Finally, after an indeterminable amount of time, my feet set down on a perfectly smooth and impossibly cold surface. Even with my affinity to Ice, I was feeling cold here, and the moisture on my breath immediately froze, forming thick, white clouds. In a moment of whimsy, I spat on the ground and had to force down the giggles when the spit didn't land as a liquid but instead made a soft, clinking sound. Down here, it was literally cold enough for spit to freeze before landing. I hadn't expected that. Maybe it was why I was actually feeling cold, though my affinity also made me feel utterly invigorated, as if I could move mountains. It was intoxicating, and I made a mental note to be cautious of this sensation; it could easily become addictive. Or lead to some form of megalomania, I could easily see myself going overboard with this and destroying something I would prefer to keep.

After a moment of consideration, I sat down, making sure not to sit in my spit, even if it had frozen solid. Here, in this crevice deep below the mountains above, I could feel the Astral River surge, its power incredibly strong and close to the surface. It wasn't just that this was a Nexus, I realised that this Nexus was a little different from the one in Neyto, or even the one in the glacial Valley on Mundus. My hypothesis had always been that the strands of the Astral River deeper in the ground carried more power, while those above ground carried less, though I had never been able to substantiate that idea.

Here and now, I could feel the power in the air, already tugging at my consciousness and inviting me to let go, to lose myself in the primordial flows of power and energy. I wasn't sure if my mind would survive long in such a communion. The power I could feel around me was already getting to me, and to completely immerse myself and move through these streams here? It might be a little too much for me, but that didn't mean I couldn't form a tentative link.

Which is exactly what I did, slowly and carefully, I teased out strands of power from the Nexus, weaving them into a single cord of power that I could use. Maybe by linking it to my throne, that way, I would have a nearly infinite amount of power while sitting on it, or even be in its close vicinity, without having to tie the tether to myself. Tying it to myself could easily have some rather unfortunate side effects, especially if I ever wanted to leave this area. That much power could change my body, turn it into something of pure, elemental Ice, similar to the wings I had made for my draconic form. But if I couldn't provide that amount of power naturally, if I only had access to it while tethered to the Nexus? Then I would be stuck in this area, limited to maybe a kilometre in radius around the Nexus. I would be bound, just like the Titan we had seen on Mundus, though hopefully without the eagle coming to feast on my liver.

With another thought, the Ice below me rose up, initially forming into the throne I was accustomed to, but then I began to add more and more embellishments. Runes to tie it to me and to the world around it, decorations with additional formations concealed within, the entire thing slowly became a mixture between an extraordinarily fancy chair and a supremely potent magical weapon. Then, I added the woven cord of power to it, the tether so strong that it was visible to the naked eye as a coruscating strand of energy, shining with predominantly silver light. Other colours were present, too, but the sheer intensity of the silver almost drowned them out.

Sitting there, on this literal seat of power, able to draw upon a veritable ocean of energy from the Astral River, I slowly let out the breath I had been holding. With this, I would be able to face whatever enemy dared to challenge me. If the Tallest' Guardian were still alive, I would be able to take control of its icy body and shatter it at will; the Nexus gave me access to enough power. Here, I was secure, no matter what and any challenger trying to attack and take something of mine would swiftly learn their mistake and would have a frozen eternity to regret their deeds. Yes, turning those trying to take from me into eternally frozen statues sounded like a good punishment. And it would give me some decorations for my palace.

For a moment, I contemplated my next step. My throne, as things were right now, was sitting at the bottom of a lightless crevice. Sure, magically, the place wasn't bad, with a lot of Darkness and Ice Astral Power wafting around, but aesthetically? This was about the last place I wanted my throne to be. There was no view, there was no wind, there was nothing but darkness and ice down here. Unless I wanted to spend all my time scrying through my constructs, I would have to move the throne, which was a bit of a challenge as I had just carefully forged the connection between the Nexus and its surging Astral Power and my throne, allowing me to draw on that power without risking to become dependent on it.

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It took me a moment to come to the obvious conclusion. If my throne needed to maintain its current connection, I just had to shift its shape. There was no reason that my throne could only be the roughly fifty centimetres high it currently was; it was just the most comfortable arrangement for me. If I wanted to, I could raise the seating area of my throne as high as I wanted to and, as long as I was careful and continued to weave the tether connecting it to the Nexus, I would be able to draw power from the Nexus as long as I sat on my throne.

With that idea, the entire thing became fairly simple. I just had to conjure a pillar for my throne to sit on, a single, unbroken connection to the Nexus, protected and contained by runes until I reached the height I wanted my throne to be at.

Then, as a single pillar with a seat up top would look quite silly, I could create a tower, or even a complete fortress, around said pillar, continuing to expand until I had something I was happy with. Something suitably grand and protective, giving me complete control over the area. That particular thought, of having my throne atop a massive tower, maybe even higher than the nearby mountains, brought a massive smile to my face.

Thinking back to our ascent of the mountain, I realised that there was enough power flowing from the Nexus to permanently alter the weather. If I managed to set things up the correct way, I might be able to create a permanent cloud above the mountain, bathing it in constant twilight. Lia would be able to walk around outside, without having to fear harm, though I would have to make sure to retain the ability to observe the surrounding area; I wouldn't want to destroy the view from my tower. It certainly would be a challenge, but an interesting one.

Shaking my head, I started to get to work. Slowly, centimetre by centimetre, I started to raise my throne, continuously building out the area around it, too, so I would already have the foundation for my tower set when I reached the surface. It was exhausting work; the tether I had woven was a delicate construct, meaning I had to focus on extending it. However, at the same time, the massive amount of Astral Power at my disposal sang in my mind, tempting me to let loose and reshape the world according to my will. Intellectual, I knew it wouldn't work, but the temptation was there.

Eventually, the signals from my body started to penetrate my focused mind. Hunger, and above all, thirst, were shaking my physical form. My focus had been so absolute that I had completely forgotten that my body was there, that I was more than my mind and will.

After a moment of consideration, I raised a shaking hand to my mouth, condensing some of the Astral Power running through my body into freezingly cold water. It wasn't quite Liquid Moonlight, but it was almost as filled with Ice Astral Power as my favourite drink on Mundus. Drinking out of my hand was a slightly strange experience, especially as I kept conjuring more of the freezing water, slowly quenching my thirst.

Then, I decided that, if it worked to hydrate me, I could also draw nourishment directly from the Astral RIver. It just needed a slightly different approach and wouldn't work long-term. Just like Lia needed to consume those fundamental building blocks, I would, too. But I only needed those when I lost parts of my body by bleeding or similar wounds; otherwise, I could simply use magic to continue fueling myself.

At least that was my theory; now, I would have to put it to a practical test. Again, I raised my hand, and this time, the Liquid I conjured was made from a mixture of Water, Blood and Ice Astral Power, all mixed together into a somewhat palatable concoction. The bloody taste was a little weird, but Blood Magic was closest to the magic inherent to flesh, making it the best to fuel me, at least according to my theory.

I would soon learn if my idea actually worked or if my hunger was gone because my stomach was filled with liquid and currently processing the Astral Power I had ingested. But until I learned that, I could continue to set the foundation for my tower.

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