The Ascension of the Celestial Priest

10; The StarLight Staff.

"Oh! I brought a few things." She said as she took out a bundle then placed it in front of his brother.

"Last time I remembered you were very interested in runes and sigils*, so I borrowed a book from my master's collection. It's called the Foundational Guide on Sigils and most of the spells used alongside it and I thought it might prove valuable in protecting yourself. Also brought a small protection ring, few healing potions and pills to help stabilize your current cultivation since you broke through the Mortal rank...."

Lukas looked at all of the sprawled things below him and lightly smiled. He felt touched by the gesture his sister had given him. His eyes roamed in between the bottles of pills, potions, ring and other accessories before they settled on a book. It was a beautiful book adorned in gold leaf blowers. It almost looked like a grimore and her next words practically confirmed it.

"This…" she pointed at the book "is an auxiliary artifact specially made for Light Mages, able to record one's thoughts and comprehensions; spells and battle strategies, and also it can be bound through special runes making it almost a journal of some sort. The runes inside it posses the passive ability of attracting more light elements and so helps increasing the casting speed of low tier spells." She spoke proudly.

Lukas's face became strange. "But I already possess a book of spells" he said as he barely raised a finger. Her sister was just about to respond with an assured smile before in a flash of light a gleam floated from a pile of books and then silently flew towards Lukas, settling on its lap like baby returning to its mother's embrace.

Aria's eyes went wide "What…how?" she asked as she flitted even closer and then raised the average book in her hands in a surprise. A moment passed before she could form a coherent thought in front of Lukas' puzzled face.

"How…how did you do that?”

Lukas was even more confused, "what do you mean?" he asked before it dawned on him. "Do you mean how I summoned it?"

Aria nodded while still fondling the book in her hands.

"I…i don't know." he was just about to ask if this was normal thing to occur before he decided against it, his instinct telling it might just something else.

"I found I could always summon them towards me ever since I returned." he digressed with what could only be considered the truth. Ever since he had arrived here he had been able to summon them to his hands a couple of times and he always thought that it was a part of the whole magical package but it seemed he was wrong.

Aria's eyes gleamed as she turned to look around. Noticing the staff and the sizable distance between them she added "Can I see?" her eyes clearly asking.

Lukas paused before he shrugged. He simply waved his hands and the staff laid in the wall glowed a little before it flew and settled in Lukas hand in a flowing grace. Aria's face which previously held excitement and confusion froze before being clouded by a conflicting emotion. Lukas's face quickly sank as he could already tell that she seemed to be really emotional this time. She looked at the two artifacts, from the staff to the book and it wasn't until Lukas called her that she deigned a response.

"Aria, are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"There is no doubt brother; these artifacts are definitely blood bound" she said as she settled the book down and then pulled the long white Medial staff towards her. If in the past it used to be pure white now from its trunk to the pointed top was decorated with countless minute runes that formed four definite bands of symbols throughout the length of the staff.

"Blood bound?"

Aria nodded "Blood bound artifacts and they are freshly made." She said it more to herself than to her brother. Realizing he might not know what it means she explained further "among the three classes** of regular artifacts among the first four ranks of the mages until the utmost heaven rank most artifacts are made to be bound to their wielder not only for the sake of safety but in a bid to allow the wilder to obtain more power from the artifact"

She said as she gracefully stood and then flicked the lightweight staff in her hands "The process of binding any kind of artifact is usually hard and involves a deeper knowledge of runes but throughout time there are three known ways in binding artifacts to the users."

She continued "The 1st method, which is the more common one, is through the usage of special runes. Usually diamond ranked weapons can hold the power of such runes except for a few specific silver ranked artifacts but basically it involves specific runes using blood as a medium to connect the artifact to it's a chosen wilder. Its wildly common, uncommonly expensive and usually only used on artifacts mages and the like are sure to use for a long time if not for life.

A second method which more uncommon but not unheard of is through Breakthrough Momentum. The more ranks we ascend, the harder it will be for mages and other classes to increase their strengths and there have been cases of mages using the power and the momentum of their breakthrough to influence their artifacts to ascend with them. If it ever becomes successful then the artifact isn't only increased in rank, quality and power it confirms and conjoins to the wielder in such a way the wilder can fully harness the power of such said artifacts."

