Condensation, dispersion, manifestation, clash, arousal, and rebirth, the six phases of the Art of Spirit Rebirth. Of them, Alnea had already completed four of them. Or rather, he had completed three of them, while the fourth one completed itself. For the fifth phase though, he had to wrest control from the Mysteries, and complete it on his own. Yet regaining control of his Spirit was not easy. Especially since he could not even feel anything about his Spirit, except the pain, and strange sensations.
Fortunately, along with informing him about how to manifest the Mysteries of the lineages of Creation, and Destruction, the memories that the scroll had imprinted in his mind also had information regarding this phase. Thus, following those instructions, Alnea reached towards the different sensations that he was feeling. The sensation of being bathed in fire, of being drowned in water, of turning into dust, of becoming the wind that carried that dust, and of becoming the lightning that struck down on that dust.
He could not feel his Spirit, but these strange sensations kept tormenting him over, and over. Rather, it was because these sensations were flooding his senses that he failed to feel his Spirit in the first place. Still, that he could not feel his Spirit did not mean that his Spirit had ceased to exist. Or that he had no control over it. It was just that his control was not very apparent, at least not to him. After all, he could not even observe his Spirit. But what he was about to do had no requirement of observing his Spirit. All he needed were the strange sensations…
Fire, the epitome of Destruction. A fire, if strong enough, could burn through anything in the world. Even Oren. At the same time, fire was also the epitome of Creation. Because in Destruction, lay Creation. What was destroyed through fire, most often than not, just changed its form. Fire alone, however, could neither be the representation of Creation, nor Destruction. Because Fire was just a beginning, and an end.
Beyond Fire, was Water. Not a force one would often correlate with either Destruction, or Creation. Yet it was an essential part of both. For without the base of Water, how could anything be created? Without the support of Water, how could the world exist? And without the terror of Water, how could one face Destruction?
Drowning in water… that was just the softest ways of Destruction. There were other, more brutal ways of Destruction that Water had. Even the all encompassing Earth could not stand against the terror of Water. However, that did not mean that Earth was docile. Often times than not, the Destruction caused by Earth was much more devastating the Destruction caused by Fire, and Water combined. Mountains could collapse at a moment’s notice. Even the brightest of lights of Enn could be swallowed up by some Rifts, and valleys. And if it was really bent on destruction, then it could even erupt with molten rocks, and flames.
Yet, just as how much Destruction it could cause, Earth was also the element that showed the greatest variety of Creation. From lush, vibrant forests, to plains, and fields, stretching for miles, and beyond. From trees, that could tower thousands of metres, to the small bugs, that existed within the roots of that tree. Earth a cradle of Creation. And of Life.
But just Earth itself was not enough to create Life. It needed the help of other forces. Forces like Wind. The messenger of Creation. The harbinger of Life. Wherever winds could go, Life could exist. But Winds were not just about bringing Life. Along with Life, sometimes, they also brought Destruction. And as if they were not happy with bringing Destruction by themselves, they even helped other forces to bring more Destruction. Whether it was Fire, Water, or even Earth. When they met together, and decided to cause Destruction, then stopping them would become increasingly difficult.
Only Lightning remained aloof. It did not accept help even from the Wind. Rather, it received the greatest obstruction from the Wind. But it still remained aloof, coming, and going as it wished, wreaking Destruction in its wake. However, even in that Destruction, lay the seed of creation. A seed of Life. Not one that people could see normally. But the Seed of Life did exist. Just as it existed within his Spirit.
Reaching—on a metaphorical level, with his thoughts, and imagination— towards the depths of his Spirit, where the perception of Lightning—tingling, and jerking sensations, along with a sensation of being burnt— was the strongest, Alnea imagined connecting it with his Roots, the golden, and black thread. It was hard, considering all the pain, and weird sensations, causing him to fail many times. But he persevered, and held on, almost hypnotising himself to think of the thread.
