The Magic Gate was sealed by a lock.
Vaan wondered if this was a natural representation of his inability to wield magic.
He raised his palm to touch it when the gates suddenly clattered. They shook heavily as if he had struck them with a powerful blow.
There was no doubt that the Gate was opening.
However, the lock firmly held the Gate together.
"The ease of opening a Gate represents one's aptitude on the Path," he recalled.
His simple intention of opening the Gate made it react. But it did not open.
There was only one possibility.
The lock wasn't natural.
It was created to seal his magic talent.
A flicker of hidden anger passed through his eyes.
He recalled the suffering he had gone through due to his inability to use magic.
All of that had been intentional on someone else's part?
He clenched his fists, vowing to make them pay for it.
"Still, I need to do something about the Arcane Gate Of Magic first. If I leave the Path Of All Beginnings now, I won't be able to return to open the Gate in the future."
Knowing his latent talent in magic surpassed his martial talent, he was unwilling to leave the Path Of All Beginnings.
"I need someone to destroy the lock. Until then, I can only keep a part of my presence inside the Path Of All Beginnings to keep it from closing."
After deciding on his next course of action, Vaan divided his mind.
One part remained in the Path Of All Beginnings and the other returned to reality. It was a difficult feat but nothing impossible for Vaan.
The problem was in the other aspect.
Only someone on the level of Magi Kings or Archons could remove the seal on his Magic Gate.
He would rather die than get help from Magi Kings and he did not have a way to meet an Archon.
When he opened his eyes, he realized that only a few minutes had passed since he entered the Path Of All Beginnings.
He decided to make the best use of the extra time.
"I remember that I had a new Title, but I haven't checked it until now." He blinked and said, "Status."
Vaan Siegfried
Titles (Equipped): One Who Has Died
Titles (Unequipped): Celestial Renegade (New)
He focused on the first Title to get detailed information.
One Who Has Died
Unlock Condition: Died, yet lived to tell the tale of your Death.
Effect: The Beings born from Labyrinth Of Dead recognize you as one of their own.
"It's the same," he mused.
He had the title for as long as he could remember.
As for its effect, the closest thing he saw was when a Grim Reaper had come to kill him.
The Being had said that Vaan had exceeded the fate given to him. It had claimed that Vaan felt familiar – probably the effect of his title.
That was the first and the last time something related to his One Who Has Died title ever came up.
Next, he focused on the new title.
Celestial Renegade
Unlock Condition: Slay the Heavenly Rulers of your Plane.
Effect: Passively equip all available Titles.
Heavenly Rulers must've meant the Magi Kings and…. What?
He re-read the effect explanation. The single line overturned his common sense.
Titles awarded unique abilities. Increased growth rate, becoming smarter, able to create life. There was no limit on the reward.
Every reward was powerful.
But one person could equip only a single title. No one was exempt from this rule. Not Dragons, not Spirits, and not even those born in Labyrinths.
"This changes everything," he realized. "With this, I won't have any trouble regaining my strength before Diana awakens as the Witch Of Frost."
After confirming his titles, he closed his eyes to awaken his Transcendental Martial Arts.
Transcendental Martial Arts was divided into Seven Steps.
The First Step was further divided into four stages: Preservation, Order, Destruction, and Chaos.
Stage of Preservation was the technique of conserving all types of energies generated inside the body, including heat energy of metabolic processes, chemical energy stored in bonds of cells, kinetic energy produced through physical activity, and electrical energy transmitted through nerve impulses.
Stage of Order was giving organized structure to the preserved energies. It allowed one to transform one form of energy into another.
Destruction and Chaos were too far for him to think of them at the moment.
Although Preservation and Order were relatively easier to achieve, they demanded immaculate control of the body, down to the smallest cell.
Vaan exhaled deeply.
He relaxed his muscles and then tried to stimulate them.
After moving every muscle in his body, he dived deeper, trying to control his blood flow.
His breathing grew erratic, one second it was as calm as a lake and the next it was as if a hurricane had arrived.
His fingertips twitched when he pushed his blood to reach the farthest of cells.
He tried to slow, fasten, and agitate his blood flow.
When he gained sufficient control, he used his subconsciousness to take hold of his organs.
He commanded the beating of his heart, the amount of acid generated inside his stomach, and the red blood cells carrying oxygen.
His brain went into overdrive while he maintained the perfect control of his body.
A trickle of blood flowed from his nose.
He had maintained the state for hours when the message finally came.
[Martial Enlightenment Stage: Potential Adept → Neophyte]
[Technique: None → Transcendental Martial Arts]
[Rank: None → Stage Of Preservation]
He opened his eyes.
There was no surge of strength or instant improvement in physique.
Stage Of Preservation mainly increased his body's coordination and stamina by leaps and bounds.
A smile broke into Vaan's visage for a split second.
He achieved the Stage Of Preservation, which had previously taken him decades, in hours.
His experience had greatly reduced the difficulty.