Sitting cross-legged in his room, Yadrith calmly let out an even breath.
'I've somewhat come to understand what I have to do.'
He lifted his palms and began to calmly circulate the Rekh inside his body. At the First Step your Rekh is bound to your body; at the Second Step, he'll be able to emit a light similar to Oliver.
Something he was a bit excited to see: what color would his Rekh be?
He began to guide the Rekh through his nervous system; the only problem was that his Rekh wouldn't go past his neck. Achieving Ethra had everything to do with consciousness, and guiding the Rekh to his brain was the clear method to unlocking that power.
Sweat began to form at his temple as he began to forcibly push his Rekh up through his neck toward his brain. His head began to swell as if it was going to pop, and he quickly stopped.
'...I'm approaching this in the wrong way.' He sighed, placing his hand over his eye. "It would be a lot easier if I had some guidance." He spoke loudly.
There was no answer.
"Haaahh..." He raised his palms once more. "Let's try again...!"
Thus began his evening of constant pain and failure; however, with each failure the Rekh he guided went further and further.
"I felt it at my brow that time!" He smiled, his entire body shaky.
He fell over on his back and rubbed his neck where a beard had been steadily growing.
"Just one more time..."
He blinked with a tired, pained eye and fixed himself back up.
Once more, he raised his palms.
A deep, powerful breath left his mouth, and his Rekh surged. With immaculate precision, his Rekh flowed past his neck with no difficulties. The Rekh continued up to his brow; a sharp pain crossed through Yadrith's head, causing him to grunt.
However, he did not stop. The Rekh broke through the barrier of pain, causing Yadrith's entire head to turn red. He mentally shoved the pain away and continued to control his Rekh. It continued upward, and then he finally felt it flow to his brain.
The pain immediately vanished, and his one eye opened.
"..."
He was speechless, and he revelled in the feeling of his consciousness literally deepening. Every single muscle in his body was under his control; his senses were improved to a level beyond human. Aside from that, an ominous feeling suddenly crept over his mind.
The serenity and enjoyment of reaching Opening Mind were drowned out by the depravity he suddenly felt.
'This disgusting thing... This is my soul...'
He clutched his heart, feeling pain throughout his entire chest. Pain was no longer just a feeling; it was something more intimate after achieving Opening Mind. Even his movements were more precise, no longer hindered by his nervous system.
He collapsed onto the floor, with labored breaths.
"God..."
He wasn't seeing the immeasurable misfortune and the immense fortune. He was feeling it; a direct connection to his own soul had been established when he opened his mind. He could feel the weight of his sins crushing him mentally, while his goodwill held him up.
The sour part of something usually spoils the good part. It doesn't matter if he was at a true balance; the absolutely horrific nature of his misfortune was something he couldn't live with. His eye trembled, and he reached for his Stone Sword.
He unsheathed it and manically held it by his neck. His hand violently shook, and he swallowed.
"I'm sorry." He spoke in a whisper and clutched his sword even harder, pulling it toward his neck with great resolve. However, something with much more strength stopped him.
"...Teryeon?" He spoke in a shaky tone, turning his head. Teryeon was not there; however, something else was. His shadow was there, in the shape of a massive hand holding his arm away from his neck.
"Casting Shadow? How is that possible? I didn't command you."
He suddenly heard a woman chuckle to his right and turned his head. Teryeon stood there laughing.
"I really thought you were going to do it, but you stopped yourself."
He didn't respond, continuing to breathe heavily.
"Right, I'll take care of that." She placed her hand on his chest.
He suddenly felt the deep misfortune and fortune quell themselves and retract within something inside him. Perhaps his soul?
"That feels much better..." He dropped his sword. 'I can still somewhat feel it, but it's not the same feeling as before.' He hoped never to feel the depravity hidden inside him ever again.
"What did you do?"
She smiled. "I sealed your equilibrium, or gave it a cage of sorts. You won't have to deal with it until you become an Ascendant; by then, you'll be able to handle it."
"I see, I must've had to obtain Ethra for you to reach my soul or something like that? Correct?"
Teryeon gave him a shameless look. "Right."
"Anyway, I'm a bit curious about my Regalia. Why did it suddenly act on its own?"
"Because once you reach Opening Mind, your actions are no longer solely dictated by your thoughts. Rather, it is the combination of your mind and will. Your will must be strongly built on survival or life, so you will naturally stop yourself." Teryeon explained.
"Then, will I be able to resist Echo's will?"
