Inside Kyrell's mind, an ancient-looking book can be seen. Without any warning, it suddenly shone with an eerie purple glow.
The book was black and purple in color; one look was enough to determine that the book would contain anything but pure and virtuous content.
A swirl of black and dirty energy flows out of the book as if one touch alone was enough to pollute even the purest Saint in the world.
After some time, the book opened its cover on its own, and on the first page, blood red writings from an unknown ancient script can be seen.
Kyrell himself does not know the language that the book uses, but it was as if the scripts were not from your normal alphabet. It does not matter whether you know the language or not, as seeing it alone is enough for anyone to understand its meanings."
"Nine shackles make a mortal, yet nine shattered shackles make an Archon. Shatter the shackles, and from the ashes of mortality, one carves an exalted Throne among the Divine, ascending as a Divine Archon."
These two sentences momentarily made Kyrell forget the pain he is currently experiencing from the Bloodline Baptism. It felt like those lines carried the truth of the universe.
However, in the end, sentences are still just sentences. As of the moment, mere sentences are not enough to save Kyrell from his current predicament.
"AAARRGGHHHHH!!"
A loud, pained cry escaped from Kyrell's lips. His eyes turned bloodshot, his skin turned red while emitting smoke. His insides felt like being gnawed by millions of ants while on the outside, it was as if he was being boiled alive.
Veins popped all over his body, and at that moment, all he wanted was to die to escape from this hellish experience.
Death is bliss, as they say.
However, Kyrell didn't endure 15 years of darkness just to die without achieving anything, without making such a terrible clan pay. He is unwilling to die!
"HERETIC'S CODEX!!" The youth roared inside his mind, the screams from his other clansmen further igniting his will to live.
He can even see from his trembling vision that some of them are already melting into blood. If this goes on, he might become one of them as well.
As if hearing his words, the Heretic's Codex moved on its own again, and the first page was flipped.
"First Shackle: Aetherborne"
Those words appeared inside Kyrell's mind, and a stream of knowledge was injected straight to his soul. His eyes glowed with clarity, and he learned what he needed to do.
He did his best to ignore the pain he was experiencing, and he closed his eyes to start cultivating the Meditation Technique contained within the Heretic's Codex, namely "Heretic Archon's Secret Art".
In the Halcyon Realm, a Meditation Technique is extremely important. Breaking one's mortal shackles and elevating one's level of existence is easier said than done.
Even a genius will become trash if they do not have the Meditation Technique. Not only that, but even when a genius does have a Meditation Technique, if its quality is subpar, it would also be hard for them to distinguish themselves from the rest.
A Meditation Technique teaches the way to break mortal shackles and how to climb higher into the Divine Path. It also complements one's Spirit Armament and makes it even stronger.
Because of this, high-quality Meditation Techniques are well well-guarded secret. Even a powerful Family might only have one or two high-quality techniques.
As someone taught by the Everblack Clan, Kyrell knows the first part of the Ashrot Meditation Manual that he can use to break his first mortal shackle. But he doesn't have a plan to use such a low-level technique when there is a more suitable and powerful Heretic Archon's Secret Art.
With a renewed mentality, Kyrell started using the new Meditation Technique he learned. He vowed to break his first Mortal Shackle, awaken his Spirit Armament, and become a first ascent Ascendant, an Aetherborne!
As soon as he started, the bloodline energy from the pool churned and started to gather around him. The energy entered his body through his pores, and it filled every nook and cranny of his cells.
The impurities of his mortal body were being expelled, and as soon as they touched the liquid in the Bloodline Pool, they dissolved into black pungent smoke.
This rush of bloodline energy baptized Kyrell's body, making it purer than before, and soon, he entered a mysterious space.
The space was filled with fog, and it was impossible to see what was inside the fog. However, currently, what was in the fog was not important.
Kyrelly found himself in this mysterious space while shackled with cold chains.
"The mortal shackles" Kyrell muttered while staring at the nine chains shackling him.
The chains were arranged in order. The first one was wrapped on his feet, the second was above his ankles, the third on his legs, the fourth on his thighs, the fifth on his waist, the sixth on his stomach, the seventh on his chest, the eighth on his neck, and the last one was on his head.
Breaking even one of them will make him an Ascendant, and breaking all nine will make him an Archon, a living God.
Of course, breaking all nine mortal shackles is currently impossible. However, Kyrell has the confidence to break one of them!
With a command, aside from Kyrell and the fog, which are the only things present in this space, a book glowing with purple light while emitting black energies materialized.
This book gathered the energy filling the Bloodline Pool in the physical world, and from it, bloody-red beams flew out. The beams bombarded Kyrell's first mortal shackle, wrapped around his feet that makes it impossible for him to move
The shackle trembled from the impact, and cracks began to appear. Kyrell himself was not idle as he mustered all the strength he could gather to move his feet and help break the mortal shackle.
