Path to Transcendence

“Stop pouting. I could have been a lot more violent,” he said to the despondent turtle.
The winner of the fight had been decided, and she wasn’t enjoying the outcome very much. He, on the other hand, was delighted. In fact, he continued to look at the notifications he had received during the brief fight.
Achieving four levels in three different skills was quite an accomplishment. Seeing two whole levels in a skill like [Absolute Spatial Perception] was quite a shock. The skill, as well as the previous version, was very challenging to level up. However, his efforts weren't for naught, and he was able to level it up twice.
She grumbled unhappily.
“Do you want me to tell you how I found you the first time? Or how I found you using my perception skill?” Julius asked.
Her little turtle face looked at him with confusion.
“I found you earlier, but instead of attacking you, I wanted to figure out how your stealth skill worked. It was quite difficult, but since I detected you another way, I found a method to pierce your stealth, with my perception skill alone,” he explained, not bothering to hide what he had done. He was proud of his accomplishment and wanted to show off a little bit.
“But I am normally invisible to mana, aura, and even spatial detection,” she pointed out unhappily.
“Yeah, does your stealth skill allow you to hide from spatial senses?” He was curious about her skills and wanted to see if she would be willing to explain some of the details.
she muttered. Unfortunately, his hopes were crushed. Still, he had another card up his sleeve.
“If you tell me how your skill works, I will tell you how I managed to work around it,” he offered.
Her little face whipped toward him, and he knew right away that he had her.
She ordered aggressively.
“You first,” he said with a smirk.
She looked over at her father with indecision and then back at Julius. It was hard to tell what was going on in that turtle head of hers. But after a few brief moments of thought, she reluctantly explained how her skill worked.
According to her, she had been born with a small affinity for spatial magic along with her natural affinities that came with being a water and life spirit. It actually made sense considering that she was inside a secret realm, separate from the real world. That might have affected it. She also drew inspiration from the lake water’s unique properties, which is why it felt so similar.
She wasn’t very good at explaining it; most of her details were conveyed with telepathic images and flashes of emotions. Luckily, he didn’t really need that much of an explanation. He already had a vague idea of how her skill worked, which was why he was able to sense her at the end.
And just as he promised, he explained how he managed to sense her. He realized that she had always been there. It wasn’t like she had hidden in a totally separate space. The best way he could describe it was in terms of frequencies or the light spectrum.
Just like how some animals couldn’t see certain lights or hear certain sounds, she had created a bubble around her body of spatial magic that allowed her to hide from his perception skill. That was why he didn’t pick up on her presence. It was almost like she was phasing in and out of reality with spatial magic.
It was practically luck that he stumbled upon the truth. He had tried everything and accidentally started to use his skill in a completely different way. That change was enough to alter the “frequencies” his skill could sense, and he could feel her presence that way. His perception of almost everything else was drastically impacted, but he had been able to figure out where she was without having to rely on tracking her with the mana he placed on her body.
When he explained it to her, she didn’t understand ninety percent of what he said. She just looked at him like he had something wrong with his head.
Vailon suddenly clapped his blue transparent hands, interrupting them. “Perfect, it seems that everything is settled. I will now set up the ritual.” He seemed very pleased by the outcome.
Unlike the previous times, Seraphyne didn’t seem to have any objections to that. She simply pouted off on the side.
“Wait, I still have to ask my current bond,” Julius said and quickly called out to Drasil, who was unsurprisingly fast asleep in his soul.
The little guy yawned and wiggled on Julius’s palm, stretching his arms out.
Julius had to wait for a few moments for Drasil to wake up, and he was even forced to hand over an orb of his mana. It was the only tried-and-true method he had found that would wake up Drasil in a short amount of time.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Once Drasil was finally conscious, Julius took the time to explain the situation. He didn’t think that the little green guy really knew what he was talking about, but when he heard that he might be able to experience other “flavors” of mana, Drasil didn’t even bother to listen anymore. The gluttonous fellow stuck his thumb up and nodded enthusiastically.
“Are you sure? I don’t know how it will work, but you might have to share my soul space with her,” he warned Drasil.
Drasil shrugged, and Julius felt a sense of general indifference from him.
“That’s it?” Julius asked.
Drasil whistled quietly and nodded before holding his palms out for more mana. Julius looked at the small pudge of Drasil’s stomach from the orb he had just given and poked it gently.
Drasil smacked his finger away and glared at Julius accusingly.
Julius held his hands up. “Sorry, just checking.”
Drasil whistled once more, and Julius sighed as he passed over another orb. The little guy cooed in happiness and started to suck the orb dry.
He looked over to where Seraphyne was staring at Drasil with a weird look. If he didn’t know any better, he would say that she looked envious of Drasil. He could practically see the saliva dripping from her snout.
