As winter passed and spring arrived, Lia's mood was also improving day by day. What everyone noticed was that she was training more and more, challenging everyone in the group, and if nobody was available, she went out to spar with anyone who was up for it. If nobody wanted to spar, she forced them to accompany her while she was exploring No-Space. There was simply no escape from her these days.
"Is she here?" Koadriana asked, whispering as she came down to the tower's first floor, afraid to run into Lia.
"No." Raufon answered from behind a big mug of coffee, "She was called into the Student Council; they are having a meeting about the upcoming competitions."
"Phew!" She wiped her forehead, hurrying down to make something for breakfast. "I have been avoiding her for too long; I think she wants to spar with me next!"
"You can't avoid her forever, not when we all flunked out from the Headmaster's course and have no real excuse to refuse her!" He shrugged.
"It is not that bad!" Ceiline chimed in, walking in from the outside, wearing a bright smile.
"Says you! You can send your pets at her!" Koa groaned as the only ones who were still taking lessons under the Headmaster were Aurora and Keily. Although the latter was teetering on the edge of being thrown out by Lucian. "I wish Rinzen would be here… she could spank her and keep her under control by beating her in the duels!"
"Is it about Boss?" Keily asked with a yawn, coming down from upstairs, looking like someone who did not sleep for months.
"Who else?" Koa moaned, watching him, feeling sorry for the young bunny boy. "Geez, you look horrible! Don't you want to stop? Why force it?"
"I want to do it!" Keily protested, his face already sunken in from the lack of sleep.
"Masochist." Raufon watched him with a weird look. "What about Aurora? Did she improve?"
"Yeah…" Keily nodded, sitting down with a downcast expression. "She managed to stay conscious in No-Space and protect herself already. I… I failed again. I can't protect my soul, nor can I enter No-Space! I don't know how Boss does it so effortlessly!"
"You know what she says!" Koa chuckled, "It just…."
"A feeling!" Everyone echoed simultaneously, not knowing that another voice said the same thing thousands of kilometers away at that exact moment.
…
…..
…….
"Just a feeling…" Reyra whispered, sitting cross-legged at the top of the highest point of Meriath, right below the steps that lead to their realm's only connection to the Cosmos.
Since the day Lia managed to merge the two opposing elements, she has been trying to do the same. She remembered all that her daughter shared with her and already deduced that it had nothing to do with techniques or formulas. She read through all the memoirs of Fetloch, the old head of the House who died after managing it, and they were also devoid of accurate, tangible instructions.
“It is a feeling… an inner harmony…” She whispered as light and darkness swirled in her body, traveling through her energy points, sometimes clashing, nullifying each other. "You have to feel the correct way and can't force it… an imbalance will lead to death." She thought to herself, knowing full well the risks she was taking.
One wrong move, and she would be dead. Gone just like Fetloch and many of his students and members of their branch who tried mimicking his breakthrough only to wither away into nothingness.
"It can't be forced." She said, watching her incorporeal self and two completely different energies swirling inside it.
On one half, she was bright, sparkling, as if she was filled with thousands of little stars, while the other end was dark as an abyss, swallowing the light coming from her bright side. She had a feeling of an invisible pull in her chest, one coming from the darkness, trying to gobble all the light shining at it. It was greedy and almost uncontrollable, just like her element of light, which was trying to resist with all of its might, glowing brighter and brighter.
"It is… just a feeling," Reyra whispered before smiling, and she stopped trying to force a balance onto them. She stopped feeding her element of light with mana to outshone the all-consuming darkness and let the two clash. "No…" She closed her inner eye, sitting down before her incorporeal body with a satisfied grin. "It is only my perception… In reality, both of them are my powers. They are both part of me… both of them."
Soon, the darkness enveloped all of her incorporeal forms, swallowing all light. It was something that Fetloch experienced, something he couldn't return from and quickly withered away. He missed the last step, the acceptance that this was all good. It is not a balance you strictly have to maintain but the acceptance of the fact that the two elements are yours. They originate from your body, and they are a part of you…
The moment no light remained in Reyra's inner body, she trembled, her smile widening, and soon, daybreak bloomed in the middle of the swirling darkness. It spread far and wide, mixing with the black energies, creating a beautiful phenomenon. When everything settled down inside her own cosmos, it looked like a black hole was born that was surrounded by hot, glowing clouds, constantly swirling around it in an endless waltz of infinite energy.