She paused in her slow walk before she stood still. "This was proven to almost never work except on rare chances during soft and harder water shed marked in the path of cultivation. Though it has been observed it has a slightly higher chance to happen on higher breakthroughs since the lower cultivation stages isn't nearly enough in perform such a ritual."

By now she paused before she laid the staff gently on Lukas's feet.

"Last method is so rare that most ancient masters even debate on its existence but this method is the one I'm sure that you have experienced."

"What do you mean?"Lukas asked, intrigued and curious.

Aria looked him in the eye before she answered. "A blood connection on the Precipice of Life and Death," she said it in a solemn voice. Lukas was just about to be open his mouth before it became evident to him and the next words Aria said practically confirmed it.

"This is one of the vilest but also one of the rarest occurrences ever." She added, “It involves the wielder to experience a life and death situation. The artifact is soaked with blood and the life essence of the possessor. With the intense emotions at that brink of precipice, and the presence of mana in the air with runes, magic and adjoining comprehension, an artifact within a very small chance of opportunity can change at a fundamental level transforming it into a blood bound artifact which can be summoned at will, exhibit even more power by the wilder and these bonds can almost never be destroyed unless the artifact is destroyed or the wilder dies. It's a bond the previous methods can never match."

She then turned to the staff as she tentatively went on "When I read this I never imagined I would lay witness to it especially in front of my own blood brother. These types of artifacts in the are usually cursed and filled with darkness especially when the wilder dies and it is touched by the energy upon the wielder's death. The wilder almost always never survives at that precipice and if the weapon happens to transform at that level they go wild and berserk until they are sealed if possible or even destroyed in the end."

Lukas looked at his artifacts under a new light. If the previous host had died then these would have been reeking of the danger and death and most probably would have been destroyed. He sighed. The only reason he was sure they were still responsive and docile meant that this body had survived though it was only him who knew that he had merged with the dying soul in the end.

Aria looked at his brother and then nodded when she returned the staff.

"This can be counted as extreme luck brother; out of all who have perished you have obtained an unprecedented opportunity." She said, her heart twitched with anger and sadness every time she thought that she almost lose her brother.

Shaking her head her face went another transformation. "Now let me brother, enter your mana into the staff and let me see"

Lukas was about to do so before he asked "Why didn't you enter your own mana inside as you held it?"

Aria scoffed "You think I haven't tried it. Once it came into my hands I tried pouring my mana into it but it was unresponsive to a halt. Only true blood bound items can be used by their masters. Anyone other than them they never work."

Lukas stared at Aria before his eyes shifted to the staff in his hands decorated with runes and he helplessly smiled to himself. Not in his wildest imagination would he have thought that the very staff his previous host was given as a starter pack the moment he joined the Cathedral could now became his last memento, his last proof of ever existing in this world. He let his mana flow freely and for the first time the Medial staff awakened ever since he found it beside him on the road of where he had been transmigrated.

The staff glowed and spluttered before a bright light shone on its top with dazzling radiance. It was a beautiful sight that lit up the room despite the fact that it was still day. Lukas was amazed by the brilliance before he noticed the staff shone with another kind of light, a sharp contrasting bluish light that ebbed like a small star in the midst of a blazing sun. Various energies swirled along the staff and if Aria once thought that the staff was a White ranked artifact, the hidden power that thrummed off it made it seem as if it had transformed into silver or even a diamond ranked artifact.

"This is incredible" she sighed in wonder. The staff glowed of light and star and it looked like it held a lot of power, waiting to be unearthed.

"Did you give it a name yet?"

Aria asked.

Lukas shook his head. Aria rolled her eyes in expiration "well why you haven't done so?" she said "this is a Staff reborn. It is something that rarely happens in the whole continent. Giving it a name could commemorate its new found power."

Lukas felt a little pressured but when he gave it a quick glance, of the light and the star that shone intermingled and of the situation in his own soul altar he gave it a very name that he thought would be perfect for such a blood bound artifact.

“I shall call it The StarLight Staff" with that he held the very staff that would accompany him on the many upcoming adventures on his exalted journey of magic.

*sigils- meant to be runes that can be used as spells or during spell casting. Further knowledge will be explained on the upcoming chapters.

*Artifacts ranking- this will also be further explained on the coming chapters.