Alex was drifting off to sleep, his cutlass clutched in his hand. When he opened his eyes, he was in the Soul Space, and The Emperor was reading a book. He wore free-flowing linen, and his black and gold eyes glinted under the reading glasses. He looked up at Alex with a curious expression.
"You have some questions, don't you?" he asked. He vanished and reappeared instantly, now clad in training clothes, his glasses gone.
"What were you reading?" Alex asked.
"Something much older than your universe and even Eternia. Now, about the questions you're having," The Emperor responded.
"Where does everything this cutlass consumes go?" Alex asked.
"Inside its soul, of course."
"It has a soul?"
"Yes, and a will, too. It's called the Emperor's Will, remember? It has a consciousness. It has something called a spirit, which is lesser than a soul and higher than whatever the soulless beasts possess. It can do simple thinking on its own—like an artificial intelligence your people developed on Earth. It needs some kind of command to work, but that command is enough to perform its task indefinitely."
"Can I access the beasts it consumed?"
"No. They break down the second its fluid form touches their materialistic body. Where are you right now? The last time, I was unable to contact you after I took over your body to save that friend of yours."
"Back at the guesthouse the Motsari Corp has in Daro. Renald said I need to rest, as Ketovan and I need to attend a meeting held by the Duke tomorrow," Alex said.
"Then do a ten thousand strikes and take your rest. And you need to explore your core ability, too. How many skills did you unlock? And you seemed to be stronger than the last time." The Emperor asked him.
"All of them. And yes, I became stronger. I used soulless beasts to get halfway through Normal Rank," Alex said.
In a split second, Alex was locked in place. The Emperor was twisting his middle finger, inflicting unbearable pain.
"IDIOT! IDIOT! You are an idiot, and that clergy of the Hegemon is an idiot! Using soulless beasts to level up is an idiotic and useless method for an Omniarch such as you. Do you even know what happens to an Omniarch's body when they consume soulless beasts to level up!?" The Emperor was screaming into his ears.
"No!" Alex struggled the words out through the pain. Tears fell from his eyes, and he was forced to his knees.
"They lose their ability to acquire unique skills! Only core abilities remain, and once they reach Royal Rank, that's the end. They will never ascend to Divine Rank. You have practically crippled yourself!" The Emperor twisted Alex's fingers further to intensify the agonizing pain.
"Please, I can't bear anymore! It showed 175/175 when I opened my status sheet!" Alex pleaded through gritted teeth.
"Name one of them."
"I don't know!"
"Exactly! You moron! You don't know what skills you have, what you can do with them. You have a relic core, which means you can choose all of the skills you want, and even leave few unnecessary ones to give place to useful ones. Now you are stuck with 175 unknown skills. You lost valuable slots for some skills you might never use!" The Emperor twisted his fingers one last, agonizing time before abruptly letting go.
Alex rubbed his pale, throbbing finger, trying to ease the pain. "But, but. Renald said it was safe and the standard way."
"He spoke about normal people, Alex. Normal core users. Relic core users themselves are rare, and an Omniarch relic core user is a once-in-a-world legend. Leave it. I saw your inventory, and we have the correct item to train you." The Emperor snapped his fingers.
The Soul Space dissolved, and they were instantly standing outside a massive, unseen Throne Room building.
"Get the list of skills you got ready, and I will come back shortly," The Emperor commanded, vanishing.
****************
Ketovan stood silently in the ornate hall of the Church of the Wizard, the Wizard's final words about the legendary Omniarch Gilgamesh—and the devastating power of the "useless" Silence Core—still echoing in his mind. He ran a hand over the medallion on his inner coat, which he had just retrieved from the tray. He had the answers he needed: his brother was arriving in Gregon, and he now possessed the critical information about the limitations of the Domain of the Eternal Ruler skill.
More importantly, he carried a formal, unassailable trade offer for the Hegemon: The Wizard's absolute guarantee that Bishop Katherine Kinley would be restrained from harming Alex, in exchange for passive study of the Core of Hegemony.
Ketovan moved with a renewed, cold focus toward the exit of the Church of the Wizard campus. The magical humming energy here, which he had initially found unsettling, now seemed merely predictable. He had achieved both his mission goals: securing the political non-interference needed for Alex and acquiring vital personal intelligence.
He reached the massive, illusionary door and pushed it open, stepping out into the late afternoon light of the Church Sector. He needed to return to the Motsari Corp guest house quickly to coordinate with Renald and relay the full scope of the Wizard's deal to the Hegemon before the meeting with the Duke tomorrow. Alex, he knew, was resting and preparing for that critical meeting—unaware of the catastrophic error he had just committed in his attempt to level up safely.
***************
Vincent Motsari was seated leisurely in his chair, his hands resting on the velvet-covered armrests. His eyes were light brown, and his face appeared youthful, seeming no older than a twenty-four-year-old Earth man, though his true age lay somewhere between sixty and ninety.
Ector looked down at his Nimbus Blade. Madam Diva and Rickert sat on either side of him. His hands gripped the cold handle and the rough, stormy sheath of the Nimbus Blade—his conjured weapon, which he could summon anytime and anywhere. Currently, the topic of discussion centered on its origin.
"You talk about the Old Sky Kings," Ector said. "I've heard about them in books, but I'm not sure how this links me to them."
"The Old Sky Kings were once the rulers of the skies of Terra. They are humanoid creatures, with some part of their essence linked to the atmosphere. They are born with Sky Affinity cores. The strongest among them were the Sky Gods, whose core was the Core of Tempest. Clouds yielded to their command. At one point in history, they grew so powerful that they decided when it rained and when it did not. They looted human nations for resources and ironically built a city in the clouds, which they called 'Sky.' That blade you are holding—the Nimbus Blade—closely resembles the weapons the ruler of the Sky Gods wielded during their pillages," the acting captain of the ship explained.
"This blade isn't fully awakened yet, but it's a nice conjuration for a Soldier Ranker, I suppose," Vincent said, leaning forward on the table.
Suddenly, the ship shook violently. The massive, practical floating city shuddered as the outer hull broke apart. Staff and crew rushed to repair the damages. The core security crew, composed of Noble and Commander Rankers, successfully negated the immediate danger, but the attacker had not yet been subdued.
The captain, whose name Ector knew as Dior, was an ex-treasure hunter turned Motsari Group shipwright and helmsman. He was at the peak of Royal Rank and a user of the Core of Tides. Dior leapt out of the basement meeting room they were in and into the sky above the ship. He hovered there, facing massive tentacles, each at least as wide as a building, wrapping themselves around the vessel. Dior lifted his hands, and huge tidal slashes cut the tentacles into bits and pieces, but the rest came crashing down. Dior was quickly joined by Madam Diva and Rickert. Huge weapons made of clouds and a large, heavy block of emerald appeared in the sky above the three Royal Rankers.
Ector was instantly covered in two layers of protection: one made of emeralds and another made of clouds. The top half of the building was torn apart by what looked like a gigantic octopus. It was at least twice the size of the ship, which was itself larger than many small towns.
"What... what is that thing?" Ector asked Vincent, who remained sitting in his throne-like chair with the dead calm of the night sky.
"A Divine Ranking soulless beast," Vincent replied. "The ocean floor must have had one Divine Ranking warped space that was overdue for clearance. A pain in the ass, you know. This Imperial Army is useless. They only boast their numbers and Ranks, but not their quality."
"I am a Prince, remember?" Ector said, trying to maintain some dignity.
"I said the same thing to Deodas Clamore Devanti Skati himself. Do you think I care that you are a prince of some continent?" Vincent countered.
"No," Ector answered, defeated.