Standing over Arthur, the Old Man silently watched the slow and quiet breathing of the child he had been raising for the past fifteen years. It was a unique experience, to say the least.
'To think it was just a while ago he came running to me that he wanted to be a Sovereign. Even going as far as to ask for books on every area of academia….they really grow up fast, huh?'
...
"Aren't you going to wake up?"
"Mmh."
Hearing the Old Man's voice, Arthur's eyes fluttered open, revealing his sapphire eyes, with a hint of gold around his pupils.
Turning his head towards the Old Man, Arthur slowly sat up.
"What happened?" Arthur asked as his gaze traveled across the ever-familiar scene of the large lake, clearing, and forest.
Smiling, the Old Man responded. "Congratulations, you've awakened your Soul World."
Puzzled, Arthur asked, "what's that?"
Sighing, the Old Man replied, "It will be easier to show you."
Before Arthur could react, he felt the Old Man's finger touch his forehead as he suddenly felt his consciousness slip.
…
Opening his eyes, Arthur found himself within a vast void.
Below his feet stood on what seemed to be a completely still golden sea that stretched as far as he could see.
Shifting his gaze upward, Arthur momentarily froze as his eyes fell on the outline of a translucent giant man. Single kneeling, the giant seemed to be holding something on it's back. Looking further up, Arthur's eyes fell on the outline of a massive sphere that gently rested on the giant's shoulders. Within this sphere was a smaller sphere, and within that sphere was another smaller sphere with a gold orb at its center.
"What you are looking at is your Terrestrial Soul Body and Celestial Seed."
"…"
"At the age of fifteen, everyone in the Realm can undergo something we call The Awakening. The Awakening is an event that dictates a path for an individual to follow and grow in strength for the rest of their lives. Within the Realm, a person can Awaken onto one of three paths, either as a Celestial, a Terrestrial, or an Ichorestrial. You, on the other hand, somehow have awakened all three Paths, though your Ichorestrial Path is only partially awakened for now."
"Celestials are people with unique abilities, like controlling any ONE of the natural elements. In the hierarchy of paths, they sit at the top and have the fewest in numbers. Being a Celestial centers around growing and evolving whatever ability one awakens to. As for how this growth is measured, it's tied into why it's called the Celestial Path."
"The Celestial Path consists of 3 major phases. The 3 phases in sequential order are the Lunar Stage, the Terra Stage, and Solar Stage. Each stage consists of filling the corresponding stage's, Celestial Object with energy. For more combat attuned abilities, filling Celestial Objects centers around killing living things and absorbing some of the energy released on their death. For less combat attuned abilities, they simply have a greater passive energy absorption and will grow given time."
"However, before any celestial can truly embark on the Celestial Path, they must first fill their Celestial Seed with energy. Once satisfied, the Celestial seed will evolve into a Lunar Core, thus embarking a Celestial onto the Celestial Path. The energy filling aspect of each Celestial Stage consists of filling the Celestial Object to hit certain boundaries. Which are the outlines you see around the golden orb. The first inner sphere shows where the energy requirements to reach the peak of the Lunar Core lies. Breaking past that steps you into the Mantle stage, hit the second boundary, and you've reached the peak of the Mantle stage. Break past that boundary, and you've stepped into the Crust stage, fill that up, and you've reached the peak of Lunar Crust. "
"However, to reach the peak of the Lunar Stage, there is a final stage. This stage requires a Celestial to generate nine rings around the Lunar Celestial Object. These rings appear when a Celestial's ability evolves. Sometimes, they can appear as a Celestial fills a Celestial Object. But typically, these nine rings appear after filling up the Celestial Object first. And it is the same for the next two major stages, Terra and Solar. "
...
"Next, you have Terrestrials. They are completely different from Celestials. In the hierarchy of paths, they sit at the bottom and consist of the majority of the Realm's inhabitants. They gain nothing truly unique, other than a great enhancement to their physical prowess due to Realm Energy running through every part of their body. And rather than having a Celestial Seed, they have a Terrestrial Soul Body, represented by the translucent giant you see before you. Which grows more permeable as a Terrestrial continues on the Terrestial Path."
"Similar to Celestials, Terrestrials have a measurement of their growth, broken into Tiers, which are identified by distinct outlines around the Terrestrial Soul Body. There are 3 main phases and a total of 9 Tiers. Similar to Celestials when they fill their Celestial Objects to its crust, when Terrestrials reach Tier 3, they have to go through something called Enlightenment."
