"Isn’t this a bit too much of an evolution?" Levi was left speechless as he sized up his partner, "How can you go from a floating eye to this... I can’t even name you right."
"I already told you before, my appearance is defined by your evolutionary choices, and I need more than a single evolution for my transformation to be complete." Ash’Kral explained calmly, "My original appearance is based on the Nine Senses seed primarily... hence the demonic bat-like appearance. But, once you evolve the other two seeds, the bat-like appearance no longer remains primary."
Upon hearing this, Levi did recall that Ash’Kral told him that his final appearance wasn’t fixed when the other two seeds were involved... it made sense, the evolutions occur for both hosts, and since they were part of the Three-Body Problem, they got everything in relation to it.
The Ash’Kral that was groom...cough, watching him during his childhood had both Void and Sun seeds dormant... he said it himself. Unless he had a partner who could wield both seeds, they would remain dormant.
Hence, the demonic Ash’Kral in the Harrowing Forest was at the peak of his Nine Senses Seed... not all three seeds combined!
"Does this mean that as we keep evolving, your appearance will drastically shift?" Levi wondered while reaching out to touch Ash’Kral’s snowy white fur, just to have his hand slapped away.
"It depends on the ranks... now that your three seeds are all at the sapling stage, my form has changed to its true main appearance for your evolutionary path." Ash’Kral shared, "I will start getting bigger and having mutations too, but this form will be considered the main for a long time."
"Understandable." Levi nodded.
He knew that nightcrawlers had only one Shadowlife seed that dictated their evolution and appearance; however, it would never change a nightcrawler’s species from a dolphin to a bird, since the seed was extracted from the genetic codes primarily.
Still, not all the time, like the nightcrawlers getting the ability to humanify their bestial appearance once they evolved to Tier 3.
In the case of the three Origin seeds, they didn’t care about species or such... only about what was the best form to embody their powers, will, and identity.
Ash’Kral’s newest appearance was the final product... a unique mystical creature that seemed to have embraced bits of their traits, powers, and personas.
"I have to say, while your current appearance is not bad, I kinda will miss the single floating eye." Levi chuckled, "It was easier to bully you."
"Try me now, f*cker." Ash’Kral grinned while displaying his sharp black claws.
"Enough of this egotistic prick..." The Titan asked with a faint smile, "What about you, Levi? How do you feel about your new mutations?"
"I don’t even know what they are." Levi smiled wryly as he glanced at his clean skin.
"Brat... rejoice, you have done it."
Instead of answering him, Ash’Kral smiled widely as he extended his claw in the direction of the Three Origin Seeds orbiting his soul.
When Levi looked over, confusion flickered across his face... until his lips parted slightly at the sight of his soul, twice the size of the norm, with three radical roots intertwined at its lower half.
"This... it worked? I convinced them to hold a truce... but, the pain?" Levi asked, glancing in disbelief at his tenants.
After going through that hellish agony, Levi had already accepted his failure to convince the three trees... that’s why he was pissed, believing that no words could ever change the Ancestral Trees’ mind.
Yet, look and behold... the three divas were holding hands, albeit with a tint of disgust, but still... a win is a win.
"The pain was given, the radical roots were bound to touch before you split your soul to accommodate the three trees... but, since they decided on a truce, they won’t fire any more flares at you even if the roots are touching."
Before Levi could celebrate, Ash’Kral continued solemnly.
"However... this current state is based on the condition that you deliver what you have promised... a personal space for each tree. The moment you fail to keep your word, the intertwined roots will bring your damnation."
"Damnation?"
"Yes, the three trees will forsake you at once as their host," Ash’Kral said, "They will punish you with the worst imaginable pain... this time, it won’t be just one tree or two trees being mad, but all trees summoning their united rage on you."
"And I assure you... You won’t survive it."
Hearing this, Levi felt chills course down his spine straight to the three intertwined roots. He understood that the Three Ancestral Trees didn’t accept a truce because his words moved them, and they decided to give him a break... not in a million years. Instead, he pushed for a truce, and they gave him an ultimatum.
As he stared at the three orbiting seeds, Levi seemed to hear them say: You wanted our support to pull off the Soul-Split Theory? You got it, but once you fail, once you disappoint us... You are done for, forever.
No second chance, nothing.
Yet, Levi didn’t allow such a dreadful fate to take over his mind... he took a deep breath, and then showed his known serene smile.
"Fair enough." He uttered, unbothered.
He understood that failure in both scenarios meant the same fate awaited him... a horrible, painful death.
The only difference was that instead of becoming a Warden Daywalker, who was constantly tormented, he would be killed off straight away on his evolution to the Pathfinder rank.
Meanwhile, if he were to succeed, his journey from Pathfinder to Warden rank would be a breeze... no pain, no mental torment, no sudden flares at night.
Most importantly, he would have the foundation to tackle the Solarbound rank’s evolution, which had never been done before... not a single Three-Body Problem host had succeeded in pulling it off.
"To show you just how serious they are in their support... they have bestowed upon you something no partner of mine had the opportunity to own." Ash’Kral pointed at Levi’s skin with a faint grin and said, "Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of Radians’ and Oblivars’ Sun/Void Divine skins."
"Huh?"
Seeing his confusion, Ash’Kral told him to concentrate on his skin and will the emergence of either of them. Levi glanced at Ash’Kral and then at his skin for a moment, his heartbeats increasing steadily... he knew that bastard was an asshole, finding it hard to believe him.
