Meanwhile, Damien slipped out again and took control of Tristen's body again since he was going outside to meet King Krisen and couldn't let anyone else see him being together with Yuria.
After that, Damien and Yuria had made their way towards the royal garden where King Krisen was waiting for them, sitting in a small open pavilion.
On the table near him, there was a small silver case with exquisite design patterns on it, making it look special.
King Krisen smiled seeing these two and said, "You two came earlier than I expected."
Yuria said with a teasing smile, "Did Papa want us to go back and you know…"
"Of course not!" King Krisen immediately protested in a friendly way and gestured at the two to sit near the table.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs the two sat down, Yuria smiled, seeing the silver case as King Krisen said to Damien, "Now, Prince Tristen, as promised, we have prepared a special prize for you for coming out on top."
King Krisen took the silver case and then handed it over to Damien, "Please, accept your prize."
Damien smiled and was about to get up to bow and receive the silver case when King Krisen gestured to him to sit down, "No need for all that civility. After all, you might be becoming my son-in-law in the future. It's better we get comfortable with each other and pave a new road to our alliance."
King Krisen was talking in a way that seemed as if he wanted to form an alliance with the Gale Empire by marrying off his daughter to Tristen.
Since they were sitting out in the open, there could be somebody whose ears are perking too much to get some news of what was going on between the three.
Damien politely said as he accepted the silver case with a slight bow, "Of course, Your Majesty. We seek the same thing. I can't wait to get to know your daughter even more."
Yuria blushed, and after seeing him accept it, she excitedly said, "Open it."
Damien wondered what kind of weapon was inside this case and opened it to see a wavy or asymmetrical dagger with a sharp tip point and golden grip, and silver cross-guard.
The blade of the dagger also had something inscribed on it, which he read as 'Moonblade'.
But suddenly, the dagger began to wiggle in his hand and was ready to jump out but Damien strengthened his grip to hold it in place, "This...it can really move by itself…" Damien said with awe as he looked at the poor dagger that was trying to wiggle out of his hand.
It seemed no different than a baby trying to wiggle out of a stranger's arms. He was sure if it had a voice, it would have started crying already.
"Be gentle with her. I mean, she's just like a baby and would need time to get used to being in your presence. So she might, at first, try to avoid or run away from you. But never let her get exposed to your ethereal aura at first since it would be too intimidating for her. Better to first let her get used to by providing her with your soul energy every day till she stops trying to run away from you. That's how you gain her loyalty," Yuria explained as she looked at the dagger.
Damien raised his brows, hearing her address it as a 'she', and asked, "You really don't consider this dagger as an object, do you?"
Yuria beatifically smiled, "Of course not. I know you might find it hard not to treat her as a mere object, but in fact, she has her own soul and consciousness. It's just that they are in their infancy and not developed enough. Of course, her soul also may not be developed and complete like ours. But if the one who created this improves their ability in the future, then the possibility of creating a weapon with a fully developed soul could be high."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmDamien knew Yuria was talking about herself, and it was only to maintain anonymity in public she was talking in the third person.
He played along and said, "I have to really thank you both and the divine blacksmith who forged this. Because infusing a weapon with a new soul and consciousness is something beyond my imagination, and I can't express how happy I am to receive one such weapon. I will really treat Moonblade well with all my heart, and it would be great if the divine blacksmith could forge me a sword as well one day."
Yuria found it hard to stifle her grin since Damien was indirectly calling her a divine blacksmith, but she was flattered and said, "Of course. I am sure one day you might get the chance if you come upon them."
"So what's the grade of this dagger? Because I find it hard to gauge it since it feels no different than an Initial Ethereal Grade dagger," Damien asked in a perplexed tone since he indeed felt as if this dagger was only as strong as the most basic daggers one could find in the market.
In fact, he felt that if he simply sent a wave of ethereal energy to this dagger, then it would shatter into pieces just like a fragile glass.
But inwardly, he truly didn't mind since he knew Yuria was still learning, and forging a Spirit Weapon, no matter the grade, was still a huge feat. So he decided to keep this as a memento from her.
But Yuria's next words fascinated Damien as she said, "I know. But the interesting thing is that just like us, she has her own cultivation of sorts. So right now, her cultivation is basically no different than that of a child. And the only way you can nurture it is by infusing her with your soul and ethereal energy constantly but only a fraction of it. Since your cultivation right now is too powerful for her to handle. But first remember, you have to start with providing her soul energy, and after she becomes loyal to you, then you can nourish her with your ethereal energy as well."
'You can't be kidding…' Damien felt that his understanding of Spirit Weapons was slightly overturned.