[SWORD RANKING: SWORD MASTER]
[HEART CORE: ASHEN-ORIGIN: 3-STAR]
[MIDDLE CORE: ORIGIN ARTS CULTIVATION: 5TH STAR, GRAND AURA WARRIOR]
This was what his current progress looked like.
Sword Master in skills and Grand Aura Warrior in aura.
The master realm. One could say this was the first obstacle any martial artist faced. The lower realms were attained by training their bodies to their limits. The master realm, however, to reach it, one had to grasp will. Then the grand aura warrior rank lay in the master realm. One could say that to attain grand aura warrior, one had to reach the master realm, however, the reverse wasn't possible.
Now, all this was just hard work, and the benefit was something else. The master realm contained most of the military power of any empire, church, kingdom, and organization. They would be accepted anywhere. In a village, the position of village chief wasn't far off; in an empire, a commander position wasn't far off; in an organization, a lower executive position wasn't far-fetched. The measure of one's talent often depended on how quickly they reached this realm, and for someone of Baines's age, he could be considered a rare genius.
Basically, attaining this realm already set anyone in it for life. Yet, for many, this rank was their final limit. Many got drunk on their achievement and relaxed, eventually becoming weaker than average, while some hit their limits and lost themselves or gave up.
HOWEVER, for Baines, it wasn't enough. He wasn't just doing this for revenge; No, he wanted to attain a level where no one could even think of doing such.
'It's not enough.' Baines muttered as he clenched and unclenched his fist. The power he was feeling was immense to the point of making him relent and rest; however, his desire for revenge brought him back each time.
He moved his aura around him as he felt the new change.
'My sword aura is stronger.' With his aura, he formed a short sword attached to his hand and swung it at one of the constructs of himself, and it dispersed.
'Basically, I gain access to more aura.' From the sword made of aura, it changed into a shield, then an arrow, and finally a spear. That wasn't all. His body was reinforced with aura, increasing his body strength and his speed likewise. His body reinforcement meant he could withstand attacks with his body before he began accumulating injuries.
Most importantly, the grasping of Sword Intent, the will of the sword.
The nature of this will varied, just like Baines experienced the continuous voice inside him. The process was unpredictable, and self-discovery was the key to maximizing its potential.
Baines exhaled.
'I'm not where I want to be, but this is a start.' He affirmed himself after feeling the changes in him.
It was then Eye came up, reminding him of his remaining goals,
[FIRE ELIXIR IS NOW SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION.]
[ASHEN-ORIGIN: 3/5 STARS]
He nodded at the notification before pulling it out and tossing the fire elixir into his mouth.
"Urgh..." The moment it touched his throat, an intense burning sensation spread through his body. Even with his reinforced physique, it felt like his insides were melting.
Eye had warned him against consuming it too early, and now he understood why. It was simply too hot. Clenching his fists, he endured the pain, guiding the pill with his Origin Arts toward his core.
Then, a change occurred. He suddenly found himself standing outside. It was an empty desert that stretched endlessly.
'Where am I?' He asked himself and looked around. He tried to move however, he couldn't. Then, he looked up and saw the most beautiful sun he had ever seen.
Usually, the sun was too bright for anyone to truly see, but now he could see it. It was swirling dark gold only, but it captivated him, and at the same time, it was like he understood something.
'It is dim.' Why else would he be able to see the sun? It had lost its glow.
As he had that thought, he returned to reality, and a golden glow burst from his body.
Two minutes later, the glow dimmed, and as Baines opened his eyes, a golden hue flickered within them.
'Dark Sun.' He muttered the name of what he had just seen.
The sun he had seen wasn't a powerful technique or just a dim sun, it was the remnant of a forgotten god.
Gods. These were deity-level beings of immense power who did not dwell in the mortal realm. They specialized in divine energy, bestowing their followers with power in exchange for faith. The greater the number of believers, the stronger the god became, while their worshippers gained abilities fueled by their devotion. It was really a win-win situation for both parties.
But what happened when a god lost all its followers?
What happened when their believers, temples, and churches were destroyed?
They lost their faith, their belief, and eventually their strength. Without worshippers, they faded from memory, were erased from history, and eventually became forgotten. That was how a forgotten god came to be.
Baines extended his hand, summoning a dark golden flame. It flickered weakly, lacking divine energy, resembling magic rather than holy fire.
