Chương 66: Dust Core

"Are you not going to train me anymore?" Arval asked.

"I can spare an hour for you," Liesel said. She squeezed the water out of her hair. She had taken a bath in the fake river after Auram complained about it.

"I feel you should understand what I am doing. That is all." She had explained to Arval about her intentions and why it might be a little more dangerous than Arval's own experience of forming the Condensed Core. She tried to keep most of her explanation vague to the best of her abilities. Her proactiveness might mean nothing, or it could be enough to sway the Primordial Heart's intention of ruining her Materiality core if it had one. Arval's sympathy was part of the deal.

She didn't imagine cutting their agreements short, while denying Arval's every invitation to show an interesting spot that was mundane in the real world, would be pleasant for anyone. She did emphasize that it was a secret between them, and not even Auram knew it. It was to be kept only between them. Auram believed this would be enough for Arval to keep their conversation from Ahura's ears.

In the last week or so, Liesel had poisoned Arval's mind with the knowledge of the human world, and many of Rakamel Child's false understandings had been rectified for the better. It might ruin Arval's life in the closed environment of the Gurvantha Caravan, but that was a price Arval was willing to accept.

"If we can't have conversations anymore... you can show me the real world," Arval said after a minute of silence.

"Once we get out." Her tone was reserved and very small. There was a growing attachment there too, which was bound to happen in this situation. Liesel blinked. The thought had never crossed Liesel's mind.

"You will have the opportunity to see the real world." Auram yanked a strand of Liesel's hair.

"Say yes." She whispered angrily.

"I do not think we will have that opportunity. By the time you have the chance to leave your Caravan, I would have left the entire Iron League. We would be decades apart by distance, as I will return to Inceptius as soon as possible." Or if she found a Wraith Shaman who could purge the Ashdust in her soul, that could be her goal. For now, she was unsure. For some reason, those words seemed to sadden Arval greatly. Auram argued that Liesel shouldn't have been so blunt.

There was a time, a long time, to have this conversation. Liesel believed that was precisely why she had to be blunt. With only a few people to interact with, a grieving child was bound to create an attachment, so she wanted to make sure the reality lingered in Arval's mind. A part of Liesel, not a small one, wanted to push the child away. Attachments were painful. They were devastating. Liesel had stayed away from them. She understood how important the distancing was.

And yet she couldn't see her past as the ideal one to follow. It seemed like a harrowing one for someone so in need of support as Arval was. Once that conversation was over, Liesel decided to take the leap that night. The Nebulous Core was a transitory state of the Materiality Core. Usually, an ascendant only had to work a bit on the nebulous state of their core to push the density of the Materiality a little farther, and it would start the process of condensing on its own.

Liesel's plan, however, was a bit different. From a Control and Perception standpoint, she was far farther than a usual Ascendant attempting it would be. It gave her leeway to alter the density of the Materiality Core. Since her Soul Form was too small to accommodate a large Materiality Core, Liesel wanted to squeeze her core into a tiny space with all the might she could muster. And then keep adding Materiality to that density.

She began by squeezing two strands of viscous Materiality and twisted them around one another. It was a motion she had grown comfortable using. In a matter of seconds, she reached the point where she had to expand mental effort to keep twisting them into a single thread. Of course, threads themselves were immaterial. It was, in one way, her method of refining the Materiality. When she had formed the Nebulous Core, once the thread had twined into one, Liesel had pushed them back into the blob of energy.

This time, however, she kept applying an increasing degree of pressure. Soon the surface of the smooth, translucent state of the Materiality began to deform. Its surface bubbled like skin scalded by the boiling water. She even felt that pain to an extent. Her Soul Veins seemed to have formed a connection to her Nebulous Core, which was understandable given how long her transitory period had lasted. She didn't relent. She had never heard of someone who had applied too much pressure and destroyed their Core.

It was almost an impossible proposition, as Materiality was indestructible energy. It could only change form and become denser. The pain she felt was like a mild laceration on the side of her temple, nothing too grievous that would've given her an indication that she might be pushing her core a bit too far. Finally, after almost ten minutes, the strand shattered like glass and vaporized instantly from her Soul Form. There was only dust... something akin to Ashdust. A panic slithered its way into her mind.

She didn't dare to touch it. And even used her Control to push it out of her Soul Form. [Materiality Lost: -19] The system pinged as soon as the dust escaped her soul. Liesel blinked. Was that dust Materiality? There was only one way for her to figure it out. She reached out to her aching Core and pulled out another pair of tendrils, attempting the same thing again. This time she was bolder, aware of the position she wanted to reach. After another ten minutes, she destroyed it again.

Her temple was pounding by then. Even the corner of her left eye seemed to be pulsing. She observed the dust again. It was almost similar to Ashdust, but not quite. If not for her Soul Sense, she wouldn't have been able to tell it existed. It felt nothing like Materiality that Liesel was aware of, and her Materiality Sense couldn't notice it to any extent, even when it was focused entirely on her Soul Form. She drew another tendril, and carefully gathered the dust back into her Nebulous Core.

