Cosmo clapped her hands together releasing an extending wave of quintessence. The light spread out like a sea of tiny stars, filling the area with tiny specs of light.

“Wow!” I said as my head nearly twisted itself off in an attempt to encapsulate the whole display.

Cosmo smiled. “This is only a small aura domain. The fun part starts now.” Said the goddess as ribbons of multi colored light began expanding from her hands.

The bands of light began forming what I could only describe as code. I recognized it. It looked like the same stuff Aku used to enchant stuff, only she didn’t have this level of control.

While Aku spread her code through an item like the growing roots of mycelium, Cosmo was creating enchantments without directly putting them on an item. It was also far more complex.

They were like strings of words, weaving themselves together. It was nothing like the letters written in a book. This was a complex layout of code spread out through multiple dimensions, while being layered on top one a another.

I had no idea where it started or ended, as the letters seemed to fold in on themselves vanishing from reality itself. Where one rune would disappear another would pop up in it’s place.

Once the enchantment was ready, Cosmo shrunk the domain into a tiny ball. It had such a soft glow that I wasn’t sure if it was still there or not.

“That was disgusting! What a waste of quintessence!” Yelled Lorie as she walked over to Cosmo.

Cosmo looked all offended. “What, but it was so pretty.” She sheepishly complained.

“That code is garbage, let me see it!” She snatched up the ball of light and began stretching it out and condensing it. It was like watching someone play with slime.

This was far from ascetically pleasing, since she was doing it so angrily. It was almost like watching an angry person fight with a hologram completely destroying the fun illusion it once was.

“I thought it was cool.” I said trying to make Cosmo feel better, while doing it in a way where Lorie might not lash out at me.

“Don’t kid. It might have looked fancy, but the goddesses enchantment skills aren’t the best. That’s kind of why little Aku was able to trace it.” Said Mr. Brutus.

“Does that mean Aku isn’t a genius?” I asked with fear in my voice.

“She’s still smart. But she learned enchanting from someone that’s not very good at it.” Said Mr. Brutus as he ruffled up my hair.

That made me feel better. For a moment I doubted my daughters abilities. She still managed to undo the enchantments on Cain’s weapon, so it wasn’t like she was bad at it.

“There we go. That’s much better.” Said Lorie before handing the spec back to Cosmo.

“What is this? It looks so ugly now.” Whined the goddess. The ball of light had turned a dark brown and vibrated in an anxiety inducing way—like flashing lights in a fog.

Lorie walked away without another word. Cosmo looked over the actual code, making a variety of noises. “Huh… that’s, but how did you account for- oh, wow that’s smart! That saves so much space and time. It’s so compact and it can run for a week with only half a unit of quintessence.”

Maybe Aku can study this enchantment and get better at it. It might be complex, but I'm sure she could figure it out given enough time.

That was when the goddess turned to me. “Okay. This enchantment will go on your soul. It took me a few days, but I managed to combine parts of the player system enchantment with the admin and NPC versions. You’re a cultivator, so I needed to change things around while still keeping you under control of the world system.”

“What?” I asked completely confused.

The goddess sighed. “It’s simple. Your soul is too strong for the regular player system, so I had to upgrade it to the admin one, while replacing the parts that let you go god mode with the NPC and mob systems.” She said.

“Can I still use my inventory?” I asked.

“Yes, you can. You’ll even have access to the original inventory you had. Including your money. However the system will mark you down as an NPC instead of a player. Which means you won’t be apart of your guild, or have access to any of the guild buffs or systems.” She said.

“The buffs would have been nice, but that’s okay. My guild mates will still be able to access those systems.” I said.

“One other thing. You’ll no longer have a level or access to classes and abilities. It’ll mark your class as cultivator, but that's just so the system doesn’t purge your Qi.” She said.

“That’s horrible!” I complained. I had been planning to spam crazy amounts of spells using the ambient essence in the area. Maybe even use shadow and Luca like batteries to power everything. So much for city leveling magic—like meteor, sky fall, or black death.

“Don’t worry, with the powers of a cultivator you can easily surpass your former abilities. Maybe not right away, but eventually.” She explained.

