One Week Later.
Contrary to Ash’s expectations, he did not fall into despair after hearing the news of Elysia’s death.
The emotions he expected to feel such as rage, sadness, guilt, regret, and even self hatred only surfaced momentarily before fading away.
None of them managed to remain for long.
Because a single thing dominated all his negative feelings.
And that was...
Resolve.
The resolve to become stronger than anyone else.
He didn’t know why, but after Henry left, he was overcome by a sudden sense of urgency, as though an invisible clock had begun ticking somewhere beyond his perception.
His instincts were constantly warning him, urging him to become stronger as quickly as possible, as though they sensed a danger that his conscious mind had yet to notice.
Thus, rather than dwelling on things he could no longer change, Ash threw himself completely into the ocean of knowledge Henry had left behind.
For an entire week, he remained immersed within that endless sea of information, greedily absorbing everything he could while sorting through countless techniques, cultivation systems, ancient records, and mysteries gathered from across Infinite Dimensions.
The first thing Ash did was organize all the information into two separate sections.
The first section contained everything that could directly help him become stronger, such as Natural Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, records regarding various cultivation paths, knowledge related to Laws, and countless other pieces of information that could immediately contribute to his growth.
The second section contained information regarding everything else, knowledge that would only truly become useful once he ventured beyond this Fake Dimension and stepped into the greater reality outside.
Ash left the second section entirely to Eva.
The amount of information contained within it was simply too enormous, and he had neither the time nor the luxury to go through it right now. There were more pressing matters demanding his attention.
Thus, he focused solely on the first section.
Making full use of the accelerated time within his Soul Space, Ash spent a total of 1 week in reality, or rather 27 years inside the Soul Space, doing almost nothing except comprehending the countless cultivation techniques.
Henry was not wrong when he said that even Ash would have to put in genuine effort if he truly wanted to comprehend them.
After all, these were techniques gathered from countless Dimensions, many of them created by beings whose understanding of cultivation far exceeded anything found within the Realm of Eden.
This time, he was not able rely on the shortcut he had used to comprehend Runes quickly.
Still, the ability helped him tremendously.
The Eye of True Omniscience continuously provided him with insights regarding every technique he studied, allowing him to notice flaws, hidden principles, and deeper meanings that would have normally remained invisible.
Not only did it significantly increase his comprehension speed, but it also allowed him to modify many of the techniques, making them more suitable for himself while removing unnecessary limitations that had originally been created for entirely different races and civilizations.
That’s why it took him 27 years. Otherwise, he might have finished everything within 10 years.
A long time has passed.....
Ash thought as he leaned back into the luxurious chair at the center of the Library.
Yet despite those 27 years, his memories remained crystal clear.
He still remembered that day when Henry left.
Snow and Eric had been deeply concerned about both his condition and his actions after learning what had happened, but after Ash explained the situation to them, they eventually understood.
Saskia, on the other hand, had been dragged into all of this completely unnecessarily, and Ash left everything regarding her to Eric, trusting him to do the explaining.
It was also on that very day that Eric came to him with a request.
He wanted to Evolve.
After realizing just how weak and powerless he had been during the recent events, to the point that Ash had no choice but to send him into the Soul Space simply to keep him safe, Eric had been deeply shaken.
Thus, he made that decision.
Although Ash never said it aloud, even Snow was currently far stronger than Eric, mainly due to her special bloodline and unique abilities.
Naturally, Ash agreed.
However, when he used his Evolution ability on Eric, absolutely nothing happened.
Finding the situation strange, Ash immediately used the Eye of True Omniscience to investigate the cause, and it did not take long before he discovered the problem.
A catalyst was required to trigger Evolution.
Last time, when he evolved Eva, Ash had unknowingly used the knowledge contained within the Runes as the catalyst.
This time, however, he had no suitable catalyst available.
Most of his treasures had already been consumed during his Body Reformation, leaving nothing that was capable of meeting the requirements.
Thus, after some consideration, Ash decided to use himself as the catalyst.
He cut off both of his arms, both of his legs, and extracted a single drop of True Origin Blood from his heart.
Ash decided to use all of them.
His limbs regenerated almost instantly, so he did not particularly mind sacrificing them.
The True Origin Blood, however, was a completely different matter.
Even now, it had yet to recover.
After all, only one week had passed for his physical body outside the Soul Space.
Never had he expected that losing a single drop of True Origin Blood would place him into such a weakened state.
His overall Stats had been reduced by nearly one fourth.
Although the situation was somewhat dangerous, Ash knew that his various regeneration and healing abilities were already working nonstop to recover the lost blood, so he was not overly concerned.
Of course, he never told Eric any of this.
Knowing Eric’s personality, Ash was absolutely certain that he would have refused the Evolution the moment he learned the cost.
Thus, Ash kept everything to himself.
The Evolution process was initiated using those materials, but even then Ash did not feel completely satisfied.
After many rounds of deliberation and countless hours spent thinking over the matter, he ultimately decided to add one more catalyst.
The Knowledge of the Rune of Harmony.
Eric was not a stranger to him.
The stronger Eric became, the better it would be for Ash as well, and because of that, he decided to place his trust in him.
Or perhaps...
A small part of him wanted to fulfill Elysia’s final wish.
She had always wanted him to rely on others more instead of carrying everything by himself and confronting every problem alone.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Ash was changing.
Whether that change was for the better or for the worse, even he did not know.
Even after twenty-seven years had passed inside the Soul Space, both Eric and Eva had yet to emerge from the cocoons enveloping them due to their ongoing Evolutions.
It’s understandable though. Although my Body Reformation was extremely complex, it was also a kind of Evolution, but it only took five years because the entire process was carried out by the Codex of Creation...
Meanwhile, this Evolution is being carried out by nothing but my ability. Naturally, the process is much slower, so it isn’t strange for it to take this long...
Shaking away those thoughts, Ash lowered his gaze toward the desk before him.
The surface of the desk was covered with notes and plans that detailed everything he intended to do moving forward.
Seeing all of it laid out before him, a faint smile appeared on Ash’s face.
The path ahead had never looked clearer.
Unfortunately, there was still one missing piece.
For his plan to be executed flawlessly, a plan that would allow him to cultivate his Body, Soul, Universe, and Will simultaneously and even allow him to comprehend the Runes, he required Eva’s assistance.
Without her, he could only tackle everything one step at a time.
Ash’s gaze slowly shifted upward toward the floating cocoon suspended above him.
Eva was directly above his position, silently undergoing her Evolution, while Eric was below him within the basement where the Akashic Vault was located.
I never used the Eye of True Omniscience on her during the Evolution process. I wonder if it will show me the remaining time until her Evolution is complete...
The thought surfaced within his mind.
At the same time, Ash activated his ability.
════════ < ANALYSIS > ════════
Name: Evangeline
True Name: The Unblemished Soul
Status: Undergoing Evolution
Evolution Progress: 38.72%
Remaining Time: 123 Years
Description: A pure soul born for greatness, yet denied the future that should have been hers. Feared by the wicked for the promise hidden within her existence, she was extinguished before her destiny could unfold. Yet the Forsaken One refused to abandon what fate had cast aside, tearing her from the grasp of oblivion, he gave her a new beginning.
Later, unwilling to let her brilliance remain incomplete, the Forsaken One use Sacred Rune Knowledge as a catalyst to initiate her Evolution, opening the path toward a destiny greater than the one stolen from her.
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