From Creation comes Destruction, and from Destruction comes Creation. That was the cycle of Origin. And the basic concept on which the Art of Spirit Rebirth was based. Not just the concept of rebirthing his Spirit, but also the concept of how to use Mysteries to attract each other. After all, whether it was Glyph Arrays, or Arcanas, only those which could make the Mysteries cooperate with each other to bring out an effect greater than the sum of their parts could break through the barrier of Perfect Grade, and reach the realms of Transcendent or Divine Grade.

Since his master had said that the Art of Spirit Rebirth could match Divine Grade Arcanas, then it was only natural for it to use the cooperation of Mysteries to bring out their best effects. The problem was, how to make sure that the Mysteries cooperate with each other. He could use the Oren threads to contain the Mysteries from the lineage of Destruction, but what about the Mysteries from the lineage of Creation? How was he to make sure that it would cooperate with the Mysteries from the lineage of Destruction, and not just simply ravage his Spirit?

This was where another concept came into play. Everything in the world has an innate natural tendency to fight for its survival. Even his Spirit. So, after sensing the presence of the Mysteries of the lineage of Destruction inside itself, it was only natural for his Spirit to react to it. The degree of reaction though, depended on the thread that it perceived from the Mysteries. If it was only one small part of his Spirit that he had infused the Mysteries from the lineage of Destruction, then his Spirit would not have reacted so wildly. But that would mean that it would not have had the capability to contain the Mysteries of the lineage of Creation.

Thus, whether it was to gain a complete rebirth of his Spirit, or whether to make the Mysteries cooperate with each other, Alnea was left with no choice but to disperse the thousands of Oren threads, all carrying the Mysteries of the lineage of Destruction, to every part of his Spirit. If he were to lose control of them, the Mysteries would not react very kindly to him. And so, his Spirit was finally forced to react, vibrating in a strange way, probably to negate the aftermaths of the effects of Mysteries.

Coincidentally, or rather, as a consequence of deliberate design, he needed this exact vibration to summon the Mysteries from the lineage of Creation. Hence, using his Spirit as a source, he made the golden, and black thread connected to it beat with the same rhythm, sending his summons to the Origin Sea. And the Origin Sea did not disappoint him. In just mere moments, the Mysteries from the lineage of Creation had already responded to him. Ignoring the barriers of his Domain, and the world, they came to his Spirit, ready to engulf it in one go.

However, just like what had happened with the Mysteries from the lineage of the Destruction, the Mysteries from the lineage of Creation stopped just before pouncing on him, getting attracted by the strange rhythm of his Spirit. And in the next moment, before he knew it, the Mystery had already attached itself to his Spirit, beating with the same rhythm as his Spirit did. Both of them, out of his control.

That in itself would not have been a problem, but there was another set of Mysteries inside his Spirit, beating with the exact opposite rhythm. And so ended the manifestation phase of the Art of Spirit Rebirth, giving way to the phase of the clash of the Mysteries. A phase he had no control of, and the phase he feared the most. Letting two Mysteries, even if they were just Initial Stage False Mysteries, which he had no control over, clash with each other inside his Spirit just did not sound right to him. Especially since what was about to follow…

It was already done. He had already come this far. There was no turning back. Besides, he had his master by his side. What did he have to be afraid of? Reminding himself of that fact over, and over again, Alnea let the Mysteries do their work, waiting for the aftermath to come. And as if they were eager to not let him wait for long, or maybe because they just did not like each other, the two sets of Mysteries began increasing the intensity with which they were beating, as if taunting each other, only to end up getting even more riled up with each other’s taunts, increasing their intensity even more than before.

Soon, their intensity grew to such a level, that Alnea finally started feeling their effects. The small threads, which had been nothing more than inconvenience, giving him some tingling sensations, turned into searing hot points of needles, that kept oscillating within his Spirit, tearing it apart from the inside. Meanwhile, on the outside, the Mysteries from the lineage of Creation were not being soft on him either, forcefully distorting the shape of his Spirit itself, making him feel as if he was being crushed, and stretched beyond his limits at the same time.