"It is truly a feeling you must give into to fully understand. This can't be taught... nor learned... you either get it... or you don't!" Reyra giggled, opening her eyes, watching her incorporeal form being implanted with that new, strange phenomenon inside it. She could flip it with a thought, and the black hole turned into a bright, burning white hole surrounded by unnoticed darkness. It was so blinding that it robbed anyone of their light if looking at it, shoving them into an eternal night. Still, with another thought, it switched back, and Reyra couldn't help but laugh, opening her eyes for real, standing up atop the Pillar of Meriath. "Let's dance!"
Her head was thrown backward, wearing a savage smile as she saw the Realm Gate appearing, solidifying above her for real. It was a beautiful sight, something that was not seen for 4000 years. It was entirely golden, decorated with the images of the eight elements, all life-like, as if they were moving around it constantly, interacting and existing in complete harmony without obstructing one another. Watching it, she could see a long, green vine twirling around a bolt of blue electricity before swimming through water and passing by a glowing ball of flame without ever stopping or being injured by the others. Al the eight elements were moving back and forth between the two sides of the oval gate, which was at least 100 meters tall and wide, majestic and awe-inspiring.
Yet something was not right. The energy in the middle of it was obstructed as if a veil was cast upon it. It was as if Reyra was trying to look through a fogged-up window that couldn't be wiped clean. As she watched it, she felt it tremble, and then red lightning passed through it, unobstructed, whizzing straight at her, hitting Reyra atop her head. She felt pain and an immense, otherworldly power course through her veins and energy channels that numbed her, feeling like she was going to be torn apart at any moment.
"Hmph!"
With a scoff, she focused her mind, took control of the red lightning, and simply absorbed it into her body. She felt a weird sensation, an elevation she had never experienced before. Her mind was much more in tune with her elements, with her own powers. It was then when the second bolt came, stronger, more intensive than the first, but Reyra welcomed it. She wanted it. It took her a little longer to absorb this time. She let it course through her body and be assimilated by it, bit by bit. As soon as she managed to do it, the third blasted through the Realm Gate, striking her once more, making her groan in pain but also in excitement. Her skin broke up at multiple places, spewing out black and white light along with her blood, but she remained steady and upright, drawing them back by sheer will. She was not going to fail, not at the last hurdle, and after she managed to survive the last test, she watched the Realm Gate without blinking.
"..."
She felt it. She was sure of it. Something was on the other side, watching her. It was… observing… all that she just went through. Then she saw it. A figure was on the other side of the veil, leaning close, pressing her head through it, forming a woman's face as if it were pressed against a milky-white sheet. It was enormous, just as big as the whole Gate itself, trying to force herself in.
"Tell… them!" A woman's voice echoed around the top of the mountain, shaking Reyra in her entirety, "They… can't hide forever! They will have to come out one day… and I will- Kyuh?!" but the Realm Gate suddenly pushed her away with a loud 'twang,' refusing her entry and then with a pop, it was gone from view at once.
"Cowards…" Reyra murmured, remembering the old tale that everyone saw a pair of eyes when Erias advanced to the 9th Tier and became an Ascendri. Somehow… she started to believe that old tale, even if Erias himself never mentioned it in his memoirs.
…
….
……
In a whirl of orange and purple clouds, Erias was floating in a sitting position, drawing them into his body, mending the visible, deep gushes on his soul.
"How are you?" Appeared Somia, watching him as he flashed a smile before answering.
"No worries. He escaped in a much worse state than I am now. I felt a peculiar resonance… did someone reach Ascendri?"
"Yes." Somia nodded, visibly excited, "Reyra, your descendant! The Realm Gate was opened, visible from all Meriath!"
