NO SURRENDER
His mind worked so much faster, scarily so. He felt that if he tried to Simulate things now, not only would he succeed... but it would be easy.
He still didn't dare to say that he could do so with 100% certainty, but he knew there would be a long string of 9's be after 99% if he were to calculate it. It was so much more perfect than it had been in the past that it was hard to even measure.
His hair seemed to float on the air, his entire body feeling as light as air.
'What would it be like to battle like this...'
It was hard to explain, but it felt like his soul, the very reason for his existence, was closer to him than it had ever been before. It was odd considering he had been born with it fused into his body, but he had never truly.... Felt it.
He understood why that was. This was different from one's soul stretching out across Dimensions.
Essentially, when one began their journey up the Dimensions, one would leave tiny pieces of them at every level. From the Third Dimension to the Ninth, every step would stretch out the soul just a little bit more until it was unrecognizable.
This was why other Races had so much of an advantage over humans. As humans grew stronger, their talent was diluted by their progress. But because other Races had their souls separated, they could feel a clear sense of it all the way throughout.
However, other Races still suffered from this dilution as well, just on a smaller scale.
The further they got from the Second Dimension, the harder it was for them to sense the root of their strength. However, unlike humans, their souls weren't stretched. Meaning, by mastering Impetus State Forces, they could bring their souls back into focus by becoming more in tune with how Forces worked on that level.
This was why the Impetus State was the minimum requirement for entering the Ninth Dimension.
But now, Leonel, and likely Aina as well, felt that there souls were neither stretched, nor a long distance away. In fact, it was even more exaggerated for Leonel who was only in the Fourth Dimension currently.
It was like his soul was whispering exactly the path that was perfect for him into his ear...
Almost like his own personal Clairvoyance.
It all felt so clear and real to him, and even without picking up another Ore, he felt that his Crafting had advanced by leaps and bounds once again.
He suddenly felt more than qualified now to forge his first Divine Armor... again. But he almost felt like the idea he had had was too rudimentary for his current level of skill.
'No... it can still work... just... a little differently...'
Leonel was no longer interested in using his Divine Armor to give him abilities he didn't already have. He had too many already, and after so long, he felt that he could finally see a faint path to them becoming one. He didn't want to ruin that by throwing another into the pot.
Instead, he was focused on enhancing his abilities and that was what he would do.
'In that case... a living Divine Armor it is...'
No one dared to fight Aina. She hardly got a chance to step onto the stage before the most proud geniuses below the Demi-God Realms called out in defeat one after another.
She just stood there with her Battle Ax firmly in her grasp, a graceful smile on her lips-completely in contrast to her earlier bloodthirstiness.
There wasn't a single soul left that dared to lift a finger against her, whether that was in the arena, or in the city.
She was free and clear, rolling through the competition as though it didn't exist.
There was a clear victor even before the battles began. And that only allowed people more time to talk.
They talked not only about Aina, but what shocked the world the most was the movement of the Gathering Stele.
Many had glossed over the fact, in awe of her strength. But the rest of Existence, especially those of the highest echelon that understood these matters on a deeper level, were entirely shaken.
The Gathering Stele hadn't just rewarded Aina, but it had done so even before the Finals began, let alone ended as was the custom.
To put this matter into its proper contextual significance, just getting a treasure from the Gathering Stele had become akin to climbing the tallest of mountains as a mere mortal. It had already been calculated that the Gathering Stele was raising its standards again and again because it was running out of energy and treasures. Every year that passed was another notch in its belt, weakening it further, and thus raising its standards higher.
For the Gathering Stele, in such a state, to make the choice to reward Aina ahead of time by such a margin...
Just how much potential did she have?
The last person to receive the Gathering Steles favor of the Gathering Stele was Crystalis Evergreen, a woman who had already elevated her world to the Demi-God status and had even formed a Rudimentary Idol.
For Aina to be the one to do so next, and under such circumstances at that...
Just what did it mean? Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
The last battle of the Finals came. Aina only appeared for a moment. Across from her, there was a Pure Blooded Spiritual, one she actually recognized.
This woman didn't voice her surrender. Instead, she slipped into a martial arts stance and held out her palms somewhat loosely toward Aina's direction.
She was ready for combat.
It was hard for Aina to go through Leonel's memories not only because of trust, but also because there were just so many of them. He could process things in seconds that it would take her minutes to maybe upwards of an hour to.
However, she had gone out of her way to learn this woman's face.
That of Lyra Emberheart's.