I guess it was fine. My level progression had been maxed out back in the old world and with those bad stat ratios, my abilities were heavily nerfed. Aku, The Ripper, was no longer as powerful as she once was. Now I had a new progression system. One that could go beyond what the game system allowed.

“Alright then, lets get going. Once in the cave I’ll enchant your soul and send you home.” Said the goddess.

I was about to walk forward when I got a hug from behind. I could smell her copper-like scent. “Zubu. I have to go.” I said.

“I know.” She got close to my ear and whispered something. “Don’t trust the goddess.”

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Her words sent a chill down my spine, as Zubu’s core sent an image of Cosmo smiling like a devil. It came with the feeling of a manipulative bitch. I guess I got that feeling too when she cheated during Zubu’s match. It was a bit scary to see how Zubu could abuse my sympathy to send hidden messages.

I pretended like I hadn’t heard her and smiled. “I’ll see you again. Don’t worry about it. Please get stronger and ascend.” I said.

With that we parted. I waved goodbye to her as I walked with the goddess into the cave. She smiled and made Snowball wave back at me.

Cosmo held my hand as we strolled through the cave. I kept glancing at my body waiting for the moment it would dissolve. “Is it gonna hurt?” I asked nervously.

“No, its painless. It wont happen until you pass the stone gate.” She said.

“Oh.” I responded.

About a minute into the cave it opened up. At the back was a pile of rocks. Had the cave collapsed? “That doesn’t look right.” I said.

“No, that’s the gate. It’s just not assembled yet.” Said Cosmo. She waved her hand and I watched as the stones on the ground began to lift themselves and form a structure.

Each rock stacked atop one another. Slowly they grew into two towers, as the stones balanced themselves perfectly. The twin towers then leaned into each other forming a perfect archway.

At first I thought it was some kind of energy or magic holding it together, but it wasn’t that. The rocks were perfectly balanced. I’d seen something like this before. There was a video online of a guy stacking rocks near a river. Finding the perfect balance between them, so that gravity and tension, would hold them perfectly.

Once the structure was complete, it’s center began to glow ominously. The darkness within it seemed to be unnatural. It was nothing like the portals I’ve seen up to this point. Actually, I don't think it was a portal.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s just magic. Each of those stones are enchanted with spatial magic. They create a place where Aspects can’t exist. We use it to allow disciples to grow more aware of their souls. It can also be used to create items. Like those crystals Yukio used to purge your corruption.” She explained.

“Why’s it look so scary though?” I asked.

“Well, light is an aspect too. All 5 senses are basically useless in there. The only thing that works is your sixth sense. The one that let’s you see inside yourself and maybe even beyond, if you train it up enough.” Explained Cosmo.

“What about things like time and space?” I asked.

Cosmo giggled. “You are such a curious child, aren’t you? It's so cute.” She said.

“It’s not curiosity. It’s fear. I don’t understand it so it scares me. I just want to not be afraid.” I said.

“You need to relax a little. Knowing everything is exhausting. Sometimes being afraid can be fun.” She said.

She had a point. Not about the fun part, just that I needed to stop overthinking. I took a deep breath and said, “Okay. In that case. Do you think I can gain another skill from this thing. You say you send disciples in to figure out their sixth sense. Can that be useful to me?” I asked.

“It can be, but to train it up would take a long time. The cave can however unlock it for you. It’s what they call the third dantian, or the minds eye.” She said.

Suddenly the fear I felt was gone, as a new feeling of excitement came over me. “for realziez!” I squeaked.

Cosmo sighed. “Let’s just send you back.” She said.

“Come on! I’m sure it’ll be useful in the future! Please, please, please, I really want it!” I begged. I hung from her dress and whined like a toddler crying for candy at a super market.

She gave in immediately. “Well, I suppose it won’t hurt. It’ll also fix that horrible transfer sequence.”

I felt so happy knowing I wouldn’t have to suffer those railroad spikes again. It was so worth it. Just for that reason alone.

“When you go through the gate try to focus on your soul. Figure out which way your dantian is. Then go in the opposite direction. Try to find your third eye and open it. Even if you only open it a little that’s enough to awaken it. I won't wait for you to open it so you better move fast.” She explained.