However, once he channeled his will on his skin, calling under his breath for the Radian skin to emerge... in less than a second, Levi’s skin started to shimmer with golden light as the triangle-like full-body tattoo manifested before all... even his black hair turned golden while engulfed in wild divine flames.
Before Levi could react, the Radian skin started reaching out for solar energy from the giant Sun Origin seed, manifesting a beam of sunlight spotted on him.
Levi extended his arm forward and watched in a daze as the golden stripes and triangle tattoos had turned him into a holy, radiant entity... an appearance he was too familiar with, as this was the same look most Radians had during daylight!
Their bodies were constantly absorbing and emitting sunlight, making them resemble walking mini-suns... This made it extremely difficult to see their features, blinding anyone daring to stare into their divinity.
In the case of Levi? He was illuminating brightly, but not in a blinding way... he couldn’t explain it, but it felt much more natural and in tune with the sun than Radian’s appearence?
’I never thought a day would come when I would see a Radian so nearby, and not strike them down...’ The Titan muttered in his mind, gazing at Levi’s divine-like appearance.
But he wiped such thoughts from his mind and showed a kind smile. "How does it feel to have one of the best skin mutations in the universe?"
"I don’t know... It’s too hard to tell in the Spiritual Leywell."
Levi responded while turning off the transformation by mere will... the tattoos dimmed out and returned to their dormant, invisible state, hiding under his human skin’s layer... the tattoos were inked on two separate skin layers underneath the surface one. Unless he awakened them, no one could tell or see them.
"Go back to your body to get accurate readings on both mutations." Ash’Kral said, "I will help you discover their current available powers."
Still in a daze, Levi did as he was told... the moment he returned to his studio, he found the entire place in a mess after rolling his ass from one part to another. His body also smelled nasty, forcing him to squinch his nose.
"A moment please..."
Levi ignored his mutations and everything else, taking a quick shower first... only then did he return and sit back on the ground with his knees crossed.
Then, he summoned the Solar tattoos through his will and watched as his skin started to shimmer somewhat dimly.
Levi immediately guessed that it was due to the lack of sunlight in the Boundless Expanse... the realm was illuminated, but not through pure sunlight... which was the reason nightcrawlers could exist here fearlessly.
The same went for dark energy or any other type of energy in that matter... Nocturn kept such energies locked in specific places, while the public territories gave no advantage to any race... environment-wise, making a true neutral ground for everyone.
"This ain’t gonna work here."
Levi shook his head and stood up, planning to return to the chained universe... but first, he cleared his studio.
***
Sometime later...
Levi was seen hovering tens of kilometers above the desert and clouds, his arms outstretched and a faint smile painted on his face. Two concentrated jets of blue and golden flames streamed steadily from his soles, yet he didn’t feel a thing.
The sun above was ruthless, scorching everything with unbearable intensity, but Levi accepted it as though it were an old friend.
His golden solar tattoo was ignited, making him shine as though the sun itself had descended to embrace him.
This wasn’t all... Levi could feel his physical strength surging to insane levels, the extreme sunlight fueling him with raw, untapped power that coursed through his veins.
"How do you feel now?" The Titan repeated the same question, smiling.
Levi clenched his fist, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of energy flowing through him. He didn’t know why, but he felt as though he was no longer a man, but a living embodiment of the Sun itself.
"How do I feel?" he said calmly, his voice engulfing over the oppressive heat encasing him. "I could burn the entire world if I wanted."
The Titan and Ash’Kral’s smiles faded slightly, noticing the emerging tint of arrogance taking over his presence.
They knew this wasn’t Levi revealing his true nature after tasting such power... it was the corruptive essence of the Sun Seed, slowly seeping into him through so much exposure to sunlight.
It sought to twist him into a beacon of Order and Justice. But to carry such heavenly duties, two emotions were required:
Pride and Arrogance of the Sun.
They knew that the Radians and the Sun Ancestral Tree didn’t carry the will of Order and Justice with an objective righteousness... not in a million years.
Their Justice was subjective, their view of true Order was crooked... Yet, to carry it at all costs implied having the Pride and Arrogance to reinforce it regardless of others’ opinions of it.
In other words... the Radians see themselves as righteous, but it was a different story from the outsiders’ perspective.
"Levi, that’s enough... fly too close to the sun, and it won’t just burn you... It will consume you." Ash’Kral warned sternly.
Levi heard him, but he remained silent... staring with his Harmonic spine at his illuminating divine form that was slowly turning him into a mini-sun.
Then, he lifted his head to face the sun even though he couldn’t see it.
"Ash... how can the Sun get burned?" He uttered, his voice rich with solar authority... radiant, commanding, and dripping with pride.
Yet, in his own ears, it sounded perfectly natural... like he was talking about the weather or what’s for breakfast. But to others? Each word dripped with unfiltered arrogance.
It was the same as the delusions of the mad, who believed themselves normal while everyone else was wrong or strange... living in a reality shaped only by their thoughts and behaviors.
Levi was in this very state, seeing himself as a supreme entity destined to restore order to the universe... his natural calling.
When his gaze shifted to the side, he noticed the same massive thunderstorm stretching across the horizon of the Great Sahara Desert.
Tilting his head slightly, he whispered:
"Eternal Empire... your reign of chaos ends here. Order shall be restor..."
Before Levi could finish his declaration and act on it, Ash’Kral transformed into a staff and bonked him on the head.
Boink!
"Supreme Idiot. Get a grip," he scolded in vexation.