The Throne of War and Calamity
Several hours had passed since the foundation process began.
Inside the training hall, the external runes started transforming into streams of shimmering energy. They flowed toward Ash's body, healing the damage inflicted during the process and nourishing his exhausted body.
The runes that had already entered him, however, did not disappear. Instead, they took root deep within his body, becoming part of his physical foundation.
Mihael watched the changes in silence.
Before the process could reach its conclusion, he reached into his storage ring and retrieved a small glass vial. Inside it was a colorful liquid, with delicate strands of light shimmering beneath its surface.
The Essence of the World Tree.
The vial was one of the prizes Mihael had won during the Kazarox Slayer Tournament.
The tournament was an extraordinary event in which the geniuses of the sixteen temples, all of whom had reached the age of twenty-five, were sent to the borders of the universe to compete. The best teams were awarded extraordinary prizes to encourage competition among the temples.
The Essence of the World Tree had been one of Mihael's rewards.
Originally, he had planned to preserve it until he advanced to the FifthRank of the Transcendent Stage.
However, even a single drop might prove beneficial to his younger brother at this critical moment.
Mihael would never have learned about this method of improving an innate body if not for a senior elder at the Seventh Level with whom he maintained a good relationship. The knowledge was so rare that even his own grandfather had been unaware of it.
Nevertheless, the Essence of the World Tree alone was insufficient to create an innate body.
Mihael lowered his gaze toward his left hand.
A strange symbol was tattooed upon it.
He murmured a few faint words.
The symbol began to glow, and a sphere of shimmering light emerged from it, floating in the air before him.
Mihael studied the sphere for a moment before speaking.
"As promised, I have an inheritance. However, I intend to entrust it to someone loyal to the human race."
The sphere responded immediately, its voice dripping with sarcasm.
"What a coincidence! It's your younger brother."
Mihael turned his head slightly, a faint trace of embarrassment crossing his face.
He quickly regained his composure.
"What? Should I send you back to the rescue?"
The sphere let out a mocking sound.
"Tsk, tsk..."
It then drifted toward Ash and began examining him.
A few moments passed before it spoke again.
"Talent of the sixth grade... and a solid physical foundation."
It paused briefly, as though reconsidering its assessment.
"Very well. Allow me to merge with him. However, my awakening in the future will depend on his will."
It then added,
"My former master left the Origin of Stars inside this sphere."
Its tone grew more serious.
"If the Essence of the World Tree you possess is merged with the Origin of Stars, it will be possible to create an innate body. There is also a chance that the boy will awaken the Origin of Stars or the Power of Dominion in the future, when he reaches the Fifth Level."
Mihael looked toward his younger brother, then back at the sphere.
He did not hesitate any longer.
The luminous sphere moved toward Ash.
Its radiance contracted, and then it passed seamlessly through his body, disappearing within him as it entered his Spiritual Sea.
There, it gradually began to settle.
Threads of light spread around it, establishing its presence within the Spiritual Sea and strengthening and protecting its spiritual foundation.
At the same time, a single drop of the Essence of the World Tree rose from the vial.
It floated in the air beside the sphere before slowly drifting toward it.
The Origin of Stars began to glow more brightly as the drop merged with it.
A soft radiance spread throughout Ash's Spiritual Sea, and the effects of the fusion began extending into his body.
The damage sustained during the foundation process started to heal. The exhaustion that had weighed upon his small body gradually receded.
As the energy continued to flow, his physical strength began to rise.
Once the effects of the fusion stabilized, Ash's physical strength had doubled compared to what it had been before the process.
Yet the transformation did not end there.
At the same time, the gravitational pressure surrounding his body increased.
The invisible layer imposed by the Cross Family Foundation became heavier. Every movement would now demand greater strength and effort, despite the doubling of his physical power.
He would have to adapt to the increased burden and learn to control his body under the influence of gravity and spacetime.
As for his innate body, its true power had yet to emerge.
During the first three levels, it would grant Ash rapid recovery, the ability to learn martial arts at an accelerated rate, extraordinary capacity for sustained effort, and an enormous energy reservoir.
However, the innate body's true power would not begin to manifest until he advanced beyond the Fourth Level.
At the Fifth Level, he might awaken the Origin of Stars or the Power of Dominion. Yet this remained only a possibility, not a guaranteed outcome.
Within his Spiritual Sea, the Origin of Stars settled after merging with the Essence of the World Tree, while the runes of the Cross Family Foundation took root within his body.
Mihael watched his younger brother in silence.
The foundation process had ended, and its effects were beginning to take shape.
But what Ash had gained was not the end of his journey.
It was merely the foundation upon which his future would be built.