Genetic Ascension Chapter 2249: Nothing

"The only reason that some suggest to only focus on one is inherently because focusing on one means that you are stripping away a part of it.

"If you focus on Space alone, you are taking away its meaning. You've simplified it in this way, and as such it is easier to move toward plexity.

"If you focus on Time alone, you are taking away its meaning. You've simplified it in this way, and as such it is easier to move toward plexity.

"When you bring them together, they already sit on their perch of plexity, a perch that you did not build, one that relies on too many factors outside of your own Will. So, how can you then control it.

"But if you try to simplify it first, you end up in the same endless cycle.

"There are maybe other reasons why this is a broken path, but this is likely the most important one.

"No Rune Path can truly enpass it in this form."

Sylas paused.

"Is that all?" the old man asked calmly, nothing about his gaze giving much away.

Sylas didn't answer immediately, his gaze flickering with thoughts.

"… But the problem with this way of framing things is that World Spirits do not seem to struggle at all. They carry the burden of an entire world's frame of reference. They soar through the starry skies under the influence of celestial bodies with their own.

"They exist in a world where beings break the speed of light all the time, warp around them at impossible frames, bend and shatter what they are, and yet it took only two flames to give me not just one, but two Progenitor Flame Abilities that don't simplify Space and Time at all.

"If anything, they perfectly enpass their plexities despite being separate. They don't lose their nuance while separated. Instead, they seem to gain even more.

"That's the key, I believe. The ability to separate Spacetime without one being reliant on the other. That is the path forward toward touching upon the simplicity. But it is also easier said than done.

"Earlier, I relied on my Progenitor Flames to do this, but this isn't a viable, long term path. I'm sure I could reach the S-tier doing this alone, but it will not be the pinnacle I want out of it.

"Rune Creation, in its essence, is exactly that. Creation. To rely on something else means that you are no true Creator. At most, you would be a coordinator. On the one hand, this is why I could use my Progenitor Flame Abilities to replace the function of my own Will and prehension. But on the other hand, it will limit my capability to not only expand my Rune Path as far as I would like, but it would also limit my sight for non-Spacetime Runes.

"So, I thought long and hard about exactly what it would mean, trying to understand what the difference between a world and myself was. Why it could execute these things and I could not.

"How does it separate Space and Time without stripping them of their meaning.

"Once I thought of things that way, the answer was obvious.

"My world wasn't separating them at all."

A flash tinged the old man's eyes, but Sylas didn't seem to notice.

"What my world is actually doing is far simpler. When it considers Space, it keeps Time consistent. When it considers Time, it keeps Space constant.

"It's an obvious answer, one that I should have considered earlier. There is no separating Spacetime. If you do, you end up with an inferior product no matter what other attempts you make.

"The trick is that the methods of keeping the other constant is not the same, making it less obvious.

"When considering Space, Time must keep moving, you cannot stop it. When considering Time, Space must remain constant, there is no movement.

"That is the path to simplicity."

Sylas paused again.

"I am surprised. You've successfully managed to take the first step. When you began, I did not think you reached that level."

The old man's head tilted to a side. Sylas had said his path was broken. He didn't speak like someone who had understood all of this already.

So why was he saying that.

Sylas remained silent still as though he was still organizing his thoughts.

"My path is not Spacetime." Sylas said simply, looking at the old man across from him. "I incorporated the void into my path a long time ago."

The old man's eyes widened. The space around them shook, and for a moment the white fog collapsed, revealing an inkling of where the man's real body resided. But before Sylas could get a clear look at anything, the fog was back.

"You… are a madman."

The old man started laughing, laughing so uproariously it felt like reality itself would collapse, let alone space and time alone.

Back when Sylas entered Void Mastery for the first time, he had no idea it was a level of Rune Mastery. He hadn't known the actual name also happened to be Void Mastery either.

Sylas only entered Void Mastery because he prehended the Void as well. He had no functional teaching, so he didn't realize until later that there was a separation between Void Mastery and his Void Path.

It was only after he reached Fathomless Rune Creation that he truly understood, but by then, he had already incorporated the void into his Rune Mastery.

But likewise, since then, he hadn't used Archon Casting… because the burden was far too great.

His Archon Casting right now…

Well, even Sylas didn't quite know how powerful it was.

But what he did know was that it might drain him dry. Maybe he could just barely use it now that he had True Infinite Will. Even so, the burden would be great.

Sylas didn't have to consider just a cycle within a cycle with Spacetime. He had to consider a cycle, within a cycle, within yet another cycle.

Spacetime formed the foundation of everything. It was, in essence, substance itself.

The Void was the exact opposite. It was the quintessence of nothingness, the lack of substance.

As screwed as someone with a Spacetime Rune Path was.

Sylas was a whole other level of screwed.

It was no wonder even the old man didn't sense it.

How could you sense… Nothing?