The Solaris Ark cut cleanly through the upper skies. Beyond the viewport, clouds parted and reford like obedient currents.
Then—
Marie’s voice echoed through the Ark.
"We’ve caught up," she announced calmly from the control seat. "Visual confird. The Solaris Ark that departed earlier is directly ahead."
The effect was imdiate.
Conversations stopped. Heads turned. Several people moved toward the viewports.
"What?" soone blurted out.
"That’s impossible. Only a few hours have passed," another muttered. "They left half a day before us."
Arctyx narrowed his eyes, ntally retracing the tiline. "You were inside the ruins for more than half a day," he said slowly. "That Ark departed during that window."
Yet there it was.
Another Solaris Ark cruising steadily ahead.
They hadn’t rely closed the distance—
They had overtaken it.
A few gazes drifted instinctively toward Marie. She was still focused on the controls, hands moving with smooth familiarity, expression unchanged.
"The Ark responds better when you treat it nicely," she said simply.
No one could tell if she was joking.
Marie tapped a control and leaned toward the external channel.
Her voice carried outward, crisp and unhurried.
"Passing through," she said. "Let’s et at the ridian Gate."
There was a brief pause from the other Ark.
Then acknowledgnt lights flickered.
By now, the other groups had long stopped questioning the Verdant Veil or anyone associated with them. After the Ruins of Stillness, abnormal had beco the baseline expectation.
The Solaris Ark surged forward, slipping past the other vessel like a blade of light.
The irony wasn’t lost on anyone.
The last group to leave the ruins—
Had beco the first to return.
•••
Far ahead, the ridian Gate lood on the horizon. It looks like an imnse structure etched into the mountains.
The mont the Ark entered detection range, Solar Concordium’s attention snapped toward it.
His perception swept over the incoming object.
"...Already?" he murmured. "Not even a full week had passed."
His gaze sharpened.
He did not manifest imdiately.
Instead, he watched.
The Solaris Ark decelerated with flawless precision and descended into the designated docking zone near the ridian Gate. Its engines quieted without turbulence, settling as gently as a falling leaf.
The boarding ramp lowered.
Figures began to disembark.
Solar Concordium’s eyes widened just slightly.
The group was... unexpected.
Not just the Verdant Veil. mbers of the Obsidian Collegium walked alongside them. The Starforge Cartel followed, speaking casually. And trailing behind was the black-robed faction.
"What an unusual convergence," Solar Concordium whispered. "It seems fate has been busy."
At the center of it all—
Lucien.
Solar Concordium’s gaze lingered on him.
The Ark’s doors sealed behind the departing group.
Still, Solar Concordium remained hidden.
He could feel it.
Whatever they had taken from the Ruins of Stillness... whatever bonds had ford... and whatever had occurred within that sealed domain—
The world’s fate had shifted.
And he needed to understand how before deciding what to do about it.
•••
At the entrance platform, officials of the Solar Concordium were already waiting.
"Welco back," one of them said. "You will be escorted to your assigned dwellings."
The group nodded and followed.
They were led through familiar streets once more. The ridian Gate was as bustling as ever. Combat rings were active, exchanges were ongoing, and ambition was thick in the air. Life here did not pause simply because history had shifted elsewhere.
Bystanders watched them with restrained curiosity. So recognized their faces. Questions lingered, but none were spoken aloud.
This was the ridian Gate. Answers were not given freely. If soone wanted sothing, they would have to fight for it.
Soon, the factions parted ways. Each was headed toward different quarters.
The Verdant Veil returned to their previous dwelling.
It was familiar.
And yet... it felt different.
The rooms were the sa. The corridors unchanged. But sothing vital was missing.
Eirene was not there.
No one said it out loud. Her absence lingered like a removed note from a chord. Subtle, but impossible to ignore.
The group dispersed naturally. Sahrin and Khasari were led to rest in another room.
The Celestial-Realm seniors stepped forward without hesitation, assuming responsibility as if it were instinct. They began coordinating with the Concordium officials, handling reports, negotiations, and the inevitable cascade of inquiries surrounding the Ruins of Stillness.
Lucien did not interfere.
This was their domain.
