An Imbued Resonance…
It was known as the marker of a true genius of the Nightingale Empire. Only those with exceptional talent or bloodlines could unlock one.
Thralix had been just one such existence. And it was precisely because of this that he played such a pivotal role in everything reaching this point.
However, that was a mere Low Imbued Resonance. Above Low Imbued Resonances, there were still Middle, Higher, and Peak ones. In the entire Nightingale Empire, the only bloodline that could produce a Higher Imbued Resonance was the Nightingale Imperial Clan themselves.
And yet, Theron had crossed Peak, leaving it behind entirely to form a Low Manaborn Resonance.
The gap was so shockingly large that it was hard to fathom. Every leap upward was a huge qualitative change. But a crossing of a major barrier was another matter entirely.
If Theron had been able to tap into this during his battle with Ironvale, there was simply no way he would have needed to go nearly as far to defeat him. In fact, Theron might not even need to swallow a Resonate Bloomstone at all.
Of course, that would be contingent on him actually having Water Mana that he could use instead of being stuck in the volcanic zone. Even a Manaborn Resonance wouldn’t allow him to control steam.
In a single bound, Theron had left the Nightingale Province far behind. And yet… as he slowly shook awake, he still somehow felt that there was more.
Theron almost stumbled forward as though he was trying to step toward a road that had disappeared before him.
His mind shook and he awakened to what he had just done.
He had hardly even understood Imbued Resonance, let alone what was a step beyond it. All he knew was that he felt his connection to Water Mana getting even stronger.
However, he only basked in that feeling for a short while before he understood something.
‘There are higher levels of this technique. How do I get them?’
Theron was like a fish out of water, looking for more. That mysterious state he had just entered, his body moving about on its own… it was definitely a Forbidden Spell as well.
No, it felt different… more complete somehow, and more natural.
All he did was think it, and then a sea of information flooded his mind. One after another, almost suffocating.
His skull felt as though it was being split in two. But then the pain vanished as a refreshingly cool liquid spread through his mind.
Theron’s eyes widened in shock.
He had never experienced this feeling personally, but he knew what it was immediately.
His Third Eye. It was opening.
All at once, his mental capacity skyrocketed. His sensory perception elevated, his ability to sense Water Mana took yet another leap forward, and his thoughts and reactions all became far quicker.
Finally, the information he had been struggling to keep up with became clear.
‘The [Luminance Moon Cycle]… is this the true core cultivation method of their Sect…? Fascinating. But this…’
According to what was currently still a surface understanding on Theron’s part, the [Luminance Moon Cycle] was based on the cycle of these nine moons. But, it seemed to imply that the other eight moons weren’t actually of this world. Though, depending on the time of year, they could appear in the skies at some time or another.
A key part of this technique was actually taking advantage of those times of year so that the other methods could be practiced.
‘Worlds, huh…’
This place was known as the Luminance Library. To Theron’s delight, it was all his own to take.
The trouble was that he wouldn’t be able to do such a thing until he was at Gold Mancy. In order to refine a place like this one, he needed the special quintessence that only Gold Mana could provide.
But what excited Theron was that this library had a great deal of information not just about this Province, or even just this world… but rather information about other worlds.
Theron didn’t even quite understand the concept or what it could possibly mean… but he knew that he wanted to learn more.
Unfortunately, as he had said… now wasn’t the time. If he wanted to push himself to the next level of this technique, he would need to wait until the next moon phase in the real world, and that would take another two months.
There was time for something else, though.
Theron walked into the middle of the magic circle and closed his eyes. The world began to spin around him once again until it came to a stop.
When Theron opened his eyes this time, he was in a treasure room. There were no weapons, no item spirits, but instead… there were nine piles of Bloomstone stacked as tall as mountains.
Echo Bloomstone. Tribulation Bloomstone. Spirit Bloomstone. Resonate Bloomstone. Aberrath Bloomstone. Eruption Bloomstone. Vital Bloomstone. Soul Bloomstone. And then there was a Bloomstone that Theron actually didn’t recognize.
Most of this list he had known about for a long while, and then there were a few standouts… namely, Soul Bloomstone, which just might hold the secret to why Ironvale had been able to form a sword spirit Echo.
However, Theron didn’t care about any of this. Looking at the piles of Bloomstone, he knew that this would be his capital to grow into a true powerhouse in a very short time.
He was especially looking at the Aberrath Bloomstone. What would happen to him if he swallowed it? Would he mute?
It didn’t matter.
Theron’s eyes shifted to the pile of Vital Bloomstone. No matter what, he would break through to Silver Mancy before he left this place.
Plus, this Bloomstone also… presented a unique opportunity.
An opportunity to lay more traps.
**
In a distant land, a young man looked into the skies along with everyone else, lost in thought before a light smile spread across his face.
To think that he would be put under house arrest because of his own doing. Now his Clan wouldn’t let him go anywhere for fear of being assassinated.
‘Never did I think a little Karma farming ant I set free would put me in such a bind… but go ahead… struggle. This only made things more interesting. Just how far will I break through after devouring you?’
He and Theron had become the only two to truly know whose hands that inheritance fell into.