DECIDED

Leonel calmed the restlessness in his body. It wasn't that he didn't feel that this was an interesting path, it was just more so that he didn't feel it was appropriate for all of his Forces to follow it.

If he stripped away his Forces of what made them unique and forced them all to conform to his own thoughts, then would they even still be the Forces he had come to know?

That said, this path... it was perfect for a Weapon Force you had to mold into your own image. The catch was that Leonel still wasn't sure of exactly that path he wanted to take.

Right now, whether it was his Bow Force or Spear Force, they were more amorphous than not. But that was the nature of the path he had taken to improve them.

Being able to use artistic conception to bolster the strength of his Weapon Forces was excellent, but that also made them lack an identity at the same time. It could be said that the only reason they were Sovereign Forces to him was because he had great talent and... because they were still at the Life State.

Fifth Nova made him realize something. If his Weapon Forces stayed the same as they were now, would they still be able to remain Sovereign Forces when he entered the Creation State? © 2024.

That still wasn't certain, and that was a problem.

Ramon, though, seemed to understand his path quite well. It was just that he couldn't take that last step just yet.

Even so, he had managed to find a method of honing himself that even Leonel was impressed by.

Ramon had promised himself to not be weak anymore. The next time he had to protect someone he cared about, he wouldn't have to stand behind them any longer. He would be able to protect them instead.

And he took that extremely seriously.

Leonel only spoke to Ramon for a short time before he slowly strolled away. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend more time with this cousin of his, but rather that he felt it was inappropriate to do so.

He could feel that Ramon was still a bit withdrawn. If he tried to force a relationship just because he wanted to, it would have the opposite effect.

Plus... his thoughts were swimming with Ramon's Spear Force.

'I miss it...' Leonel thought to himself.

The sudden thought came out of nowhere, but it was his own so Leonel obviously knew exactly what he was talking about. That was, of course, his old path of Dream Sovereignty.

He liked not fearing anything, not thinking twice before he acted, moving about on a whim and cutting down those that left a feeling of distaste in his mouth.

For the sake of his father, his wife, his friends and what remained of his family, he had taken a different path...

But only he knew just how much it ate him up inside.

Every time he had to lose on purpose just to further a goal, it felt like there was a knife twisting in his gut. It made him feel so uncomfortable that it was hard to put into words.

And honestly, he hated that feeling. Not the losing part, but the fact losing actually managed to hurt him so much.

It was so childish.

Why did he care so much about winning? He couldn't blame it on his future self anymore, he was gone even if a small part of his influence lingered. This was all him.

Hating to lose was one thing, but why did he hate it so much even if he knew it would lead to a bigger victory in the end? It was like he was unwilling to compromise. It was impossible to describe that as anything other than childish.

He had no intention of going back to the person he had been before. He had worked too hard to get here... but a small piece of it...

Leonel had come to understand something else.

Forcing himself to do something was fine, but if it compromised his own faculties, his own forward progress, it would be more detrimental than not.

His Dream Force's path right now was perfect. It was an homage to his father and it would help him keep the most people alive. That was what he wanted.

But what about himself? What had he done for Leonel Morales?

As in all things, there had to be balance in life. But if he couldn't change his Dream Force Sovereignty, then what should he do?

Leonel walked aimlessly, raising a palm to face the sky and allowing golden strands of Bow and Spear Force to circulate in the air. They chased around one another like wisps of wind, growing faster and faster.

He had never really thought about why he was so good at using Bow Force, but now that he understood so much about Weapon Forces, it seemed almost too obvious.

What was the job of a bowman?

In olden Earth, they probably just relied on numbers, sending out large volleys into enemy ranks and just hoping that they'd hit something...

But what about in this world?

A bowman sat back, they analyzed, they targeted threats and they controlled the battlefield from a bird's eye view. It was the kind of Weapon Force that was perfectly in line with Leonel's character, the loftiness, the precision, the intelligence required...

The Dominance that was necessary.

An odd pulse began to take form on Leonel's wrists. Soon, they both became bands of gold, but it was the ornament in the center that was special.

One had a perfect spear ready to pierce through the skies.

The other had a curved bow ready to shoot down stars.

They looked like a pair of illusory bracelets on Leonel's wrists, and if he was paying attention, he would have noticed that they were enhanced versions of the Domain Rings.

He had decided what his path would be.