"Finally!" He opened his blue eyes, looking proud, "It was time! Did…”
"Yes. It appeared! It was a face this time! It said they couldn't hide forever! I thought you... heard it."
"I was... unconscious." He chuckled as he was fragile, slowly recovering from his vicious battle. "I hope that bastard with the eyes also heard her!" Erias grinned, "I bet he felt anxious that the Gate opened again! I am just… sad, it could still repel the being on the other side…."
"Are you sure that… whoever or whatever it is would help us?"
"My enemy's enemy is my friend!" Erias looked at her, nodding. "I am close, I was a bit hindered with this battle, but after setting up a few more things, I can try and break the seal they put on the Realm Gate!"
"You really want to let that thing in…."
"They fear it," Erias whispered, returning to a meditative state. "Whatever that thing is, if it can kill, or as they whisper… eat them? Of course I want it on our side!"
…
….
……
"Tell… them!"
As the shout traveled through every part of Meriath, in a hidden spot, somewhere deep within the Soulbound Sect, a young-looking man was sitting below a giant oak tree, trying to slowly mend the horrific scars and injuries on his trembling hands.
"...!" The moment the voice hit him, he jumped, panting, gasping, looking around but could see nothing, only the hilltop he was at and the giant tree behind him. "Someone… advanced? Damn, it… what are they doing?" He groaned, feeling extremely angry and ashamed at once.
Raising his head, his long, white hair fell to the side, revealing a scarred, maimed face that was slowly realigning itself by absorbing the little, tiny specks of light surrounding the tree. He was missing a chunk of his nose, his lips were swollen, and one of his eyes was gone, replaced by an empty socket and marks of being gouged out. All of his presence was… different than the others. He was not a soul… he was flesh and blood; he was complete.
"Damned beast…" He gritted his teeth, making his gums bleed while his intact, green eye burned with uncontrollable hatred. "Wait until I return to strength, and we will see who dies!" with that, he grabbed at a speck of light, brought it up to his intact eye, watching the unconscious soul inside for a moment before he pressed it against his swollen lips, absorbing it, and somewhat reducing their puffy appearance.
As winter passed and spring arrived, Lia's mood was also improving day by day. What everyone noticed was that she was training more and more, challenging everyone in the group, and if nobody was available, she went out to spar with anyone who was up for it. If nobody wanted to spar, she forced them to accompany her while she was exploring No-Space. There was simply no escape from her these days.
"Is she here?" Koadriana asked, whispering as she came down to the tower's first floor, afraid to run into Lia.
"No." Raufon answered from behind a big mug of coffee, "She was called into the Student Council; they are having a meeting about the upcoming competitions."
"Phew!" She wiped her forehead, hurrying down to make something for breakfast. "I have been avoiding her for too long; I think she wants to spar with me next!"
"You can't avoid her forever, not when we all flunked out from the Headmaster's course and have no real excuse to refuse her!" He shrugged.
"It is not that bad!" Ceiline chimed in, walking in from the outside, wearing a bright smile.
"Says you! You can send your pets at her!" Koa groaned as the only ones who were still taking lessons under the Headmaster were Aurora and Keily. Although the latter was teetering on the edge of being thrown out by Lucian. "I wish Rinzen would be here… she could spank her and keep her under control by beating her in the duels!"
"Is it about Boss?" Keily asked with a yawn, coming down from upstairs, looking like someone who did not sleep for months.
"Who else?" Koa moaned, watching him, feeling sorry for the young bunny boy. "Geez, you look horrible! Don't you want to stop? Why force it?"
"I want to do it!" Keily protested, his face already sunken in from the lack of sleep.
"Masochist." Raufon watched him with a weird look. "What about Aurora? Did she improve?"
"Yeah…" Keily nodded, sitting down with a downcast expression. "She managed to stay conscious in No-Space and protect herself already. I… I failed again. I can't protect my soul, nor can I enter No-Space! I don't know how Boss does it so effortlessly!"
"You know what she says!" Koa chuckled, "It just…."
"A feeling!" Everyone echoed simultaneously, not knowing that another voice said the same thing thousands of kilometers away at that exact moment.
…
…..