She shook her head. "You'll react to it the same as the rest of us; it was your mind that decided on suicide. However, for us Ascendants, it is Echo's will. His will directly corrupts yours."
"...Oh. Well, now that I've learned Ethra, can I leave?"
Teryeon raised an eyebrow. "You're quite eager. Is it because of that Oliver you spoke of earlier?"
"That, and also the mental compulsion Mahaya's mother placed in my mind. It's basically screaming at me to leave the continent all day... Honestly, it's getting a bit unbearable."
She observed him for a moment, trying to understand why Miel would do such a thing.
"Why did she?"
Yadrith shrugged. "Hell if I know."
"Then..." Teryeon took a few steps toward him.
Feeling a familiar and foreboding feeling, he quickly held out his hand and stopped her.
"She read my mind... It caused her to start digging out her own eyes and momentarily lose her mind. If you're fine with that, then go ahead."
Teryeon chuckled, "I'll be fine." She swatted his hand away, her face full of curiosity.
Yadrith couldn't help but sigh as Teryeon placed her hand over his head. A few seconds passed, and she just stared at him silently.
"Did you see anything?" He asked.
Teryeon frowned, stepping away from Yadrith.
"Nothing, someone blocked your mind using their will. It's probably someone at the Crowned level; that's why anyone weaker than me would have a brutal reaction to reading your mind."
She paused and frowned.
"Miel must have seen something else. Either way, there's someone terrifying behind you. I don't believe in coincidence, so our meeting here must have been planned."
Yadrith shivered at the idea that someone was behind his life, puppeteering it. Being without free will was terrifying; even Miel's compulsion felt invasive, even if he was fine with travelling.
He suddenly thought that his meeting with Miel was simply for her to give him Mahaya as a protector who would lead him to Teryeon, but why? He had learned Ethra by arriving here, but he would've learned it anyway from Oliver.
'You must have wanted me to learn the truth behind Veerhun, then?' He questioned the mysterious manipulator in his mind. "This might seem a bit random, but you did mention that Veerhun had an avatar act as the Wyrmking."
Teryeon nodded.
"Then, is that avatar still alive?"
"Yes, the avatar of Veerhun is still active... To be exact, avatars are not autonomous; they are controlled. However, Veerhun's avatar was made using his Regalia instead of simply using a fragment of his soul like most Ascendants; he used both his Regalia and soul."
Yadrith slowly nodded. "Did they share a mind?"
Teryeon shook her head.
"Veerhun's avatar doesn't even know he's an avatar." Teryeon clenched her teeth. "He's a completely different person and a condescending asshole. The fact that my husband allowed such an insignificant creature to carry on his name baffles me every day I walk these halls."
"Oh... Then, I'm guessing you guys aren't on good terms."
"We're practically strangers; we've met a few times. But, very briefly. I once served as a court jester in Vei'Tura. To be more precise, I served in Ludo's castle."
She began to glow brightly and shifted back into a male. Even the black dress she had been wearing turned into brown trousers and a fancy-looking shirt.
"This was the form I took in Vei'Tura, and naturally the one I casually wear."
'Vei'Tura...? I think I've heard of it before.'
"Where is Vei'Tura again... Sorry."
Teryeon gave him a strange look, filled with clearly exaggerated confusion.
"The capital of Balrendrum... The birthplace of humanity. How are you so oblivious? Now, I'm seriously curious about what's in your mind."
Yadrith awkwardly laughed, "And who's Ludo? I'm actually more curious why the wife of a godlike figure was his jester."
"Ludo was the most influential figure a century ago, a bit before that 'Blight' destroyed Balrendrum. I served as his jester as part of a bargain, where he promised to fund the Land of Demons. He was a bit of a lustful man, so to spite him, I decided to live as a male and just got used to being one."
Teryeon clenched his fist and smiled.
"Of course, the Blight was terrifying. It crumbled Balrendrum, and with it Ludo. I believe he's still alive, although he's been corrupted by the Blight."
"Did you ever face the Blight?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be standing before you. Every single person that faced him was either mentally corrupted or simply destroyed. The Blighted One was a tyrant of a man, with no motive other than destruction." Teryeon sighed. "Apparently, about twelve thousand years ago, there was a person named Melziak who was compared to the Blight... I never met him either."
He smiled.
"I'm a life preservationist."
Yadrith chuckled.
"I've heard about Melziak; some acquaintance from Pelsac mentioned them. They only said that the Pelsacian Empire had defeated Melziak, that's it."
Teryeon frowned, "Based on my information, Melziak simply vanished. But, anything could be true, I'm a hermit who often gets third-party information!"