In the Underverse the raging sea of Blood Mort did not stop their assault on the Mages, but even from afar, it could be observed that their numbers were beginning to fall.
"I think they are beginning to dissipate Father" The relieved voice of Mayu speaking to the Archmage was all Andar could hear before he was dragged under by a frightening force that erupted inside his Mental Space.
He could barely hear the panicked cries of the twins when his body collapsed as if he had suddenly gotten boneless, nor would he have cared because his Spirit Matrix was presently occupied by the figure of a handsome man with waist-length hair that was like strands of starlights.
He was sitting on the head of the light devourer and he looked at the ephemeral form of Andar and he smiled, and for a moment Andar nearly swooned, he had never seen anyone more beautiful in his entire existence.
This beauty went beyond the skin, it was in every gesture he made. It was in the way the light from his many colored eyes shone like the countless stars in the skies. It was in his voice…. Andar struggled to focus his thoughts, the presence of this figure was enchanting beyond reason, and he suspected he was only seeing a small fragment of him, perhaps if he saw the entirety, his mind would collapse to madness.
"Andar, I don't believe we have ever spoken to each other," he waved a hand and gestured for him to sit beside him, "sit with me," he smiled.
Andar was beset by confusion, fear, adoration, and many other emotions that were rapidly flickering through his head,
"Oh, I see you don't know how to conceptualize your Spirit and take a corporeal form, let me teach you, it is very convenient when you can shape your Spirit the way you want while inside your Mental Space."
Andar felt a gentle hand guide his Spirit, and effortlessly mold it using a manner that was quite simple, but with deeper introspection contained endless complexities.
This gentle hand guided his form out of the nothingness of his Spirit and gave it a structure that became filled with life. He felt his heart begin to beat, he could feel the blood rushing in his veins and when he breathed in, his chest rose and he could sense his ribs expanding to accommodate his rising lungs.
For the first time could smell his own Aether. It smelled like metal and the breeze blowing off the shores of a vast ocean.
Andar was stuck in awe, and he did not know how long he remained in this position while luxuriating in the sensation of experiencing something new, his body recreated once more, and everything was perfect.
When he opened his eyes, he saw himself sitting beside the amazing figure and there was a fire burning in front of them, he chuckled when he saw that the wood of this 'fire' was made from feathers pulled from the wings of the Light Devourer, and there was a lump of mystery meat hovering on top that was emitting a scintillating scent that made his stomach rumble.
Andar blushed when he heard the sound, but the figure did not seem put away by that very human physiological reaction, instead, he smiled and brought out the steaming meat from the fire and began to slice into it with a finely crafted knife made from air and fire,
"For you," he said as he gave Andar a piece of the carved meat, not rejecting his goodwill and his body nearly tearing itself apart in the desire for this meat, Andar sank his teeth into the glorious feast and was lost in pleasure for a while, it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.
When he came to, there was another steaming slice waiting for him and he dug into it with gusto, this trend continued for a while, he finished one piece and another was waiting for him to devour.
Andar could barely hear the cries of pleasure that erupted from the Light Devourer below him and when he focused he saw the figure feeding the beast with some of the meat slices.
Although he was sure he had eaten dozens of pounds of meat and the Light Devourer had likely eaten hundreds of pounds, the portion of meat in the hands of the figure did not reduce in size.
After a while the desire for the meat began to reduce and he could think more clearly as a feeling of saturation began to fill every cell of his body, he took his time to admire this physical body that had been created from his Spirit inside his Mental Space and he did not even know when he began speaking, he guessed it was due to the adoration he was feeling inside his heart,
"Materializing your Spirit inside a Mental Space is a skill that only Archmages are supposed to understand and control. Even a Rank 9 Mage should only be able to create hands or other lesser appendages inside their Mental Space."
"Is that so?" the figure replied, "weird, when I learned to do this I could still be considered a mortal, using your own power system I was barely a Rank 1 Mage."
Andar looked away while barely hiding his smile, "I don't think it is fair to compare anyone else with you… creator."
"Don't call me that, you should call me… Rowan, yes, Rowan, I still like that name. Your body remembers, although it is not the same for your Spirit, preserve the feeling of the process in your heart and I'm sure in no time you too would be able to shape your Spirit in any way you desire."
Andar giggled inside like a child, 'I know my Creator and his name is Rowan,' all the while he was nodding like a chick pecking rice, "Um, ok… Rowan, it is my honor to be here with you, although I think that Archmage Hashim would be panicking by now."
"Don't worry about that, I have access to great power here," Rowan gestured towards the meat that had still not visibly reduced in size even though all this while he had been feeding the Light Devourer, "There is not much I can do with it, but we have a single second, and I can make it last for as long as I want within reasonable limits of course."
Andar nodded while screaming internally. 'Only you would think stretching a single second to become as long as you desire inside the Mental Space of someone else to fall within reasonable limits. What would you consider unreasonable limits?"
Rowan smiled as he fed more meat to the Light Devourer,
'Shit! Is he hearing my thoughts?' Andar began to sweat internally
