Chapter 3004: Secluded Training |
A blackened ruin was drowning in darkness, covered by a veil of ash. Far in the distance, the lightless dome of the nebulous sky was breached, torrents of light pouring into the dark depths. Dozens of waterfalls plummeted from great heights, giving birth to innumerable streams and rivers.
The water flowed through the ruins, too, filling it with a melodious rustle.
A young woman was sitting by one of the streams with her eyes closed, resting on the crumbled remains of a terrifying asura. These were the Hollows of Godgrave, and the young woman was Rain, Promise of a Distant Sky.
A storm was raging somewhere above, but all she could hear here in the dark ruins was the quiet murmur of rushing water.
...She could hear the whispers of the Call that assaulted her mind like powerful waves, as well. There was an immense ziggurat towering above the ruins, and on top of it rested a Seed of Nightmare — the Seed of Nightmare that her cohort had entered a long time ago, and had not conquered yet. Rain had spent several months camping here in the Hollows, waiting for their return. Monsters of the scarlet jungle rarely ventured close to the breach in the dome of the Great Hollow, and when they did, she pinned them to the ground with arrows and drove them mad with viciously cruel Epithets.
The ruin had become quite a sinister place because of it, but she remained focused and unperturbed.
Rain had not come to the Hollows simply to wait for her friends to return. In truth, she was in secluded training, slowly searching for the path to Transcendence — she had not taken even the first step on that path yet, but washed over by the Call of Nightmare and the quiet murmur of flowing water, Rain felt like she could almost feel it.
"Transdence is different from Ascension."
An aloof voice resounded from the water, where her distorted reflection could barely be seen on the surface of rushing water.
The voice was barely audible in the murmur of the flowing water, as if the stream itself was talking to Rain.
"However, the world is vast, and we mortals are small and feeble. Our souls cannot encompass the world... but they can encompass an element of the world with which they share an innate connection. The source element. Therefore, the process of attaining Transcendence differs from the process of Ascension. You cannot simply build a Transcendent soul core in the image of an Ascended one."
Rain sighed and opened her eyes, looking at her reflection on the surface of the stream. She was alone on the dark shore, and yet, the figure of a tall man reflected in the water, standing behind her.
The man continued:
“An Ascended soul core is a monolith. The structure of a Transcendent core has to be different. It has to be porous, so that the essence of the world — the spirit essence — could flow through it, changing it from within. Hence, there are three steps to natural Transcendence. First, one has to achieve a state of unity with the world and find their source element. Second, one has to guide the source essence to and through their soul core. Finally, the source essence itself will transform your soul core into that of a Transcendent, becoming a catalyst for the transformation of your entire being.”
He paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"I expected that you would be able to Transcend quite easily. After all, you already share a profound connection with the world... there is that snake of yours, as well. But it seems that I was wrong... It is, in fact, the opposite — your Aspect is a hindrance instead. You simply do not seem to possess a source element... rather, your source element is too broad. So, it might be that your soul truly has to encompass the whole world to become Transcendent."
Rain smiled darkly.
"Well... that's just great."
The King of Nothing — whose reflection was standing behind hers — answered in a calm tone:
“Walking the Path of Ascension without the help of the Nightmare Spell was never going to be easy, so..."
Before he could finish the sentence, a third voice resounded in the darkness.
That one came from her shadow.
"Some teacher you are!"
Mordret sighed heavily.
Rain's shadow, meanwhile, crossed its arms:
“No, really — very helpful. Great job! It has been a year already, and you have achieved... nothing. But then again, what else did you expect, Rain? The man's title is the King of Nothing. Honestly, I don't even know why you bother listening to him."
Rain winced and looked at her shadow.
The shadow stared back at her.
“I mean, you already have a stellar teacher. Who is nicer, more competent, way more handsome, and just generally better in all regards. So... how about you stop associating with this guy? Returning to the River People would benefit you way more."
Rain shrugged.
Not receiving the answer he wished he would hear, Sunny turned to stare at the reflection of Mordret.
“And you! What are you doing, hanging around my disciple like a creep? A grown man stalking a young woman's reflection... how foul! How many times did I tell you to get lost?"
Mordret met his gaze with a somber expression and scoffed.
"It's not like I want to be here, either. But a promise is a promise — I promised to share my understanding of natural Transcendence with your sister, so that is what I must do."
The King of Nothing had disappeared into the mists of the Hollow Mountains after the Dreamspawn's defeat. He seemed reluctant to be around people, living in a self-imposed exile there. From what Sunny knew, there were only three exceptions to the rule. Mordret kept in contact with Morgan, awkwardly trying to build a relationship with the woman who was his sister, but also not the sister he had known and cherished. He also communicated with Cassie, mostly regarding the issues that had to be discussed or negotiated with Nephis and Sunny.
And lastly, he talked to Rain, whom he had promised to help once.
Even though the old Mordret was dead, Sunny did not like the new Mordret one bit.
"A promise, huh? Do you know what I think?"
Rain's shadow pointed an accusing finger at the reflection.
“I think that you are jealous! Couldn't find your own disciple, so now you are trying to steal mine?! Hmph! In your dreams!"
Mordret opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, Rain raised her hand, calling them to silence.
She remained still for a few moments, as if listening to something, and then turned her head with a sudden smile.
Rain's eyes glinted.
"The Call... the Call is gone."
Far in the distance, the Seed of Nightmare was collapsing on itself, disintegrating in a flash of brilliant light.
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