"Purification?" Ariase repeated, tilting his head in mild confusion.
"Isn't that just a common talent some people acquire? Most don't even care about it and focus on improving their other talents instead."
But as the words left his mouth, his mind clicked into gear.
A thought struck him like lightning.
"Wait..." he said, looking at his uncle sharply.
"Uncle, did you use it to remove the impurities from your body?! Isn't that… dangerous?"
Herman's smile wavered as he listened, his expression shifting into something more serious.
"I mean," Ariase continued, his brows furrowing, "a single misstep could end in disaster. The body is mostly made up of impure cells."
"If you purify them too recklessly, the impure cells will surely be removed as if it doesn't exist in the first place. That kind of loss could cause irreversible damage to one's body, maybe even..."
He trailed off, the implications too grim to finish.
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
Then, Herman's eyes widened slightly, his lips curving into a proud smile.
"Well, well. I'm really glad I'm not talking to someone dumb," he said, chuckling softly.
"You've definitely got your mother's brains. This'll make things easier."
Ariase blinked, his cheeks flushing slightly under the compliment, but before he could respond, Herman's smile shifted into something more mischievous.
"But you know..." he added with a teasing lilt, "I'm starting to miss the old Ria, the one who followed me around like a shadow and clung to me every chance he got."
The sudden jab hit home, making Ariase blush furiously.
He ducked his head in embarrassment as memories surfaced of a younger, more innocent version of himself tailing Herman everywhere like a duckling.
The warmth of those memories softened him, and despite himself, he smiled.
"Those were good days," Herman mused, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
But then his tone sobered as he said, "Alright, back to business."
He leaned forward, the air around him turning serious again.
"You're right, Ria. Everything you said is true. Purification is dangerous, so much so that most people dismiss it as disposable, even useless. But…"
His gaze darkened slightly, as if recalling something painful.
"Sometimes desperation makes you do reckless things. Back then, I was willing to take the risk. I learned to purify the outer membrane of my cells then my organs, blood vessels then the entire body—not to destroy them, but to refine and renew them, making them reborn."
"Reborn?" Ariase echoed, his voice barely a whisper.
Herman nodded.
"It was grueling. Manual, painstaking work. It took me three months to completely purify my body. Every second felt like walking on the edge of a blade. But now…"
He paused, a faint glow of pride lighting his eyes.
"You don't need to worry. My talent isn't Human grade or Earth grade anymore. It's reached Tier 7 of the Semi-Divine grade."
Ariase froze, his mouth dropping open.
"What?!" he finally managed to shout.
"Are you serious? Tier 7?! But how? Even for a common talent, Purification is almost impossible to master to that level!"
'Just how many times has this monster experimented with his talent?' he wondered, curiosity tingling in his mind.
Herman shrugged, utterly shameless.
"What can I say?" he said, puffing out his chest.
"I'm a genius. You should start revering me now, kid."
Ariase's shock quickly turned to slight irritation.
His smile faded, replaced with a flat, unimpressed look.
"Yeah. A genius. How enviable, really," he deadpanned, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Herman burst into laughter, his chuckles filling the room like sunlight breaking through a storm.
"You really do look like your father when you get like that," he said, still grinning.
"No fun at all."
Sobering slightly, he added, "But I know you're dying to know how I managed it, right?"
Ariase hesitated but nodded, curiosity outweighing his irritation.
"It's because of my body talent," Herman said, his voice dropping to a reverent hush.
"The Enlightened Body of the Immaculate Saint. It allows me to comprehend and practice my talents with twice the precision and speed that most people can only dream of."
Ariase's eyes widened.
'Uncle was truly blessed in this life... Just how many talents has he even awakened?'
"And that's exactly what we're aiming for with you, Ria," Herman continued, his tone brimming with determination.
"To help you acquire a body talent before the rite, the Acquired Body of the Purified Sanctum."
"The Purified Sanctum?" Ariase asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Herman nodded.
"It's my secondary body talent, but unlike most body talents, it doesn't require a blessing from the Council. You can acquire it on your own, through complete purification of your body."
