“Reborn with the Violet Bloom”

chapter : 8 The living cauldron inside me

The hall echoed with clipped, ritualistic calls.

“Clan insignia!”

“Registry mark!”

“Select your reagents!”

Perhaps because dawn had only just broken, the Arcane Dispensary lay unusually quiet. Dust motes drifted through pale beams of light spilling in from the high windows. Near the entrance, half-hidden in shadow, sat the same bald elder from the previous day.

Yet today, he appeared markedly different.

His posture was upright, his presence sharp. Narrow eyes tracked Kael Rowan from head to toe with unsettling intensity—too focused, too deliberate.

It felt like being measured by a blade.

Kael suppressed a shiver. After submitting his registry mark, he moved swiftly between the towering shelves, fingers skimming rune-etched labels as his mind raced.

Moonwhite Powder.

Velvet Reed Root.

Dreamleaf Moss.

Drakespawn Kelp.

Frostplate Water.

Five ingredients.

Together, they formed the base formula for Renewal Dew—a volatile elixir capable of restoring damaged essence channels.

The Dispensary was vast, its shelves impossibly well stocked. Kael gathered four of the reagents with ease.

But Frostplate Water was nowhere to be found.

His pace slowed.

That made no sense.

Frostplate Water was harvested from the glacial pools of the Flamefrost Cavern behind the Rowan estate’s mountain. The Dispensary should have barrels of it.

“Lyra… how much time remains?”

A faint, chiming sigh echoed in his thoughts.

“Eleven minutes.”

“…Enough,” Kael murmured, though doubt crept in.

He retraced his steps. Once. Twice.

Still nothing.

“Searching for Frostplate Water, boy?”

A raspy chuckle slithered from behind.

Kael turned. The bald elder stood there now, eyes sharp, voice suddenly clear.

“How did you—”

“Come closer.”

The elder beckoned, smile thin and unreadable.

“You’ve taken Velvet Reed, Drakespawn Kelp, Dreamleaf Moss, and Moonwhite Powder. Anyone with half a brain could tell what you’re missing.”

Understanding dawned.

Yesterday, Kael had identified reagents by scent alone. That familiarity hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“You’re brewing Renewal Dew,” the elder said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

The elder sighed theatrically.

“Then you’re looking on the wrong floor. Frostplate Water is kept above. Restricted stock.”

Kael’s heart sank.

Access to the upper vault required Essence Convergence Rank or higher. He had no sponsors. No favors to call in.

Had fate truly boxed him in?

Then—

The elder chuckled.

“Still… fortune smiles strangely. And I’m in a generous mood.”

From beneath the counter, he produced a crimson gourd and tossed it lazily.

“Half a gourd. Leftover from last night.”

Kael caught it instinctively. It was heavy—dense with power.

“…Why help me?” he asked carefully.

The elder shrugged. “Curiosity.”

A lie.

Kael understood instantly.

Yesterday, he’d consumed four reagents and awakened stronger—his essence refined, his body transformed. The elder had seen it.

This was a test.

“I won’t waste it,” Kael said quietly.

He bowed once and left.

Only six minutes remained.

Returning home was impossible.

Instead, Kael sprinted toward a nearby grove where young adepts trained beneath the trees. He slipped into an empty clearing and sat cross-legged.

Measurements mattered.

Velvet Reed Root—five grains.

Drakespawn Kelp—five.

Dreamleaf Moss—three.

Moonwhite Powder—two.

He chewed the reagents thoroughly, then uncorked the gourd.

The moment Frostplate Water touched his tongue—

Ice detonated through his veins.

His breath hitched. Muscles locked. Sensation vanished.

Too cold.

Kael activated Stellar Transposition, drawing essence from his inner channels. One current resisted the frost; another wrapped the reagents, stripping their latent power strand by strand.

Within his core, the Verdant Relic Seed stirred.

“Aiyaaa~!”

Lyra’s delighted chirp echoed as the spectral crucible manifested.

Kael frowned.

Don’t you dare take everything.

Minutes crawled.

Too slow.

If he’d used the Golden Pin Array, extraction would’ve taken seconds—but time was against him.

One minute left.

His jaw clenched.

The crucible spun faster. Essence poured in.

Then—

Crack.

A dull explosion rippled outward.

The lid burst open.

Nothing remained but scorched fragments.

“…Failed?”

Lyra whimpered, her glow dimming.

Guilt crushed Kael’s chest.

He’d forced it.

Alchemy—no matter the method—required balance.

Haste destroyed harmony.

When the illusion faded, Lyra returned to seed form, floating within his core.

Then Kael noticed it.

A trace of essence remained.

Velvet Reed Root.

Only four grains were needed.

Understanding struck like lightning.

Lyra had instinctively corrected the formula.

Kael laughed softly.

Even failure was progress.

Exposure

The training grounds roared with life.

At the edge, Warden Holt lounged lazily, eyes sharp despite his casual stance.

“Did you see it?” murmured Ryn.

“Yes,” Holt snarled. “He walked into the Dispensary like he belonged.”

Another figure rushed over, breathless.

“I tested it,” Bran said. “The nerve trick. It works on everyone.”

Silence.

Rage boiled.

“We were played,” Holt growled.

Worse—Kael had thrown Mira Clearwater into the river with a single move.

Fifth Rank… at least.

Holt’s smile turned venomous.

“Let the Third Heir handle him.”

Back in the courtyard, Kael practiced.

A green sigil bloomed in his palm—then fizzled.

“Again.”

“…Hungry,” Lyra whispered weakly.

Kael sighed, already reaching for his needles.

Some growth required patience.

Others required sacrifice.

And some—

would shatter the masks of everyone watching.