"Does this mean I am screwed the instant I switch to the Void Soul?" Levi asked, wishing that it wasn’t the case.
"Well, you can always switch back to the main soul if you choose to use the Void Soul... However, the moment you do that, you will bring some corruption to your main soul, and the Nine Senses Seed wouldn’t help you cleanse it," Ash’Kral answered, "The Nine Senses Seed is all about your own decisions and free will... if you choose to use the Void Soul while knowing the consequences, it won’t save your ass."
Hearing this, Levi was left deep in thought... although the situation was still quite f*cked, he was at least relieved that he would have the chance to switch back to his main soul even when he was fueled with the Void persona corruption.
"If the Nine Senses Seed is going to respect my free will, doesn’t this mean I have a chance to cleanse my main soul by using the Sun Soul’s persona corruption?" Levi analyzed while tapping his fingers on the table, "At the moment... the Sun Soul doesn’t have an equal amount of persona corruption, however... if I were to do the same and corrupt it, then I can alternate between the three souls to maintain the balance."
"Good catch," Ash’Kral nodded in approval, "This is one of the reasons I always felt the Soul-Split Theory was the solution... The Sun and Void Seeds are total opposites, which means they will never coexist in peace within one soul... they will always try to erase each other. If you turned your main soul into a battlefield for their corruption to fight it off, the experience won’t be pleasant for you... But, at least, you won’t be permanently corrupted to turn into someone who isn’t you."
"I see..." Levi smiled, "I don’t care much for the pain... I went through hell to ensure the Nine Senses Seed would be my main soul to solve these kinds of problems... The Equilibrium of Chaos is a delicate dance, and the Nine Senses Seed is the choreographer due to having no persona corruption like the other two."
Ash’Kral and the Titan nodded in agreement as they watched the Void Seed release the last drop of the stored corruption... meanwhile, the Sun Soul was still showing a faint golden hue. They knew it could easily corrupt Levi’s soul to match the Void Soul, but it refused to do so.
After all, it would steal from itself the chance to have Levi switch to its soul and savor the corruption on an intimate level.
Levi seemed to realize this as well... he shook his head with a wry smile, feeling like the Sun Seed was telling him: If you want to balance the corruptions, feel free to do it on your own.
"You told me before I embarked on this solution that Void and Sun abilities won’t be affected too negatively by the separation since these three souls are still mine... but," Levi asked with a solemn tone, "How different will my abilities’ prowess be if I used them with their rightful soul?"
"It depends on the level of persona corruption... the closer you are to embodying their laws, in character and in nature, the more powerful your abilities become... It’s like the universe itself recognizes you as the rightful wielder of those laws," Ash’Kral replied calmly, "Why do you think Radians and Oblivars are assholes? They’re constantly pushing themselves to grow closer and more intimate with their laws, so their strength stays at its peak... but if you move in the opposite direction of what those laws represent, your prowess will stay at the bare minimum."
Levi nodded in understanding... he recalled how powerful he felt when he fought against Alzhukar.
The Void Divine Skin had given him merely the key to getting closer to the embodiment of nothingness... but as his persona got closer and closer to the laws of Void and Nothingness, leaving him utterly dead inside, the more connected he felt to his environment and powers.
In simpler terms... persona corruption was never a bad thing when it was necessary to reach an intimate connection with one’s powers.
That’s why Radians, Oblivars, and other Ancient Races were the way they are... they no longer represent themselves as individuals, but their Laws.
In the case of Levi... because he had three Origin Seeds, and each one resonated with a different set of laws, it made it nearly impossible for Levi to embark on a similar path as them.
If he chose to embody one law, he would be giving up on the other laws... this meant failure to solve the Three-Body Problem since the crux of the problem was being able to wield all of their laws to their fullest potential!
How could he do this when it was impossible in the eyes of the fundamental universal rules?
’Three-Body Problem... just when I see a little light at the end of the tunnel, you collapse the entire tunnel on me,’ Levi suddenly smiled as he thought inwardly, ’But you can keep them coming... I always loved the most challenging puzzles.’
Levi had no plans of complaining about how tough and impossible it seemed to solve the Three-Body Problem... no more.
This was his story, his destiny, his fate... and if he wanted to really have a shot at solving it, he needed to accept it.
The Titan, Ash’Kral, and the Soulleech Monarch all seemed to have accepted him as the heir of the Equilibrium of Chaos... he realized that it was time to do the same and keep walking until he touched the light at the end of the tunnel.
What brought this change? It was none other than the notion of Ash’Kral not owning the Nine Senses Seed.
Levi always believed himself to have no way of escaping Ash’Kral or his goal since he owned the Nine Senses Seed... but now? There was a chance of reclaiming everything as his.
All he had to do was solve the Three-Body Problem, as he had a feeling that if he did it... the Three Origin Seeds would be his, not Ash’Kral’s.
’One step at a time, Levi... one step at a time,’ Levi thought inwardly as he lifted a tea cup in his tenants’ direction with a big smile, "A toast for our major victory today... We might not have solved the Three-Body Problem, but we have taken another step on the right path."
"Haha, that’s the spirit I like to see," Ash’Kral was the first to toast back with a wide grin.
"I didn’t expect to reawaken and be part of such an incredible but challenging journey... for that, I thank you," The Titan smiled in appreciation as they clicked their cups together.
"Old Bark... his muscle head brother has evolved to the Warden rank... I believe it’s time you stop loafing around here, drinking tea, and start helping us actively," Ash’Kral reminded with a chuckle.
"I haven’t forgotten my word..." The Titan smiled as he glanced in Levi’s direction, "Choose a date, and I will be there."
"Elder, I know your word is weighed in gold... unlike someone else."
Levi took a jab at Ash’Kral, but he merely chuckled and let it slide... he was in a wonderful mood after finally seeing some hope in solving this nightmare of a problem. Then, he asked Levi if he was ever going to check his newly unlocked ultimate.
"To bestow Soulleech Maw mutation, it can only mean that the ultimate is connected to it in one way or another," Ash’Kral said, somewhat eager.
Usually, Levi unlocked abilities or ultimates that Ash’Kral already possessed or had created through the Nine Senses Seed... but the Soulleech Maw was different... its powers were something Ash’Kral had never accessed before.
No delay, Levi sank his mind into his memories and willed the information on the ultimate ability to surface.