"You have made... two mistakes today."
Yulaiah seemed to have given up. Both he and Uriah already knew that the inevitable would come. Eternity spins as Eternity should, and he was powerless to change even the tiniest details. He knew that it has come, but his voice remained crisp and clear. Amidst the deafening silence, his words were like a sweet lullaby, calling upon death's embrace.
"The first is killing me and her. And the second... is waking her."
His call was answered. It came as a familiar tune, one that commanded every bit of his attention. Even as he saw his wife wake, he could not stop his mind drawing closer to the source of that tune. Its tight grasp on him was inviolable. Existence now decreed his death and he would be made to abide. But he cannot.
He will not.
Even as life left him, the prismatic lights that Asheya was pouring into him sparked something that he had been waiting for all this time. That is why he told her that he will be back. He would never leave her alone for too long. This was his oath, not just to Asheya herself, but every version of her. Wherever Verena was, he would find her and bring her back. For Eternity would mean nothing without them, his bonds, his hearts.
Hearts...
"My Prismatic Heart... ascend with me."
Even in the darkness, he heard Asheya's voice. Prismatic Heart, it was a fitting name, perfect for her Cor Ena. Indeed, with him recovering his identity, he had also recovered knowledge that was unknown to him before. Cor Ena, he had spent days trying to understand what it was, but it was so simple. It was in the name, a gift from the universe itself. He still did not know where the Vernal Bloom came from, but that was something he would learn in the future. For now, he focused on something that has yet to happen.
'Crowning glory, greatest shame, the heaven-reaching mountain that rises in my name.
A nail to a coffin, a cancer of worlds, the lives we do not own yet still reap.
The Trial of Ascension that sealed the Seed awakens the Heart in a moment of grief.'
As the world was drowned in prismatic light from both the birth of a new Cor Ena and the resonance of the Spire of Babylos, everything that could not be under the influence of the Prismatic Heart's authority was sent out. However, to Asheya's great surprise, even Yulaiah was shot out of Corrin. And yet, in her eyes, it was not despair or loss that could be seen. It was hope. Her husband's words played in her mind once more.
He will be back.
So she will wait patiently.
Meanwhile, Yulaiah's body was caught in a strange phenomenon. The power that initially sent him flying out was the rejection from the Prismatic Heart, but somewhere along the way, something else had commandeered it. Something more powerful was sending him somewhere. He did not know who it was or why it was doing it. He did not have the opportunity to know as his body experienced a change like never before.
In his empty chest devoid of any life, liquid crystal trickled in, pooling into a singular cohesive mass of pure authority. And once it formed, moulded into the shape of a heart, it beat.
One powerful beat...
"Ascend..."
That resounded across the entire universe.
[You have proven your worth.]
[You have completed your Trial of Ascension.]
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[The Cor Ena – Shaping Heart has been born within you.]
[You have proven your Heart (Will).]
[You have ascended.]
[@{7)&^!# congratulates you and wishes you a safe journey.]
[@{7)&^!# awaits your return.]
From beyond the perception of Yulaiah, a gargantuan eye made of golden gears and plates watched him silently and intently. No one knew what it was thinking. And no one knew that it was the one shuttling him across the infinite expanse of reality, sending him outside the boundaries that he had known. No one knew, and no one needed to know. It only continued with its Eternal purpose while silently watching the scenes playing out in the distance.
[Eternity spins as Eternity should the Loom that tells us of the Truth. And so my Watch begins anew. And so... your tale shall begin anew, my young friend.]
A voice carried along by a strangely whimsical authority rang out in the void. An eye glowing with a subtle brilliance that told of the vicissitudes of life watched Yulaiah's body shoot out beyond the boundaries that he had always Watched. The voice itself was like that of an old man caught up in his musings. And the eye was just like any normal eye, white sclera and brown iris. It seemed so simple and mundane that it was so eerie thinking about how it could possibly exist in this place, much less speak. And then, it turned to look at him, the one that no one else could see.
[Of course, I see you. I always have. That is my privilege as the Watcher of the @{7)&^!#. Even when he, or rather, you were here before, I could see you. But knowing the way that the Loom weaved, I dared not speak to you... until now.]
The Watcher of the @{7)&^!#, Benjamin..., he was here once more, watching the events that transpired. He had been watching the events on Corrin from the moment that Yulaiah found his way into this void. And it seemed that the time he had been waiting for had finally come. His eye glowed with intensity as it began emanating an ancient authority that seemed to cover the entire universe. He was the Watcher, and he would Watch everything.
[I know you cannot yet speak so I will be brief. The two Hearts complete the required number of Cor Ena to begin the Pinnacle War. All those little squabbles I showed you last time, those were mere quarrels compared to what is to come.]
Benjamin focused his authority on a certain part of the universe. The sights before them zoomed in as they witnessed the planetary wars halt for a brief moment. It was at this moment that every living soul within the universe heard the resounding beat of a heart. It was like the cry of a phoenix risen from the ashes of old, burning with resplendent glory. It was also the moment that everyone within the universe learned of the existence of Ascendants. And the Ascendants learned who among them were Originators. And immediately after, they saw entire star systems and galaxies deploying armies enough to blot out several stars from the sky. All of them heading to war. This was the beginning.
[I urge you, return as soon as possible. For the Pinnacle War will not end until only one Originator remains, whether through submission... or death Eternal. So return, before the entire universe is razed to mere ash and dust.]
Benjamin turned his gaze away from the war. His eyes showing his weariness, the toll of his eonic Watch. And yet somehow, he seemed even more alive than before. This was his purpose, his Eternity made manifest. How envious..., but to each their own paths. Benjamin turned to look at his company, the one who had remained silent for years, watching everything just like him. They were kindred souls to say the least.
[And perhaps then, I may welcome you in person, O Shaper of Worlds..., O Graven Lord.]
With those words of parting, the Dream ended. Uriah's eyes opened with a snap as he gasped for breath. The pain that racked his head, the unbearable burning sensation at the back of his eyes, they were all gone. His fractured memories have been restored, and his purpose is renewed. He opened his hand and found a nearly invisible and imperceptible thread held within, tainted by a milky white and pink light. It was distinctly different from what he saw before as Yulaiah. This was the thread of Uriah.
He turned his gaze to his other hand as he felt something there as well. He had grabbed onto something in his brief instant of sleep, in his Dream. And as he opened it, he found the crystal clear thread that seemed to vanish if he lost focus on it. This was the thread of Yulaiah, intact and still very much alive. Just as Yulaiah said, he witnessed it all in order to find this thread which he will light ablaze.
But not now, not yet. His flame has yet to grow. And he has yet to find the other important piece that is required of him. And so he rose from the ground, the two threads coiling into one as though they had always been together. He searched around him for a while longer before finding two more threads, both seemingly made of inky shadows that dipped in and out of his perception. He tied them to himself. They would no longer leave him. He would never lose sight of them, this he swore.
"Time to look for my body."
He trudged onward, the cold breeze of the silent world greeting him. It welcomed the start of his new Beginning, the start of the Eternity he yearned for, the start of his everlasting Dream. And as though to assure himself of his Truths, he spoke to no one but himself, an echo following him closely.
"I am Uriah (Yulaiah), the Graven Lord (Shaper of Worlds)."