The pressure disappeared.
It didn't fade slowly or leave behind some grand sense of doom. It just backed off, like a hand that had been pressing against her mind finally letting go.
The true Paragon stood still and said nothing.
She had gotten the message.
A moment ago, she had seriously considered taking Runar's soul core. Not in some vague, passing thought, but in a real calculation. She had looked at the twin Supreme Principles inside him and thought about devouring them. The moment that thought formed, she had been slammed by a will so heavy that even she felt death looking at her.
She wasn't stupid enough to try again.
The soul core floated quietly in the center of the space. Golden-white light pulsed from it in a steady rhythm. Inside it, Absolute Comprehension and Origin Weave sat openly, no longer half-formed or unstable. They were complete. Anyone with enough perception could see that much.
The true Paragon could see it too.
