To William’s surprise, Tamasya declined his offer.
After listening to everything he had to say, she shook her head and explained her reasoning calmly. Every spell, affinity, and ability she possessed was tied directly to her path. For thousands of years, she had walked that path and shaped herself around it. She felt that continuing along that direction was the best choice for her future.
"If I ever truly need one of your talents, I’ll ask," she said. "It’s not as if we’re separated anymore. We can communicate through the mark, and if necessary, we can teleport to each other’s location."
There was a quiet certainty in her voice that made it clear she had already made up her mind. At the same time, she reminded William that the arrangement went both ways.
"You shouldn’t hesitate to use my powers either."
William answered without words, leaning forward, and he kissed her softly.
Tamasya’s expression softened immediately, and she returned the gesture before resting her forehead against his for a brief moment.
After that, their conversation continued.
William explained several things that she still did not know, including the concept of variance Energy, Rah’s origins, and his connection to Lia. Tamasya listened attentively, occasionally interrupting with questions whenever something caught her interest.
Time passed surprisingly quickly.
By the time they finished discussing everything, nearly an hour had gone by.
Only then did they finally move on to the next step.
William began helping Tamasya erase her existing cultivation foundation so it could be rebuilt through the Primordial Godflow Scripture.
The process differed significantly from the method William used to absorb cultivation through the slave mark.
When he absorbed cultivation from others, his Supreme-ranked talent automatically refined and adjusted everything. Any foreign cultivation was transformed and aligned with the standards of his God-ranked cultivation method before becoming part of his foundation.
Tamasya’s situation was different.
She had cultivated entirely through her own efforts for thousands of years. Her Saint-ranked ’Tenebris Accumulation Scripture’ was undoubtedly powerful, but compared to the Primordial Godflow Scripture, there was a considerable gap; it was like comparing a bow to a canon.
The purpose of the sharing process was not merely to increase her cultivation. It was to elevate the very foundation upon which her future growth would stand.
Once William shared his cultivation through the Fatebound talent, Tamasya’s core strength would rise to a completely different level. From there, she could continue cultivating the Primordial Godflow Scripture while retaining the immense advantages of her own path.
William asked Orion if the Aether seed could be shared somehow or maybe purchased from the shop for her, yet he only got a single reply, and that was to be patient and wait.
The reconstruction process lasted for quite some time. When it was finally complete, Tamasya stretched her arms overhead and released a satisfied breath.
The expression on her face resembled someone who had just gone through an exceptionally relaxing massage. William, on the other hand, looked noticeably exhausted.
The process had consumed a significant amount of his energy.
For the next hour, he remained seated in meditation. His breathing became slow and steady as he focused on recovering his strength and replenishing his mana reserves.
While William recovered, Tamasya immersed herself in testing her newly rebuilt cultivation.
The difference was immediately apparent.
Previously, she had stood at the True Godhood Realm.
Now, after sharing cultivation with William, she had reached Absolute Godhood Rank.
The process was fascinating since cultivation sharing was not automatic.
The partner with the higher realm had to continuously inject mana into the other person’s body until the gap between their realms was bridged. Under normal circumstances, such an overwhelming influx of energy would simply destroy the recipient’s body.
Yet the soulmate mark somehow transformed that process into something entirely different. Instead of causing damage, the transferred mana was used to facilitate breakthroughs and strengthen the recipient’s cultivation foundation.
William still had no idea how such a thing was possible. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
The soulmate mark appeared to ignore many of the fundamental rules governing cultivation. At times, it felt less like an ability and more like hacking the laws of reality.
The thought left him questioning the cultivation system of this universe.
Eventually, he decided not to dwell on it. There were too many mysteries he could not answer right now.
Instead, he watched Tamasya. A faint smile appeared on his face as he sensed her enjoyment. She was clearly delighted with her newly established cultivation base.
The sky soon filled with demonstrations of her power.
Shadows surged through the air as she conjured spell after spell. Vast armies of Shadow-Born Manifestations emerged across the landscape before dissolving and reforming again. Massive currents of darkness twisted around her like obedient servants responding to their ruler’s command.
