had warned me about it and to be honest, I wouldn't have taken the risk, if I had a choice.
 
"It had reached the continent," I said, and she nodded.
 
The sun appeared and the planets. The twenty-six planets shone, while the other disappeared. One is our biggest the kama rakalis, and the second is one through which we extract the emotion essence.
 
The last twenty-four are the twenty-four outer planets. Imprinted on the walls of the city.
 
The extraction planet appeared above the center of a ritual star, while a big planet, appeared beside it, with twenty-four planets surrounding them and the blazing core right above them.
 
In a few seconds, it will reach here, and we will need to be ready for it. 
 
Seconds passed, and finally, it appeared. The ball of prime essence of legacy, that had died. A part of its core.
 
When the legacy dies. The core doesn't just disappear. It gets divided into hundreds of parts and moves toward the different legacies, which are willing to absorb them.
 
Most don't, at those of the same grade or grade lower than them. Even if they absorb, they absorb only a small part of it. 
 
It is a prime essence, not an emotional essence. The prime essence is one thing, that not only has an extremely pure emotion essence but also contains a vision of a host of legacies. Their dreams and desires.
 
No legacy is similar to one another, even if some of them might look similar.
 
Their hosts have a different vision for their legacies, dreams, and aspirations, which are different from others. So, when we accept, this prime essence, we accept those too and they might contradict with vision we have.
 
If the contradiction is high, they act like a virus, try to infiltrate it, change it, and that is good at destroying the future of the legacy.
 
Our vision is what drives us; it is through which legacies advance.
 
The old man had said, that one of the biggest reasons, he was not able to take his legacy to Grade IV, is because he was greedy. He was not careful with the prime essence of the other legacies.
 
I think, my vision is vast enough to remain unaffected by others, but I will not take the risk of absorbing it directly.
 
It is not just me who depends on it, but the whole city depends on it. I need to be extremely careful and hence these preparations.
 
The ball of prime legacy appeared in the sky and was smaller than the first, but extremely dense and seemed to contain all the colors. 
 
I could have rejected it easily, and it will move away, but I didn't. Instead, I let it come. Concentrating fully on my core. I can not let it merge directly; I will repel it if that were to happen.
 
It had reached half a distance when the ritual lit up and with it, the core and the planet.
 
As it happened, the prime essence changed its direction slightly. Instead of going to the core, it went to ritual and stopped atop of palm sized tarix crystal in the center.
 
The planet of kama rakalis shone brightly and thirteen beams released from it and touched the thirteen points of the star, making the ritual flare brightly.
 
The ritual was already powerful, but the power of the planet had made it even more powerful.
 
For a couple of seconds, nothing happened before the concentrated colorful mist came out of the prime essence and went to the extraction planet, which blazed like a sun absorbing it and started shaking.
 
I could feel its strain. It is so much that it took it near the breaking point, and opened my mouth, but closed it as the ritual projected its power into it and the twenty-four planets surrounding it.
 
The shaking had stopped, but it was still blazing. It is still under pressure, which kept increasing as it continued to absorb the mist.
 
Thirteen seconds passed, and it shook again when the mist started to come out of it. There are two types of mist; one that is very dense, is moving toward the core, while the other is moving toward the twenty-four planets.
 
The core absorbed the mist without a problem and so did the twenty-four planets, which lit up as it did.
 
I focused on them and when I saw them, they did what, I had expected them to do. A smile couldn't help but appear on my face.
 
My core is absorbing the prime essence, but not the vision, dreams, and aspirations, the host has. Those are getting absorbed by the twenty-four planets, which in turn release it to the city.
 
The city had enough people that it would harmlessly absorb, everything I am releasing.
 
Seeing that, I felt a huge load had come down from my heart. 
 
I needed this; my core needed it. Daily, the core is absorbing the emotions and growing, but not as much as it would have when the establishment had a shell, with patrons coming to fulfill their desires.
 
This will help me tremendously. I could already see how it was benefiting my core, and it hadn't even absorbed 1% of the essence.
 
Hun!
 
A few minutes passed, and I sensed another prime essence coming toward me, but I shook my head.
 
When the legacy dies, the core divides itself into parts. The size of the share depends upon the grade of the legacy and its power. The shares also get assigned to each legacy, and only they can sense it.
 
I could only sense the other shares when other hosts reject it. As I rejected it, it disappeared from my senses.
 
I did it because the ritual could only support one prime essence share. There is another, bigger reason; I don't want anyone to be suspicious of me.
 
While the share is only sensed when it comes toward them. I do not believe it to be the whole truth.
 
These are legacies on the continent, powerful beyond my comprehension. The archmages tower is the most powerful; it is said to be the most powerful among all the spirits, weaker than only titans.
 
Absorbing one or two might not get me noticed, but if I absorbed too much. They will find out and I don't want them to find out.
 
I already have the eyes on me due to the type of legacy I have and that is more than enough attention already; I do not need it anymore.
 
Half an hour passed, and the ritual was continuing. It will take a few more hours before it ends. It is working and by the end; I will have 80% of prime essence, while 20% spread to the city.
 
It is good, better than our target of 60%. Next time, we will do better.
 
Yes, there will be next time, and it will be sooner, rather than later. 
 
Every year, two to six legacies die. This is the first legacy, that died since I gained it and the second of this year. One or two might die by the end of the year and if they are in Grade 3 or below, I will absorb their prime essence.
 
I took a last look at the ritual before I walked away, but not before turning the mist even denser.
 
I don't want anyone to cause a disturbance before the ritual is finished.

An.

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