…….
"Just a feeling…" Reyra whispered, sitting cross-legged at the top of the highest point of Meriath, right below the steps that lead to their realm's only connection to the Cosmos.
Since the day Lia managed to merge the two opposing elements, she has been trying to do the same. She remembered all that her daughter shared with her and already deduced that it had nothing to do with techniques or formulas. She read through all the memoirs of Fetloch, the old head of the House who died after managing it, and they were also devoid of accurate, tangible instructions.
“It is a feeling… an inner harmony…” She whispered as light and darkness swirled in her body, traveling through her energy points, sometimes clashing, nullifying each other. "You have to feel the correct way and can't force it… an imbalance will lead to death." She thought to herself, knowing full well the risks she was taking.
One wrong move, and she would be dead. Gone just like Fetloch and many of his students and members of their branch who tried mimicking his breakthrough only to wither away into nothingness.
"It can't be forced." She said, watching her incorporeal self and two completely different energies swirling inside it.
On one half, she was bright, sparkling, as if she was filled with thousands of little stars, while the other end was dark as an abyss, swallowing the light coming from her bright side. She had a feeling of an invisible pull in her chest, one coming from the darkness, trying to gobble all the light shining at it. It was greedy and almost uncontrollable, just like her element of light, which was trying to resist with all of its might, glowing brighter and brighter.
"It is… just a feeling," Reyra whispered before smiling, and she stopped trying to force a balance onto them. She stopped feeding her element of light with mana to outshone the all-consuming darkness and let the two clash. "No…" She closed her inner eye, sitting down before her incorporeal body with a satisfied grin. "It is only my perception… In reality, both of them are my powers. They are both part of me… both of them."
Soon, the darkness enveloped all of her incorporeal forms, swallowing all light. It was something that Fetloch experienced, something he couldn't return from and quickly withered away. He missed the last step, the acceptance that this was all good. It is not a balance you strictly have to maintain but the acceptance of the fact that the two elements are yours. They originate from your body, and they are a part of you…
The moment no light remained in Reyra's inner body, she trembled, her smile widening, and soon, daybreak bloomed in the middle of the swirling darkness. It spread far and wide, mixing with the black energies, creating a beautiful phenomenon. When everything settled down inside her own cosmos, it looked like a black hole was born that was surrounded by hot, glowing clouds, constantly swirling around it in an endless waltz of infinite energy.
"It is truly a feeling you must give into to fully understand. This can't be taught... nor learned... you either get it... or you don't!" Reyra giggled, opening her eyes, watching her incorporeal form being implanted with that new, strange phenomenon inside it. She could flip it with a thought, and the black hole turned into a bright, burning white hole surrounded by unnoticed darkness. It was so blinding that it robbed anyone of their light if looking at it, shoving them into an eternal night. Still, with another thought, it switched back, and Reyra couldn't help but laugh, opening her eyes for real, standing up atop the Pillar of Meriath. "Let's dance!"
Her head was thrown backward, wearing a savage smile as she saw the Realm Gate appearing, solidifying above her for real. It was a beautiful sight, something that was not seen for 4000 years. It was entirely golden, decorated with the images of the eight elements, all life-like, as if they were moving around it constantly, interacting and existing in complete harmony without obstructing one another. Watching it, she could see a long, green vine twirling around a bolt of blue electricity before swimming through water and passing by a glowing ball of flame without ever stopping or being injured by the others. Al the eight elements were moving back and forth between the two sides of the oval gate, which was at least 100 meters tall and wide, majestic and awe-inspiring.
Yet something was not right. The energy in the middle of it was obstructed as if a veil was cast upon it. It was as if Reyra was trying to look through a fogged-up window that couldn't be wiped clean. As she watched it, she felt it tremble, and then red lightning passed through it, unobstructed, whizzing straight at her, hitting Reyra atop her head. She felt pain and an immense, otherworldly power course through her veins and energy channels that numbed her, feeling like she was going to be torn apart at any moment.
"Hmph!"
