The Elemental Ascension realm is considered the true starting point for a cultivators journey. Those that are tier 0 and tier 1 are considered as martial artists at most, while tier 2 begins them as cultivators. This is mainly because the Elemental Ascension stage is when a cultivator ascends their mortal limits and condenses an elemental core of some sort. Everyone, no matter if they be humans, animals, Basilians or Lazurites, all have an innate elemental affinity. For most this is simply one of the 5 primordial elements and thus 90% of cultivators have these 5 elements as their base cultivation. It is required of one to condense a rune of the element that they have an affinity with, this of course opens it up to many different variations and thus many different types of cultivators. Those in the peak level clans and sects have the original runes of the elements, what we call primordial runes. These are better than the regular elemental runes as, if u study, comprehend and reach enlightenment you can improve on the primordial rune. For those that don't have a primordial rune, they can only improve their cultivation, not their control over their respective elements. Those like the Basilians, like Lucius, train in multiple runes at once but the most important thing is that they establish a runic core (as it is called often) before the elemental ascension stage. This means that they can bring forth an even greater advantage in the long run while also helping them master their elements a lot quicker. The other 6 great animal clans and the Lazarus did this too, which meant that Delilah, as the first princess of the Divine Earth Elephants, also followed this rule. She had already established an earth elemental runic core before the elemental ascension stage, so it is understandable to be confused on why she would go into close door cultivation to break through to such an easy stage. She had already established a runic core so why was she taking so long breaking through to Elemental Ascension?
As it turns out she had broken through to the Elemental Ascension stage within hours of going into close door cultivation. She was spending the rest of the time on a far more vital stage in her cultivation. The metamorphosis stage. Most beasts and animals would also go through cultivation stages, this would start off simple with the mortal stage, where it is simply a beast and this goes up to the peak of tier 0. After that is the second stage, the magic beast stage, this is accomplished once a beast creates a magic core within their bodies. This stage could be completed as late as the peak of tier 1 for some or as early as just after breaking through to tier 1. Those in the 6 great animal clans also followed this pattern but they were gifted with high levels of intelligence and the guidance of their elders from young so they weren't considered as beasts but as sentient life from as soon as they were born. They had earned that right through millions of years of power and respect. The next and most vital stage was the metamorphosis stage. Where they changed from their beast form into a humanoid form. The human form was easier to be for living in a civilised society and thus they would change to it once they could. They would however, still retain some of their races characteristics to ensure their identities. The elephant tribe kept their big ears, although they weren't as big as in their elephant forms, they were still bigger and droopier than humans'. Delilah was spending the time in seclusion, reforming her body and transforming into a humanoid figure. For most beasts this would naturally happen once they reached tier 5. However, for those within the 6 great animal clans, they had superior bloodlines and also superior techniques. they could mostly initiate the metamorphosis stage by the third tier. Delilah would be considered a once in a millennium genius for being able to complete the transition right after entering the Elemental Ascension stage.
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When John entered the Garden he was still crying but he was quickly silenced by the cold walls and long hallways. He was confused and bewildered, he wasn't warned by Lucius about this place, he was simply put inside. He got up and wiped the tears off his face, he started walking through the pristine white hallways and looked at the various doors on the way. He read the titles and gained some understanding that this was probably Lucius' home or place of cultivation, since he saw the library and cultivation room. In the end he made it to the biggest door, the door was bigger than the other rooms and it could thus be seen as a place of greater importance. The door read, nursery and unlike the other black lined doors, this one was light blue. It was milder and more gentle, as if it was inviting him in. Once he entered he saw two doors, the one on the left was labelled Lucius Basil, the one on the right labelled Delilah Aurora. The door to the left was plain, it was the same black lined and monotone entry way while the one on the right on the other hand was outlined in green and there were various flowers painted onto the door. The flowers were arranged in a certain order, they were mainly blue and yellow. John stood there and just stared at the flowers, mesmerised and drawn in to their unexplainable seductiveness, he didn't know how long he stood there as he just watched the flowers, his heart began to calm and his mind grew soft as he forgot about the poisoning or the battle in the hall. He dropped down and stared as tears flowed down his cheeks once again. The flowers were his mothers favourite, she had always kept a garden of them in every house or mansion they were staying at. She would tend to them as tenderly as she did to him. John would help her with the watering sometimes. He would pick out the weeds for his mother since he didn't think she should do such dirty work. She had always refused to have a servant take care of the gardening. It was her private garden. She loved it. He loved it.
