Location: < A pit cell within 'Uggrock's Den' > - One of many caverns found throughout the upper stratums of the netherworld.

POV.: Nameless silver-haired demon larva.

My eye's never left Amethyst as it repositioned itself, getting ready to resume practicing the 'Plutonic Id-Vesture Technique'.

Nor did my gaze stray away as Amethyst began the mind-numbingly slow process of dragging the ambient aether around the demon core I gave it towards the signal drawn in my blood on its chest.

This was the most important step of my experiment. This is what it had been leading up too. What happened next would be the make-or-break point of my entire experiment.

My anticipation had almost reached a boiling point when the first streams of aether made their way into the signal. Then as Amethyst had refined its first aether into Id-Qi, it felt as if I could feel the Id-Qi Amethyst created as if it was my own.

I was almost overwhelmed by the impulsive urge to test if I could also control it as if it was my own like I suspected I could despite knowing that by doing so without warning I threatened to disturb Amethyst's consideration or worse yet harm Amethyst.

However, the urge was quickly forgotten when I realized that I could still somehow "see" Amethyst's Id-Qi even after it had made it through the signal and into its body.

For a while nothing much happened, as Amethyst attempted the following steps and it, like I had kept failing to condense the Id-Qi and would have to refine more each time. However, that changed the moment Amethyst finally managed to condense even a single droplet.

Since, at the moment Amethyst condensed its first droplet of Id-Qi, I sensed a connection so thin that it couldn't even be seen connecting the Id-Qi to me. Somehow I could tell that while I could cut off the connection from my side without leaving a trace, this wouldn't be possible on Amethyst's side since the connection and the condensed Id-Qi were practically inseparable, as if they where the same thing.

However, what took most of my attention was not the connection itself but what it did for me. A small, admittedly very small, fraction of Amethyst's power was iterated and given to me.

Effectively the more Amethyst used the Plutonic Id-Vesture Technique and the stronger Amethyst got, the stronger I would get.

While on my side this strength probably had limits and would only manifest through the Id-Vesture that I'm creating in my mana heart, it was still an unexpected and very welcome boon.

While I enjoyed the increase in strength this would bring me, especially in the long term, I thought about whether or not it was time to continue on with the next and arguably most dangerous step of the experiment.

Eventually, as Amethyst had finally finished transferring her first droplet of aura from its core to its heart, I decided that there was no time like the present. And so I quietly cleared my throat before whispering to Amethyst, "Hey I am going to try something that might hurt, but try and bear with it, but if the pain becomes unbearable tell me."

In response Amethyst silently nodded it's head, a look of resolution on its face.

Then I motioned to Amethyst to move in front of me, and when it had hesitantly sat down, I took its claws in my own and stared into its eyes with my aether sight.

Then with my mind, I concentrated on my link to Amethyst's drops of Id-Qi and slowly, I tried to control it through the link. However, seeing a look of pain on Amethyst's face I quickly stopped.

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For a few seconds, I thought about the resistance I had felt trying to move the Id-Qi when an idea occurred to me. What if Amethyst helped with the process, obviously Amethyst couldn't know what I was trying to do or else it wouldn't work but if all it did was follow my guidance that should work.

So I proposed this to Amethyst. After taking turns talking about it, as I was explaining what I was asking it to do and when I was finally confident that Amethyst understood we decided to give it a go.

And so it was that we were once more sitting on the stone ground of the pit, facing each other. Holding each other's claws in our own we stared into the other's eyes.

Then I started once more. But this time with Amethyst's help there was no resistance and I was able to easily move the droplet of Id-Qi toward a strand of mana that left Amethyst.

Unlike the link that connected me to Amthyst's droplet of Id-Qi, this strand of mana was an immaculately crafted chain of mana and was clear evidence of a much more advanced control over aether then I had even thought possible when I was first practicing with aether.

Amethyst wasn't the only larva in this pit with one of these thin chains of mana connected to them, since each of them, including myself, was connected to one of these mana chains. However, mine, unlike the others was not in pristine condition but rather it had many fractures and even a few broken links.

From what I had gathered these chains were the link through which Uggrock's domination skill worked, and as the chains were lodged into both our physical bodies and spiritual ones, simply dislodging in it was nigh impossible.

So I had came up with this idea, why not use the Id-Qi to cut through the chains? Somehow I knew on some instinctual level that of all the variations of aether, Id-Qi was uniquely suited to protect oneself from mental domination skills like those of Uggrock. In part because they were probably created by the same entity.

So using my own Id-Qi I had found that although it was painful I could indeed cut my own chain, although this was only possible because the chain was already damaged since otherwise Uggrock's domination skill would have stoped me from trying in the first place.

But when I had tried to use my own Id-Qi to cut one of the chains connected to the other demon larvae nothing had happened. So I had concluded that it must be your own Id-Qi that was necessary to cut the chains, however, none of them would have been able to do it on their own because the Uggrock's domination skill would have stopped them before they even tried.

Hence my current experiment in using someone else's Id-Qi to cut and damage the chain connected to them. Here's hoping it worked I like I hoped it would, since even having one other demon larva that wasn't under Uggrock's control had many possible uses.

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Location: < Ground floor of the 'Temple of Birth' > - One of a few such places scattered through the isolated corners of the lower heavens.

POV.: Marut, and adult lesser angel sorcerer.

Marut found himself suspended in a realm that existed between consciousness and the ethereal landscapes of dreams. He floated weightlessly, a mere specter in the tapestry of his own subconscious.

Creeping out from his dreams came shadows outlining monstrous creatures of light that flickered at the edges of his vision, a haunting presence that spurred him into erratic flight in his unconsciousness.

His dream self soared through the inky expanse. He could feel the rush of wind against his face as he distanced himself from the pursuing nightmares. The monsters, twisted amalgamations of holy light, gnashed their teeth and clawed at the air in frustration, their malevolence a mere echo in the recesses of his mind.

As he flew, Marut's dreams slowly shifted until with a feeling not unlike breaking through the clouds he ended up in a sanctuary of comfort and repose. He found himself nestled in a cocoon of warmth, surrounded by soft pillows and gentle whispers of a serene melody.

The once ominous pursuit faded into a distant memory, replaced by a profound sense of safety. Then dread began to fill his mind once more, he was missing something. The charge he vowed to protect! It wasn't there in his arms like it should be! Where had it gone?

As his dreamlike self thought these things a distant sound reached Marut's ears – a tender cry that would have worried beyond belief like it had done so many times before had he not heard something else as well. The cries were accompanied by another voice, one that spoke in soothing tones, offering comfort.

Marut lingered in this realm of dreams, suspended between the realms of reality and the fantastical landscapes he unconsciously conjured.

In the hazy cocoon of slumber, Marut felt a subtle shift. A realization settled upon him like a gentle breeze – it was time to awaken. The dream, with its vivid tapestry of emotions and experiences, began to unravel.