As the Crystal Shield fully formed, an ancient dark-gold radiance on the other side also blossomed amid the erupting golden light.
The power born from Shade's knowledge instead illuminated himself. Dense transparent characters flowed from his hands, winding around the arrow and bow. Within that silent dark-gold radiance, he seemed to have suddenly grown a head taller. The explosive surge of physical strength stretched cracks directly across his clothes.
With every breath, he could feel greater power surging between the bow and arrow in his hands. Countless characters flowed amid golden, blue, and silver light—within the arrow, across Shade's skin, and in his eyes.
In the distance, the giant tree swayed. Atop the castle tower on the hill, it seemed someone was shaking a flame. The lights of countless homes shone brightly in the town surrounding the castle, while dense water vapor gathered over Lake Heart Island in the forest.
The radiance of divinity made his entire body resemble a burning golden torch. The wind carried that golden light and shadow behind him, and the drifting golden embers made the Mystic Lock even more powerful.
Wind and snow raged together as knowledge from his homeland intertwined with the mysteries of this world. It was science, technology, learning, culture, morality, faith, and civilization.
Memories of his homeland, memories of the new world, and countless pieces of information Shade had long since forgotten all forged the power of this arrow. In a daze, the phantom of a strange city veiled by clouds fused behind Shade with the streetscape of Tobesk, belching black smoke. Yet no one knew what that truly represented.
The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme. Though the powers of both sides within the Mystic Lock had yet to make contact, they had already collided. Everyone in the Mystic Lock's