With the disappearance of the leaf, the trio something binding themselves on a most basic level. There instincts screamed in terror even if they thought to violate the vow.
"What's this feeling? Are you feeling the same?" Jasmine's puzzled pupils lingered on Dron.
Seeing Dron nod his head, the duo looked at Aria who had a smile on his face.
"There is no need to worry as we just took a vow. If any of you were to break this vow, the Universe would eradicate your existence by itself."
Although the explanation was simple they were still frightened by the effect and did not even try to distrust Aria's words.
"Now since we have completed the first step, I can start teaching you guys."
These words brought a sudden change in the attitude of Dron and Jasmine as they hurriedly focused their attention towards Aria.
"Before we begin to learn construction of a formation, you must understand the working behind it."
Aria's gaze lingered on the duo as he continued.
"What do you think is the differentiating factor between humans and the other living beings? Or rather what is the basic difference between a sentient species and another one that isn't?"
Jasmine and Dron were totally stupefied by this question and could not come up with an answer, prompting Aria to answer.
"The barrier of communication. A sentient species is able to converse at a much deeper level and possess a detailed structure of language that enables them to converse, opening up the door of evolution followed by endless potential."
Realization dawned on the duo as if they had comprehended something as Aria continued to build up on his explanation.
"Our Universe is also a big sentient being and so it too possesses its own language that one can use to converse with it."
Another big shock jolted the duo's mind before they could comprehend the previous one. Aria was totally not bothered about this fact.
"A formation is the use of this language to converse with the Universe and then twist its rules upto some extent."
Saying so Aria activated his tactical watch and placed it on the ground after activating a blank screen. He then used his forefinger to draw certain characters on the screen. Some of these characters resembled a bit from the formation that he had used previously.
"These are the foundational runes that you can use to create a formation. There exist in total fourteen auxiliary runes and thirty-five primary runes. You must memorize each and every one of them and their pronunciation which is also the intent. After that I shall teach you some basic formations for defensive purposes."
"Hey, how about that subspace thing? Can you teach us that?" Dron's desire to own a subspace and store things in it could be seen on his face and Jasmine too had expectation in her eyes.
"Impossible. Each and every rune, whether it be the auxiliary ones or the primary ones, requires a lot of time in order to understand and comprehend their intent, enabling you to understand the language of the Universe. Only after that can you probably be able to create something like that." Aria's explanation poured a bucket of cold water on the duo's intention.
'As if I know how to do that!'
Aria heaved a mental sigh of defeat but still maintained a solid expression.
"But you said anyone can do it, didn't you?" Jasmine gazed at Aria as if he was a fraud.
"Well technically yes, you can achieve such a thing after you have grasped the language of the Universe, but it would require a lot of time and talent for amateurs like you." Aira scratched his cheek in a comical manner.
'Sheesh, I actually forgot I have Athenaeum to help me. How could I forget the basics?'
His back was drenched in sweat as he thought of the previous commitment, thankfully the duo were easy to fool due to their age.
Athenaeum might have unlocked this ability but that was only due to the Knowledge already being ingrained on the Host's soul. It had just upgraded it to the next level using its vast Universal Databank.
Soon the duo got busy with memorizing the runes and its structure along with the intent. Voices resonating with ancient intent could be heard reverberating in the hideout. Aria was also busy with creating a small guide for the duo so that at least they could use some basic defensive formations.
Every formation was divided into two basic parts; one that connected the formation to the Universe and the other that connected the formation to the user. Runes were the medium for the second part as the person was required to engrave them by themselves using their body's Vital Force and maintain this connection. These runes would then convert the relevant intent within the formation into the language of the Universe and would twist it according to the degree of the person's comprehension.
This was just the preliminary form of formation which was basically fooling the Universe. The actual formation was the one which required one to use their soul's power to create the runes, such runes formed a stronger connection with the Universe, thus increasing the effect and range of the formation.
As the hideout was buzzing with activity, the Academy was filled with undercurrents. After Sara had delivered the traitors to General Fu, she was able to use them to trace it back to the source and as the Marshals had thought, there was a Monarch behind those traitors.
Once again within the Temple, the Six Marshals had gathered in order to discuss the next chain of actions.
"Did we figure out what the Monarch's men were doing on the ground?" Marshal Three's voice reverberated in a dignified manner.
"According to General Fu's investigation, the simplified technology related to fission weapons was delivered to the allies." Old Seven replied, exhaustion could be heard from his tone.
"We should have already guessed this, when the Monarch's persuaded us to hand the fission technology under the pretext of energy needs." Marshal Two commented in regret.