Hearing his uncle's words, Ariase's jaw dropped, his mind racing.
'Acquired talents? Is that even possible?' he thought, disbelief and wonder clashing within him.
Talents were supposed to be bound by fate and destiny.
Whether someone had enough soul power to be blessed with them was secondary.
Without the right destiny, even the one with the strongest soul would be doomed to mediocrity, forever outshone by those blessed with greater fates.
Just like a golden goose that lays shit instead of golden eggs.
Unable to suppress his curiosity any longer, Ariase blurted out, "Uncle… just how many talents have you awakened?"
Herman responded with a sly smile, rubbing his nose in pride and mock humility.
"Not that many," he said nonchalantly. "Just six."
"Six?!" Ariase practically shouted, the shock written all over his face.
"But isn't the average only four? And even then, people with less than that are considered wastes unless they awaken a rare talent!"
Herman chuckled, clearly enjoying his nephew's reaction.
"Well, I was born during the [Golden Era of Mysticity]. Six talents were nothing special in my batch. Even the weakest among us managed to awaken five talent slots, and still got blessed with two rare talents."
Ariase gaped. "A golden era…"
His uncle nodded, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
"Thinking back to what Mother once told me, that year was truly extraordinary. It marked the rise of Magdalene Santiago, the Thirteenth Soul Ascendant of the [Arcane Halo of Ascendance]."
"It was said that she blessed the entire island of Cebu, her homeland, with a surge of soul power that elevated everyone's potential. Even those who barely qualified for a single talent found themselves unlocking rare abilities. It was…"
He trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes.
"Well, that's a story for another time. You'll learn more from your teachers soon enough."
Herman suddenly clapped his hands, snapping out of his reverie.
"Anyway, enough storytelling. Let's focus on the present. But before we begin purifying your body, let's eat. I'm starving."
Ariase simply nodded, still processing everything as he followed his uncle to the kitchen.
His thoughts raced as fragments of what Herman had said replayed in his mind.
'Now I understand why Uncle is so talented…'
'But Magdalene… To think she became an Ascendant capable of blessing an entire island. Just how powerful was she?'
The aroma of a hearty breakfast quickly pulled him from his thoughts.
As they ate, Ariase found himself smiling.
The food was incredible, far better than anything Ariase had ever tasted in his past life.
After his uncle returned to their ancestral land, meals had become nothing more than takeout consumed in solitude, the dim glow of a computer screen his only companion.
Here, each bite felt alive, full of care and warmth.
After they finished eating, Ariase stood to help with the dishes, a contented smile still lingering on his face.
As he dried the last plate, Herman leaned against the counter with a grin.
"So, the food was good, right?" his uncle asked casually.
Ariase nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! It was even better than last time!"
Herman's grin widened, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I'm glad you liked it," he said with a teasing edge.
"Because that's your 'last' meal, you know."
"Uhm, sure!"
"Wait, what?!" Ariase asked, his voice light with disbelief.
But when he turned to look at his uncle, he froze.
Herman's smile had morphed into something wicked, his grin practically dripping with amusement.
"Wait—what?!" Ariase said, panic creeping into his voice.
"Relax, it's only for a day," Herman said, waving a hand dismissively.
"You'll survive. Besides, you need to excrete every impurity in your body, including what you've consumed. Trust me, you'll thank me later."
"Well, it's a good thing you're so thin and underweight; otherwise, it'd take even longer to complete the purification ceremony."
Ariase sighed heavily, already feeling the coming suffering.
Herman laughed, clearly enjoying his nephew's frustration.
"What can I say? Fairness is the foundation of greatness, kid. You're going through the same process I did. And yes, I starved myself too. No shortcuts, even for you."
Ariase could only shake his head, resigned to his fate.
As Ariase glanced back at his uncle's smug face, he couldn't suppress the thought, 'Isn't his talent high-tiered now? He's definitely doing this out of sheer spite. Sigh… This man is impossible, petty to the point of perfection.'