Ryker was having a hard time even thinking properly. He was used to being able to ignore all pain and outside factors thanks to his Pure Soul, but right now even relying on it felt difficult. The only explanation for this was that the Corruption was getting to him, and Ryker couldn’t help but sigh.

This wasn’t like him. He had come too far to just give up now. He had suffered through far worse.

‘Fuck off.’

Ryker’s gaze became sharp. He really had been through too much to get to this point. He remembered every moment of those 18 years, every snide remark, every careless whisper, every mark left on his body, every bead of sweat he shed, and every drop of blood he bled.

Ryker grunted and forced himself to sit up. Doing this wouldn’t help him at all, yet he did so anyway. He needed a small win, and right now, to him, just sitting up could be considered a win as well.

He coughed and a mouthful of blood came with it, but he wiped it away almost carelessly. Pressing his back against a wall, he exhaled.

Right now, his mind felt a little bit clearer. He was certain now that most of the despair was coming from the Corruption. It was an odd attack on his body and his mind at the same time. But, so long as he was prepared, he was confident in being able to handle the situation.

Just like he had said. He had been through enough. This wasn’t going to be what stopped him. Most definitely not.

‘That’s right. The trigger for stopping this corruption is killing me. Now, why is that?’

Normally, this wouldn’t be the case. Killing a master was only a gateway to becoming a werebeast. It was only by suffering through the Corruption and making it through to the other side that this change could be fully capitalized on and a truly powerful beast could be born.

But, Ryker could feel that there was a bit of a contingency plan here, one that would help pave the way for Phoenix. At the very least, while their grandfather was a maniac, he wasn’t to the point of really gambling the life of his grandsons. Or, more accurately, he wasn’t gambling on a poor chance.

‘The obvious answer is my Pure Soul. But if I think one layer deeper…’

When a Contract was signed between man and Spirit Beast, there would be a soul exchange of sorts. This was how they were able to communicate.

A piece of Phoenix’s soul was in Ryker’s consciousness.

‘I see. So it should be a case of using a hint of enlightenment to clear the path. By absorbing my soul through killing me, it would be possible for them to not only benefit from my own soul but regain a portion of theirs that they had lost. When these two things came together, there would both be a path and enough energy to follow it. So long as things went smoothly, they would be able to find a path out.

‘The question is, how do I give them the same opportunity? If I give them their soul back, they would lack the energy and I would lose them as a beast companion. It would end up causing backlash to me that would be unacceptable. I obviously can’t sacrifice myself like that or all of this would be for naught.

‘Then…’

The only answer seemed to be the Dao again. Hadn’t Ryker succeeded in giving Wind Phoenix a moment of clarity before? That was the same effect their piece of soul would have had after fusing back with them.

But, Ryker hadn’t allowed it to play out. That was because he had no way of guaranteeing the outcome. In addition, it had only worked on Wind Phoenix at the time, which was technically enough for their grandfather’s wishes, but it wasn’t enough for Ryker’s.

Ryker wanted all three to make it through this, and that meant that he had to do what he had done for Wind Phoenix three times over. If he couldn’t, then there was no point.

Even the method Phoenix’s grandfather wouldn't work for this goal because Ryker obviously only had one soul, and thus it could only provide enough energy for one of them to make it through. From the very beginning, the big guy’s grandfather wanted only one of their minds to make it through. Anything else was unacceptable to him.

‘But now this is another troublesome matter… I don’t have the energy to do what I did then again, and even if I did, once again, there’s no guarantee of it working at all… The worst part was that none of this would fix the lack of energy problem…’

Ryker realized that he was spinning in circles. It was technically a viable path, but there were too many uncertainties. Realizing this, he didn’t waste his time on the thought process anymore. Instead, he felt that he needed a change in thought process, something to give him inspiration.

He turned his attention back to his Circles, watching the Daos interact with the flourishing.

He lost himself, staring at it as though he was waiting for something. He didn’t miss even a single detail, but the longer he watched, the less he felt like he was going to be able to find something.

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The Corruption was too strong, and the Dao was too weak.

‘Just what is this…’

Theoretically, Ryker had a strong understanding of what Corruption was. But theory was only one thing… what was it really?

An energy couldn’t exist without a purpose, and why did it have so much… character, almost like it was a living, breathing thing?

Ryker had never heard of an energy capable of assaulting the mind and changing one’s thoughts and actions, but Corruption could do it. Why was that?

‘The Dao is capable of doing a great many things… it can hide me from the senses of others… it can help me heal… bolstering attacks is the weakest of what it does. Could it affect the mind of others if I tried?’

Ryker frowned, wondering about this seriously.

He wanted to know if maybe Corruption was just a cancerous form of the Dao, bundled up and twisted laws that acted as the opposite side of the coin.

The more Ryker thought about it, the more he felt that that might be the case. But even so, he was just spitballing ideas, trying to see what might stick. He wasn’t even sure if he was correct or not.