Before separating, the seniors inford them of an upcoming formal gathering once all returning Solaris Arks arrived. A debrief. A ceremony. Perhaps even a political display.
Lucien already knew he would not stay long.
He returned to his room.
The door sealed softly behind him, muting the hum of the ridian Gate.
Lucien sat down and exhaled.
Too much had happened. Too much knowledge had pressed against the edges of his mind.
The Library of Bound Pages lingered within him. But knowledge trapped only in thought was fragile.
He needed a way to make it real.
To externalize it.
To print what existed in his mind directly into the world.
Lucien raised his hand.
His Skillpedia materialized before him.
The to floated in the air, pages flipping on their own as it responded to his intent.
He searched.
Then—
One entry caught his attention.
***
Skill (Active): ★★★★
Na: IMPRINT MANIFESTATION
Illustration: Texts spiraling around a head before transferring into parchnt
Description:
• Allows the user to externalize complete ntal constructs (knowledge, schematics, systems, or texts) directly into physical or taphysical form, bypassing conventional transcription.
• Accuracy depends on clarity, stability, and internal consistency of the thought.
***
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
"...This is it."
Four stars.
Not absurdly overpowered. But dangerous in the right hands.
He selected the entry and began reading the acquisition requirents.
***
How to Obtain:
• Visualize a single complete concept 100 consecutive tis without deviation, distortion, or loss of detail. Any error resets the count.
• Maintain one uninterrupted thought for a continuous duration of one hour, without assistance from skills, mory enhancent, or external anchors.
• Hold multiple unrelated concepts simultaneously without allowing them to rge or interfere.
• Use mana to write or trace a complete text onto a dium without looking at it, relying solely on internal visualization. The manifested result must match the intended content.
***
Lucien smiled faintly.
"This is good."
At his current level, it was a little difficult but reasonable.
Then—
A final line appeared.
***
Warning:
Imprint Manifestation consus ntal stamina and spiritual cohesion. Attempting to imprint Law-bound concepts may result in mory erosion, conceptual backlash, or partial self-fragntation.
***
Lucien leaned back.
"...Fair."
Then his eyes sharpened.
"But if this works on Laws too..."
That was more dangerous and more valuable than he had first assud.
After all, skills were easier to use than spells and Laws.
A skill acted like a trigger. Once activated, the spirit executed the process automatically. No sustained concentration. No constant enforcent like Law manipulation or spellcasting.
The conditions for learning the skill functioned like a system protocol that the spirit had to follow before activation. They weren’t arbitrary trials, but the precise process required to engrave the skill into one’s being.
So learning skills directly without fulfilling the conditions was a real cheat. Just like when he acquired skills through skill cards, or learned them from beings whose loyalty to him was 100%. They are thods that bypassed the process entirely and forced the skill to take root instantly.
In summary... with sufficient visualization, the spirit did the thinking for you.
Soon...
Lucien closed his eyes.
If he was going to begin—
He already knew what his first concept would be.
He summoned the Hourglass of Slow Passage from his inventory, setting it beside him.
Ti distorted.
The room fell silent.
And within Lucien’s mind—
A single concept began repeating.
Perfectly.
Once.
Twice.
A hundred tis.
•••
Ti moved differently around Lucien.
Within the field of the Hourglass of Slow Passage, hours stretched long and deliberate. Thought followed thought. Repetition followed repetition. His mind worked until even silence felt structured.
Outside the field—
Only a few minutes passed.
The Hourglass dimd.
Lucien opened his eyes.
And then...
[ Ting! ]
[ Skill: IMPRINT MANIFESTATION has been acquired. ]
Lucien exhaled.
"...Good."
He raised his hand slowly.
He did not rush.
He focused on a single thought.
Text. Ink on paper.
His divine energy stirred. It flowed as if it already knew where to go. His spirit followed a familiar route, the sa one carved by the learning conditions.
Before him, letters began to appear.
They did not form all at once. They erged line by line, precise and clean, hovering briefly in the air before settling onto the parchnt he had prepared earlier.
No pen or brush needed. Just thought... made real.
Lucien watched closely.
The strain was minimal.
Barely noticeable.
"...So ordinary text barely costs anything," he murmured.
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