Soren’s voice echoed out into the infinite darkness, moving past the dense fog that was rapidly closing in on him from all sides.
“Just when will this end?!” He grit his teeth and focused even more. Swirls of mind power manifested themselves from each direction, stirring the fog and everything else with it.
Even so, the fog resisted the call to fall back. Like a venomous snake, it wrapped itself around its prey—letting go was outside the purview of its existence.
Fifty meters of distance turned into thirty, then twenty then ten… With every passing minute, his focus haltered and slowed.
But Soren persisted—he had to.
He could feel his memories slowly being lost. Even his ability to talk was slowly being erased as his understanding of knowledge was consumed by the encroaching fog.
“I… Must…” The words felt familiar yet elusive, but he still said them anyway.
“...Resist…”
Fear slowly set in. He could feel the fog shifting across his skin. But his desperation, rather than shifting into panic, morphed into anger.
Anger at himself for not being able to resist as well as the world for placing him in this unexpected trial. With the last of his mental strength, he thought of the most powerful pushing force he could imagine at the time.
A hurricane.
The manifested winds blew fast and strong. Soren himself felt as if he was going to be lifted and whisked away at any second. But he didn’t focus on these lingering thoughts and continued to meditate.
Slowly, it worked. The fog was backed up to where he had originally seen it. But he knew this wasn’t going to last.
The fog was going to match the strength of a hurricane soon. Which meant that the time he had available was going to be cut even further.
He grit his teeth, “There has to be something I am missing here…” If the way to get rid of the fog was through brute force, he should have already succeeded by now. Soren was confident that his mental strength was much higher compared to the average magus.
He did not survive two months inside the Beyond simply through sheer luck. His indomitable will was also an important factor.
And yet, before this elusive fog, all of this was meaningless. Everything he was once proud of was inconsequential before its might.
This meant one of two things. Either this entire trial had been nothing but a sham and impossible to accomplish from the start, or… there was another method to succeeding that he was unaware of.
“Screw it, I don’t have much to lose at this point...”
Although it was risky, Soren decided to open his eyes. He knew that time was running out as the fog slowly encroached on him from all sides, but there was no other way. He needed to analyze his enemy to find a way to break through.
Since [Fictionalization] worked, my other abilities should work also. With that thought racing in his mind, Soren gave the command to see the unseen.
[Eyes of the Fairy] activated.
Within his newfound vision, a strange pattern emerged within the formation of the fog that he had never noticed before… Strange gaps in between the mist clouds that formed elusive yet orderly strands.
Strange…
He continued observing them for a few more seconds. Slowly, the fog had now reached the ten meter range. Even his deepest traumas seemed to have been erased from his mind.
Soren felt like a blank slate. The only goal his consciousness preoccupied itself with was discovering the meaning within those strange strands. Even as the fog enclosed on him, he didn’t bother to pay it any attention.
And that was when it finally hit him.
The number of strands… They mirrored his number of Channels of Willpower.
“There are thirteen in total!” Without an ounce of hesitation, he closed his eyes and began imagining his control over those strands. Like pipes, the wind he was manifesting now flowed through these gaps, passing through every corner of the fog and into the darkness beyond.
His strategy worked.
The fog slowly began to move away. Like a marionettist, he commanded it to stir in the opposite direction through his control over the strands.
And yet, the rate of speed only decreased further and further. It was as if the fog was adapting to his control and trying to regain its freedom.
“I won’t let you!” His brows furrowed as he began to contemplate the pattern once more. Although the strands mirrored his number of channels, that did not mean they were fixed. As the fog continued to stir, Soren could notice the formation of more gaps in between the already existing ones…
With his mental strength, he tried to reach out to these slowly forming strands—to accelerate their creation. The fog, of course, resisted, but even if it meant allowing it to shift its movement back towards him, Soren didn’t care and focused more on trying to establish a connection with these new strands.
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After a while, thirteen strands became fourteen, then fifteen, then sixteen…
A total of twenty.
His focus became much easier to establish. In the end, he amassed thirty total strands—each of which was pumped with his will.
The fog stood no chance. In just a matter of seconds, it went from being close enough to be felt on his skin to now being a mile away in distance. The surrounding darkness was now much more visible.
Even with his eyes closed, Soren felt the manifestation of something glowing before him. His eyes readjusted to the new light as he observed the [Fictionalization] window pop up once more.
Mission - Blow Away the Fog (Lvl. 1): Complete!
Time: 30 minutes and 35 seconds.
