"Fallen Space-Time Chasm…? Is that the name of the round object that my adoptive father had given me? I have never heard of it, but the name seems rather impressive."
Noctis sat back down on the stone bed and massaged his legs before he soon closed his eyes again to focus on the round object within his subconscious mind.
"It's not surprising that you don't know of the name, kid. If you did, I would've been damn surprised! Anyways, this object used to be a supreme item during the Age of Fire, and it had actually gone by a different name, 'Origin Fire Chasm.' After the Age of Fire ended and the origin flame essence was taken from it, some damn strange voodoo things happened and the properties within the object had changed into Space-Time… powerful stuff huh." |
After hearing what Spirit Ster had said, Noctis opened his eyes and had become extremely interested in this round object that he had obtained from his adoptive father. He thought for a moment before replying to Spirit Ster,
"How was this object used once it contained the space-time property? How did it ultimately fall… into my adoptive father's hands?"
"Hahaha if you were able to experience the amount of space-time power it released during the beginning of the Age of Insight, you wouldn't have lived to tell the tale! All you need to know is that once it gathers enough space-time power and it is released, it becomes extremely destructive in nature. It's even enough to destroy an entire kingdom… or an empire… or even a huge Domain! The point is that it's practically a damn bomb, but it's a shame that it's empty now, hence the name 'Fallen.' Regarding your adoptive father having it, how the hell would I know? Ever since I've become a damn spirit, I don't usually stay up for too long, and I fall into deep sleep most of the time." |
Noctis had become shocked the moment Spirit Ster had revealed the amount of power that the round object contained in the past, but his expression quickly changed when he heard the spirit's answer to his question regarding his adoptive father.
He found it somewhat hard to believe that the spirit didn't know, but he had no choice but to believe in it. He also felt like it wasn't Spirit Ster's temperament to lie about matters like this.
"If it doesn't know, then I'll have to find out myself in the future…" Noctis thought to himself and then responded back to the voice within him,
"I'll keep in mind what you've said about the Fallen Space-Time Chasm… but one thing still bothers me... you're the spirit of it right? You're directly tied to it, and I've become its owner, which means that you must've read through my memories as well."
"Hahahaha kid, I have indeed read your memories, although it's not like I really had a choice! It comes with being the owner of this sacred object, and you can thank that dragon-head Magi over there for binding you to it. Now, what you're about to hear regarding my identity may completely shock you, so be prepared for it and try your best to stay calm! If you don't, you're gonna make this old one blush for being too spectacular… and then I would have to actually put in effort to make you calm down… after that your attitude might greatly change in order to curry favor with me, which would be pretty awkward for the both of us… now we wouldn't want –" |
["Get to the point already!"]
Spirit Magi stopped floating in place, and had suddenly uttered these words out loud as if it was getting tired of the incessant talking from the voice within Noctis.
"Damn! Alright...! Kid, I'm one of the Human Empyreans during the Age of Fire that took part in expelling the daemons, and had saved our Human race back then! They called me Human Empyrean Ster… surely you must have heard of me, right? Although it's been a long time, my name must've been recorded in the history books, so essentially every human even today has heard about my legacy!" |
Spirit Ster boasted about itself and had made sure to emphasize some parts of what it had said, especially when it mentioned the word 'Empyrean.' After the spirit finished talking, it had greatly expected what Noctis's reaction would be like, but in return it had actually received a weird silence from him…
"...Nope, never heard of you. I have studied about the Human Empyreans of the past, but Human Empyrean Ster? That name never came up… I definitely know that there were 9 Human Empyreans that had saved our Human race back then…"
"…W-What!? Impossible!!! That simply cannot be true! Were you raised in a shabby old isolated kingdom that had piss poor knowledge of the past? How did it become 9 when there was 10 of us back then!! There's absolutely no way the present world has not heard of me… How can this be possible!? I refuse to believe it!" |
Next to Noctis's side was Spirit Magi, but instead of sensing its imposing nature, he could clearly hear the spirit was actually trying to hold back its laughter, but was chuckling periodically.
"I'm not lying… if what you say is true, then maybe there are some lost records of you? Anyways, I'll deal with the Fallen Space-Time Chasm later, but for now I just want to know what's happening right now. Spirit Magi, you said there were some important matters… what's it about?"
"Damn kid! We better leave this place soon, and you better help me find answers as to why the world doesn't know about me! This is a grave matter because it has to do with my pride!" |
Spirit Ster then quickly cut off the spiritual sense between the both of them. Noctis was at a loss… he could clearly sense that the spirit was very unhappy and that its voice was somewhat trembling. He decided that it was best to leave Spirit Ster alone and to discuss about it another time.
The dragon-head shaped Spirit Magi returned back to its imposing and mysterious state, and then decided to reveal the important matter with Noctis,
["I have been in this shrine for eons and had brought you here specifically for your body to heal and for your physique to recover… can you sense it?"]
"My physique to recover? Could it be…" Noctis thought to himself, and then brought one of his hands to the center of his chest.
This was a reflexive motion because it was widely known that one could examine the full state of one's body by focusing on the chest, since that was where all the energies throughout the body are linked and connected. From this alone, one can analyze hidden injuries and any 'unique' physique that an individual had.
Noctis first spread his sense throughout the rest of his body and felt like his body had greatly improved compared to when he had just awakened from the stone bed. He analyzed further deep within the state of his body and had touched upon a strange tangled up source of energy with different arrays of color.
He felt like he was deeply connected with this strange source and concluded that it must be the 'Grand Celestial Elemental' physique, but he noticed that it was rather in a dormant state.
["I take it that you have sensed the Grand Celestial Elemental physique within you. It is in a dormant state, but I can help you activate it. I feel as if there's something extraordinary about you and it doesn't merely come from this rare physique, but I will have to lean towards fate for now. There's always time in the future to not only unravel the secrets within you, but the secrets of the entire world! At least… that's what Old Great One Animo had wanted…"]
Noctis furrowed his eyebrows and sweat started to appear on his forehead before he then softly replied in an anxious and confusing tone, "Old Great One… Animo? H-How…"
He abruptly stopped what he was saying because he felt as if a thousand tons of weight had pressed onto his body, and his soul became increasingly anxious while his heart started to beat rapidly…
Noctis knew that when he was a child that the Old Great Ones were godly mythical beings and that even in the present world of the Age of Insight, there was still nonstop continuous research as to how one could ascend into a comparable state of power to the Old Great Ones.
Elevating one's mind and thoughts to a higher existential plane? Cultivating one's body to a seemingly impossible state where one becomes the world? Ascension of the astral soul to break out of the highest peak… dispersing one's sacred will to the far reaches of the void… attaining divine enlightenment of one's chaos intent…
These were one of the many countless questions and research topics as to how one would ascend and become an Old Great One.
Ever after all this time, it seemed like the 100 Races had always lived in the shadows of these godly beings…
Noctis took a long time to compose himself, and it didn't help that his cultivation base had dropped down to the lowest level after his body had recovered, so he wasn't able to quickly draw upon the natural energy of the world to relax his overall state.
He at least was glad that his special physique was back and was somewhat looking forward to the future.
Noctis heaved a heavy sigh of relief, but had suddenly sucked the air back in after hearing Spirit Magi's words,
["In order to fully awaken and unlock the greatest potential of your 'Grand Celestial Elemental' physique, you must take in the Old Great One Animo's divine power. Do you dare to accept its inheritance…?"]