There was no need for Alnea to close his eyes when entering his Spirit State. But his body had become too tired from practising the sword moves. Closing his eyes came as an instinct to him. Besides, though he did not need to close his eyes to observe his Spirit, closing them allowed him to observe the world only through the senses of his Spirit. And it was only through the senses of his Spirit that he could observe the Mysteries of his Roots manifesting around his Spirit.
Consequently, concentrating solely on the senses of his Spirit gave him a better perception of those Mysteries. Or so things had been for him. As he felt the undulations of the Mysteries of the Origin Sea surrounding his Spirit though, he came to the conclusion that opening, or closing his eyes would not have changed much in the way of his perception of the Mysteries. Especially when he saw the state that his Spirit was in.
For over a year, he had been taking, and completing Oaths one by one, going on an average of tens of Oaths a day. Though most of those Oaths were relatively harmless, some of them were very dangerous Oaths, that tested the limits of his capabilities. Yet all of those Oaths had one thing in common. All of them were taken, and completed without him getting even a single glimpse of how his Spirit was reacting to their Mysteries. He had felt the manifestation of those Mysteries, but had never seen it happening.
Those were all things of the past though. After reaching the False Rank, he could finally see his Spirit. And what he saw left him completely flabbergasted. His bluish white Spirit, tainted with the golden shade of his Aspect, with a hint of darkness at its centre, was surrounded by glittering golden, and silvery blue lights, that were materialising in his Spirit World from nowhere, and were drifting towards his Spirit, slowly submerging into it, sending waves after waves of cool, and refreshing feeling through his Spirit.
No, not just his Spirit. Those glittering golden, and silvery blue lights were spreading out in his entire Spirit World, bringing him a strange sense of pleasure. It was a pleasure that came from the feeling of his Spirit World itself being strengthened. Yet, that was just a side effect of his Mysteries manifesting around his Spirit. The true effect of his Roots was still the strengthening of his Spirit, and his Roots.
In normal times, this strengthening of Roots was not very apparent. Especially since there was no quantifiable way to measure the strength of Roots, as there was for Spirit Power. But that did not mean that his Oaths were not strengthening his Roots. It may seem like it was because of the Rotten Blood Essence, and the Spirit Forging Art, that he had broken through the bottleneck between the Seed, and False Rank in just ten days, but if not for his Roots, which had been strengthening constantly for the past year, the breakthrough would not have been so easy to achieve.
However, after gaining the ability to see his Spirit, Alnea did not need any other ways to see the strengthening of his Roots. Right in front of his eyes, the glittering golden, and silvery blue lights were falling on the golden, and black thread just as much as they were falling on his Spirit, submerging both of them in the Mysteries of the lineages of Night, and Day. Mysteries of… equivalent exchange? Of determination? Of trust? Of… virtues? And sins? And…
Extreme headache tore apart Alnea from the strange state that he had been pulled into, forcing him out of his Spirit State, making him gasp for air. He could not understand what had happened. He had just been looking at the skies of his Spirit World, which had turned like the night sky of his own world. And in the next moment, he was pulled into that night sky… sky… when did his Spirit World gain a sky? And where was he pulled into? What did he see? He recalled seeing something… something like… like…
Another headache tore Alnea apart from his thoughts, forcing tears out of his eyes. The pain… Why did he feel pain… Why was it so painful… Why… Why… The sky… The lights… The… TR—
“It is alright, Alnea,” his mother said, gently caressing his head, and his cheeks, as he lay curled up on her lap, sobbing, and holding his head. “It is alright. Let go. Stop trying to look at things you cannot see. Those things… Those… Mysteries… Let them be. They are too advanced for you right now. One day, you will master them, and make them yours. But not now. Not at the moment. So, let them be. Let them go. And forget about them. Alright?”