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Whether it was because of his perseverance, or because his Roots took pity on him, he did not know, but somehow, after a while, the thread finally connected to the part of his Spirit where the seed of Life was. With that, his work was finally done. Next, all he had to do was to wait. Wait for the Mysteries to come. Fortunately, this time, the Mysteries were not of the aggressive kind. Heeding his summons, the Mysteries gently slipped past the barrier of his Domain, and followed along with his Roots, before manifesting around his Spirit.
No, not around his Spirit. Rather, they manifested within his Spirit. Within the small seed of Life that was almost on the verge of breaking apart. Thankfully, the Mysteries saved it in time, and germinated it, before letting it take root in his Spirit. In his battered, and weary Spirit, which just like the seed, was on the verge of breaking apart. The seed, of course, would not let that happen. And neither would the Mysteries. Through the roots of the seed of Life, the Mysteries of Life began spreading in his Spirit.
Consequently, the pain began subsiding ever so slowly, as did the strange sensations flooding his senses. Bit by bit, they lessened in intensity, and numbers, allowing him to gain a hazy sense of his Spirit, and his surroundings. Of his Aspect which was churning violently, thrashing against the walls of its well, as it watched him suffer in pain. When Alnea saw its frantic actions though, even though the pain had not completely subsided yet, he ended up smiling beyond his control.
Reaching towards his Aspect with his thoughts, he consoled it, reassuring it that he was alright. That there was nothing wrong with him. It was only then that the Aspect stopped churning so violently. It was still not completely easy though, and kept rippling in its home, observing his actions. Shaking his head, Alnea went back to observing his Spirit, and how it was faring. Most of the pain had already subsided, leaving just the strange sensations, which soon faded away as well.
In their place, a warm, and gentle feeling filled his Spirit, healing it, making it go through a cycle of Rebirth. Obviously, at some point, the Mysteries of the lineage of Creation, and Destruction had been forced back to the Origin Sea. But the Mysteries of lineage of Life remained, making his Spirit glow in a greenish white light.
Unfortunately, aside from the fact that it was helping him heal his tattered Spirit, strengthening it in the process, he could not sense much else from the Mystery. If he wished to comprehend the Mystery, he would have to do it within the Origin Sea itself. And even within the Origin Sea, considering that his Roots were from the lineages of Day, and Night, comprehending Mysteries from the lineage of Life would not be easy.
After all, not everyone could be like his master, comprehending Mysteries from multiples lineages. Even he did not know how she did that. Considering her omnipotence, and omniscience though, it was something that could be expected from her. As he had thought, his master was the best…
Lost in his thoughts, by the time Alnea came to his senses, the pain had finally faded away, while the bits of the strange sensations that remained were like phantom experiences, memories of the things that he had went through. And soon, even those faded away. Thus, with nothing left to do, the Mysteries of Life also took their leave, returning from whence they had come. And with that, the first round of the Art of Spirit Rebirth finally came to an end.
His session of Forging his Spirit, however, had just begun. He still had about seventy five units of Spirit Power left. That meant, around three more rounds of the Art of Spirit Rebirth… Just thinking about it was making him shiver. Even the hesitation that he had faced in the beginning came back stronger than ever. Once was enough. He could already feel his Spirit strengthen a little. He could go back to his master, and tell her that he had succeeded. That he had—
Ran away? That he was scared? That he was not strong enough to bear the pain? No, he would not do that. He refused to bow down to mere pain. He refused to let his Heart break. He was Alnea Oathkeeper. And her was going to walk on the path of the strong. Even if that path was filled with pain, he would not cower. He would not back down.
With a determined Heart, Alnea stopped hesitating, and reached towards the Origin Sea once again, borrowing more Oren from it. As for the Oren that he had borrowed before, it had already been used up in supplying power to sustain the Mysteries. What he was using was not the Three Turn Spirit Forging Art, after all. It was the Art of Spirit Rebirth. An Art designed to give a complete rebirth to his Spirit. An Art, that carried the hope of his future.