The assurance of zero casualties went a long way in alleviating the fears of various individuals. One of those individuals is Mihila. She has some reservations because all 3 of her children are going to participate in the competition. She would have been a wreck if there was a risk of death. The death of Kayla has only just happened recently. But then the competition turned from a risky game into a harmless game. Now she can comfortably send them off.
She kissed Ghoto's head and ruffled the blue fur on his head affectionately when it was time to send him off.
"You go champ. You do your best and I'll be satisfied. I will always be cheering for you."
Ghoto complained, "Mum! You're embarrassing me."
They are standing some distance away from the pillar that will serve as the entrance. They are not the only ones around. There are a lot of people going and coming. A lot of people are saying farewell to their kids but very few are as cuddly as this pair of mother and son.
Mihila feigned being hurt. "Are you so big now that you find me embarrassing?"
Ghoto hugged her and buried his face into her chest. Mihila smiled and patted his back. Then he disengaged and ran off to the pillar. He touched the pillar and then disappeared. Mihila grinned as she shook her head.
She turned to the silent battle sage monkey beside her and asked, "What about you? Do you want a hug?"
Litori shook her head. "No, I don't want a hug."
"Are you sure?" Mihila insisted.
Litori nodded. They returned to silence after that rejection. The silence dragged on for a while until Mihila felt compelled to ask.
"What are you waiting for?"
"I don't know. But I'll wait and see. I am not like Ghaster who runs headfirst into a situation without thinking. I'll watch and decide." She replied as her white eyes focused on the pillars.
There are 3 black rings within each of her white eyes that separate her eyes into different layers around the black pupil at the center. Most of her eyes are white with the pupil as a very small point at the center. The three black rings expand and constrict as she focuses on different things. Right now she is focused on the pillars.
Even her dull uncomprehending eyes can tell that there's something special about it. But no one is stopping to check. It makes almost no difference either way if they check or not since they can't comprehend anything from it. Even Litori that can see spirits and souls just knows that there's something odd about the pillars but she doesn't know what.
Sometimes, the ability to see things is not so good. She noticed something attached to Soverick. It is an unidentified spiritual object or entity. She has never seen something like it before. The more she looked, the more her mind was strained. It is as if she is looking at something too massive for her mind to understand.
What she saw in Soverick resembled a deep abyss with some sort of hideous demonic monster at its depths. She doesn't know what it is but she knows it is very big and what she is seeing is just a part of it. That thing is connected to Soverick and extends to places far beyond her sight.
Soverick honestly scares her. It has always been that way ever since they were babies. His weirdly powerful soul is strange enough but what she saw almost caused a backlash to her eyes. If not for her inability to feel emotions, she will be shaking and mentally traumatized by what she saw. But it is a good thing that she saw what she saw. She knows now to stay away from him and fear him. She won't be like a certain foolish person who wants to pick a fight with Soverick.
There are some things that shouldn't be gazed upon but knowledge is good. With knowledge, someone can make informed decisions. So Litori is hoping to see something about the pillars that will dissuade her from participating in the competition. She wants a location with a high concentration of Origin energy but participating in the same competition with Soverick might be a bad way to go about acquiring what she wants.
Another bell rang throughout the plane signifying that the registration is about to end. Litori wasn't able to see anything odd or out of place.
Mihila expressed her concerns. "You have to go now if you intend to participate."
Her daughter replied emotionlessly. "I know."
Litori wanted to say, "Tell me something I don't know." But she changed it. Mihila might think she is being helpful but Litori thinks she is just stating the obvious. She didn't do so because she is not Soverick. She can't fight Mihila so she better behave. She doesn't have enough strength so she must be servile for a little while longer.
Litori waited patiently for a while more but she couldn't see anything useful about the pillar so she gave up.
"Goodbye then."
Litori said her farewell and walked into the range of the light on the pillar. Then she extended her divine sense tentatively to the pillar instead of touching it physically. Something pushed back from within the pillar. She accepted it and her divine sense was branded. The brand traveled to her body because she is a transcendent and marked her. It also marked her soul since the two are fused together.
The brand passed on some information to her and a mark appeared on the palm of her hand. The brand is invisible to everyone else but her. She doesn't need to look at the mark to see what it means.
NAME: Litori Ghastorix.
POWER: Zero Step.
DESIGNATION: SOLDIER.
SCORE: 0
RANK: 4,112,317
The brand began to resonate with the pillar after marking her. She activated it and her entire being turned into a stream of energy that flowed into the pillar and into the competition grounds. She too disappeared from the Virut plane.