Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1441: A Spiritual Core

The flickering spiritfire painted the cave walls with dancing shadows, a stark contrast to the raw emotions that had just been laid bare. Lusica stood at the entrance, a silent sentinel, his golden aura now a faint hum. Arthur, still translucent, lay in a healing trance. Ali continued to polish his sigil-stone, the rhythmic motion a testament to his ingrained discipline.

Tiara, however, couldn’t sit still. Lusica’s confession, raw and devoid of self-pity, echoed in her mind. He had tried to kill Diana. The words were a brand. Yet, the anguish in his voice, the sheer weight of his guilt, made it impossible to simply condemn him. She looked at Arthur, a phantom ache in her own chest. His burden was immense, encompassing not just their present danger, but a past that had shattered worlds and twisted souls.

She walked over to Ali, who paused his polishing. "He... he really did that?"

Ali didn’t look up immediately. "Grief makes monsters, Tiara. Loyalty, too, when it’s unchecked." He finally met her gaze, his expression solemn. "Arthur’s choices in Alka were made for the greater good, but they had ripple effects. Lusica bore the brunt of those."

"But Diana..."

"Diana is strong. And she has Arthur." Ali placed the polished sigil-stone on the ground, its surface gleaming. "We can’t change the past. But we can shape the future." He gestured toward the sleeping Arthur. "He’s exhausted. He emptied himself to save Lusica, and to make that statement to Invidia."

"What was that statement?" Tiara asked, looking back at the scarred landscape outside the cave.

"A warning," Lusica’s voice cut in, low and resonant from the entrance. He had turned, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon. "A declaration. He let Invidia know that even stripped bare, Arthur is a force to be reckoned with. He might have been trying to make a point, too, about the depths of his wrath."

Ali nodded. "And perhaps, an invitation. To draw the larger forces out."

Tiara shivered. "An invitation to war?"

"He’s the Seika of Living Beings," Lusica said, finally stepping fully into the cave’s warmth. "His existence is a challenge to anything that preys on life. The Abyss. The Nameless. Devaheim itself." He looked at Arthur, a new reverence in his gaze. "He is what this realm needs. A beacon."

"So, what do we do, Ali?" Tiara asked, turning to the older seeker. "Arthur said we need to ascend. How?"

Ali picked up a handful of loose soil, letting it sift through his fingers. "The vendor, Ruben, spoke of the Peak Foundation and forming a Spirit Core. That’s the key to ascending layers here. But he also mentioned the ’Divine Light’ and ’Soulbinds’ as temporary measures."

"Arthur doesn’t have a Soulbind," Tiara supplied.

"Which means his spiritual energy is raw, untamed. It’s why he flickers, why he overloads," Lusica interjected, his voice surprisingly calm now. "He has the power, but not the vessel to contain it for long. He’s like a limitless river without banks."

"Exactly," Ali confirmed. "Ruben mentioned that the more spiritual energy a person has, the longer it takes to form a Spirit Core. For Arthur, that’s a monumental task. His uncontrolled bursts are just raw spiritual energy reshaping his own soul structure, rather than a refined process."

"So, he needs to form a Spirit Core," Tiara clarified. "How do we do that?"

"Through the Sovereign Path," Ali replied. "It’s the natural progression of spiritual cultivation. The Spirit Core acts as a personal reservoir, a controlled furnace for your spiritual energy. It allows seekers to maintain their corporeal form indefinitely, use more powerful sigils, and eventually, ascend."

"And the Divine Light?" Lusica asked. "Ruben mentioned it blesses us with Soulbind until we can form our own Core."

"The Divine Light is a manifestation of the First Contract," Ali explained. "It flows through the Infra-Layer, granting a baseline of stability to new seekers. A Soulbind is a temporary spiritual anchor, a gift that allows lesser seekers to materialize and function here without dissipating." He held up his necklace, where a small, glowing gem rested. "This is my Soulbind. It’s a focus point for my spiritual energy, a little bank account before you build your own treasury."

"So, we need to guide Arthur to form his Core," Tiara deduced. "And we need to get stronger ourselves to help him and to ascend with him."

"Precisely," Ali said, a rare smile touching his lips. "The good news is, Arthur has already done most of the heavy lifting. His inherent spiritual energy is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed. What he lacks is the discipline, the refinement, the architectural knowledge of his own soul."

"And I," Lusica added, a touch of self-deprecating humor in his voice, "now have a unique understanding of both his power and the abyss. Perhaps I can be... a guide. An anchor, as he was for me."

Tiara looked at Lusica, then at Ali, and finally at the slumbering Arthur. A new sense of purpose solidified within her. This wasn’t just about escape anymore. It was about building, about learning, about mastering themselves for a greater fight.

"First step, then," Tiara said, her voice firm. "We need to understand how the Spirit Core is formed. And how to help Arthur, without overwhelming him or ourselves."

The next few days were a blur of training and intense discussion. They found a more secluded, larger cave system further into the mountain range, its natural formations providing better protection and a small, clear spring for water. Ali took on the role of primary instructor, drawing upon his vast, albeit fragmented, knowledge of spiritual cultivation.

"The Spirit Core isn’t something you build like a house," Ali explained one morning, tracing diagrams in the dirt with a stick. "It’s something you cultivate like a pearl. It requires focus, introspection, and a consistent flow of spiritual energy directed inward, rather than outward for sigils."