With the help of the Heretic's Codex, it didn't take that long before the chain broke. Seeing that, Kyrell's eyes lit up before he furrowed his brows.
From what was taught to him, after an Ascendant breaks a mortal shackle, the chains will dissipate. However, before the chains could dissipate, the Heretic's Codex suddenly released a suction power, and it swallowed the mortal shackle.
Not only that, but it also started to suck the fog from the Divine Path space as if it were a barren land that was greedily absorbing water.
The fog in the Divine Path Space is not a normal fog made from evaporated water, but is actually aether, the supernatural energy of this world.
Ascendants can unleash devastating superpowers with aether as the fuel. Without aether, even the most powerful Ascendant will weaken.
"I hope this is a good thing for me," Kyrell commented while watching the book devour the fog. Even then, no matter how much the book absorbed, it was as if the fog in this space was endless. The visibility remained the same as before.
No, there was actually one part that changed, but it was not because of the Heretic Codex itself, but due to Kyrell breaking his first mortal shackle.
In front of the youth, the fog turned transparent, and it revealed a single stair step with indescribable mystical runes.
The Divine Path is coined as such because it is literally a path of stairs. Once Kyrell took this step, he would officially become an Ascendant, and he didn't hesitate further.
Kyrell started his first Ascent, and he stepped into the Divine Path. As soon as he did so, the fog that was still lingering on the first ascent rushed into him, blessing both his body and soul.
With the absorption of the fog, Kyrell officially became a first ascent Ascendant; an Aetherborne!
From now on, his body can cultivate and store aether. The first absorption of aether also results in the awakening of one's Spirit Armament.
A Spirit Armament... this is the manifestation of an Ascendant's power. The heavens' gift to a mortal striving to become an Archon. If aether is akin to bullets, Spirit Armaments, on the other hand, is the gun that dictates how the bullets will be fired.
Spirit Armaments can take on any form. Some awaken swords as their Spirit Armament, some gain a tattoo that lets them control the elements, some are granted a pair of eyes that can see through everything, and some don't even have Spirit Armaments that can be physically seen or physically exist.
It can come in all forms, shapes, and sizes, and the manifestation is influenced by one's lineage, personality, method used to cultivate, and other things.
It is basically a representation of the Ascendant, and everything they experienced or lived through has a direct influence on how it will be manifested.
Kyrell trembled in excitement. Finally, he would have superpowers! As a man from the modern earth where magic and superpowers are merely one's fantasy, how can he not be excited?
Not only will he gain something previously impossible from his original world, but he will also start to gain power that he can use to protect himself.
"No, this is not the time to be excited. The initial strength of one's Spirit Armament is based on how much aether I absorb in the Divine Path Space. If I absorb too little, I would need to train and grow the strength of my Spirit Armament, which would take time, causing a delay in my cultivation"
It was fortunate that Kyrell was well-informed on the basics of cultivation, the only silver lining on growing up in the Everblack Family, a rising Noble Clan.
If he were ignorant and missed this chance, he would definitely regret it.
Kyrell focused on absorbing as much aether as possible, and the surprise from the Heretic's Codex has not ended yet. As soon as he started to absorb aether, the codex entered his body.
A strong and aggressive attraction emanated from Kyrell, and the fog charged straight at him as if he were a red flag being chased by a bull. The massive amount of aether is not something that he can easily absorb with his current cultivation.
Thankfully, the majority of the aether went straight to the Codex, and the "leftovers" were then absorbed by Kyrell. Yet, even the "leftovers" are already way more than what other people can absorb on their own.
It was indeed nice to have a transmigrator's golden finger!
Soon, Kyrell himself felt full, and he could not absorb any aether anymore and without suspense, he awakened his Spirit Armament, and his consciousness returned to the physical world.
As soon as he saw the dreadful, familiar surroundings, Kyrell immediately raised his hands to look at the back of his palms.
Sure enough, the sun and moon crest was present. This crest was beautiful. In the middle was a perfect orb with one part of it forming the shape of a crescent moon, while around the orb were the rays of the sun, forming a seemingly mystical tribal tattoo.
"The Sun and the Moon, the celestial bodies that govern the Heavens and the Earth. A symbolism for control, perfectly fit as the Crest of my Spirit Armament" Kyrell mused.
In the past, he was already taught that an Ascendant's life, personality, and everything dictate what Spirit Armament they will awaken, but knowing and experiencing it are two completely different concepts. Now that he has his own Spirit Armament, he fully believes what was taught to him, as he was a living example of it.
"My Spirit Armament... Force Weaving!"