Her surroundings suddenly shifted.
Sierra blinked at the sudden change of scenery. She was no longer in a ruined field that was covered in the blood of her family. Instead, she seemed to be in a barren desert.
"Athyma!" Hearing her own voice, she turned to her right, finding a female several moriils away. She was not as tall as Sierra herself, and her face was slightly younger.
Her mind clicked as she observed the shorter female, who was clad in navy-blue robes. It was her younger self, back when she was around fifteen years old. It had only been ten years since she encountered Athyma again.
After glancing at her younger self and the sword in her hand, she turned to find a boy, no older than ten. Yet, she saw the smirk on his face. Her eyes narrowed, remembering that this "child" was Athyma.
"Impatient, are we? I am curious. How did you exactly identify me? You aren't even a semi-spiritual lifeform." The child spoke in an upbeat tone; a carefree smile etched on his face.
His pale skin seemed to radiate under the sunlight; the light clothes he wore hung loosely over his frame. He wasn't bald like his previous vessel. There was plenty of hair on his head, dark green in colour.
"Oh wait, you don't need to answer that," he said, "it was Augustus, wasn't it? He must've taken you under his wing. Hmph, he always had a soft spot for children. I wonder if I act tragic now, would he take me in?"
Athyma chuckled at his own words, but the young teenager did not share his sentiment. "You're going down!"
She rushed at the child with her sword, making Sierra's breath hitch. She knew exactly what came next.
SLASH!
"Grgh!"
"Hahaha! Did you really think you could harm me, a semi-spiritual lifeform, simply because I am a child? Keep dreaming." Athyma laughed after having slashed at the young woman with his fingers, creating a gushing wound on her gut that made her grunt.
The young woman stepped back, gritting her teeth. Her legs trembled as she clutched her wound, her eyes flaring with a ruthless light. Looking at the girl, Sierra sighed, finding the impulsiveness she once possessed.
"I told you not to attack him blindly, Sierra." Augustus suddenly materialised by the young woman's side, sighing.
The young woman clicked her tongue in response, averting her gaze. Augustus, meanwhile, turned his attention to the child. "I found you sooner than expected, Athyma."
Before Sierra could hear Athyma's reply, her surroundings shifted. She was no longer standing in the barren desert.
Instead, she stood in a throne room. It was made entirely of stone, a red carpet lying at the center. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to a man who was gritting his teeth, his gaze fixed on the woman in front of him.
Looking at that woman, Sierra instantly recognised her. It was her past self. Her appearance completely matched her current self's, minus the dark blue robes. Her sword was pointed at the man, with her eyes shining coldly.
"You thought ruling this kingdom would hide you from me, Athyma?" The woman asked in a measured voice.
The man, now identified as Athyma, sighed bitterly. "To think you would discover me. Truth be told, I didn't expect you to become a semi-spiritual lifeform in three hundred years. Most people take longer than that."
Sierra's eyes flickered at this. She remembered how she was exceptionally special for becoming a semi-spiritual lifeform so early. Most people took at least five hundred years thanks to life dates extending their lifespan.
Sierra had taken a life date that extended her lifespan by four hundred years, and it was already unnecessary after she became a semi-spiritual lifeform. She was essentially immortal, as she wouldn't age or die.
Of course, she could control her aging at will, but she found it unnecessary, so she didn't bother. She chose to live as she was. Besides, it wasn't like she looked very old at all.
"You tried to take over the kingdom of Elvaria and turn its subjects into puppets for your future plans. It's too bad that I was able to understand what you were getting at, and by extension, discover your true identity by feeling your presence."
As the woman spoke, she readied her sword and dashed forward. Athyma responded in kind, brandishing his sword and blocking her attack. The two exchanged blows at a fascinating speed, each clash resulting in humongous force.
Sierra's hair fluttered from the impact of their swords. Her eyes tracked the two with utmost precision.
Slash!
Gush!
Slash!
She could track every wound, every grunt, and all the blood that was spilled from either of them. Hours passed in an instant. The two didn't stop fighting.
"Damn you, brat. I should've killed you back when I killed your mother." He spat out blood as he spoke, his voice hoarse. He stepped back, seemingly preparing a counterattack.
The woman, however, widened her eyes. Her grip on the hilt of her blade tightened as she rushed at him. "Don't you dare mention my mother from that vile mouth of yours!"
Her voice was loud, harsh, and filled with utter malice. She swung her sword forward, which was coated with Vyr. "[Strike of Finality]!"
Seeing this, Athyma's brows furrowed. Before the blade fully struck him, an illusory dark mist exited the body he was inhabiting. The mist dashed out the window at an untraceable speed, while the blade cut the man completely in half.
Seeing this, the woman shouted in frustration, and Sierra's surroundings shifted again.
This time, she stood in a mostly empty street. Raindrops hit the ground hard as the entire area was now wet from the rain. Her clothes were soaked and clung to her figure, similar to her hair, as she observed this place.
"Gah!"
A scream resounded from behind her. Turning around, Sierra's eyes widened at the sight.