With a scoff, she focused her mind, took control of the red lightning, and simply absorbed it into her body. She felt a weird sensation, an elevation she had never experienced before. Her mind was much more in tune with her elements, with her own powers. It was then when the second bolt came, stronger, more intensive than the first, but Reyra welcomed it. She wanted it. It took her a little longer to absorb this time. She let it course through her body and be assimilated by it, bit by bit. As soon as she managed to do it, the third blasted through the Realm Gate, striking her once more, making her groan in pain but also in excitement. Her skin broke up at multiple places, spewing out black and white light along with her blood, but she remained steady and upright, drawing them back by sheer will. She was not going to fail, not at the last hurdle, and after she managed to survive the last test, she watched the Realm Gate without blinking.
"..."
She felt it. She was sure of it. Something was on the other side, watching her. It was… observing… all that she just went through. Then she saw it. A figure was on the other side of the veil, leaning close, pressing her head through it, forming a woman's face as if it were pressed against a milky-white sheet. It was enormous, just as big as the whole Gate itself, trying to force herself in.
"Tell… them!" A woman's voice echoed around the top of the mountain, shaking Reyra in her entirety, "They… can't hide forever! They will have to come out one day… and I will- Kyuh?!" but the Realm Gate suddenly pushed her away with a loud 'twang,' refusing her entry and then with a pop, it was gone from view at once.
"Cowards…" Reyra murmured, remembering the old tale that everyone saw a pair of eyes when Erias advanced to the 9th Tier and became an Ascendri. Somehow… she started to believe that old tale, even if Erias himself never mentioned it in his memoirs.
…
….
……
In a whirl of orange and purple clouds, Erias was floating in a sitting position, drawing them into his body, mending the visible, deep gushes on his soul.
"How are you?" Appeared Somia, watching him as he flashed a smile before answering.
"No worries. He escaped in a much worse state than I am now. I felt a peculiar resonance… did someone reach Ascendri?"
"Yes." Somia nodded, visibly excited, "Reyra, your descendant! The Realm Gate was opened, visible from all Meriath!"
"Finally!" He opened his blue eyes, looking proud, "It was time! Did…”
"Yes. It appeared! It was a face this time! It said they couldn't hide forever! I thought you... heard it."
"I was... unconscious." He chuckled as he was fragile, slowly recovering from his vicious battle. "I hope that bastard with the eyes also heard her!" Erias grinned, "I bet he felt anxious that the Gate opened again! I am just… sad, it could still repel the being on the other side…."
"Are you sure that… whoever or whatever it is would help us?"
"My enemy's enemy is my friend!" Erias looked at her, nodding. "I am close, I was a bit hindered with this battle, but after setting up a few more things, I can try and break the seal they put on the Realm Gate!"
"You really want to let that thing in…."
"They fear it," Erias whispered, returning to a meditative state. "Whatever that thing is, if it can kill, or as they whisper… eat them? Of course I want it on our side!"
…
….
……
"Tell… them!"
As the shout traveled through every part of Meriath, in a hidden spot, somewhere deep within the Soulbound Sect, a young-looking man was sitting below a giant oak tree, trying to slowly mend the horrific scars and injuries on his trembling hands.
"...!" The moment the voice hit him, he jumped, panting, gasping, looking around but could see nothing, only the hilltop he was at and the giant tree behind him. "Someone… advanced? Damn, it… what are they doing?" He groaned, feeling extremely angry and ashamed at once.
Raising his head, his long, white hair fell to the side, revealing a scarred, maimed face that was slowly realigning itself by absorbing the little, tiny specks of light surrounding the tree. He was missing a chunk of his nose, his lips were swollen, and one of his eyes was gone, replaced by an empty socket and marks of being gouged out. All of his presence was… different than the others. He was not a soul… he was flesh and blood; he was complete.
"Damned beast…" He gritted his teeth, making his gums bleed while his intact, green eye burned with uncontrollable hatred. "Wait until I return to strength, and we will see who dies!" with that, he grabbed at a speck of light, brought it up to his intact eye, watching the unconscious soul inside for a moment before he pressed it against his swollen lips, absorbing it, and somewhat reducing their puffy appearance.
