Arthur emerged from the Spirit Pagoda offering no indication of what he had gone through inside the pagoda, as though he had merely stepped out after a period of quiet meditation rather than surviving trials that could have killed any other cultivators. The black tower stood exactly as it had before, silent and indifferent.
The gathered elders who had been waiting outside immediately turned their attention toward him. To them, only a few minutes might have passed but to Arthur, more than a week had passed.
Liwei was already approaching him. The Sect Master's usually composed expression carried a faint trace of curiosity as he studied Arthur from head to toe, as if trying to determine what, if anything, had changed.
"With how calm you are looking," Liwei said, resting a hand briefly on Arthur's shoulder and patting him, "it seems you passed the trial without much trouble."
Arthur nodded his head in acknowledgment, offering neither denial nor elaboration. There was no benefit in describing what he had experienced, and even if he tried, he doubted they would believe what he had gone through inside that space. The pagoda's trials were different for everyone and he wondered who could create something like this pagoda. He believed whoever made this pagoda was an extremely strong being.
Liwei watched him for a moment longer before continuing, his tone shifting into something more instructive. "You must have received a Soul Crystal. I will not ask what grade it is, that is your fortune, and prying into it would serve no purpose. But listen carefully to what I am about to say, do not use it yet. No matter how eager you might be, wait until you reach the Nascent Soul realm. Only then will your foundation be stable enough to withstand its effects. Even the lowest-grade Soul Crystal requires the strength of a Golden Core realm cultivator to refine it properly, and using it too early would be like pouring a river into an unbaked clay vessel."
Arthur nodded, accepting the warning seriously even though his circumstances were… different. "Thank you, Sect Master."
Liwei laughed, waving off the formality as they began descending the mountain path together. "If you are to be my disciple, you should stop calling me Sect Master. It makes me sound older than I am, just call me Master."
The casual remark earned a faint smile from Arthur, and he gave another nod in agreement.
By the time they returned from the pagoda peak, arrangements had already been made for him. A residence had been prepared overlooking one of the inner valleys, modest by the standards of the central sect yet still far more refined than anything afforded to ordinary disciples, and a young attendant had been assigned to handle daily necessities so that he could focus entirely on cultivation. The sect clearly intended to invest heavily in him, and while Arthur recognized the practicality behind their actions, he also understood that expectations would follow just as closely as privileges.
Evening approached quietly, the sky dimming into a deeper shade of orange as the sect settled into its nightly rhythm of meditation halls and training grounds. Once he confirmed that no one was observing him, Arthur stepped outside, then bent space with his will, and vanished from the surface of the planet entirely.
He reappeared in the cold vacuum beyond the atmosphere, suspended among drifting chunks of rocks surrounding the planet. The planet looked huge from up there, and Arthur felt it might even be larger than Thyrandel.
From within his dimensional storage he withdrew the Obelisk, its energy was constantly getting refilled with no signs of it getting exhausted despite the multiple times he used it since first acquiring it.
He activated the device and a familiar portal opened before him like a wound in reality, yet when he examined it now with his vastly improved spatial perception, he found much to his irritation that he still couldn't analyze it.
He frowned slightly. "So even now, you're still beyond me."
Whatever principles governed the Obelisk were deeper than the spatial laws he had just begun to grasp, and after a moment of consideration, he simply gave up and stepped through the portal.
The jump carried him back to Thyrandel.
He appeared first on the isolated island where he had last left the planet from, waves were crashing against the distant shore. He always used this island whenever he visited a new universe as he didn't want to bring anything harmful to Avalon which might be present on the other side of the portal.
He then teleported to Avalon and immediately extended his awareness across the island. The familiar signatures of Avalon greeted him and he realized he missed this place and the people. He then quickly sensed Selene and shot towards her.
Selene had barely looked up from what she had been doing when Arthur appeared in front of her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
The suddenness of it drew a startled sound from her, but she did not resist. She could feel Arthur's emotions were not stable and instead hugged him back in a comforting way, sensing the tension beneath his composure and recognizing that this was not simply a greeting.