He demonstrated a simple meditation technique, guiding them to visualize their spiritual energy coalescing into a single, radiant point within their chests. Tiara, with her inherent connection to spiritual flow, found the visualization surprisingly easy. Lusica, still fragile from his ordeal, struggled initially, the darkness within him resisting the inward focus. But with Arthur’s golden light still echoing within his very being, he persevered.

"The Divine Light nourishes us in the Infra-Layer, helping us establish a basic connection," Ali continued. "But to truly form a Core, you need to draw on something deeper, something innate. Your soul’s true potential."

Arthur, when he finally stirred from his healing trance, listened with a keen, focused intensity. His golden form was still translucent, but steadier, less prone to flickering. He absorbed Ali’s explanations like a sponge, his mind already racing to connect the dots with his own unique experiences.

"So, my ’overflowing spiritual energy’ is just... raw potential, uncontained?" Arthur asked, a frown on his face. "And the uncontrolled bursts I’ve had, they were me trying to force a Core without knowing what I was doing?"

"In essence, yes," Ali confirmed. "Your power is immense, Arthur. Far beyond anything the Infra-Layer has seen. But without a proper vessel, it’s a blessing and a curse. It drains you, makes you unstable, and alerts everything around you to your presence."

"It also made me a target for the Nameless," Arthur muttered, a shadow crossing his face. "It always sought to destroy me. And Invidia, too."

Lusica, who had been listening intently, stepped forward. "The Nameless sought to destroy you, Seika, because your boundless existence is anathema to it. Without the Core, you are vulnerable to its influence, or to a forced consumption by other abyssal forces."

"Forced consumption?" Tiara asked, disturbed.

"If the Nameless can’t twist your will, it will simply try to unmake you, to return your essence to the void," Lusica explained, his voice grim. "It’s what it tried to do to me. To all abyssal users. We are its unwilling meals, our torment its seasoning."

Arthur closed his eyes, then opened them, a new resolve shining within them. "Then the Core becomes a shield as well as a source. If I am to protect others, I need to protect myself first."

The training intensified. Arthur found it challenging not to simply force his spiritual energy into a Core. His instincts were to push, to exert, to overwhelm. Ali patiently guided him, emphasizing flow, gentle cultivation, and the subtle art of introspection.

"It’s like trying to catch mist in your hands, Arthur," Ali explained. "The harder you squeeze, the more it slips away. You must invite it, guide it, let it settle."

Lusica, despite his earlier struggles, found unexpected progress. His time consumed by the Nameless, though horrific, had paradoxically taught him about the precise manipulation of spiritual energy at its most fundamental level – the tearing and mending of the soul. He became a keen observer of Arthur’s progress, offering insights that Ali, lacking Arthur’s unique power, could not.

"You’re trying to contain an ocean in a teacup, Seika," Lusica observed one afternoon, watching Arthur’s form shimmer violently. "Instead, envision the teacup as the very source of the ocean, drawing it into itself."

Arthur paused, considering. It was a subtle shift in perspective, but it made a difference. He began to feel a faint, pulsing warmth in his chest, a nascent point of focus.

Tiara, meanwhile, focused on refining her control over external spiritual energy. Arthur had awakened her ability to connect with objects, but it was still raw. Ali taught her grounding techniques, how to subtly imbue objects with her spiritual energy, making them extensions of her will rather than mere playthings.

"You have a natural affinity for the world around you, Tiara," Ali praised her one day, as she effortlessly lifted a large rock with a gentle gesture. "This will be invaluable in the upper layers, where the environment itself is a source of spiritual energy."

Their diet consisted of local spirit-leaf snacks, replenished by Ali and Tiara on quick, cautious trips to nearby, less populated settlements. They learned to conserve their spirit coins, now truly understanding their value as materialized spiritual energy.

Days bled into weeks. Arthur’s form grew more stable, his golden glow less erratic. The constant, subtle drain on his energy lessened. He could maintain his corporeal form for longer periods, and his flickers became less frequent, more controlled.

Lusica’s golden sigils grew brighter, more defined. He practiced with his sword of light, its hum now a steady, reassuring tone, no longer dimming after exertion. He was still marked by the abyss, but the darkness was no longer eating him from within. It was contained, a scar, a reminder—but no longer a master.

One evening, as the spiritfire cast long, dancing shadows, Arthur’s breath hitched. A profound stillness settled over him. The faint warmth in his chest intensified, spreading like liquid sun.

Ali, sensing the shift, instantly put down his sigil-stone. Lusica straightened at the cave entrance. Tiara’s eyes widened.

Arthur’s golden form solidified, becoming less translucent, more defined. The light within him didn’t explode outward, but rather pulsed, rhythmically, contained. It was a quiet power, deep and immense.

"I... I think I did it," Arthur whispered, his voice resonating with a new depth. "I can feel it. A core."

Ali’s face broke into a wide grin. Lusica nodded, a rare, genuine smile gracing his lips. Tiara let out a whoop of triumph, jumping up and down.

"Excellent, Arthur!" Ali exclaimed. "Now, try to draw from it. Not just for sigils, but to maintain your form."

Arthur focused. He felt the vast reservoir within, a miniature sun at his core. He drew on it, and his golden form became completely solid, the light no longer seeping out but radiating from within, controlled, vibrant. He was fully materialized, an ethereal being made tangible.

"It’s... easier," Arthur murmured, clinching his hands. "It feels like... me. But stronger."

"That’s the point of the Core," Ali said, beaming. "It’s you, perfected. Now, we can truly begin the ascent."