The deeper Kael walked into the valley, the more the sacred beauty around him took his breath away.
This had to be what Eru Ilúvatar personally arranged for humanity's awakening. He hadn't seen the western shores of Valinor yet, but it'd probably look just like this.
At the valley's deepest point lay a colorful lake. Its bottom and shores sparkled with golden sand and multicolored gemstones that caught the light like scattered stars.
If greedy Smaug saw this scene, he'd probably be roaring with joy and diving right in.
Around the lakeshore, carved into the mountain walls, were artificial caves.
These caves were all that remained from the earliest awakened humans when they'd lived here. Even after several Ages had passed, the sacred power shrouding this place had protected it from time's erosion. It looked like people had been living here just yesterday.
Kael toured through the caves but found nothing useful.
"Where the hell is the Salt of the Body?" he muttered, frustration creeping into his voice.
Among the three primes for creating the Philosopher's Stone, Mercury of the Spirit represented mental power. He'd collected accumulated elven mental energy from thousands of years at Grey Havens' Lune Bay.
Sulfur of the Soul represented the soul itself. He'd gathered soul force from the tears of the dead at the Paths of the Dead.
But Salt of the Body? After searching everywhere, he couldn't find any active substances with life force.
He turned his gaze to the lake, wondering if what he needed was in the water.
The lake contained only pure water, golden sand, and gemstones. Nothing unusual there.
He tried scooping up a bowl to taste.
The lake water was sweet and cool. The moment it hit his tongue, fatigue melted away and his whole body felt refreshed.
Amazing as the water's effects were, this wasn't the "Salt of the Body" he was looking for.
Kael fell into confusion. Where could it be hiding?
Elrond was knowledgeable, wise, and possessed great foresight. If he said the Salt of the Body would be at humanity's birthplace, it had to be here somewhere.
So he just hadn't discovered it yet.
"What could it be?" Kael frowned, racking his brain.
His hand rested on the soft grass. When he clenched his fist, moist soil stuck to his palm.
Just as he was about to brush it off, inspiration struck like lightning.
"Soil! That's it! How could I forget about soil?"
He remembered from his previous life that humanity's birth was always connected to soil in various mythologies. Whether Eastern or Western myths, gods shaped humans from clay.
While Middle-earth had no such tales, humans still awakened from the earth.
He'd read elven histories in Rivendell's library. In their legends, Eru Ilúvatar gave birth to many Ainur from his consciousness. These Ainur later became the Valar and Maiar.
Then Eru Ilúvatar announced a grand theme to the Ainur, having them create a great harmony. In this music, he created humans and elves through the third theme. Human souls came from the Imperishable Flame and were granted free will.
Human bodies gradually formed in Arda's world. They were born on Hildórien's soil.
Though not directly shaped from clay, they were intimately connected to it.
Kael parted the grass and dug up some soil. The earth was moist and incredibly fertile. Most importantly, it pulsed with vitality and activity.
Only then did he realize it. The most unremarkable soil in the entire valley was actually what nourished all life here.
It was also the source of the "Salt of the Body."
Finding what he'd been desperately seeking, joy spread across Kael's face.
But separating life-force-rich active substances from soil wouldn't be easy.
Kael immediately pulled his tent from his space bag and set it up by the lake.
Then he became a one-man mining operation. He poured soil into a mithril crucible, called water from the lake, and mixed everything into thick mud.
He took out the separation potion, dropped in three precise drops, and stirred constantly until the reagent merged completely with the mud-water mixture.
Then he let it sit. Waited for the mixture to slowly precipitate and separate.
The active substances in the soil gradually dissolved under the separation agent's effect.
When the mud and impurities settled at the bottom and the water cleared, Kael used a golden filter mesh to strain the solution until it ran clear. He cleaned the sediment from the mithril crucible, poured the solution back in, and heated it with a low flame while continuously stirring with his wand.
The entire process felt like advanced potion-making.
Water vapor rose steadily from the crucible. He stirred and waited. Stirred and waited.
