Zeke cautiously entered the hall, its air thick with the weight of centuries. Dust particles danced in the soft beams of light that managed to penetrate the space through narrow openings in the ceiling. As he ventured further, the full magnificence of the sight revealed itself.

He had been skeptical when the Gemkar patriarch described how visitors had come from far away to witness the fountain. Subconsciously, he had dismissed those words as the braggings of an old man. However, he completely believed him now. The scenery in front of him was unlike anything he had ever seen.

The fountain stood in the center of the room, surrounded by white stone pillars and adorned with intricate carvings. However, its uniqueness lay in the dark liquid that flowed from the floor, defying gravity as it moved upward. Instead of water, the fountain exuded a pitch-black substance that gleamed like polished obsidian. It cascaded from an ornate spout embedded in the altar below, the liquid metal rippling and undulating in a hypnotic dance.

The craftsmanship was mesmerizing, and Zeke couldn't help but marvel at its unearthly beauty. Its basin, which was shaped like a rain cloud and hung just below the ceiling, was surrounded by finely sculpted depictions of a pantheon of mythical creatures: Dragons, phoenixes, and others Zeke didn’t recognize.

The room was filled with a soft hum, almost imperceptible but adding an ethereal ambiance to the scene. With its mysterious darkness, the liquid metal caught and absorbed the ambient light, casting a surreal darkness across the room. The intricate patterns on the fountain seemed to come alive as the metallic fluid flowed seamlessly, creating an ever-changing display of shadows and highlights.

As Zeke stood there, surrounded by the grandeur of the ancient spectacle, he felt a sense of reverence for the craftsmanship that had created such a marvel. The very air seemed charged with a mystical energy, and the room echoed with the soft whispers of a forgotten era.

The liquid metal fountain symbolized the timeless wonders hidden within the depths of the old castle. Its majesty bore further testament to the artistic genius of those who had been involved in its construction.

Zeke was awoken from his trance-like state. Akasha’s usually monotone voice sounded more severe, and he even thought there was a hint of reproach in it. Then, he realized how he had been rooted to his spot, absentmindedly staring, wholly absorbed in the scene. This wouldn’t do. He couldn’t let his guard down in this place!

With a loud clap, he gathered Vulcanos and Gravitas's attention, waking them from their entranced state. They both looked ashamed upon realizing how careless they had been. However, Zeke didn’t hold it against them. This merely served to illustrate further how marvelous of a sight the fountain was.

“Check the area for danger,” he instructed mentally, and the Chimeroi instantly complied. Meanwhile, Zeke also took a closer look at the room. In his previous state, he had failed to inspect his surroundings properly. However, now that he did, a peculiarity stood out to him.

The ceiling and walls surrounding the fountain seemed to have a strange gleam to them. The phenomenon was easily overlooked as the black liquid absorbed the light in its vicinity, but now that he was paying closer attention, he could see it clearly.

Zeke approached its base and kneeled to inspect the outlet through which the black metal emerged. It was embedded inside a small altar, making it look like the peak spewed an endless torrent of darkness. However, for once, Zeke wasn’t interested in the artistry of the display.

After a moment’s hesitation, he stuck his hand inside the black stream. The upside-down waterfall parted readily for his fingers, almost indistinct from ordinary water. However, the feeling was completely different. Instead of a fluid, it felt more like he was touching cold vapor.

After getting used to the strange sensation, Zeke used his hand to follow the cascade downward to its origin. With his hand now deeply submerged in the smokey darkness, he used a single finger to scratch the surface of the pipe it came from. It felt smooth and crystalline, not like stone at all.

Exerting a bit of force, Zeke heard a crack and felt the surface give. Curious, he grabbed the piece he had broken off and retracted his hand. When his fingers emerged from the black stream, he saw what he was holding — a shard of black glass.

Zeke held the small, smooth piece of crystal in his hand. Its cool surface sent a shiver down his spine. As he fiddled with it, it seemed to gleam with an otherworldly glow, casting subtle reflections that played with the ambient light. He could feel the mana inside it.

The sensation seemed familiar and foreign at the same time. It was as if the crystal whispered secrets to a deeper part of his being, invoking a sense of déjà vu that danced at the edge of his memories, just out of reach. He traced his fingers over its sharp edges, feeling a strange connection that transcended the physicality of the object. He was sure he had felt this before.

“You still don’t know, whelp?” a voice asked inside his mind.

Zeke was startled out of his contemplation and turned to his left. There, he found the Dragon, who had joined him at some unknown time. The tiny reptile was also inspecting the fountain with a hint of awe on his face. However, his voice had been utterly disdainful just now.

“What do you mean?”

The Dragon glanced at him momentarily and then looked at the chipped piece of black crystal. “Don’t tell me you still don’t know what this is?”

Zeke focused back on the crystal. It did feel familiar, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Useless,” the Dragon snorted. “It’s an essence crystal.”

