After reaching the state of Absolute Clarity, Ash moved onto the second step, which was the compression of the will into a singular point.
But will does not bend easily, it resists being compressed, and during the process thoughts and emotions leak out unconsciously around the person, spreading into the surroundings like invisible waves that carry intent, pressure, and instability.
That is also a reason why it is advised to form the Seal alone, because even a slight disturbance or interference at this stage can lead to failure.
In his consciousness, the hazy fog that was swirling around started to move towards the center, slowly at first, then faster, as if something had locked onto it and was dragging it inward without allowing it to escape.
There were two ways one could compress the will, either by putting pressure from the outside or by creating a suction type pressure from the inside.
Ash chose the difficult method, but it had its benefits too, as the focal point of his will power would be far more stable and dense compared to the other method, giving him a stronger and more unbreakable core.
As the hazy clouds moved towards the center, they started to become dense, the space shrinking rapidly, and then the pressure suddenly spiked to an unbearable level without any warning.
And in the very next moment, an overwhelming and violent pain assaulted Ash, causing his whole body to shudder and tremble uncontrollably as if his very existence was being crushed into nothingness.
An intense chill ran through his soul, and inside his Soul Space, the dark sea erupted into chaos, as if a storm had been forcefully awakened within it, the waters rising into towering waves that crashed relentlessly onto the Soul Tree, shaking its branches and sending ripples across the entire space.
It was utter chaos.
Ash’s face twisted into something dark and distorted, clearly showing the depth of pain he was enduring, his breath uneven, his control pushed to its limit, but even then he did not stop the process for even a fraction of a second.
The hazy clouds in his consciousness tightened into a violent spiral around the focal point, pulling in more and more of his will as it was forced into a singular point, and with every passing second he increased the pressure further, pushing himself beyond his limits, because he knew that if he lost control even once, everything would collapse and he might not survive the backlash.
Eva, who was watching everything from his Soul Space, felt the chaos spreading inside, but as her core was inside the Soul Library, she was not directly affected, yet she could still feel something leaking through, something that made her uneasy.
{Are these....}
Her projection, which had been witnessing everything, suddenly fell to her knees as it began to tremble, and even her projection was affected by the intense emotions, while unfamiliar thoughts started to appear in her mind and consciousness, making it hard for her to stay composed.
They were not her thoughts, they were his, leaking out in fragments that carried a strange weight, as if each passing thought held a piece of his will that could no longer stay contained.
At first, they felt steady and controlled, carrying a sense of familiarity that made it clear he had endured pain like this before and knew how to hold himself together.
I have felt this before...this is nothing new...
Pain is pain...just endure it...
There was no panic in that thought, only a quiet confidence built from experience, as if he had already walked through countless moments like this and had come out standing every time.
But the pressure did not remain the same.
It kept increasing, slowly at first, and then all at once.
And with it, the pain changed.
What the hell is this...
This is not normal...
Why does it feel like everything is being torn apart from inside...
The thoughts became heavier, slower, as if even thinking was starting to take effort.
I have endured worse...I know I have...
So why...why does this feel different...
Eva’s body trembled as she felt it pass through her, the pain carrying something deeper than just suffering.
Just stop...
Just stop this...
If I stop now...this will end...
If I just let go...this pain will stop...
That thought did not carry fear, but a quiet temptation, something that tried to pull him away from the process.
And for that one moment, there was a pause.
Then, without warning, something else appeared in his mind.
A face.
.....Elysia.
The moment her image surfaced, everything shifted.
...What am I thinking...
The hesitation shattered instantly, replaced by something sharp and burning.
I was about to give up...just like that...?
After everything...after leaving her behind like that...?
The thoughts grew harsher, filled with anger that was now directed at himself.
What a joke...what the hell am I doing...
Giving up here of all places...
Another surge of pain followed, even stronger than before, but this time it did not bring hesitation, it only fueled the intensity of his thoughts.
Fragments of memories flickered through again, not clear, not complete, but enough to feel their weight.
A faint smile.
A presence that felt warm and real.
You left her...and now you are thinking of stopping here...
You don’t even have the right to think like that...
You don’t even have the right to even stop...you deserve even more pain....this is nothing......
The pressure kept rising, the pain still tearing through him without mercy, but the thoughts no longer wavered.
If I fall here...then everything I have done until now becomes meaningless...
All that pain...all that struggle...what was it even for...
His thoughts grew steadier again, not calm like before, but firm, as if they had been sharpened under pressure.
Move...
Compress...
Don’t stop...
The pain did not lessen.
If anything, it only grew stronger.
But the hesitation was gone.
Replaced by something far more stubborn.
Break if you have to...
But I am not stopping...
And Ash continued to put more and more pressure, forcing everything into that single point without letting it loosen even for a moment, and after a few more minutes, his will was finally compressed into a singular point which was shining with an intense white light.
His eyes were closed, but his body was drenched in sweat all over, his breathing uneven and heavy, and his face had turned even paler than before, while a deep exhaustion spread through him, making him feel like he could collapse and fall asleep at any moment.
But Ash knew this was just the beginning, and he did not stop there, because there were still many more steps he had to complete.
Come on, this is just the First Seal, as long as I form the First Order Immortal Seal, creating other seals in the future will be much easier than now...
Lets continue...
The third step of Soul Flame awakening was the infusion of the concept into the singular point of will, giving his will the nature of his chosen concept.
And he was going to use the theory used in the infusion of Laws as the base for his infusion of the Rune of Harmony into the Will Orb.
It was known that one cannot comprehend the complete laws of the world before becoming a God or a Celestial, and because of that, it is not possible to infuse the complete law into the will.
What people do instead is infuse their current comprehension of a particular law into that will, and as in the future they continue to comprehend the Law more, the power of the Immortal Seal rises accordingly, growing along with their understanding.
Ash believed that laws and Runes were similar in this regard, thus he decided to use the same method, but instead of laws, he would be using the Runes.
And that is what he did.
Knowledge, thoughts and comprehension related to the Rune of Harmony started to slowly get infused into the Will Orb, merging into it in a controlled manner, and Ash did not rush the process, he was doing it very slowly, carefully guiding everything as he did not want to make a mistake.
And to his surprise, it worked.
His Will Orb started to absorb those comprehensions, and visible even to the naked eye, tiny symbols started to appear inside his Will Orb that was the size of a marble, forming slowly as if they were being carved from within.
Rune of Harmony held the highest comprehension among all the Runes Ash had. That was around 6%.
Thus, it would require more time than usual.
This process did not have any pain, thus Ash was freed from that tormenting pain, allowing his body to relax slightly, but someone else was still reeling from what Ash had just endured as if it was nothing.
Eva was breathing heavily, her entire being unsettled, as she felt her soul shudder, because even though she had not gone through the pain herself, through the emotions and thoughts she could almost feel what Ash had undergone.
It was like seeing someone getting brutally tortured for the first time, where even as an observer, the body reacts and tenses as if it is the one being tortured.
It was that kind of feeling. But 10 times more intense.
But Eva forced herself to calm down, steadying her breathing, because she did not in any way want to disturb Ash, not even slightly.
The high waves of his dark sea inside his Soul Space had yet to calm down, still crashing and moving as if the storm was not over. Just held at bay.
You have crossed the most difficult part where more than 80% of people fail....you have to believe in yourself, you can do it....
Eva clenched her fists, her eyes slightly moist, as she looked towards the sky of the Soul Library, as if wanting her words to somehow reach Ash and give him the strength to continue forward.
**