"However, unlike a Celestial, there are only 3 parts: First, Second, and Third Order Enlightenment. And the way a Terrestrial knows that its time is that 3 chains will appear and bind their Terrestrial Soul Body."
"Nevertheless, once a Terrestrial have reached the Third Order (breaking the third chain), they can begin to step into Tier 4 when the broken chains form a crown on the Soul Body's head. A similar thing will happen when they are breaking into Tier 7. But it's also because of this why they rank at the bottom in the Path hierarchy. To reach an Enlightenment Order is incredibly difficult, leaving many people stuck at Tier 3, whereas for Celestials gaining rings isn't particularly easy, it isn't hard either."
...
"Last but not least are Ichorestrials or more colloquially known as Bloodline Terrestrials. In the hierarchy of Paths, they sit right in the middle and have the second most in numbers. Ichorestrials, in a way, are basically Terrestrials but with a twist. Depending on their bloodline, they could really be anything, but for the most part, most bloodlines simply enhance an individual and grant unique skills."
"Ichorestrials are very similar to Terrestrials in the fact they proceed on a similar Path – Tiers. But unlike Terrestrials, upon reaching the peak of Tier 3, Ichorestrials have their transitioning stage broken into 9 parts like Celestials, called Refinement. However, rather than just having a Terrestrial Soul Body like the one before us, Ichorestrials have an orb resting at its center, know as a Bloodline Seed. Utilizing their Bloodline Seed, Ichorestrials refine their Skin, Muscles, Tendons/Ligaments, Bones, Viscera, Blood, Nerves, Heart, and Brain. Which will be represented by 9 root-likes stretching over the Terrestrial Soul Body. Once all of that has been completed, they can then move on to Tier 4."
"You are an Ichorestrial too, but you can only be considered partial because your bloodline hasn't awakened yet, but your Terrestrial Soul Body has. When your bloodline awakens, you will be considered a fully Awakened Ichorestrial. If I am not wrong, more than likely, your bloodline didn't awaken because the current you is too weak to handle its Awakening. Also, there are grades to bloodlines, but you can learn them on your own later."
...
Virtually vomiting a mass of information at Arthur, the Old Man turned to him, "got it?"
Arthur nodded. "Celestials, special abilities, fill massive orb with energy, find a way to evolve ability nine times, move on to next stage, and repeat. Terrestrials, physically adept, gains outlines around Soul Body, figure out how to break three chains, move on to the next stage, rinse and repeat. Ichorestrials, the same as Terrestrials, but to advance to the next stage, use their bloodline to refine nine aspects of the body. Oh, and to gain energy, kill things with energy and absorb their energy."
"You always were a great student," chuckled the Old Man. "Oh right, there are also constitutions. Anyone can be born with one or can gain one through some means. They typically break the rules, so watch out for them. Oh, and yours is called The Devourer; it's meaning should be clear…"
Seeing Arthur nod, the Old Man continued. "How much of your Awakening do you remember?"
Thinking for a bit, Arthur replied. "I remember up the point where you obliterated the forest in white light."
Hearing that, an awkward look appeared on the Old Man's face as he lightly coughed.
"Alright, let me explain what happened. For an awakening to be considered a complete success, one's Path has to take full control, its a natural instinct. It's a similar concept to how when a baby is about to be born, their head rotates to the right position. Same reasoning. The way to awaken one's Instinct is for them to be near death or be hit with a massive amount of emotional turmoil."
"…..near-death is faster." Coughed the Old Man.
"However, the main reason, one's Instinct takes over is that only it can fully draw out one's full potential out. Like everything your Instinct did while it was in control, you won't be able to do it for quite a while. Bluntly put, your Instinct is stronger than you are now. For example, your Instinct could control all four elements at once. I doubt you will be able to do that for a very long while."
"Really?" Asked Arthur, with a bit of a glum look.
"Yea, but don't be so down. The whole point is to show some of the capabilities the current you will be capable of. Meaning that when you now have some idea of how your ability will evolve, making it easier for you to evolve it. Think of it as laying the foundation of building a house."
Hearing this, Arthur's eyes began to sparkle with excitement.
"Am I ready now?"
"Yes, Artie, yes, you are," smiled the Old Man.