Finally, all moisture had evaporated, leaving a thin layer of white solid at the bottom.
This white solid looked like salt but emanated rich life aura. Like crystallized life itself.
This was the "Salt of the Body" he'd been desperately seeking.
Kael carefully scraped the layer from the crucible bottom and collected it in a transparent crystal bottle.
But sensing that rich life aura, curiosity got the better of him. He picked up a single crystal grain to taste.
Saltiness spread through his mouth, tasting like regular salt. But simultaneously, a burst of life force exploded, quickly spreading to his limbs and nourishing his body, enhancing his life energy.
This wasn't like Ent-draughts making his body stronger. This increased his life potential. Made him able to live longer.
Of course, just one grain's effect was minimal. At most adding moments to his life. But it was genuinely life-extending substance.
Looking at the "Salt of the Body" in the crystal bottle, Kael's gaze became hungry. He wanted to swallow it all immediately.
But he forced himself to resist.
He should be overjoyed by such good fortune. But the potentially fatal Obscurial talent cast a shadow over his heart.
No matter how he tried, no Obscurus appeared. He could only sense his internal magic growing.
Seeing this, he could only set aside his worries temporarily and focus on other matters.
In the following days, Kael busily separated "Salt of the Body" from soil. When hungry, he ate valley fruits. When thirsty, he drank lake water.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
He'd plowed through all the soil around the lake, separating a full bottle of crystalline white "Salt of the Body."
But Kael was disappointed to find that soil elsewhere had fewer and fewer active substances. It couldn't yield much "Salt of the Body."
Only the lakeside was where humans were actually born and awakened. This soil had been touched by sacred power and possessed different vitality.
Everywhere else were just partially affected areas.
Looking at the sacred, beautiful valley, Kael didn't want to drain the pond to catch all the fish. Soil he'd separated active substances from became ordinary earth that could no longer nourish evergreen plants.
If he separated all the valley's soil, he'd probably destroy the environment here. Hildórien's sanctity and beauty would be lost forever.
So Kael stopped. No longer destroying other soil.
He even used magic to constantly restore the lakeside areas he'd cultivated, at least recovering the surface appearance.
Hildórien was protected by Eru Ilúvatar's sacred power. Though it had receded when humans awakened, residual divine power remained even now, undispersed for countless Ages.
Without accidents, perhaps after several more Ages this divine power would completely disappear. Hildórien, humanity's birthplace, would finally become an ordinary valley. Completely forgotten, with even its name lost.
Kael naturally wouldn't let such a paradise slip by.
He reopened and reconstructed those caves where ancient humans had lived.
Referencing dwarven cave architecture combined with elven style, he transformed these caverns into elegant, simple buildings and specially built a fireplace.
Originally he'd worried that fireplaces here might be affected by surrounding sacred power and unable to connect to the Floo Network.
But fortunately, the fireplace successfully connected to fireplaces at Weathertop and Isengard.
Now he could freely travel between Hildórien and his other homes via fireplace.
Additionally, he successfully set an ancient apple tree in the valley as a directional, repeatedly usable Portkey. It connected with the White Tree and mallorn tree back at Weathertop.
By circling the tree three times left, three times right, patting the trunk once, and shouting "Open," one could teleport between trees.
Kael had stayed in the valley for three full months.
He'd eaten through the valley's fruits once and picked all the remaining ones, magically preserving them to take back for later enjoyment.
What made him happier was that under these fruits' nourishment, his Horcrux creation side effects diminished steadily. His soul gradually began repairing under the sacred power contained in the fruits.
Now even without taking Soul Stabilizing Potion, his thinking and rationality weren't affected. No more impulsiveness or irritability.
Perhaps when he finished eating all the fruits, his soul would be completely healed. Restored to wholeness.
With Hildórien's affairs handled, Kael no longer lingered.
He threw Floo Powder into the fireplace. "Isengard!"
Green flames rose, swallowing Kael and making him disappear from the spot.