Every few minutes, she tried something new. Her mana capacity had increased dramatically, and control had become smoother.
Even the quality of her energy felt more refined than before.
It was obvious that the rebuilding process had strengthened her far beyond a simple realm advancement. By the time William completed his recovery, Tamasya was still experimenting with her abilities.
He approached her with a thoughtful expression. There was something important he wanted to discuss.
Now that both of them had reached Absolute Godhood, they faced a problem. The path of mana cultivation ahead was practically blocked.
Without ascension, there was nowhere higher to go. Tamasya had known this reality long before he did.
In fact, that knowledge was one of the primary reasons she had never wanted to settle down on Aris. Instead, she had spent centuries carving a bloody path across the continent.
As they spoke, she slowly explained what had happened.
Nearly two thousand years ago, the continent of Aris had been dominated by factions similar to the Light Church. Numerous organizations worshipped various gods of the Upper Realm and acted as their representatives.
Many of those factions had maintained deep hostility toward the Tenebris Clan due to conflicts that stretched back countless generations. By the time Tamasya reached the True Godhood Realm, she had already realized that the gods above were deliberately obstructing ascension.
Faced with enemies on every side and no intention of surrendering, she had chosen the simplest solution.
She destroyed them. Any faction that stood directly in her path was crushed. Entire organizations vanished, and several powerful bloodlines were pushed to extinction.
Tamasya tried her best to downplay the scale of her actions.
She skipped over details and summarized centuries of events in a handful of sentences.
Yet even with the information she withheld, William found himself astonished by the sheer determination she had displayed. He already knew what happened afterward.
Once the descendants and followers of various gods had been eradicated.
Eventually, those gods could no longer remain passive. They descended personally in their avtaar forms just like Lux had done.
Ironically, the reason Tamasya survived was not that she managed to defeat them. It was because they had never arrived with the intention to kill her.
For reasons that remained unknown to him, they had come to capture her alive.
Even now, Tamasya had no idea why the memory of those days clearly weighed on her.
Her gaze lowered slightly as she recalled those events; fortunately or unfortunately, she had survived by falling into the prison of gods, where those avatars were unable to detect her presence for some reason, though she herself got trapped in that place as the divine chains around her had corroded and turned into something alive that had bound her there for thousands of years.
Meanwhile, her allies had last seen her being taken away by countless divine avatars of gods, and they had all come to the same conclusion that she had died.
William stepped closer. Reaching out, he gently cupped her face in both hands.
His voice carried a quiet certainty.
"You are my woman now."
William met her eyes directly.
"As long as I’m alive, no one is going to lay a hand on you."
For a moment, she simply stared at him, and then a faint smile appeared on her face.
She lifted her hands and gently rubbed his hands. The heaviness in her expression eased considerably.
After allowing the silence to linger for a few moments, William asked a question that had been bothering him.
"How did you find out that the gods were blocking ascension in the first place?"
Tamasya’s expression immediately became more complicated. A hint of unease flashed across her eyes.
After a brief hesitation, she answered.
"The matriarch of the Tenebris Clan told me before she retired."
William heard her, "And then?"
Tamasya shook her head. "She disappeared somewhere unknown afterward. I never saw her again."
Inside his mind, William immediately turned toward Orion.
’That was her mother, wasn’t it?’
[Yes. That appears to be the case.]
William’s eyes narrowed slightly. There was clearly far more to the story than Tamasya was willing to reveal.
The hesitation in her voice, the details she omitted, and the emotions she tried to suppress all pointed toward deeper truths. Still, he chose not to push further.
Everyone carried wounds they were not ready to share. If Tamasya wanted him to know, she would tell him eventually.
Until then, he would respect her boundaries. Deciding to move the conversation in a different direction, William smiled and spoke casually.
"Well, if mana cultivation has reached a dead end for us, then maybe it’s time to explore something else."
Tamasya looked at him curiously as she saw him smiling.
"Since we don’t currently have a path forward through mana cultivation, would you be interested in cultivating the Flux Realm’s cultivation system?"