"Dawnbinder is quite generous," Lucien murmured as he peeked inside the storage ring resting in his palm. Within glimred thousands of High-Grade Spirit Crystals, their luster spilling faint radiance across the room.
Marie’s eyes widened. "We’re rich! I can finally buy those Refined Earth Pulses... Wait—how many are left?"
"Ten in stock," Lucien said flatly.
Her excitent dulled into disbelief. "Ten? I wanted hundreds."
"Then you’ll have to make do."
Marie puffed her cheeks but dashed out almost imdiately, terrified soone else might snatch them first.
She returned minutes later, beaming with triumph. Lucien simply nodded.
They had gained far more than expected from a brief exchange with Dawnbinder and Eirene.
Beside him, Murak finally processed what had just happened... and broke into booming laughter.
"GAHAHA! Who would’ve thought? Just by talking with my fellow Beastn, I’d earn such fortune! Wolf Brother, Wolf Sister—you two are my benefactors! I’ll repay this favor tenfold. You’re welco in our community anyti!"
He handed each of them a small jade disc etched with runes.
"This will lead you to our ho," Murak explained. "The formation recognizes it. Just inject a bit of energy and it’ll guide you there."
Lucien turned it over between his fingers. "Formation-linked beacon... not bad."
Marie grinned. "You Beastn sure are generous when you’re happy."
Murak snorted. "Speaking as if you’re not a Beastman yourself—GAHAHA! Of course we are! We value sincerity more than gold. Deal fair, and you deal forever."
They shared laughter for a while longer before finally parting ways under the glow of Aurion’s hovering lanterns.
...
The familiar scent of incense greeted them as they entered the inn.
Lucien handed another storage ring to the innkeeper. "From Senior Dawnbinder. He said this is for you."
The Luminarch woman smiled softly. "That man... never has ti for pleasantries. Always sending others to greet . But thank you, both of you. I didn’t think you’d et him so soon after arriving in this city."
Lucien and Marie nodded politely before heading upstairs.
Outside their rooms, Lucien turned to her. "If you need anything, just call . But don’t expect to answer if it’s trivial."
Marie huffed. "What do you think I am? I don’t need you!" she snapped, slamming the door.
A beat of silence... then the door cracked open again. "Uh... you don’t happen to have snacks, do you?"
Lucien smirked and handed her a few snacks.
She snatched them instantly. "Thanks!"
He sighed, shaking his head as she vanished once more into her room.
Lucien then entered his own private chamber. He cast several layers of barriers. Each folded over the other until his aura was completely sealed.
Finally, silence.
He then sat cross-legged on the floor.
All the noise earlier beca aningless in the stillness he carved for himself.
Before him hovered Eirene’s gift. The bark from the Tree of Creation.
Even in stillness, it pulsed faintly like a fragnt of reality breathing.
He used INSPECT but nothing appeared. Not even the system could define it.
Still, his whole being was responding to it. Creation itself whispered from within the small bark.
"This alone could push to break through," he murmured. "The ancient ruin... If there’s more of this out there..."
He stopped himself. ’Greed brings destruction.’
Exhaling slowly, he placed the bark between his palms and infused it with divine energy.
The bark responded.
A soft hum filled the air... then a resonance.
Ever since he stepped into the Transcendent Realm, he could see the Laws more naturally. He didn’t need to activate the effect of his title, Transcendent One, anymore.
And as he willed, the world changed.
He glanced at the glowing bark again. Strings of light erged from its surface, weaving through the air like living threads.
Lucien’s breath caught. Each strand vibrated with impossible complexity.
The Strings of Existence.
It was a web of infinitesimal threads connecting everything that was, is, and will be. The runes intertwined impossibly and every attempt to understand them failed. They pulsed, twisted, and looped in patterns he couldn’t fully comprehend.
Truly... glimpsing the language of creation itself was overwhelming. Lucien gulped as he tried to comprehend it. He even tried touching the characters themselves.
But just then... sothing unexpected occurred.
The bark’s essence unraveled the mont he touched it. Its strings undulated like serpents of light before one of them coiled toward him.
Lucien’s eyes widened. "Wait—"
The string pierced his forehead. A universe exploded behind his eyes. Energy surged through his veins, rewriting his essence.
The Law of Creation within the bark was overpowering... drowning him. His mind began to fracture from the pressure.
"Ughhh!"
He split his consciousness using Parallel Thought, analyzing thousands of fragnts of the law simultaneously.
But even that wasn’t enough.
His being trembled. "I’ll beco a fool at this rate."
Then... he rembered the Sli’s thod.
"Division... and recombination."
He invoked Split Body.