Channels of Willpower: 31
Before he could analyze it further, the world before him shattered like glass. Light poured in from the surrounding darkness as the unseen surface he had been walking on became visible.
A serene and stable ocean-like floor with a clear blue sky up above.
“Just as I thought, this really was the Echo of Mind…”
He took a deep breath and thought of the exit. And with that, his spirit body disintegrated as he slowly returned back to the real world.
Soren’s eyes fluttered to life amidst a field of flowers. Up above, the crayon-painted night sky shifted with new constellations. Countless colossal bookshelves floated and moved freely, blocking his vision from time to time.
“You are back,” the figment of his imagination said. “A lot quicker than what I assumed. I was hoping you’d perish and let me take over...” It clicked its tongue.
Soren stayed silent. His attention was focused more on the memories that had all now returned to him.
Everything finally made sense.
“So that was consciousness training, huh…”
“Indeed,” it replied.
Soren frowned. “But why the hell did it have to be so dangerous?”
The flame’s voice seemed like a mix of both pity and mockery, “Because you asked me to make it that dangerous.”
“.....”
Soren couldn’t refute that claim. Yesterday—or what felt like yesterday in this strange realm, Soren decided to also do consciousness training during his free time.
Consciousness training was something Magi were required to do. The methods to do so usually ranged from all kinds of things, but the general consensus was that a person needs to cogitate in a meditative state in order to further refine their own understanding and control over their three layers.
The reason why this needed to be done was fairly simple. For one, simply unlocking new Channels of Willpower wasn’t enough. If a magi wanted to control those channels, they would also need a corresponding amount of mental strength to do so.
And it was also through this method that a magi’s limit at keeping their Soul Realm expanded heightened.
After experiencing many unbelievable things that demanded a colossal amount of mental strength to resist, Soren’s limit was ten minutes and thirteen seconds. A record usually seen by 2nd Circle magi.
However, in order to maximize the time he had during his trials in this period, Soren knew he had to make sure his Soul Realm lasted even longer…
As a result, he came up with a devilish idea that would have made Cassia cough up blood if he ever told her about it…
Simply put, unlike others, Soren’s True Self manifests itself as his Soul Weapon, which meant that the skills he wields were also able to function inside his mind.
Consciousness training usually requires deep contemplation and patience… For most magi, it was a slow process that was never meant to be rushed.
Soren on the other hand wasn’t most magi. He was an insane fool that loved courting death more than anything.
With his “brilliance,” he came up with the idea to use the skills his Soul Weapon granted him… against himself. With the Figment of his Imagination taking control, it first used [Fictionalization] to manifest a fog that obstructed him from escaping. And with its understanding of his current willpower and its structure, allowed it to create that trap with the sole purpose of forcing Soren to his limits.
Those in desperate circumstances will always push themselves to their breaking points in order to survive. And that was exactly what he had planned—to mount enough pressure against himself to force a breakthrough.
I seriously could’ve died…
“How was it,” the voice interrupted his chain of thoughts. “Did you enjoy the trap?”
Soren’s frown deepened. “That fog you manifested. Was it created through the knowledge I acquired about the Nameless Mist?”
“Indeed,” it replied. “Your understanding of that phenomena was too little. All it could do was erase your memories slowly. But it was good enough for a mind prison.”
Soren nodded. “Aside from how suicidal that was, at least I succeeded, didn’t I? I managed to unlock an extra 18 Channels of Willpower with just 30 minutes of practicing this… foolish technique.”
“You’re right on the foolish part. But also, keep in mind that this will not really work in the future. Eventually, your mental strength will be strong enough to continuously resist that fog—it won’t pose you any danger. At least, with your current knowledge. If you come across it again during your journeys, make sure to use [Eyes of the Fairy] to gain a higher level understanding of it.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. Not like I want to do that again, anyway… I was truly lucky this time—if my reactions were any slower, I would have been consumed… But the benefits are amazing. I think I can expand my Soul Realm for thirty minutes now if I keep it compact and stable.”
Reality shifted once again around him—an ancient yet lonesome marble gazebo canopy came into view. A large round table fit for a meeting of legends was seen inside, illuminated by a golden flame powered by his own very soul.
Soren entered and sat at the usual seat. Fatigue was finally beginning to set in. Even if one didn’t need food or water here, anima was still limited… His willpower needed time to recuperate.
“By the way,” the flame flickered, “I did what you asked of me last time.”
Soren’s brow furrowed. “Oh?”
“Julie,” The Records said, “I finally know where she is currently.”
Soren stayed silent—awaiting the answer.
At one of the holiest locations on Earth.
“The Vatican.”