Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 523 - 477 Alchemy and the Assassin_3

"He died, a few months ago I arranged his funeral. Only Gareth and I were present,"

An unexpected ending? No, quite the contrary, the Sage’s Stone as the pinnacle of Alchemy, could be deemed the legend of Alchemy. And beneath that legend, bones litter the ground.

In the rumors, the Sage’s Stone, a perfect creation, required the Alchemist to perfectly balance the Five Great Elements, achieving an impossible miracle.

In the legends of Alchemy, there was a source to the world that comprised five basic elements. One day the source shattered, the Five Great Elements fell out of balance, creating the world, an irreversible process. And the Alchemist must find the hidden Fifth Element, balance the Five Great Elements, reverse time back to the origin, and thus the Sage’s Stone, is completed.

Fire, water, wind, earth, The Fifth Element.

These alchemical experiments, a series of attempts to find balance, are all harmful to the human body.

With each experiment, their lifespans shortened a bit, using their limited numbers of trials to challenge an infinite formula. That’s the difficulty of the Sage’s Stone, despite the many notes handed down by Alchemists, the future remains as insubstantial as a grain of sand to the stars.

"Old Barkin died, before his death, he chose a teak box as a burial accompaniment, which, according to him, contained his treasured possessions. Everything else, he gave to me,"

"And I made good use of this knowledge, learning to make Dragonfire Alchemical Ammunition,"

"Barkin’s notes on the Sage’s Stone research became my pastime reading,"

"As I read on, I felt as if I were standing beside him, watching his experiments, watching his path become clearer and clearer, even developing a sense of anticipation as if he truly found the right way,"

"It seemed... I was witnessing his legend,"

"I turned to the last page of the notes..."

[I found it! I’ve found it!!! I found the method to create the Sage’s Stone!!! I have become a legend!!! I am the world’s first Alchemist to create the Stone of Legend based on that damn theory!!! Bloody hell I’m a legend too!! I should really have a drink!!! Heh heh heh, I did indeed have one!!! Then a hole busted in my damn stomach! Bloody hell! Bloody hell!!! I’m dying, and the Sage’s Stone won’t come back, hmm! I’ll take this secret to the grave, let those fools continue their exploration and then fail! Hee hee hee! The Sage’s Stone will be my greatest secret.]

[They were all wrong! Only I was right! The Sage’s Stone, isn’t our beginning, but rather our end! It is the death of all things, its function, it can kill the disease in life, achieve immortality, it can kill the low-value elements in ores, allowing noble metals to reassemble, transmuting lead into gold. Bullets made from it can kill everything that exists, even... gods.]

"Barkin placed the Sage’s Stone in that little box, right?" Silvette rocked Ralph’s arm, looking forward to the rest of the story.

Ralph spoke in an even tone.

"I dug up his grave. It was in a secluded corner of the Cassandra Ducal Cemetery, so desolate that not even weeds grew. His burial ground was cracked, the tombstone collapsed. I pried through the cracks with a shovel, finding that little box,"

"Inside it were two pieces of paper."

The first one.

[The Fifth Element is the soul. It is the very essence that distinguishes us, beings of intellect, from the wild beasts. I really want to kill the bastard who came up with the concept of the Sage’s Stone, that idiot must be thoroughly rotten by now.

Only an Alchemist can correctly distinguish and touch the Four Great Elements, the erosion from those experiments is necessary.

Only an Alchemist can balance the relations among the elements, but very few reach the extreme, and among those who do understand, most give up, only I went on. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Only an Alchemist can materialize the Fifth Element, the soul, even after our own death.

An Alchemist, near destruction tormented by the Four Great Elements, just needs to accurately estimate the material output of his soul before death, and achieve balance.

The Sage’s Stone, is us after death.

Using an Alchemist’s body to contain the elements, experiments to maintain balance, and at the moment of death, allow the soul to harden and construct a balance of the Five Elements.

The Sage’s Stone, is my bones.

We Alchemists seek immortality, to create the Sage’s Stone, and yet, immortality requires our death as a prerequisite.

What irony! What a farce! Such bloody rubbish should never exist in the world!

But I can’t turn back now, I could end up like an ugly, gravely sick dwarf, I could perhaps write a report and shatter the dreams of all those idiot successors, ha ha ha ha, I was very close to doing just that.

The Sage’s Stone is my dream, even if my dream stone is just a lousy joke.]

In the casket, that skeleton doesn’t even fill half of the coffin, even in death, so ludicrous.

Sighs echoed through the chapel.

Verlet rested on Ralph’s shoulder, her eyes closed, as if mourning for the departed.

"And the other piece of paper, did Mr. Barkin leave anything else valuable?"

Ralph lowered his hat brim, his bright eyes disappearing into the shadows.

"On the other piece of paper, there was only a short sentence. Much more concise, with changes in tone, profoundly moving,"

With Verlet and Silvette awaiting eagerly, Ralph repeated the sentence.

[F**k you, Ralph.]

[F**k you, Realwolf.]