“What?!” Zeke exclaimed, looking closer at the black shard in his hand. He had often seen darkness-attuned essence crystals, having bought quite a few of them. David needed to absorb them to grow his Core, after all. However, the crystal in his hand didn’t seem to be quite the same. “Are you sure? The ones I bought in Tradespire were quite different from this.”

The Dragon glared at him. It clearly didn’t appreciate the doubt in Zeke’s tone. “I have lived for thousands of years, whelp. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize an essence crystal?”

“Then, why are they so different from what I know?”

“The ones you bought in Tradespire had obviously been altered somehow,” the Dragon explained. “Natural essence crystal don’t retain their Mana for long once they are removed from their source.”

Zeke turned his attention to the crystal in his hand. It was hard to perceive because of the abundance of Darkness-attuned Mana all around, but now that he focused on it, he could indeed feel a trickle of Mana coming from it. If it was already beginning to disperse in this environment, then it would most likely evaporate instantly if taken outside.

But if the Dragon’s words were true, then this meant that he had just stumbled upon a gold mine. He turned his attention back to the Dragon, a suspicion forming in his mind.

“You don’t seem at all surprised at finding those essence crystals,” Zeke probed.

He could swear he saw the Dragon smirk for the briefest of moments. “Of course not. This liquid metal functions as a natural attunement amplifier — it’s the very reason we need it in the first place.”

“What’s an attunement amplifier?” Zeke asked. He had never come across the term.

“You really don’t know anything,” the Dragon said disdainfully. “An attunement amplifier is what we call materials that attune ambient Mana to a distinct type.”

Zeke considered the Dragon’s words. Was that actually how it worked? It was completely different from his understanding of the world. Maximillian had taught him that ambient Mana was attuned by nature. For example, an ocean would attune ambient Mana to Water, and a volcano would attune it to Fire. However, the Dragon now claimed that wasn’t the case at all.

Reading his thoughts, the Dragon scoffed once more. However, its tone was a lot softer than earlier. “Listen here, whelp. Your mentor was impressive in many ways, but he was only human in the end. The problem with your species is that you are so short-lived that you depend on others to learn about the world instead of figuring it out for yourselves.”

Zeke remained quiet and listened. It was rare for the Dragon to explain things to him so patiently, and he didn’t want to waste this chance.

“It's understandable that your species came to the wrong conclusion, as the observations seem to be accurate at first glance. There is indeed a higher concentration of Water Mana near a lake and a higher concentration of Fire Mana near a volcano. However, your kind has reversed the cause and effect of the matter.”

“How so?” Zeke asked.

“Did you ever ask yourself,” the Dragon said dramatically, “why lakes and volcanoes are located where they are?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why is the lake near your hometown seemingly inexhaustible even though no river leads to it? Why is there a desert in Korrovan, even though the country is surrounded by verdant greenery?”

Zeke considered the questions seriously. “Isn’t that just how nature works?”

The Dragon shook his head. “Do you really think so? The Great Forest of the Elves in the west borders what your people call the Deadlands. Do you think it is natural to have a place filled with life next to a barren wasteland where nothing can grow?”

Zeke fell into deep thought. The implications of this concept were staggering. “Are you saying there’s a water attunement amplifier in the lake near my hometown?”

“Most likely,” the Dragon said. “However, there is no need to be alarmed. Not all of those materials are valuable. It wholly depends on their purity. The thing near your hometown is most likely a common plant that can be found near most lakes.”

Zeke nodded. He had to consider this knowledge carefully. However, for now, he had a different question. “What did you mean when you said that this was how the Mana purifier worked?”

“It’s quite simple, really,” the Dragon said smugly. “The black metal is a very potent Darkness amplifier. Meanwhile, the plant we are looking for can filter impurities in the Mana. On top of that, it is heavily Light attuned. Do you understand?”

“I am not certain,” Zeke said hesitantly, “but if I had to guess, I would say that the device uses the black liquid to attract and attune ambient Mana. The plant is then used to filter the Mana and neutralize the attunement with its opposite properties within the purification chamber. The alchemical rituals and elemental regulators ensure the balance needed for converting purified Mana into a usable form.”

The Dragon stared at Zeke, its eyes wide. After a long, drawn-out moment, it coughed awkwardly. “That is more or less correct.”

Zeke’s face remained calm, but he smiled widely on the inside. From the Dragon’s reaction, it seemed he had hit the nail on the head. It was a fantastic feeling to surprise the ancient being for once.

Meanwhile, the Dragon had returned its attention to the fountain. It seemed fascinated by something it saw. Zeke also studied the black liquid that traveled from the floor to the ceiling, but he didn’t discover anything new.

“This explains it,” the Dragon murmured in his mind.

“Explains what?”

“The shadow creatures,” the dragon said absentmindedly. “I know what they are.”