Five small clones of himself erged from his divine energy. Each clone reached out, touching a different strand of existence.
Together, they absorbed the energy. They divided the torrent, sharing the burden.
Lucien’s main body began to stabilize. The chaos turned rhythmic. The strings resonated with his divine energy core instead of tearing it apart.
His small clones circled him. Each sat cross-legged, trying to comprehend the vast existence from the bark.
They closed their eyes and ti blurred.
•••
Days passed.
While Lucien ditated in seclusion, chaos rippled beyond his awareness.
The Nephralis and Varkhaals were in uproar.
Their envoys scoured the realms, hunting for the two mysterious humans who had deceived and slain their kin.
A group even marched to Aurion, demanding the Dawnbinder’s permission to search the city.
But Dawnbinder stood before the city gates. He was serene yet unmovable.
"My city does not entertain witch hunts," he said coldly. "Your dispute ends at my walls."
The air grew tense. Power flared and pressure clashed in invisible waves.
Dawnbinder’s radiance filled the horizon and for a mont... the entire region trembled.
But... the two races withdrew, seething with frustration. They couldn’t afford to defy a Celestial Realm expert in his own domain.
Still, behind their retreat, fury brewed.
...
Back in a nearby camp, the Nephralis and Varkhaals at the peak of the Ascendant Realm... the sa ones Lucien had encountered upon his arrival... argued in fury.
"A month had passed and the fragnts remain unresponsive. Those humans... they tricked us," the Nephralis growled.
"How did they make it possible?" snarled the Varkhaal. "Those humans... we must secure them. They must have artifacts capable of the impossible! Sothing that could even help us reach the Celestial Realm."
"Either way, we must capture them and retrieve the real fragnts. If not... it’s our heads that will roll," ca the grim reply.
"The good thing is that our sect masters and the high elders left for the expedition. We must be quick. Ti is ticking... and so are our lives."
"Then we absolutely don’t tell anyone about this. If our ancestors in the Eternal Realm awaken... even our souls won’t reincarnate."
"No... Eternal Realm experts can’t move as they wish. The Celestial Race that maintains balance will stop them from acting rashly. So we don’t have to worry about our ancestors."
"Ha! Who would’ve thought I’d live to be grateful to those Celestial Race bastards."
Their only hope now was speed... and silence.
•••
One week after Lucien began his training, the air inside his private chamber had changed.
Lucien opened his eyes. A faint storm of creation still humd subtly around him.
As he slowly reabsorbed his split bodies, each return sent a surge of energy coursing through him, pushing his cultivation forward again and again.
4th Stage of the Transcendent Realm.
’Sigh... just a step away from the 5th stage...’
The atmosphere around him bent subtly. The Laws themselves shifted in obedience.
Lucien raised his hand. With a re thought, his divine energy coalesced into complex runes midair. They ford faster and sharper than before. It was also perfectly stable. His comprehension had reached a level beyond words.
He could now perceive the Runic Layers of Existence more clearly. The intricate complexities are ready to be unraveled by his will alone.
Lucien thought it resembled the structural formula of chemicals.
But this was far beyond that. The Strings of Existence were infinitely more complex. It was an endless lattice of anings and forces intertwined in creation.
He then glanced at the bark fragnt resting nearby. It had turned into fine motes of dust yet the knowledge it bestowed pulsed within him.
After fully absorbing its essence, he felt sothing take root deep within his divine energy core... though when he inspected it, nothing seed to have changed. He decided to ignore it for now.
Lucien exhaled slowly and relaxed his body.
Then... he reached into his INVENTORY and drew out two crystalline cores. One crimson, one pitch-black.
The Infernal Core and Shadow Core.
"It’s ti to master two new Laws."
Without hesitation, he crushed them both in his hands.
The world dimd.
Flas roared without heat and darkness writhed without shadow. Both forces collided like predator and prey locked in eternal struggle.
Lucien spread his arms wide. The two Laws surged into him, wrestling for dominance.
Fire sought to burn all. Darkness sought to swallow all.
He gritted his teeth and endured as reality warped around him. The very air twisted and the walls of his chamber bent under the clash of powers.
He didn’t resist... he guided them.
The flas and shadow spiraled and finally reached balance inside him. Harmony blood from chaos.
When the light faded, Lucien stood still.
He exhaled slowly.
His Laws had settled.
***
Laws:
• Law of Creation (Primary Integration)
• Law of Life & Death (Comprehension – 60%)
• Law of Reflection (Comprehension – 60%)
• Law of Fire (Comprehension – 60%)
• Law of Darkness (Comprehension – 60%)
***
Lucien smiled faintly.
"Fire that burns all," he murmured. "Darkness that devours all."
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