[Materiality 222/222] This time, her Materiality capacity hadn't been affected. Liesel exhaled. Her heart was thumping. But she didn't continue, even though she desperately wanted to. Allowing her mind to rest and letting the possibility simmer was an option, after all. And she wanted to talk to Auram about this before she took a drastic step. —------"Nope," Auram shook her head. She was nodding with her arms folded.

"That's not a thing I have heard of."

"I created it."

"The Ashdust is something entirely different as far as I understand. It is the rot of the magic itself. It's born from the carcass of the God of Ashes, who was said to be immortal. Kind of ironic." There was no irony. The Ashdust lived in the misery of millions across the Hallowed Realms. It was far more immortal in its act than the act of a divine could have hoped for. Liesel hummed. She couldn't observe the Dust anymore. It was hidden at the center of her Nebulous Core.

"Then, what did I create?" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"I don't know."

"I was thinking," Liesel considered for a moment. She didn't want Auram arguing against her idea. At the same time, she wanted to share it through someone who understood the Materiality better than she did.

"As the dust takes no space, and they have such high density to hold almost ten percent of my total capacity, if I were to, instead of forming a Condensed Core, just make a solid dust core, how would that work?"

"Like what you extract from demons?"

"Those are very different from an Ascendant's Core," Liesel nodded.

"The dust remains in my Soul Form. And I have exhausted my capacity once, so the Materiality can be employed just the same, regardless of the state."

"Yeah, you draw only the energy from the Condensed Core too, not the actual Core itself... but I am not sure I have heard of a solid core. It's not a thing."

"Does the Custodian have any input?" Auram waited for a moment, and then shook her head.

"He says nothing. Either because it is such a grave mistake that he feels anything he says would give it away. On the other hand, it could equally be a great boon."

"The Materiality should not be impossible to access. It might be my unusually high Control Attribute... but I don't think it is high enough to veer into an unforeseen territory," Liesel said. On paper, her Control was high for her stage, but they were not unfathomable numbers. The thirties were where most mages sat initially.

"That's where I have a hypothesis," Auram said.

"Did your Control Attribute rise at all in the past week? You have been pushing it to its boundary every minute you are awake."

"It has not," Liesel said, frowning.

"But it should have risen by at least one point." Neither had her Mental Fortitude, which was even more odd. She had experienced so much in the past few months, and all those experiences were extreme. Why would she not gain any attributes for it either?

"I don't know why, but I think that's where the disconnect exists. Your actual attributes might be beyond what it says. Your control definitely is. I cannot apply enough pressure on Materiality to break it. That feels impossible, and I can guarantee my manipulation is beyond mere mages."

"Crossing a threshold, I would have access to different abilities..." Liesel frowned. She focused her mind on the Materiality around Auram, what lingered in the latent state in the air. The Third Threshold's ability was very simple. It would give you the ability to manipulate the dormant Materiality without any skill or trait. It was an expansion of the ability to impose control on the Manifested Materiality outside the body. Liesel felt a faint resistance, which was a bad sign in her mind.

It meant there was a friction between her reality and what the System seemed to say. But why? She gathered it, and her sense felt the Materiality solidifying in the air. She pushed it in Auram's direction like it was a gust of wind. Of course, it was not enough to do anything to the spirit, except for bringing out a somewhat curious expression on her face.

"That's what I do." Liesel raised her brow. Auram grabbed the air, and twirled it around her like a curtain. For a moment, she had vanished from all of Liesel's perception.

"See, using Materiality outside my body for magic. I don't have much inside me."

"That, too, is a unique spirit feature. Even a mage can't use Materiality in a way you just did. If it were a skill, it would be a very specific Archetype Skill, a rare archetype at that." Auram was glowing with pride about that.

"Yeah, I am not gonna downplay my unique powers." Liesel was smiling along for some reason.

"It was Imposition, a Control Ability I have gained from clearing the third threshold. But it says I am at twenty-eight right now." But why was the System still not reconciling the differences? She had even crossed the threshold unknowingly and was aware of it. That should work as a trigger. Unfortunately, Liesel didn't have enough understanding of the Fourth Threshold to attempt that ability. But she believed she was over that.

"Don't look at me for an answer." Auram shook her head.

"Your System's too old. Should look for a repairer...?"

"A Seer, you mean?" Liesel nodded.

"I am somewhat worried about this..." Liesel wondered if this was really something that she would have to consult the Seer for. He was oathbound, as he had stated many times. He might know something about it. And she could also unlock the title. For now, Liesel decided she would move forward with her plan. Gather Materiality, break them past the concentration point, and then gather the dust. It would be a very different state of the Materiality Core than she should have.

"I also think you are able to draw Materiality from the dust because of your certainly higher Control... and to be honest, neither you nor I have met an advanced Ascendant. Well, except for the Custodian, and he doesn't share his secrets."

"Are you suggesting this is something that Ascendants at higher stages actually do? Beyond the Establishing Dominion?"

"I don't know, honestly. I can't do all the weird and painful things to my soul like the Ascendant races. Like I have lived a hundred times your lifetime, and you might very soon fly beyond my abilities."

