The backlash was noticeably lighter than before.
Only a faint ache spread through my muscles, accompanied by a single drop of blood escaping my nose before my regeneration erased even that.
"Progress."
I had only used the technique a handful of times, yet my body was already beginning to adapt. Before I could admire the scenery, the surrounding clouds rippled.
Gerald stepped out of the mist with his usual calm expression.
He looked at me.
Then toward the faint traces of Space, Time and Soul lingering around me.
A small smile formed beneath his beard.
"I see you’ve become considerably more comfortable with that movement technique."
"I’m trying."
"It shows."
I chuckled before walking toward him.
"Good. Because I actually came to ask you something."
Gerald folded his hands behind his back.
"And here I thought you simply missed my company."
"I’ll admit that was part of it."
"Liar."
"I tried."
The old man laughed quietly.
"So... what knowledge are you trying to steal from me today?"
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
"I’ve been spending some time inside the Ironhart Library."
Gerald nodded.
"I’d be disappointed if you hadn’t."
"While looking through some of the older records, I came across a very strange reference."
His expression became mildly interested.
"Oh?"
"It mentioned something called the Twelfth Soul Current."
The smile disappeared from Gerald’s face. For the first time since I had met him, I saw genuine surprise flicker across his eyes.
"...That’s an old name. And you saw that in the Ironhart Library?"
"So you’ve heard of it." I ignored his question.
"I’ve heard far more than I’d like."
He remained silent for several moments before slowly walking toward the edge of the clouds.
"I suppose there’s no harm in telling you."
I quietly followed beside him.
"The eleven Soul Currents everyone knows today weren’t always the only ones."
He looked toward the endless white horizon.
"Long before recorded history, there existed a twelfth current. Unlike the other eleven, it wasn’t responsible for maintaining the balance of the Null Realm. It possessed an entirely different purpose."
"What purpose?"
Gerald’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"It was a Spatial Current."
I frowned.
"Spatial?"
He nodded.
"It flowed between realities."
The words immediately caught my attention.
"It wasn’t confined to the Null Realm like the other eleven currents. It could travel freely between this realm and the living world, carrying Soul Force, laws and information across realities. In many ways, it acted as a bridge connecting both sides of existence."
He paused before continuing.
"That bridge was actually beneficial for countless years. It allowed both realities to remain in balance. It ensured the Soul Sea functioned correctly, and it quietly regulated many of the invisible laws that govern life, death and reincarnation."
"So what happened?"
Gerald slowly released a breath.
"No one knows."
His answer surprised me.
"There are countless theories."
"Some claim the current devoured too many wandering souls. Others believe it absorbed fragments of consciousness for millions of years. A few ancient records even suggest it was born with awareness from the very beginning."
He shook his head.
"The truth has been lost."
"But one fact remains consistent throughout every version of the story."
"It awakened."
A strange feeling settled inside my chest.
"It became conscious."
Gerald nodded.
"And with consciousness came desire."
His voice grew noticeably heavier.
"The Twelfth Current no longer flowed where it was meant to. It began crossing realities at will, dragging souls between worlds, altering the natural balance, and interfering with the other eleven currents. Entire regions of the Null Realm became unstable, while strange disasters reportedly began appearing within the living world."
"What kind of disasters?"
"No one knows."
He gave another helpless shrug.
"Most records from that era were destroyed. All that remains are fragments describing an existence that had become completely uncontrollable."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"It wasn’t evil. It wasn’t righteous. It simply stopped caring."
The description immediately reminded me of a natural disaster. A flood didn’t hate people.
It simply flooded.
"The Twelfth Current became an amoral force," Gerald continued. "It carried out its own will without considering the consequences for either reality."
"And then?"
"And then..."
For the first time since beginning the story, Gerald’s expression became almost reverent.
"...the Ruler intervened."
I remained silent. No one had ever seen the Ruler of the Null Realm. Most people weren’t even certain such a being truly existed. Yet every ancient civilization contained references to the same event.
"The Ruler personally sealed the Twelfth Soul Current."
"Not destroyed?"
Gerald shook his head.
"No one could destroy it."
"So he imprisoned it instead."
The old man slowly nodded.
"He created a separate dimension, isolated from both realities, and sealed the Twelfth Current within it. Since that day, the current has remained imprisoned, endlessly flowing inside its own empty world."
I frowned.
"Do you know where this dimension is?"
Gerald laughed.
"If I knew that, do you really think I’d still be standing here?"
"Fair point."
"What about the gate?"
"No."
"How do you open it?"
"No."
"How do you break the seal?"
"No."
I stared at him.
"You really don’t know anything useful."
He chuckled.
"I know one thing."
I raised an eyebrow.
"There are old rumors."
"What rumors?"
"That the Ruler never intended the seal to be eternal."
My interest immediately returned.
"The stories claim he left behind a trial."
"A trial?"
Gerald nodded.
"If someone ever wished to unseal the Twelfth Current, they would first need to pass a test personally created by the Ruler himself."
"And after that?"
His expression became serious again.
"Then comes the real challenge."
"The Twelfth Current itself."
He looked toward the endless horizon.
"Never forget what I told you. That current is conscious."
"It thinks and chooses."
"And after spending countless ages imprisoned alone..."
His eyes slowly met mine.
"I doubt whatever remains inside that seal could still be called sane."
Silence settled between us.
I slowly smiled.
Gerald noticed immediately.
"I know that smile."
"Do you?"
"I don’t like it."
My grin widened.
"What do you think about conquering the Twelfth Soul Current with me?"
For the first time in a long while...
Gerald the Wise looked genuinely speechless.
"...What?"
"I think it’s the only way we’re going to restrain Verilux long enough to activate the Slayer Rods."
The old man continued staring at me as though he had completely forgotten how to blink.