Veneri opened his eyes inside his soul. It had been years since he consciously came here. The last time he had descended this deeply into his own soul was during the First Epoch Cycle, back when he was still weak, desperate, angry and too reckless for his own good.
During the First Epoch Cycle, when he was trapped inside the Obsidian Runic Spire, he fought Permafrost's Grasp. Even now, just remembering that monster made his body tense slightly. Permafrost's Grasp was a Fifth Enlightenment Divine Human with an Open World Overwrite.
Back then, Vastarael was only a First Phase Ascender who barely understood the scale of Divine Rank. By all logic, by all common sense, by every law of power in Spheraphase, he should have died. No strategy should have worked. No amount of talent should have bridged that gap. The only reason he survived was because he cheated death in the most horrifying way possible.
Soul Sacrifice.
Even now, just thinking about the technique made his stomach twist.
It was the one and only Aeterium technique his father taught him and his siblings. Leon knew it. Leones knew it. Milliania and Anamorsia knew it too and every single one of them feared it. Soul Sacrifice was not some flashy combat art or elegant divine ability.
One had to reach into the depths of their own soul and physically sacrifice a part of it in exchange for temporary power. A section, a memory, an emotion, or an entire body part. Back then, Vastarael sacrificed his soul arm.
That single act gave him enough power to kill Permafrost's Grasp but the consequences were permanent.
Even now, he did not possess a real soul arm anymore. The arm attached to his soul was artificial, created by Reynolds when he forged the prosthetic arms for him. It worked perfectly but it was still an imitation. The original was gone forever.
After that battle, Vastarael made himself a promise. Never again would he descend into his soul unless absolutely necessary. Never again would he use Soul Sacrifice unless he was truly cornered with no escape.
Because now that he was a Divine, using Soul Sacrifice would probably elevate him to Deity-level power temporarily. The stronger he became, the more dangerous the technique became. He exhaled slowly and forced those thoughts away before finally looking around properly.
"Damn."
His soul was beautiful.
A vast sapphire meadow stretched endlessly beneath the sky. Millions upon millions of blue peonies swayed gently under a warm breeze that carried their sweet scent endlessly across the horizon. The sky above him was bright and clear. Floating high overhead were twelve massive pseudo-cores illuminating the heavens as artificial suns. Their light shimmered across the endless sea of peonies, causing the entire soulscape to have an ethereal look.
Veneri slowly walked through the flowers in silence. Every step caused petals to drift around him. He never realized his soul looked like this.
Back when he was seventeen, he never explored it properly. He was too panicked during the fight against Permafrost's Grasp. He had only reached into the depths instinctively, sacrificed his arm, gained power and left immediately after surviving. He never stopped to look around or understand himself. Now that he actually stood here calmly, he finally understood why Aeterium souls were so feared.
This place felt absurdly durable. He suddenly remembered what Narisva once told him.
"For Celestials, our personal dimensions act as the reflection of ourselves. But for Aeteriums, your soul itself becomes your world because your souls are nearly impossible to destroy."
At the time, he thought she was exaggerating. Not anymore.
Veneri bent down slowly and touched the sapphire peonies surrounding him. The flowers felt soft against his fingers and released an even stronger scent the moment he brushed against them.
"I didn't even have these back then."
The Base Tether Peony Creation was something he gained years after the Permafrost's Grasp incident. He only obtained it after killing the Crimson Verdarite upon becoming a Divine, which meant his soul had evolved alongside him over time. That realization felt strangely personal. His soul had been quietly growing without him noticing.
Veneri stood up again before finally summoning the Primordial Artifact. Aeternita Ornavis appeared in his hand with a faint green glow.
The mango looked hilariously normal compared to the surreal beauty of his soul. It looked like he was about to start gardening. He stared at it for a few seconds before sighing.
"A Primordial Artifact and it still looks edible."
No response came. He honestly expected Thyrexxa to appear out of nowhere just to insult him again.
Veneri eventually shrugged and walked deeper into the meadow before stopping near a quiet area beneath the light of the pseudo-cores. He crouched down.
"Guess I'm doing this."
Using his hands, he slowly began digging into the soft sapphire soil. The dirt was cool against his fingers and strangely smooth, almost like refined crystal mixed with earth. After digging a deep enough hole, he carefully placed Aeternita Ornavis inside. The moment the mango touched the soil, the entire meadow trembled.
Veneri immediately narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
Water flowed gently from his palm. Inside his soul, he could still access abilities connected to his existence even if he was not currently the Water Pentarch outside of the soulscape. The water shimmered beautifully beneath the blue sky as he slowly poured it over the buried artifact. For a few seconds, nothing happened.
The moment the water touched the buried mango, the sapphire meadow shook violently. Veneri immediately stepped back as the ground beneath him cracked open with glowing lines of blue light.
A massive tree erupted from the soil.
The shockwave alone sent countless sapphire peonies flying into the air like drifting waves of petals. The trunk burst upwards at absurd speed while roots spread beneath the meadow and across the landscape of his soul. Veneri stared upward in complete disbelief as the tree continued growing.
"What the fuck?"
It did not stop.
Branches spread across the sky while golden leaves bloomed from every direction. The bark itself shimmered faintly with ancient green patterns that looked almost alive. By the time the growth finally stopped, the tree towered over the meadow.
It was gigantic. To put it into perspective, the tree was roughly the height of a mountain. Veneri just stood there silently for several seconds while staring up. The tree radiated a calm but overwhelmingly ancient aura. It did not feel aggressive or dangerous.
The tree was too massive to even properly look at from his current height. His size and height increased rapidly until the giant mango tree finally began looking proportionate to him. It was still extremely tall but now it resembled a massive ordinary tree instead of a world structure. Since he was in his soul, changing his height was not really an issue.
He crossed his arms while staring at it.
"Okay, that's better."
A soft chime suddenly echoed throughout his soul. Aa familiar holographic screen appeared in front of him.
[You have obtained a Primordial Artifact, Aeternita Ornavis.]
[Classification: Primordial Living Artifact]
[Status: Soul-Bound]
[Condition: Stable]
[Growth Phase: Initial Germination]
Veneri stared at the screen.
"Growth phase?"
Before he could think deeper about it, the tree suddenly pulsed again. The massive tree had begun absorbing his Soul Energy directly from the environment of his soul.
Sapphire streams of energy flowed from the meadow into the roots and trunk like rivers feeding an ancient organism. Veneri immediately checked himself but nothing was wrong.
He did not feel weakened.
Honestly, the amount being absorbed was enormous by normal standards, but his Soul Energy reserves were absurdly large to begin with. Aeteriums possessed terrifying souls and his had evolved even further after reaching Divine Rank. To him, the consumption felt noticeable but harmless.
Still…
"This thing eats Soul Energy, huh? This would have killed any other person who wasn't an Aeterium."
Then the branches above him rustled softly. Golden light began appearing between the leaves.
"No way."
Mangoes began growing.
Dozens of them formed rapidly from the branches before turning into a rich golden color that radiated faint divine light. Their scent spread throughout the meadow almost instantly. They smelled incredible. The fragrance was sweet and strangely calming at the same time. Even the sapphire peonies reacted to it.
Veneri stared at the glowing fruits overhead.
"I actually have fruits growing inside my soul."
The sentence sounded so ridiculous out loud that it became even funnier.
He walked closer to the tree and touched its bark carefully. The surface was warm beneath his fingers, almost like touching living skin. He could actually feel the tree even though he lost his sense of touch on his arms. He looked at his system and this time, there were a lot of changes.