Restoration.
Just as its name suggests, Shin's theoretical new spiritual ability was one that restored anything to its original state. Information could never be destroyed. It didn't matter if a piece of paper was burnt into ashes and its contents were utterly indecipherable. The information that the piece of paper existed still remained in the River of Time. In theory, those who could manipulate the Time-Element could 'read' that information, and could potentially 'rebuild' the destroyed object in real life. Yes, it was a challenge. Not only must one have extensive knowledge of what 'information' is and how to read it, but they must also be adept in using the Time-Element.
That's why in mankind's long history, no one has ever thought of creating such an absurd ability. Even if they did, they wouldn't be capable of replicating it even if they were given a million lifetimes. Little did those scholars know that there would such a prodigy that was capable of doing just that. Shin was an expert at examining and understanding structures. That's what he had been doing for the first half of his cultivation life. Shin could read the human body like no one else his age. He knew every nook and cranny of a person's biology. Furthermore, his mana-sensitive nature to all elements enabled him to carefully permeate through any structure in the world.
Now that he had a mastery of the Time-Element, Shin could also go deep into the River of Time to restore a person's health his or her original state. It didn't matter if someone had their four limbs mauled apart or their entire torso ripped cleanly in half. As long as the soul remained burning in the person's body, Shin could restore them to their original state. In essence, that was the ability that all healers strove towards. Why bother healing an injury when you could restore it back into a state where it never happened?
That's why Lady Seph was so bubbly on this beautiful snowy day. If Shin pulled this off and learnt Restoration, he would be in possession of the world's most coveted healing spiritual ability. When Ariel passed, and Shin decided to abandon the healing path, Lady Seph was devastated. Lady Seph loved Shin like her own child, and it was torture to see him move off the path that she so carefully placed down for him. So one could imagine her joy when Shin came to her asking to be given a refresher course in the healing path three years ago. And then, she heard that Shin was potentially about to create the most potent healing spell in existence. Over the moon would be a poor idiom to describe how Lady Seph felt. The woman wanted to give Shin a firm bear hug and kiss him all day out of pure euphoria.
However, the blonde woman knew that nothing was set in stone yet. Lady Seph had to curb her kisses until the deed was done. Glancing over Shin's shoulder, the Divine Healer read the manual that Longyu Tian had handed over to him and asked with a sustained voice, "What do you think?"
"Hmmm?" The young man looked back and gazed into the gorgeous eyes of his Master. They were filled with curiosity and anticipation, much like that of a puppy's. Shin found it hilarious that even his esteemed Master had a childish side to her. "Aunt Tian's revisions do make a lot of sense… Though I can access the River of Time, I can't alter its flow. Also, time is so vast. It would be hard for me to accurately read the singular point that I want to restore." Shin spoke in terms that were abstract for the foreign ear. However, for the two high-levelled individuals, they simply nodded their heads in unison.
"Restoration is basically rewinding the clock and turning back time," explained Longyu Tian, her arms crossed. "Even I can't turn back time. The River of Time's flow is everlasting and all-powerful. No mortal energies could ever hope to resist it."
"So, Shin can't learn Restoration?" Lady Seph dropped her smile for the first time since she arrived. Admittedly, the Light-Elemental User was wholly ignorant about the Time-Element. Lady Seph did read some books, but that was about it. Her experience was lacking as compared to someone who was literally called the Saint of Time.
"Not necessarily..." Longyu Tian tilted her head and turned towards the black-haired young man. His eyes were speeding through the final pages of the manual, where the Saint of Time had made the most revisions. "Treat the River of Time like any flowing river. Its flow can never be stopped or reversed. It drags all matter along with its flow. It doesn't matter if it was a fish, pebble, seaweed..."
"Right..." Lady Seph listened in on the lecture with great interest. For her, any new knowledge was worth learning, regardless if she could utilise it or not.
Longyu Tian kicked a nearby rock, allowing a stream of water to flow on down. Reaching up into her scalp, the woman plucked a few strands of her own hair and gently one of them into the slow-moving stream. "All objects, be it living or non-living, are subject to the River of Time's flow. They aren't capable of pushing against the flow and can only be pushed down helplessly" The Spirit Saint explained as the first strand of hair flowed down into the nearby drain.
"There is one exception to this rule," the Saint of Time laughed. "And that is us, Time-Elemental users." She looked straight at Shin, who was in the midst of having an epiphany.
Before she dropped her next strand of hair, Longyu Tian created a bubble that acted as a mould of dirt within the water. "Those that manipulate the time-elements could either slow down the flow of time..." The second strand flowed quickly down until it was near the bubble. The flow of the stream slowed, and in effect, the strand slowed as well.
"Or we can speed up the flow of time." Longyu Tian popped the bubble and instead sliced down into the dirt, speeding up the stream. The third strand of hair bolted towards the drain like a rabid horse, not caring about anything in its path.
"That's the basis for most of my time-elemental abilities," the Saint of Time elaborated. "Time can never be reversed, but the objects within the River of Time can be manipulated if you have enough mastery. That's why I'd asked Shin to practise the use of Time-Elements in his Domain of Dreams."
"That's all well and good, but how does that teach Shin about Restoration?" Lady Seph questioned in place of her disciple. "If time can only be slowed down or sped up, none of your techniques would help Shin learn Restoration right?"
The Saint of Time snorted at the Divine Healer's impatience, "You didn't let me finish."