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Once Delilah had finished her transition, she looked around her room and felt that it was smaller than before. She was lying on her bed and she began to notice a stench. The metamorphosis was considered a difficult and dangerous procedure, since it not only transformed the person but expelled the impurities from within their body, and even within their bones. Delilah's bed was consequently covered in filth that had a horrid smell. It was her own smell so Delilah had some solace in that thought but she still felt the urge to vomit out everything she had ever eaten. She began to move her hands and feet, her eyes and jaw. She was moving a human body for the first time ever, she would have to get used to it. Most would have to learn to walk before they could run but she would have to learn to move at all. It took her 5 minutes to gain a semblance of control over her various appendages, she then sat up on her bed and turned to the side of her bed. She moved her legs and put them on the ground. She would try and stand from a sitting position, she thought this would be the easiest way. She used a sudden burst of energy and got up, but since as an elephant she was 4 legged she wasn't used to the balancing aspect of walking as a bipedal animal so she wobbled a bit before falling back on to the bed. It took her half an hour to learn to walk and use her body normally. After being able to move properly, the first thing she did was go take a shower. She noticed that she would probably be considered tall for her age, she was 14 but her height was 5'7. For a girl that was quite tall when she was only 14. She thought back to her mother and remembered she was around 6'2, Delilah still had a ways to go before that. After the shower she looked into the mirror and admired her body. She had toned abs and strong legs. her upper body wasn't bulky but it didn't look weak either. Her figure was slim and supple, and her hair cascaded down to her hips. It was pure white, ivory white. It was whiter and purer than the walls of the Garden, it had a slight glow to it, like the way that Lucius' hair shined and shimmered ever so slightly. It was an almost imperceptible detail but it wasn't meant to be dwelled on, it instead worked better in a fleeting capacity. Those that glanced at her hair or Lucius' would be mesmerised if they couldn't see it again and figure out what the slight sparkle was that they thought they saw. The question of whether they had really seen a sparkle or not was able to keep ones attention through days and days of torturous wondering.
Her facial features were apt for a princess, she didn't share similarities to the Basils but she could remember that her mother looked similar to how she was now. They had the same nose and mouth. Her eyes however, were shining in an emerald hue as opposed to her mothers pale blue. Her eyebrows too were a lot sharper than her mothers, they were from her father, but she had never met, seen or heard about him from her mother so she felt strange looking at it. It was like if you applied heavy make up and after looking in a mirror you couldn't recognise yourself anymore. But in this instance it was that she couldn't recognise her fathers parts. She had always wondered who her father was and due to her incessant imagination she had already thought up many fantasies in her head. She thought about how powerful he would be and how he would come down in her time of need and save her, screaming out "How dare you lay a hand on my daughter! Do you have any idea who I am?" and such. Her mind would run away with it, and since she spent most of her life in that confined Library she had a lot of time to think about it. She had even had the thought that her father could be Orion and that she was the illegitimate step sister of Lucius. However, now that she had seen herself and her various genetic traits, that was probably not the case. Orion had amber eyes similar to Lucius' and his hair was silver, while hers was ivory white like her mothers.
Shaking the water off her body with a quick technique, she dispelled the snowballing thoughts out of her mind before putting on a white sun dress that Lucius had sewn for her. She hadn't had to request it as he had given a few dresses and such to her for her birthday. Lucius had to practice his sewing a lot and he had gotten bored of making his own clothes so he made some for Delilah instead, his mother encouraging it as he was learning to make different kinds of clothes. After putting the dress on she walked back into her room and immediately remembered the horrid smell as it assaulted her nose. She used some wind to lift the sheets and then directly burnt them, believing them to be too far gone for redemption. She then used a technique Lucius had created to clean the dishes called soapy wash, on the mattress and pillows. She cleaned up the rest of her room too and then dried everything down in one go. She created a small hurricane that whizzed around the room and dried it up in minutes. She then felt her stomach grumble, after all it had been months since she last ate food. Even though as a tier 2 expert she hadn't the need for food anymore as the energy it gave her was less than the energy she could breathe in with a few inhales alone, but even then, with Lucius cooking food for her every day, she was already addicted to eating food. She stepped forward and opened her door, pulling it back and stepping out. The first thing she noticed was a crying boy on the floor.