Taking my soul with it into a strange place, the darkness was new, deeper than I had ever felt when I was first awakening. That seemed to continue for an eternity in my mind, moving deeper and deeper, the crushing of my soul becoming even more apparent as the time went on.

My life so far seemed to flash before my eyes in quick moments, so real one second and gone the next, I had no idea what was happening, I could feel my soul crumbling and stretching, the oddness of it all a stark contrast to any of the pleasant experiences of growth in my power.

With that, suddenly, I was in a new frame of existence. Boundless energy seemed to stretch all around me.

I tried to breathe and relax myself, but found even that simple act beyond this form of my soul. I was stuck somewhere with even less control than I normally had in my inner world.

A few flares occasionally broke the darkness of the energy of green light, my mana trying to break into the darkness to assist me, It was entirely too weak for the task, I could imagine Iirins mana had already broken through allowing him to reach a new level of soul quality, connecting the bridge between mana and soul in a way I never knew was possible.

I tried to break myself out of the prison, that was to no avail. I was stuck fast. The energy of what could only be my soul torrenting around me, something I had been protected from for quite some time broken through by an outside force, more likely to doom me than to help.

I could only hope to discover the secret that Hiroto discovered in his youth, allowing him to jump from a small fisher into the greatest mage the world had ever seen.

That was within my grasp. I just had to find out how it was possible. The energy swirled around me without pause. I tried to find gaps and pauses, where my mana breaking through was strong enough to connect to my soul, drag me out, and grant me far greater power.

That was a long road. I couldn't move no matter how much I raged in my mind, I was stuck, watching, waiting, for what I had no idea.

I tried performing spells and summons. Starting from my most basic spells I slowly worked up, trying to get anything to work, that all seemed in vain, however. Nothing worked.

Nothing. I had no idea how much time had passed, but judging from what Unusu said, I would slowly lose myself and eventually die, if I didn't get something to work and fast.

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I went through my mind, racking it for all it was worth, trying to come with the idea that would work. Nothing came to mind.

The flare of my mana seemed to be getting closer, but that could just be my imagination. Hoping for a change that would never come. I started the process when I was far too weak, my yearning for power and a place in the world led me to death.

That put me in a further place of despair as I desperately worked through all the magic I had at my disposal, again and again. Still, nothing seemed to be working. I still hoped that my visions of my mana growing closer and closer were true.

I still couldn't breathe, but I had to try to replicate my meditation. Going through the process as I usually did help me greatly. I felt calm, even if nothing had actually happened. When I opened myself back up to the maelstrom around me, I was startled by the change. The rolling storms of my mana that broke through the midst of my soul had gotten closer. Green flashes seemed to break out just beyond my touch. I had to keep trying. I wouldn't give up that easily.

For quite some time, I kept my first attempt rolling into my second, that into my third. The cycling continued for what felt like eons. Every cycle I had completed up until this point in my journey as a mage was completed and more.

When I came to once again, still stuck inside the cocoon of my soul, I made a startling discovery, the mana breaking through the shell, was now tinged heavily with the red of a Tier 4 mana base. I was advancing. That would be the fulcrum that would allow me to break past the barrier that was holding me within myself.

The rips and tears of the holes created by my mana grew larger quickly as I continued to meditate, and my mana grew in front of my eyes. The foundation of the basic Tiers of Mages consolidating in front of my eyes. Giving me a foundation, I had never thought possible for myself.

That was the stuff of legends, the path through the ancients training was also filled with stories of achieving a perfect foundation, the pillars of my mana becoming extremely dense, as I broke through the realms for what felt like the second time.

This time with none of the pains I had in my first time around, all the skills and knowledge I learned from each breakthrough consolidated them.

It was an incredible feeling. Seeing the progress so stark in front of my eyes.

The raw force of my mana began to make itself apparent as the cycle of growth continued. The red creeping further and further into the green. Seeing the breakthrough in action through my soul was a mind-bending feeling.

I became very intimate with the process of growth as it continued with great fervor. Slowly building, until it wasn't. It rolled like waves over me one second. I was not expecting the change.

One second I was in the depths of my soul, feeling what true growth was.

The next, I was standing in front of Unusu, more comfortable in myself than I had ever felt before.

For once, my soul felt perfect in my body. Something I hadn't known I was missing until this point,

More than that, I felt power.