It was her past self who had screamed. Beside her stood a woman with chocolate-brown hair, her hand gripping the other girl's forehead tightly.
"Heh!" The woman scoffed before throwing her back. "Let's see how you deal with [Soul Madness]. I trained in the art of tampering with the soul enough to acquire this technique just to deal with you."
She raised her arms, laughing lightly. "Although I would've loved using the casual soul tampering art that I had used on your mother, I am afraid you are too strong for that."
At that moment, Sierra noticed how the light in the woman's amber eyes had dimmed slightly as she finished her sentence, her lips pursed for a second. Back when she had been struck by [Soul Madness], she was unable to notice this detail.
Her past self remained oblivious as she gripped her head from both sides and continued to scream, rolling around on the ground. Sierra's brows furrowed at this. She remembered being struck by this technique.
The pain was unbearable. She could feel the entire world crumbling around her, then have that crumbling world suddenly attack her whole body and soul, as if trying to burn her down with it. It was a horrible experience, and simply remaining conscious seemed nearly impossible.
The woman suddenly turned around and raised her hands to create a barrier of pure Vyr. She leapt back, and the barrier was destroyed in one fell swoop by a butcher-like sword.
"You bitch." The man who struck the barrier cursed under his breath. "You really are resorting to full-on attacks on the soul. Is that perhaps your main method of fighting, Athyma?"
The woman, identified as Athyma, laughed softly. "Of course not, Augustus. However, soul-based Techniques are so efficient, don't you think? I might be able to even acquire an Authority related to the soul at this pace. That would be amazing, wouldn't it?"
Augustus didn't answer. He dashed at her, but the woman disappeared before Augustus could reach her. He growled at this, his eyes darting around.
"She ran away. It seems she wanted to deal with Sierra quickly and get out of here." He muttered to himself and turned to the writhing woman.
Sierra flinched after paying her attention back to her past self. Her appearance was completely disheveled as she pulled at her hair, her screams reverberating throughout the rainy street.
"Sierra!" Augustus exclaimed and immediately rushed to her side.
Sitting down on his heels, he grabbed Sierra and placed her on his lap. He held her close to his chest with one hand while his other hand found her head. The other hand soon let out a faint light that began to enter her skull.
"Breathe. Calm down. Remember what you are fighting for. Remember your goal." He whispered in her ear and rocked her gently. In response, the woman clung to him dearly, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Sierra's eyes softened at this. The light escaping Augustus's hand was the result of him using Vyr to calm her soul and remove the madness induced by Athyma. She remembered how the damage was so bad that only after he awakened a Technique while calming her did she finally recover.
Before she could see all that play out in this memory, however, her surroundings shifted again.
Sierra immediately took a step back as she realised this scene. It was what had just happened.
She had just restrained Athyma's soul, which was in Princess Sofamy's body, using [Soul Bind]. The other three semi-spiritual lifeforms—Vekas, Lynera, and Augustus—were helping her keep the bindings of light intact.
And then, as the [Soul Bind] made sure she couldn't escape Sofamy's body, she struck her using [Soul Severance]. The attack resulted in Athyma's damaged soul and her body disintegrating into specks of light and vanishing into nothingness.
She had finally killed Athyma. Her whole life flashed before her eyes again. And again. And again.
Eventually, after countless replays, she didn't see her life flashing anymore. Instead, her mind surged with information. It seemed boundless. As her body was covered in a bright light that blinded nearly everyone, she felt like comprehending far more information about her surroundings than she ever thought she could.
Not just her surroundings, but also other information, such as the number of stars in the universe, the total amount of Vyr in the entirety of both Varkana and Karsawa, and so much more.
But what alarmed her the most was Agma. Yes, she could now fully comprehend Agma.
As a semi-spiritual lifeform, Sierra had a certain understanding of what Agma was. However, at this moment, she felt like she was an infant back when she previously knew about Agma compared to now.
Now, she felt like Agma was a part of her very being. She understood that everything in existence contained Agma. This was different from Vyr, which sometimes didn't exist in some areas.
Not to mention that, unlike Vyr that could be extracted from an individual, object, or area, the same could not be done to Agma. Agma was a major component of everything in the world. Removing it would require that particular source of that Agma to cease to exist.
Eh? At that moment, Sierra noticed the light disappear. She realised that her body was gone, even as her soul remained, invisible to all eyes... almost all eyes.
She turned to Revan, who was looking right at her with a smile. As for everyone else, they couldn't see her. Or rather, they couldn't comprehend her existence.
Sierra's mind clicked. So long as she didn't inhabit a physical body, the other beings of this world could not interact with her. The only reason Revan could seem to spot her was that he had a similar nature.
Thinking of this, she continued to observe the boundless knowledge she was given. She quickly found out the way to resolve this.
Her will moved. At that moment, a physical body that completely resembled Sierra's previous physical vessel appeared as if it had always been there. Her soul was already occupying the body the moment it materialised.
She immediately took control of the body. Her eyes shone brightly as she turned to Augustus. "I... I have evolved into a spiritual being."