There was still one strand of hair remaining between Longyu Tian's fingers. Before she dropped it into the stream though, the woman picked up a nearby rock and waited for both her spectators to look straight at her. "There is one method for Shin to learn Restoration."
Longyu Tian's finger muscles relaxed, and the long piece of black hair fell slowly down into the top of the stream. Just like the ones before it, the strand quickly found itself getting manipulated by the flow of the water and was promptly dragged down into the drain. However, unlike before, Longyu Tian didn't create a bubble or an acute angle to manipulate the flow. Instead, she waited for the hair to reach the midway point before throwing the rock right onto the thin, black, human hair, locking it in place.
"Normal Spirit Users that can't sense the time-element aren't capable of peering into the River of Time. However, for Time-Elemental Spirit Users, we are able to create minor disturbances into the River. So, we can do this..."
Longyu Tian closed her eyes for two seconds and moved her fingers around like a Witch. A small smirk crept up her lips before she gently released the rock and allowed the stream to push that strand of hair down into the drain. Placing the stone back in the same position as it was before, the Spirit Saint began to chant. Grey spiritual energy flowed out from her fingers and was absorbed by the rock.
"Voila!" Like a magician, Longyu Tian lifted the rock and the exact same strand of hair, which should have been lost to the stream, had reappeared under the woman's fingers.
"I get it now..." Enlightened, Shin spoke for the first time. "You create a Restoration Point to return to!"
"Bingo!" The Saint of Time touched her nose twice with a broad smile. "However, it is easier said than done. If you're creating a Restoration Point for a simple plank of wood, perhaps you could get away with it, but what about a house? A mansion? A castle? The more complex the structure, the heavier the Restoration Point stone needs to be. My hair is light, that's why this rock can get away with it. However, what if you're trying to stop the movement of let's say this sword?" Longyu Tian lifted up the nearby blade and showed its weight. There was no way that the pebble in her right hand could hold the sword down on its own.
"The more complex the information is, the heavier the Restoration Point must be. So to restore a living human being's body, it will take a crazy weight to pull it off." Longyu Tian continued. "The two of you of all people know how complicated a human's body is. That's why I'm a little sceptical about Shin's ability to use Restoration as a healing spell."
"..." Shin and Lady Seph remained silent. The Saint of Time spoke the truth. A human's body was more complicated than any castle or monument. Every nerve, muscle, and cell in the human's body was unique. And for the spiritual ability to work, Shin had to record every single one of them accurately.
"It is going to be a tall hurdle to cross," Longyu Tian didn't really look that thrilled about Shin's success rate. "So I would advise that you think about it carefully, Shin. It's not too late to change your mind. There are still plenty of spiritual abilities for you to learn. My Eyes of the Future allows you to witness the millions of possible futures. If you take my hereditary opuscule, I'm sure that you'll succeed in your first try." The Spirit Saint took out a golden stone slab as the runes pulsated like a slow heartbeat. Longyu Tian had came prepared with a back-up, just in case, Shin changed his mind.
"Shin… What do you think?" Lady Seph's expression immediately turned sombre. Yes, she wanted the young man to create the world's most powerful healing spell, but the last thing she wanted to do was to hinder his path. If Shin failed learning Restoration, he had to wait until his Spectre Soul recovered before he could try again. Furthermore, based on Longyu Tian's explanation, the spiritual ability was far more challenging to learn than she'd anticipated.
"Is there even a need to ask me that question, Master?" The youth didn't frown for a single second. There wasn't even a trace of hesitation in his eyes. No, Shin had complete faith in himself.
"Aunt Tian, thank you for worrying about me," the youth bowed.
There was no need for verbal confirmation. Longyu Tian knew that the youth's mind was made up. With a deep sigh, the woman threw the stone slab into her coat and frowned, "Hah… I can't stop you if your mind's made up. Come!"
Shin smiled. He removed his shirt and followed Longyu Tian into the nearby medicinal pool that was acted like a jacuzzi. Bubbles popped on the surface of the water as dense mana crystals were littered all over the floor. Any Spirit Lord or Spirit King would be happy to simply drink from the pool of water as it would significantly boost their overall cultivation levels. However, Shin actually dared to dip himself into the pool, submerging his body until only his head was above the water level.
Longyu Tian stood at one corner of the medicinal pool while Lady Seph took her place on the other. "I'll supply you with the Time-Elemental energy you need. Seraphim will bail you out if there are any irregularities." The Golden Sovereign Koi appeared behind Longyu Tian all while grey spiritual energies radiated out from her body. At the same time, Lady Seph was glowing blonde. Merging with the Iofiel Angel, the Spirit Venerate seemed ready to jump into a war.
"Begin whenever you're ready, Shin." Lady Seph smiled and sat on the edge of the pool with all four of her limbs pointed at her precious disciple. "We'll be behind you all the way."
"Yeah, I know." The young man couldn't help but smile. There was no way that Shin could have reached where he is today without the help of all of his mentors. Closing his eyes, the young man began to chant the cultivation technique that he'd created. The Domain of Dreams burst forth from his soul and filled the room with its splendour. Glittery sparkles dominated the chambers, and the Celestial Dragon danced within Shin's Spectre Soul. There was no need to summon the beast out into the material world. Shin needed it inside of his soul for the eventual ascension. His consciousness began to wane as darkness crept into his mind. Shin felt a gentle pull down into the abyss, but it was oddly warm and comforting. In the end, before he fell into his Spectre Soul, the youth hollered out at the top of his lungs.
"I'll be back!!!"
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