"There is no one who can replicate your Teleportation abilities, Auram," Liesel said.

"You are one of a kind in your specialty."

"Do you really mean that?" Auram was grinning ear to ear.

"I do... think I should return to my meditation." Auram was glowering in anger by the end of the sentence. A part of Liesel wondered if this life was better than what was waiting for her outside. If this is what you want, earn it in the world you were born in. Auram will never accept this lie as her life.

'Neither will I,' Liesel said to herself,'Neither will I.' —----- Liesel was standing on the boundary of her understanding of soul cultivation, even though she had not entered a proper ascendant state, which was the Condensed Core. She spent the night abusing her core, destroying all the viscous state Materiality and gathering all the dust.

Once most of the energy in her core had been stripped, Liesel began gathering Materiality into her Soul Form through the Soul Vein and created another layer of Nebulous Core to refine. The night passed. She had about a centimeter in diameter worth of dust core in the center of the nebulous one. It had not solidified. The viscous liquid seemed to be hindering them. Oh... Liesel swallowed. I can keep repeating this until the dust's mass starts solidifying, and the Nebulous state cannot hinder it further...

or even then, if possible. [Materiality: 419/419] By the end of the first, Liesel had doubled her capacity and shed almost ninety percent of the fat from her core. She was gathering more layers to stop the Dust from solidifying before she went to sleep. She was somewhat worried that once the dust bound to one another, she would not be able to add any more. She didn't want to find out the hard way.

After waking up, she spent a while teaching Arval about human cities, apartments, and their economies, as Liesel understood them.

"So you don't share food?" That was an odd question from Arval.

"We do, in exchange for something," Liesel said. She explained the concept of money that was alien to Arval, perhaps the first instance of Liesel realizing that Arval was not raised to live in a human world, beyond whatever Ahura's goals were.

"So... you all use coins whose worth is guaranteed by the Emperor," Arval said, nodding.

"Elder Ahura has sticks too. Whoever has it, they can ask anyone to do something for them, and no one can deny it."

"Money's authority is not the same. It varies from realm to realm, and leader to leader. No one can merely pay money to force someone to do anything. The services rendered are always fair, not to an idealistic degree, but enough to greatly diminish the Authority of a single coin compared to the purchasing power that it can carry."

"But with enough money, you have Elder Ahura's stick?"

"If you can find the right merchant to trade the right kind of power, it greatly pushes the authority of money, but it is never absolute. Only power is absolute; money's value comes from the guarantee of that power. It can never attain that status."

"Doesn't that make the outside world better than the caravan? If no one can just use sticks to force others to do as they wish?" Arval seemed very insistent on the sticks for some reason.

"Better is a relative assessment. You might find that world better, even if it is far crueler than whatever Elder Ahura does to others."

"She is an abusive hag," Auram said, making a pained face.

"Fortunately, she is very physically weak. She kept hitting Drahk because she was upset."

"She is the mother of everyone," Arval said.

"It's not abusive." Liesel sighed. She didn't want to spend the mornig explaining to the child that she was wrong. Auram could take care ofthose dilemmas. Liesel understood why Arval, except for few instance, never brought up Garhalik. Kfahan was Arval's mother, yet the child never once mentioned it. She spent the day abusing her Materiality Core a little more. Her Soul Veins seemed to have disconnected because it. She could draw Materiality still, but the pain in her temple was gone.

"Let's spar," Arval asked. It was evening. They had their fruits, and this was the only thing unfulfilled. Liesel tried to keep a balance between her session of refining and breaks. She found the idea inefficient, but Auram kept insisting that Arval deserved some company. Liesel also found distraction a little nice.

"We can't," Liesel said. She channeled Materiality through her body and clenched her fingers on the stone bench. Though it was an illusion, the physical structure was pretty accurate. She broke it easily.

"I am unable to hold back, unfortunately."

"Because of the advancement?" Arval asked, curiously. Liesel bobbed her head. It was just not that. The speed and density of Materiality made even the Enforcement, the most basic and practiced technique of hers, almost unwieldy. Her fingers were aching once the Enhancement wore off. She had not realized until now. Her physical body, Constitution, was too low for the speed and strength that her Materiality could now provide. She could hurt herself if she used it right now.

"You don't have to hold back. I can heal."

"Arval," Liesel said, leaning forward, "Do you know how it feels to have your skull broken?"

"It won't be bad." Liesel sighed.

"Unfortunately, I need to rest my body. My core is in a critical state. I don't want to ruin it."

"I understand. I am not going to ask you to hurt yourself," Arval said. Her face showed how disappointed she was.

"You will have the opportunity in the future." Arval bobbed her head.

"It's fine. As long as you are teaching me your ways of fighting, I am fine with no sparring." Liesel smiled.

"I am glad that you are understanding me. In return, do you want to learn my Channeling Technique?" It was something Liesel once planned to teach Fiya. How long ago it felt. I will do it... But when? How is she doing now? In the end, Liesel had the power to maintain her schedule and keep growing her aberrant core. Everything else was beyond her control. But how are we going to leave? That thought kept gnawing, and the worry only grew as days passed without any progress.