William watched as Hamar's sword flowed upwards, green waters carrying what looked like an eternity of lives. Memories of past lives flow upwards then crash against the colourless aura that poured down, showering Hamar.
William followed the water as the two streams converged becoming a horizontal stream across the crowd of swordsmen and cultivators.
He kept hold of his young disciple atop his shoulders yet at the same time, he became distant. Eyes dilated, and muscles relaxed.
He was feeling something enter him from within the waters; memories of the past. Not his past, not even Hamar's. He did not know who's memories he was experiences, but nonetheless he was feeling those experiences flow through him.
He still had some conscious thoughts and with his moment of sobriety, he carried down his disciple and placed him in the floor. He knelt down and patte this head, "Keep calm,"
William pulled out his sword and clam took a breath in. His aura had changed colour from a previous breakthrough, along with his personal experiences.
He circulate this aura and sent it through his sword and across the surface, light blue light frosted over the cold iron.
Flakes of blue light green into crystalline patterns and flew beside William as he breathed deeply. Each breath of air becoming colder and colder.
His fingers became rosy with blood until even that froze and the tips of his fingers became blue like ice. Even more, he he this sword and experiences the past through the waters of time.
***
Hamar looked up after realising his epiphany on time, he felt that his control over the Time Pool had deepened.
He smiled and washed his eyes over the crowd, doing so he saw one of his first disciples. William, one of the older guards who had protected the city forever and even in his elderly age wished to continue protecting it with the power of swordsmanship Hamar taught them.
Hamar squinted as he watched William pulled out his sword. He felt the air beyond his 'river of time's tremble, the skies above rumble.
"A tribulation..." For a moment, Hamar became nervous, until he relaxed. "The world isn't against me, it is impartial; it helped me as much as it harmed me..." Hamar floated above the starstruck crowd until he was above William.
Using the revelation he had about time and the essence of what is inside the Time Pool, Hamar reached his hand up.
His fingers pierced the raging waters and he reconnected with his aura. He had used this aura as a conduit for the Time Pool, much like his Sword Soul was.
This was, in a way, a cooperation with the world. The Time Pool used laws from the world and we're not his own; yet it worked for Hamar.
"A cooperation..." Hamar recalled what The Oracle spoke of, "Well, World, I want you to cooperate more...you are giving a tribulation so help at the same time."
He spoke to himself, or rather to the nebulous concept of 'the world'. He did not know exactly whether the world would listen or if it could even think. This did not matter, he would force it to help anyway.
Crush!
Hamar crushed his hand together into a fist, grasping threads of aura which carried the essence of those memories in Time Pool.
"Let William gain a deeper understanding, let his aura gain a qualitative change!" He pulled down and threads of aura shot down.
The threads created a tributary within the 'river of time's, a tributary which carried a certain emotion, a certain experience, a certain portion of those memories.
Hamar did not know what they were exactly, not did he want to know. He smiled and looked down, "I'll deal with the tribulation, you must deal with those memories. Everyone's experience is different. Your comprehension is not my own, I dare not try to understand..."
Hamar floated duo through the 'river of time's and to the 'outside' world. There, he felt the tribulation's true power.
Perhaps because of his meddling, perhaps not, either way the tribulation felt much stronger than when he was inside. The air caused lacerations on Hamar's skin from its mere presence.
The sky shook, and lightning constantly struck down. Hamar laughed and summoned his Sword Soul.
The Time Pool which was inhabiting the Sword Soul was below him and his aura too was being used below in the 'river of time'. He could not removed the river either, it protected those below.
If this was Hamar from a while back, he would have been stuck. However, in these few months, he had a new move up his sleeve.
Hamar closed his eyes and with a mere thought, his heart dropped. His eyes shifted and they looked at the world with a slight bit of longing.
"It's been too long, well...I guess since I'm a split soul, it's NEVER been." Hamar, or Hamar's body, cracked his finger and stared up into the sky.
He looked around and the ground surrounding his 'river of time' curled upwards like massive rocky hands. He looked down and saw massive vines which lashed at his waters.
He smirked and grabbed his heart tightly, "I don't suppose you can hold on too long, huh Hamar?"
Hamar spoke from within his own body, "What do you think, pal. How is it to be back, Hou?"
Hou, possessing Hamar's body, laughed, "It's good...real good."
He extended two finger and tapped this forehead, a golden marking spread off his skin and I to an illusory crown.
His Sword Soul beside him transformed, though not into a golden sword. When it was Hamar, he used a sword and therefore his golden royal energy created a sword.
However, now, with Hou in control...the Sword Soul elongated and turned itself into a sceptre. Hou held the sceptre in the air and closed his eyes.
He was manipulating aura, which while a creation of mana, was different to mana. However that did not mean he could not use it.
He was a mage! And a mage used mana to force the world to bow to his needs, it was no different using Hamar's royal aura.
In fact, it felt more natural. The royal golden aura had an authoritative nature which made other's mana and therefore laws bow to it!