"So, a god's technique without divine power functions like magic?" He studied the flame, deep in thought. He knew this because to learn Ashenfall, he had to learn magic.
Then, a wild idea struck him, and he asked Eye, "Could divine energy just be an advanced form of mana?"
[USER IS CORRECT AND INCORRECT]
"What do you mean?" He asked in amazement. He seemed more surprised than when he reached the master realm.
[DIVINE POWER FUNCTIONS SIMILARLY TO MAGIC. IT USES ENERGY TO INFLUENCE THE WORLD. HOWEVER, DIVINE POWER STEMS FROM ABSTRACT CONCEPTS LIKE FAITH, WHILE MANA ORIGINATES FROM THE TANGIBLE CONCEPT, THE WORLD.]
[A STRANGE MUTATION WAS UNDERGONE THAT CHANGED THE CONCEPT, WHICH ALSO MAKES IT INCORRECT]
"Then what about aura?" Baines asked.
[AURA DERIVES FROM THE BODY, A COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ONE'S PHYSICAL FORM, SOUL, ENERGY, AND THE WORLD.]
"Wait, wait, what are you saying here?" He felt Eye getting unto something.
[MANA, ITS TECHNIQUES, AND POWER. THEY ARE LARGELY DONE BY THE WORLD. IT SOLEY DEPENDS ON THEIR COMMUNICATION WITH THE WORLD. WHILE DIVINE POWER AND ITS TECHNIQUES ARE THE INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD.]
Baines's mind raced. "So, magic relies on the world, and divine power influences the world, while aura is purely dependent on the individual?"
[USER IS CORRECT.]
"Then… if divine power is an advanced form of mana, there should be a higher form of aura too!" His heart pounded with excitement. There had to be, right?
[THERE IS.]
"What is it?" he asked eagerly. He hadn't heard of any energy like that; maybe he would learn of it now.
But the answer was unexpected.
[ASHENFALL.]
Baines froze.
The Ashen family had fused mana and aura together, triggering an unknown mutation. That mutation had wiped out much of their lineage. Even now, the surviving members barely understood what Ashenfall truly was. It wasn't just a technique, it was something entirely new.
"Ashenfall is aura's equivalent to divine power…" Baines whispered in awe.
[CORRECT.]
"Then, which is stronger, mana or aura?" he asked, still processing this revelation. The way Eye put it, Aura was better than mana.
But,
[THEY ARE EQUAL.]
Baines frowned. That didn't make sense. How could someone using the world as their tool be equal to someone relying solely on themselves?
But he didn't think much about it. He just accepted it and sighed. "Thinking about this won't change anything. The only thing I can do is keep mastering Ashenfall."
He extinguished the flame in his hand and stepped outside. The sky was as dark as ever. He hadn't seen the sun in years, but he didn't mind. The darkness was a reminder of his struggles, his battles, his rage.
With two years left, it was time for the final push.
The process of forming each new star in his core took longer than the last. Creating his fourth star required six months.
BOOM!
The ground beneath him cracked. His dark purple Ashen energy surged into the sky. His Heart Core pulsed violently, greedily absorbing the dense energy.
A smirk crept onto Baines' lips as he felt the vast energy, even larger than his main core. "I thought I needed to reach five stars first…"
Among the techniques Bartos taught him, the minimum requirement to perform them was reaching the fifth star in Ashenfall. But he was wrong; with this much power, he could already perform the techniques Martos had shown him.
But he wasn't done yet.
He didn't hesitate and returned to his meditation and began forming his fifth star.
A year passed. He was still compressing Ashenfall within him, his aura surging to new heights.
The more he cultivated, the clearer it became. Ashenfall was destructive, chaotic, rebellious. It tried to consume everything, even its user.
And from those concepts, the Ashen family was even able to create a technique to safely absorb it. It demanded destruction, and that was the technique for absorbing it did. The technique was made to destroy itself.
Inside his heart's core, four dark purple stars glowed, swirling with overwhelming energy. And as the fifth star neared completion, the other four suddenly reacted, devouring even more Ashenfall energy.
The four stars reformed into five-pointed stars, and the fifth was taking shape.
Ashenfall resisted, struggling against his control. It wanted to destroy. But Baines' rage burned brighter.
"AHHHHHHHH!" He let out a roar, forcing the last surge of energy into his core.
The last finally turned into a five-pointed star, the final piece falling into place
Then—
BOOM!
His energy exploded toward the sky.