There were many different lights, which greatly confused the little boy. He had presumed that Spiritual Sense should be the so-called 'sixth sense' that humans have always been said to possess. He couldn't see, hear, or taste the energy around him. But he could feel all these sensations through his soul.
It felt...free.
Jody knew he would never forget this experience. It had already left a mark on him.
Soon, the pure euphoria died down, leaving behind a singular 'feeling' for Jody. The 'feeling' that ran along his skin was like nothing he had ever experienced. He felt like he had taken on an additional layer of skin that could detect energy flows like a living lie detector. Every sensation, every movement, and every sound seemed to be amplified tenfold, as if his nervous system was suddenly made up of hundreds of tiny antennas, all attuned to amplify the merest whisper of energy around him.
He was perceiving a sort of enlightened 'touch' due to his low power level.
If Jody were stronger, he could perceive 'sight' through his spirit as well. Sight would probably be much more accessible in terms of utility. He didn't dare dream he could reach that euphoric state of freeness again, but he could get close.
Spiritual Sense allows one to sense with the spirit and transmit the information directly to the soul. The Mind's Eye enables the mind to perceive this information with his five mortal senses fused. Only, it seemed one had to practice at higher levels to achieve true fusion. If Jody opened his eyes, he would no longer be able to 'see' these energy flows. However, his Spiritual Sense could track the movement of these energies whether his eyes were open or closed.
Jody grew more familiar and adept with his manipulation of spiritual discernment, discovering that the extra control the mind's eye provided allowed this formless sense to wrap around energy and guide it into his body. He felt he could create tiny stream channels in the raging energy waves.
Looking at the eight different flows, Jody felt confused. He could only identify a couple of these flows from his auxiliary memories, although he could sense many more sky flows than he knew. It was like his perception was constantly slipping between worlds. He also found that invading his Spiritual Sense into most of these energies was incredibly tricky.
The energy would have to be touching him already. As if aware, most energies actively avoided making contact with him. Even though his Spiritual Sense could dip into many layers of the ethereal plane, it could only expand four inches from his skin. According to his memory, the T'Zhanè could only detect about four of these sky flows even at his peak, but they at least didn't avoid him like he smelled bad or something.
Why were there eight? Why did some avoid him and others not?
Not only this, but it took Jupiter two years of meditation to make his Spiritual Sense extend four inches from his skin. Jody felt wondrous while surfing through the layered waves of energy but was baffled while pondering what this could mean.
Could he be a natural-born genius capable of unlocking the fundamental mysteries of the universe? Was he supposed to be like that lucky Titan? Should he create an apex clan of his own one day? Could the hero race also inherit the will of the Twilight through his efforts?
After all, Jody himself was also an oddity. He was a professional killer who had reincarnated into a world ruled by power. How awesome was this? He naturally didn't doubt the possibility of him being a mega-genius. He was, after all, able to speak in three languages before turning age two. He had been suffering his mother's intense training to learn writing.
Could other two-year-olds write an essay in dhivãc?
Being amazing was essentially predetermined in this life.
'Could this planet be superior to Master T'Zhanè's home world regarding the number of energies in harmony?' Honestly, this seemed unlikely to little Jody.
Here in Pangaea, the civilization was far behind even the lowest of the worlds the Titan clan dominated. The grand and fantastic scenery imprinted into his memories was countless times more impressive than anything he had ever seen for himself. Thus, he concluded that this place should not be within the Legendary Domain where the Titans reside but a more inferior place.
'It seems that to explore those vast and starry skies, I must reach at least the fifth or sixth stage of Titanic Rage. Maybe even the seventh! The astral light here seems far less than in the upper realm. All of the energy here is much thinner than those from the memories of the T'Zhanè. Who knows how long it will take to reach the seventh stage under these conditions?'
"230 Stars and 400 Crystals available. Mind's Eye detected nine heavenly energies. Access to the Twilight store is in Red Status. Spend two stars to learn Spiritual Isolation?" asked the mysterious twilight proxy directly in Jody's mind, rudely interrupting his thoughts.
Even his thoughts were being monitored? How terrifying.
"You can even do this?" asked Jody, suddenly surprised there wasn't a prompt this time.