“…Yes, mother,” Alnea barely managed to mumble, as he shifted even closer to his mother, his master, and hugged her waist, burying his face in her arms. “…I don’t need them. I just need you.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Silly child,” his mother said, still gently caressing his head, spreading warmth, and pleasure into his very being. “Why did you do that? Do you not know how dangerous it is to peek at Mysteries beyond your capabilities? It is only because they were the Mysteries of your Roots, and were manifesting in your Spirit World, that you got off with just a headache. Otherwise, the consequences of your actions would have been extremely dire.”
“I did not do anything, mother,” Alnea said, digging deeper into his mother’s embrace. “I just looked around, and before I knew it, those Mysteries were coming to me on their own.”
“That is not how things… Is that so. Well, forget it. You are fine now, and that is all that matters. Just remember to be careful in the future. Alright?”
“…Yes, mother.”
Alnea kept snuggling into his mother, into his master, for a while. Even after the headache had subsided, he still kept holding on to her, refusing to let go, enjoying the peace with his eyes closed. And his master did not say anything either. She just kept caressing his head, and his back, with the gentlest, and the warmest smile in the world—in the Origin Sea. Maybe she too was a manifestation of its Mysteries. The Mystery of love, and care, of warmth, and safety, of mother, and master.
Unfortunately, just like the manifestation of the Mysteries of his Roots, the manifestation of the Mystery of love also had to come to an end. Though he wished to stay in her laps forever, he could not. He still had many things to do. Many things to take care of. Like digging an Aspect Well. Thus, after his Heart was filled to the brim with the love of his master, Alnea opened his eyes, and got up from her laps, taking his seat in front of her, trying not to blush too much. Thankfully, his master did not mention his embarrassing actions.
“Are you alright now?”
“…Yes.”
“Your Spirit Power has recovered completely.”
“…I can feel it.”
“Are you ready to dig the Aspect Well?”
“…I am.”
“Do you remember how to do it?”
“Of course!”
“How large of a well are you going to dig?”
“Five hundred—
His master condensed her Spirit Power into the shape of hands, and flicked his forehead, before asking the same question.
“How large of a well are you going to dig?”
“…How much is required.”
“And how are you going to know that?”
“The Aspect will give me a rough estimate.”
“Do not try to be too ambitious, only to end up hurting yourself. Do you understand?”
“…Yes, master.”
“Which method are you going to use?”
“…Since my Spirit Power is at just a hundred and one units, I think it would be best if I used the instantaneous explosive method, like the one that Yuri normally uses.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Your resolve will be tested the most with that method.”
“I know.”
“Your memories—
“They will come back, master,” Alnea said. “Besides, I don’t just want to cherish memories… I want to make new memories. I want to be strong. I can do this.”
“…Alright. But be careful. Do not try too hard, and hurt yourself in the process. If you fail, then you fail. You can try again after some rest.”
“…I will not fail.”
“You… Forget it. Do as you like.”
“Yes, master.”
Taking a deep breath, Alnea closed his eyes, and entered his Spirit State, before entering his Spirit World once again. This time, however, he did not rush to find his Roots, or observe his Spirit. Instead, after shifting his senses to his Spirit, he reached out, and gently touched the shield on his touch, conveying his intentions to his Aspect. He was there to make it a permanent part of his Spirit World. To make it a permanent part of himself. He was there to dig its home.
Feeling, reading, and understanding his thoughts, the Aspect became excited, and sent back a message of its own, as it began shining in a bright light, that was a mix of gold, and darkness, before detaching itself from his chest, and rushing off into the distance. Into the empty, barren lands of his Spirit world, to find its new home. It was so excited, and eager, that it did not even wait for Alnea to follow. Or to see if he was even following.
At the rather child like behaviour of his Aspect, Alnea could only shake his head, and smile at it. After existing for nigh countless years, it was finally getting its own home. Of course, it would be excited. Besides, this was his Spirit World. Even the Aspect was his. Though he had not dug a well for it yet, the connection between them had already been established. He did not need to follow his Aspect to know where it was. Thus, following the feeling in his Heart, he too sped off into the distance, into the desolate darkness of his Spirit World, to the place where his Aspect had chosen as its home.