The son of Cragar approached the dark altar in the center of nowhere and observed the strange floating crystal. With more attention, he noticed that in reality it was not a simple crystal, but a pulsating sphere, full of energy. The object's magic traveled through the air, then reached the grooves of the pedestal on which it floated and seemed to reach an area below. Shirei climbed onto the altar first, intending to gain a better view of the surroundings, then turned to his replica.

“So this would be the manifestation of my divine path?”

“To call it a divine path would be an insult.”

Shirei didn't understand what he meant.

“We'll get there, there's no need to worry.”

The boy nodded and looked around. The most total nothingness. No noise, no passage, no living soul.

And what should I do now? he wondered.

He wanted to go into the darkest darkness, but he suspected it would just be a waste of time. If he was really in his subconscious, and the presence of his double only confirmed that hypothesis, then there was no reason to hide his path.

The fog must just be a sign warning me not to head there. I would probably find myself at the altar again.

His replica soared through the air and landed gracefully on the altar, “You are very quiet.”

“Can't you hear what I'm thinking?”

“Of course I can. Since I'm here, though, you could take the opportunity to talk out loud, train social skills, don't you think?”

The purple-eyed demigod decided to ignore him for a few moments and focus on the energy sphere, then continued his conversation.

“What's my name?”

“Shirei.”

The demigod hesitated and looked at the spirit, “My true name. If we have to talk then I prefer not to refer to you as 'lookalike' or 'other me'.”

“Did you see?” the ghost teased, “You're already improving.”

“Why don't you want to reveal it?”

“In due time. For now, address me however you like. You can use my title, Calm Sovreign, if you don't think it's too long.”

The demigod lost hope and returned to thinking about his next move to continue on the divine path. He tried to call Reno, but the tenebrae did not appear.

Reno, answer me. I need your help.

He received no response, a sign that the link with the dark creature was temporarily deactivated.

The only thing he could focus on was the mysterious ball of luminous energy that lay beneath his eyes. Before he could ask, the Calm Sovereign came to his aid.

“This is your god particle, at least figuratively. You can think of it as a gateway to your own paths.”

Shirei didn't fail to notice that he had used the plural, but decided to bury that information for the moment. The particle was a passage to be opened to proceed, he just had to be able to find the key.

The core was the living heart of a demigod, the organ where mana was contained, stored, and expelled. If he had to imagine it as a door, then the only way to open it was through energy.

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The key is mana.

The spirit next to him didn't say a word, but its violet eyes watched him carefully. Shirei approached the energy sphere and raised his right hand towards it. He couldn't feel the mana flowing inside his body, but it had to be there. It was his body, after all.

The divine path seemed to resonate with his intentions, releasing tiny blue particles from his arm. The mana swirled around the divine core like two animals studying each other after being brought together for the first time, then the particles were sucked in.

The sphere shone with intense blue light, threads of energy began to flow downwards and drip onto the altar as if they were ichor. The entire rock structure lit up with concentric cerulean circles, then there was a brief tremor. Suddenly, Shirei saw the ground around him dissipate and began to hear a sound. He had already heard it before, it was not an organic sound, but coming from nature. The roar of a river.

Water?

The demigod approached the edge of the altar, admiring an expanse of water in the distance. The fog in that direction had cleared, a clear signal inviting him to continue along that path.

Shirei was about to go down, when a further doubt made him hesitate.

If the divine core absorbs mana to show me the way, what would happen if I tried to fill it with aether?

He turned back to his divine core and decided to try an experiment. His replica continued to stare at him in silence, Shirei took it as a good sign that he was on the right track. He raised his hand and touched the energy sphere, then closed his eyes to concentrate.

Conveying the aether into his body was something he was not yet capable of, the days of complete battle with the Equinox Flowers had been an obstacle in training to master that ability.

But if it's just a matter of absorbing it and being able to expel it… I shouldn't have too much difficulty.

He took a deep breath and forcefully forced his core to contract, perhaps more than was necessary. Green chlorophyll particles spread through the air like pollen and dispersed almost randomly.

Evidently I was wrong.

The boy lowered his hand in disappointment and was preparing to head towards the river in the distance when, as if it was a very powerful force of gravitational attraction, the divine core absorbed all the aether. A shock wave shook the entire path and the base of the altar shattered.

What…

Beneath the rocky relief appeared finely shaped marble steps, forming a long spiral staircase around the altar, descending into the darkness of his subconscious.

When the shaking stopped, Shirei straightened up. If he had been able to show emotion with his face, he would have been guaranteed to smile.

Now, however, he had to choose which of the two routes to explore first.

Maybe it's better to check what's underneath…

He didn't want to admit it to himself, but the whole aether thing intrigued him much more. If he was the only demigod truly capable of controlling it, there had to be something special.

“Check this floor first, the next one won't be as easy.”

His younger version placed the gauntlet of black armor on his shoulder, to stop him. Shirei felt the cold sensation of metal on his skin and was amazed that the place felt so real.

“I thought this was the path you told me about.”

“It is, the one at the bottom at least.”

“Then let me get in,” the demigod retorted.

“That there,” he pointed in the direction from which the sound of the water came, “is the Cragar’s path, it will be an easy journey for you.”

Shirei could not follow the Calm Sovereign.

“Why are there more paths? Is it because of the aether?”

The replica walked away, “Did you really think the gods would consider you a threat simply because you are a son of Cragar?”

“I thought they did it because of our past. Isn't that the reason?”

The young Shirei shook his head, “No way, you have no idea of the power that lies in that place.”

Without waiting for the demigod, the Calm Sovereign began to walk towards the river in the distance and Shirei, although a little reluctant, followed him.

The two reached the shore after a relatively short time. The water wet the boy's feet, now bare, almost making him jump. It was freezing, but relaxing at the same time. Cragar's son looked up and stared into the distance, trying to see something to direct him. He moved his head left and right, but nothing.

“And now?”

The Calm Ruler floated up to stand beside him and asked, “Can't you see it?”

“See what?”

The spirit attracted his attention by pointing to his eyes, which had lost their predominant color in favor of a greenish hue. Shirei looked at him for a few moments, then realized what he had done.

He infused aether into his eyes to enhance his vision.

“Did you understand!” asked the Calm Sovereign.

The demigod shook his head, “I cannot manipulate aether like you’re doing.”

He didn't bother to ask himself why he had mastered that skill in the past and then lost it. He believed he had only been deprived of his memories, but he was beginning to realize there was more to it.

“You're right” replied the other before snapping his fingers in front of his face, “What do you see now?”