The imp had spoken to him. So, Mind's Eye allowed him to communicate with the proxy directly? This was also nice. Now, he wouldn't be forced to choose to answer questions or be frozen forever. He let out a heavy sigh. The Titans were truly blessed to have such a cheat. Jody decided to discard these thoughts for now, as he didn't have enough fundamental knowledge of this world.
He tried asking the Twilight proxy a couple of questions by thinking about them, but it didn't react at all. This meant he wouldn't know what that store it mentioned had inside. Also, he didn't know how to access anything related to Twilight. He could only allow it full access to him.
What a scam.
He had to focus on sensing the energies necessary for his body tempering practice. Titanic Rage taught how to use astral light to refine the body. The power of the third sky ultimately transformed the body completely, making the strength in the body more explosive than the death of a star.
'Nine celestial clouds of energy mass...' Though these things existed in Jody's memory, it did not mean he could instantly understand them.
Otherwise, why would he spend so much time speaking with his dad every night?
However, was it worth it to spend two of his limited Twilight stars on this? He vaguely remembers that his predecessor struggled for two years even to gain ten twilight stars. Due to the nature of Twilight, what could be obtained with stars and crystals was constantly changing.
Unfortunately, he couldn't remember how T'Zhanè spent his stars. Or maybe he didn't know at all. These weren't his actual memories, after all. Plus, he was plagued by memories of his past life, interfering significantly with his comprehension of the inheritance. The memories from the Titan were more like a long dream he could remember in precise detail.
In this dream, he was a heavenly scholar named Jupiter, who studied diligently. This is how Jody understood that after the Divine Universe was formed, the primordial chaos separated again into these nine celestial clouds. These heavenly clouds are known as the Nine Layered Skies, or the Divine Ennead, and are ever-present. They exist in a different plane of existence, this ethereal plane. The energy these heavens produce facilitates stability within various domains and realms.
The Saint Warriors formulate their bodies with the essence of the second sky called Worldly Truth. This sky corresponded directly to the Universal Truth, the most incredible power of all, or whatever his dad said. Of course, even the ancient races believed the same. Almost every powerful race discovered a method of harnessing the essence of Worldly Truth, or True Essence.
The sky slaughterers were no exception. They also relied on true essence before discovering a way to refine astral light. Jody had some fragmented information on true essence from his master but didn't have enough information to practice. He doesn't completely understand the many memories he inherited. Luckily, he wouldn't be expected to start Saint training for another few years.
He could take his time and study.
All Titan Clan formula, techniques, supplemental law practices, and even their technology was centered around utilizing the energy of the fourth layer of heaven, Astral Light.
The power of the stars!
Giant stars burst forth from the heavens, unleashing awe-inspiring torrents of astral light. Their power can be felt in every corner of the universe, like a shimmering blanket of heat and energy. Jody closed his eyes, letting his Spiritual Sense soar through the waves of light until he sensed a layer of intense heat and pressure that made his hair stand on end. This layer seemed to cast its shadow across the eight other flows. He knew he had found something extraordinary.
The energy gave him a natural feeling of suppression when he entered. It felt like some part of him was swimming in an ocean of starlight. It was an indescribably magical feeling.
"What a wonderful feeling," said little Jody with a content smile. But his brow suddenly furrowed. "Where's the ninth if these eight flows are the ennead?"
Jody pondered momentarily before his brows tightened as he focused again.
"Isolate!"
The bright, star-like, and partially invisible power had an ancient and lonely feeling. It is none other than astral light! After several months of dedicated practice, he had finally succeeded in sensing the legendary astral light. The fourth layer of the heavenly void! Most humans had to reach the skies before detecting this heavenly layer within the void. Using his Spiritual Sense as the line of a fishing rod, Jody attempted to guide the formless, night-sky-like energy toward his skin.
This was thanks to his new skill, spiritual isolation.
It may have cost two Twilight stars, but Jody wasn't sure what he would do without it. The latter would be like finally finding the door of a dark room, only to discover it's locked. One would have to sift through the darkness for a key. Luckily, spiritual isolation was like a flashlight. He could find the key much easier.