‘But what if I was? What would that change?’

Ryker began to consolidate some things, remembering a few of the research papers that he had read. His thoughts ran deep.

‘Well, if it really was just the antithesis of the Dao, then it would make sense that the Dao could counter it. But that still only feels like one aspect of things. Could it be comprehended?’

Ryker shook his head. That didn’t seem to be the case either. Or else, being able to confront it at so close a proximity, with his talent, he would have long seen right through it. So why was it that he hadn’t grasped anything else?

Maybe it was a bit cocky of him to think, but Ryker truly believed that the fact he had yet to see through anything meant that it was either very likely impossible or it would need more time than he had. Either way, it was a no-go.

‘Why does it…’

Ryker’s gaze suddenly flashed.

Chaos.

Now he knew where his thoughts were coming from and why he had immediately jumped to the idea that Corruption might very well be an antithetical Dao. It was because he had seen something similar before.

This sort of fighting against the Dao and breaking down energies… wasn’t that what he had seen from Prometheus’ unique Spirit Energy?

Ryker had casually named it Chaos Energy because it seemed to break down everything it came into contact with. It was the perfect fusion of Water and Fire, and it displayed miraculous abilities that even he had yet to see all the way.

In fact, it was so confusing that Ryker decided to give Prometheus his Dao of Sealing instead of trying to comprehend a Dao of Chaos. Even Ryker didn’t claim that he could grasp such a complex Dao.

But now, he was seeing shades of it within Corruption.

‘Could it be that Corruption is the true Dao of Chaos? Or maybe it’s a mutated, or weaker, or maybe incomplete form of it?’

The more Ryker observed it, the more he felt that it was more the latter. He had seen the violet fox’s half-cultivated Dao Seed. He knew what the real Dao of Chaos was supposed to look like, at least in part.

So, this wasn’t the real Dao of Chaos… but it also wasn’t far from the real thing either… or was it very far?

Honestly, Ryker couldn’t tell. But he felt that this was important at least in part. Could it be that…

Ryker’s eyes narrowed and a flash of inspiration hit him.

He sat in silence for a long while, his thoughts churning. The situation in his dantian began to change.

First, he separated the Dao of Sealing from Prometheus and transferred it to Queen to sustain her for the moment. This allowed him to transfer the perfected Dao of Water over to Prometheus.

There was a thrumming change that occurred in his dantian, but he wasn’t nearly finished yet.

He brought the Dao of Water and its new Circles near Phoenixes.

At that moment, before Ryker had even managed to do anything, the four elements, Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth began to resonate with one

another. Ryker thought that they would clash and repel, but somehow, under the influence of Corruption, they seemed to forcefully organize themselves into a weird sort of Order.

No, it wasn’t just Corruption, but it was also Prometheus’ existence.

Ryker had long since had Prometheus absorb the half-complete Dao Seed of the violet fox. Now, it seemed to be having some real, tangible effects.

The four Daos resonated with one another, and to Ryker’s surprise, more changes began to occur.

Two more sets of nine Circles made their way over. The Corruption began to grow to them, but they were also just as easily converted into a far more docile form than usual.

Ryker hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he allowed this cancer to continue growing. His intuition was telling him that this needed to happen.

Like this, he watched as the Dao of Water, the Dao of Fire, the Dao of Wind, and the Dao of Earth separated, each one occupying nine Circles all to their own.

Two sets of these nine Circles circulated around Phoenix a lot more than they did Prometheus. One set divided its time between the two with just as much happiness near either party. And the final one only seemed to want to spend time around Prometheus.

It was easy for Ryker to decipher them even if his Daos hadn’t been infused with them.

The first two were the Dao of Earth and the Dao of Wind. The middle one was the Dao of Fire. The last one was the Dao of Water.

HUM.

Suddenly, the last of the Corruption was extinguished.

Ryker was taken aback, never having expected it to be so easy. Was that really it?

The 36 Circles became entirely separate. Rather than forming stacks like they did in the past, they separated into a complex array, lines of chaotic darkness connecting them.

Prometheus and Phoenix became supported by this array and their power began to grow.

Prometheus’ bright violet color became a hint darker. In the end, it looked like a bright purple and black flame were dancing and intertwining with one another, forming its chain body.

Phoenix’s changes were even more shocking. There was a rumble and the big guy only began to grow even bigger. Their pristine white feathers became pitch black, but their white scales seemed to only shine even brighter.

If Phoenix had already been 20 meters tall before, now they were easily more than double that height.

Even in their slumbering form, Ryker felt a quaking in his heart.

He subconsciously knew that now, the progress of Prometheus would likely be linked with Phoenix’s.

Finally, Ryker’s body collapsed and he fell into a deep sleep.

He no longer had to worry about Corruption, and the last issue of Temporal Weave Spiritual Resonance was resolved completely. In fact, he could even use this to heal his mother.

The gains far outweighed the losses. And right now…

He just wanted to rest.