For a few moments neither of them spoke, the silence carried for a few more seconds. Arthur didn't realize how tightly he was holding her until he finally eased back and brushed a hand along her cheek as if confirming she was truly there.
Just then a cough sounded from the side, "Ahem..."
Arthur turned to see Finn leaning casually against the doorway, grinning like he had just witnessed premium quality entertainment. The others were there too, Eva, Leon, Natalya, Sophie, and Lisa each wearing expressions that ranged from amused to relieved.
"Well, look who's back," Finn said.
Arthur exhaled, finally letting some of the tension inside him ease. "Good to see you're all still alive."
"That's our line," Eva replied dryly.
One by one, the rest greeted him, Leon with a firm clasp of the shoulder, Natalya and Sophie with their usual mix of curiosity and concern. And Lisa watched quietly but with unmistakable warmth until Arthur patted her head making her blush in embarrassment which made the others laugh.
The reunion stretched naturally into conversation, and before long they had settled into recounting everything that had happened during their journey.
Everyone of his friends from Finn, Eva, Leon, Natalya, Sophie and even Lisa had been in the battlefield against the demons. And it was during those conversations that Arthur learned the situation with the demons had worsened.
"The demons have been pushing harder," Leon explained. "They are way more aggressive than before."
Engagements that were once sporadic had turned into sustained offensives, and no one seemed to know the full reason behind the escalation.
"We're also hearing rumors," Natalya added, "about summoned heroes joining the war effort."
Arthur listened without interrupting, and had a thoughtful expression on his face after hearing that, as he personally knew one such person.
There was no surprise the people of Thyrandel could summon otherworlders; after all, Steve himself had once arrived in this world through similar means. Yet the timing, combined with the demons' sudden change in behavior, suggested a larger pattern. Whether these new arrivals came from this universe or from entirely different realities remained unclear, but either possibility couldn't be discarded.
"I'll look into it," Arthur said at last and he felt he should investigate the summoning magic.
And he already knew that investigating summoning magic would inevitably place him at odds with the Church, since such rituals were undoubtedly guarded secrets, but that was a problem for later. For now, he issued instructions to the probes surrounding Thyrandel, directing them to locate and monitor these so-called heroes without interference.
Night eventually settled over Avalon, bringing with it a rare moment of peace for Arthur.
He and Selene sat together in his room, a soft glow from the television illuminating the room while some movie played in the background, an oddly ordinary activity compared to everything else in their lives. For a while neither of them spoke, simply enjoying the movie, until Arthur finally broke the silence.
"Selene…"
She turned toward him immediately after moving her eyes away from the screen. "What happened?"
He hesitated, then said, "I think I found a way to fix my condition."
Her eyes widened, surprise flashing across her face before she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him again. "Really!? You found a way to strengthen your soul?"
Arthur nodded, offering a reassuring smile. "Something like that. I haven't tried the method yet, but I think this might work."
Selene's excitement quickly faded into concern. "Are you sure it's safe?" she asked softly. "You don't actually know what will happen, do you?"
Arthur did not answer immediately, because the honest answer was no, he didn't know if it was going to work or not, but he would have to try it to find that out and he was not going to back out now.
He had already decided to use the Immortal Soul Crystal, but he didn't know how much time it would take to complete the process.
Even the sect master had admitted that absorption time varied widely depending on the crystal's grade, even the lowest grade sometimes takes weeks or longer to be absorbed and awaken the martial spirit. And Arthur himself was venturing into territory no one had ever tested before. Still, he reached out and gently patted her head.
"It'll be fine," he said, "Don't worry." while patting her head.
Selene pulled back with a small pout at the gesture. "You always do that when you're hiding something."
Arthur laughed after seeing her expression, and after thinking for a moment he added, "How about this, would you like to visit another universe with me?"
Her expression lit up instantly. "Yes!"
He had already chosen the destination to absorb the crystal, the zombie world. The universe the zombie world was in possessed the highest time dilation he had come across till now. A single month there was only a day in Thyrandel, it would allow him to undergo the process without worrying about disappearing from this world for too long.
"Then we'll leave tomorrow," he said.
Selene nodded enthusiastically, and the two of them settled back into the couch as the movie continued playing.
***
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