“You know, you don’t have to form a bond with me if you don’t want to,” Julius offered, despite winning their fight. He didn’t have any plans of keeping someone in his soul who didn’t want to be there.
She shook her head stubbornly and used her flipper to wipe her face with embarrassment. “I lost, so I will do as I promised. Plus, my father is right, I won’t ever evolve into a greater spirit if I stay in this realm. I will need to leave at some time.”
Vailon smiled. “She can be difficult and rude, but she honors her word and has a decent head on her shoulders. She also respects personal strength, which is why she isn’t as against it anymore,” the greater spirit commented.
During this time, Julius felt a bunch of mana start to engrave itself onto the floor in complicated patterns. He was literally carving mana lines into the ground, creating a circle of enchantments. Julius couldn’t even track all of the various lines as they came together in a masterful display of mana control.
“It’s still temporary, correct?”
“Yep, you will each have the option to renew it when you leave the realm. If you do decide not to keep the bond, I only ask that you help you find someplace or someone who might be a good fit,” Vailon added, looking at Julius with pleading eyes.
Julius, the weak-hearted person he was, couldn’t deny the spirit’s request and nodded.
Once Vailon was finished with his preparations, he beckoned them toward the complete circle. The two of them slowly made their way into the small circle, looking at each other with. Her little turtle face was looking nervous.
“Are you two ready?” Vailon asked them.
They both nodded, and without further ado, the blue spirit started to inject mana into the ritual. The circle began to glow as mana flowed throughout the complicated lines carved into the floor. Then he felt the mana start to climb up his legs and into his body.
There was a probe of his soul, very similar to the one he had experienced while bonding to Drasil. He accepted the probe and allowed it to enter his soul. There was a small part of him that was nervous that it was some kind of trap, but he didn’t see a reason why Vailon would do that. If he wanted Julius dead, he could have done so without all this trouble.
It didn’t take much time at all for him to feel the bond snap into place. He could also sense that this bond was different than the one with Drasil. It felt much less intense, and he could feel that he could destroy the connection whenever he wanted to.
He followed the connection to Seraphyne. Much like Drasil, he could sense her emotional state. At the moment, she was feeling nervous, but there was also a hint of excitement.
When he opened his eyes, the two of them stared at one another. He was the first one to smile, allowing her to sense his emotions. She reciprocated with a smile. Her little turtle body moved toward him. He let her and didn’t move when she placed her flipper on his nose.
Then, in a strong suction, he felt her get pulled into his soul. Right away, he sensed something had changed. Not only was there a noticeable weight in his soul now, but it was slowly changing. He didn’t know what Vailon meant when he said that she could help Drasil change, but he was starting to see for himself.
Her life mana was different from Drasil’s. Her mana had a more fluid quality and seemed to stray away from pure healing. Instead, it focused on vitality and flexibility. Her water mana was also quite interesting to examine. It was very sharp and heavy. He assumed it was this particular aspect that had made her attacks so powerful.
Her mana was adding various elements to his soul space. It was sort of like decorating a new apartment or house.
He was glad that he had evolved his soul for the second time. Because he had done that, he had so much more space. He wondered if he would have been able to do this if he hadn’t gone through his second soul evolution. He was also curious about whether Vailon knew this or not.
She didn’t seem to be in a rush to leave either. He could feel her pleasant surprise upon seeing his soul space. She was happy about something, but he didn’t know what she liked about it. Hopefully, Drasil would be a good roommate and help her out.
***
He let out a sigh of relief. He had been trying to find a way to get Seraphyne to leave this place for a long time. She was too isolated in this realm, and she needed to spread her wings. As a spirit, she needed to experience the breath of nature and the outside world.
He was glad to have come across this young boy. He already had a life spirit that was quite particular, even to Vailon’s standards. But perhaps that was precisely what Seraphyne needed. He didn’t feel comfortable sending her to the outside world without a bond. She would become a target for too many people.
A spirit of both life and water was a unique combination that countless researchers would do whatever they could to get their hands on her. But with a bond, they wouldn’t be able to capture her. Additionally, having someone to show her the outside world would be beneficial.
He would be able to show her how to act and behave. Once the boy realized how special Seraphyne’s mana truly was, Vailon doubted he would give up something so precious. Just having Seraphyne in his soul space would slowly purify and strengthen his soul.
It wasn’t like the boy needed all that much help on that front. He had an incredibly strong soul for a Tier 3 and possessed a Phoenix Concept that, for the most part, purified his body and soul. That was another reason why Vailon wanted him to take her. With a skill and Concept like that, he wouldn't feel the need to take advantage of Seraphyne.
Still, it would be hard to see her go. Ever since his former bond helped create this space, Vailon had rarely left. It was lonely here, and without Seraphyne to keep him company, he suspected it would only get lonelier from now on.
Hopefully, she would remember to come and visit her dear father from time to time.