I took it all in like a drowning man guzzling down water. “That’s so cool! Okay!” I said.

“You’re a cultivator so you won’t get much use out of it. Now, If you were a psychic, then you could do all sorts of things. It’s kind of how cultivator’s can cast magic, only way less efficient. That’s why I don’t recommend it.” She said.

“I understand. I just want as many options as possible. Even if I cant use it right away. I might need it in the future.” I said.

“You might be erased fighting Squirmy, yet you’re already planning ahead of it. I guess that means you’re confident. That’s good. There’s nothing scarier than a confident Isaac.” She said.

“Yeah, Squirmy is a big issue, but he isn’t the final boss.” I said. I may have been a bit too on the nose about it causing Cosmo’s smile to wane, but I turned towards the gate ignoring the subtle hints of her body language.

“I see… Well, we should get moving then. You only have about 15 minutes before you reach the point where you won’t be able to heal yourself,” she said.

I felt panic rise in my chest. “let’s go!” I yelled taking hold of Cosmo’s hand once more and pulling her forward. She giggled as we went through the inky dark gate.

I immediately felt sick as my body melted into fuzzy light. It was like I’d turned into vomit. Oh god! Where’s my mouth? How do I throw up!

I freaked out as I tried to move around only to find that I no longer had those connections. I started to hyper ventilate when I realized that not only could I not scream, but I was also unable to breathe.

“I can’t feel anything! Oh my Cosmo! What the fuck! Help!” I cried not out loud or in my mind, but in a void like state where I existed and simultaneously didn’t exist. I was now the fabric of the universe.

Desperately I tried my best to hold my individual parts together only for them to be stretched out into infinity. It was like trying to keep water from escaping a glass with no bottom or walls.

Eventually those parts completely faded away and I was alone with only my thoughts to keep me company. I found that breathing was no longer an issue, as in I didn't actually need to breathe.

That’s odd. Was that me?

I saw or felt or… something, a ball of vibrating energy. Focusing in on it. It looked like this was my soul. The frequency painted a strange picture. Like a planet, but odd.

The northern part of it had been stretched out through what felt like a hole in reality. Inspecting my soul, I found that the inside was completely hollow. The whole thing was shaped like a sphere.

Wait, what’s that?

There was something vibrating inside the hole. It was faint but all consuming. Wait what am I doing? I need to unlock the third eye thing!

Uh, let’s see…. That over there looks like my dantian. It was like a star orbiting my soul. Its frequency felt like a rotating fire. Cool, it’s kind of like the sun of my inner world. The eye thing must be… Oh, there it is.

My third eye had a much lower frequency. Thanks to the frequency my mind was able to make out its actual shape and structure. It was like a gray stone covered in bands of icy cold metal. I guess that would make it like the moon of my inner world. Now how do I open it?

I tried interacting with it and could feel… something. The metallic rocky sphere was like a limb I’d never seen, or used before. Now that I knew where it was. It wouldn’t be hard to try and interact with it.

It was like when my kidneys first started to hurt and I figured out they were on my lower back. They had so many nerves yet I never paid them any mind until I actually felt them.

Of course knowing they were there didn’t give me some sort of power. It simply told me not to sleep on them, or at least to sleep on my side and alternate positions so that they wouldn’t hurt in the morning.

I began to focus, as bands of light began to wrap around my soul. That must have been Cosmo putting in the player system. I ignored it as I worked on opening the eye.

The rock began to shake as if an earthquake was ravaging it’s tectonic plates. The amount of focus I now had was ridiculous. It was like being in a body had held back my mind.

Automatic breathing. Automatic heart beat. Feel, taste, touch, sight, smell. It all took up bandwidth. Like a magnifying glass, I was able to laser focus my mind onto the task of opening my third eye.

Even then I was only able to open it a tiny crack. That’s when I heard Cosmo’s voice. “it’s time to go.”

Just like that my soul snapped like a frozen rubber band melting in room temperature. The stored kinetic energy sent me flying across the cosmos as my soul collapsed back into itself.