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By this point, Alnea had lost all his senses. He could not even see his Spirit, or how it was doing. But the Mysteries still did not stop. Instead, they picked up their intensities even more, and more, until the influence of their manifestations finally intersected with each other. For a moment, silence reigned, returning his peace to him. Only for a moment though. Right in the next moment, the Mysteries roared with a yet unprecedented intensity, before—

Lying on the bed of grass in front big sis Serena’s mansion, Alnea was staring at the brilliant night sky above his head. He had always found the view of the night sky beautiful. Especially the stars… They had a certain charm about them that he could not ignore. However, the night sky from the gardens of the core city was even more mesmerising. And peaceful. If he just laid there, quietly staring at the sky, then for a few moments, he could even forget that just a few hundred metres away from him, the guards of the Lotus clan were patrolling the city, keeping an eye out for any suspicious individual.

They, of course, did not come near him. They did not dare to. After all, with his master by his side, how could the Lotus clan dare to make any trouble for him? Rather, they should count themselves as blessed by Goddess Ilea if he did not go make any troubles for them. Not that he was interested in making any troubles. He was just enjoying the night sky with his master. And with Yuri, and Cecilia. And big sis Serena, and his mother. All the people he loved, and wished to be with. All the people he cared about. His Heart. His—

“You should wake up, Alnea,” his master said, breaking him away from his thoughts, bringing his attention to herself.

“Wake up? But I am already awake.”

Hearing his answer, his master shook her head, and said, “Your time is running out.”

“…What are you talking about, master?”

“You know what I am talking about,” his master said. “I… and everyone else would be sad if anything were to happen to you.”

“Why would anything happen to me? We are just sitting here—

“It was my fault,” his master, sighing, as she shook her head. “The Art… Its effects on you are greater than I thought it would be. You are not ready. At least not yet.”

“I…”

“I was too greedy. Too demanding. We should have started with something less… intense. Less… demanding.”

“No,” Alnea said, biting his lips, with determination flashing in his eyes. “It was not for you fault master… And I will prove that to you. I will prove it with my actions. I will show you that a mere Art is not enough to defeat me.”

“But you—

“I will do it!” Alnea yelled, and closed his eyes, biting his lips to wake himself up. It was painful. Even if he knew that it was all just his imagination, it was still painful. But it was not as painful as seeing the pain, and the regret in his master’s eyes. It was not as painful as seeing the loss, and the betrayal in Yuri’s, and Cecilia’s eyes. It was not as painful as seeing the empty eyes of big sis Serena, and his master. It was not as painful as having his Heart broken. And it was not as painful as the pain that the clash of Mysteries had brought him.

Following the explosion of the Oren Threads inside his Spirit, the Mysteries from the lineages of Creation, and Destruction had changed the nature of their clash, taking his Spirit itself as their battlefield. Fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning, all five of the elements raged inside his Spirit, as their inherent nature of destruction, and creation clashed with each other, making him bear all kinds of sensations.

No, it was not just these five… there were other sensations too. Sensations that came from the basic concept of creation, and destruction, and their clash. A sensation of void… of nothingness… The Art of Spirit Rebirth… it was too dreadful. The Three Turns Spirit Forging Art was nothing in front of it. And so was any other pain that he had faced in his life.

So great was the pain from experiencing the clash of the Mysteries that Alnea did not even have any senses of his body. And except for the strange sensations filling his Spirit, he could not feel anything else about his Spirit either. The pain had drowned out everything about him. Compared to the dread of seeing his master blame herself though, it was still a little lacking.

The pain may have been enough to bring down his body, and Spirit, but it was not enough to win over his Heart. Thus, while his Spirit was bathing in the sensations of the aftermath between the clash of Creation, and Destruction, Alnea gathered his Heart to resist against that pain, and proceed with the next step of the Art of Spirit Rebirth. Arousal.