The question that had really gotten the gears turning in Jake’s head had been when the First Sage asked Jake why the ground appeared as it did. It was such a simple question, but when he thought about it, Jake realized he didn’t have an answer... because he’d never thought about it.
Never questioned it.
It had taken Jake longer than he would have liked, but he soon realized the answer as he knew why the ground was gray and dead. It was like that because Jake expected it to be. An expectation that had started to be set for him all the way back in F-grade when he’d first set foot into the divine realm of the Malefic Viper.
In fact, Jake began to realize that he had unknowingly modeled the entire Soulspace according to the divine realm of the Malefic Viper. The very first time Jake had traveled into his Soulspace, that was simply how he expected it to look, and as his own perception created the world, it had become exactly what he imagined. As for how this expectation had been born in the first place?
Jake finally recalled the very first time he entered his Soulspace proper. It wasn’t on purpose back then, but it had happened during the Trial of Myriad Poisons, where he had absorbed the drop of the Malefic Viper. Back then, when he saw where his consciousness had gone, he had even believed for a second he had appeared back in the divine realm of the Viper as he battled his other far more draconic self.
While he didn’t know exactly, Jake began to suspect that the Records being infused from the drop of blood and the entire Trial of Myriad Poisons back then had combined with his unconscious mind to create the Soulspace he’d first experience. It hadn’t seemed out of place at all either because why wouldn’t it make sense to battle a Malefic Dragonkin version of himself in a space reminiscent of the Viper’s divine realm?
When Jake later learned more about what the Soulspace was, he just assumed it looked the way it looked. He had formed a first impression of how his Soulspace was supposed to look and had just rolled with it... never thinking that it really didn’t have any reason to look like it did.
The only other Soulspace Jake had ever entered or seen was the Demon Prince’s, and back then, he had even commented on how similar it looked to his own... once more, not even considering that perhaps aspects such as color and general design were heavily influenced by Jake’s own interpretation. Chances are Jake’s own expectations of how a Soulspace was supposed to look quite literally colored his view of all other Soulspaces, and in the eyes of the Demon Prince, it appeared quite different.
It all boiled down to the fact that there were a lot of things Jake simply never questioned or thought about in the slightest, but in his defense, he truly had never felt the need to. Never before had Jake felt pressured in his Soulspace and truthfully, even if he could “train” to become stronger inside his Soulspace, why would he?
Power inside the Soulspace had no direct relation to how strong Jake was in the real world. The power one could display in the Soulspace was more representative of how powerful someone could one day become, but that was it. Even if he got better at controlling his power within the Soulspace, things like Gaze wouldn’t get stronger.It also wasn’t as if he hadn’t made use of his Soulspace or ran into something he missed being able to do. He had fought Sim-Jake and trained there for many years, stored all the stuff he wanted to store there... and that was about it. Because the Soulspace didn’t really have any major uses in the first place. Villy had also never once said that Jake should do some Soulspace training or whatever, and the snake god tended to give those kinds of tips if he thought it would benefit Jake.
All of this is to say that Jake found his position of never delving further into “getting stronger” inside his Soulspace easily defendable. Literally, the only time he would need to show power in there was during a situation like this where he was fighting an image created of Records.
Jake still didn’t know why the First Sage wanted Jake to push himself like this or exert control over his Soulspace in ways he hadn’t before... but now he at least understood what the old man was getting at with all his questions.
Looking up at the floating First Sage, who gathered his energy, Jake stood ready and responded quickly. Merely willing it to happen, he made space fold around the First Sage, only for the old man to stomp down and crush the changes immediately, which left him open to a massive arrow shooting down from a bow created entirely of the sky’s arcane mana.
Rather than attack Jake, the First Sage destroyed Jake’s attack instead as Jake dove deeper into the changes he experienced after that switch in his brain had been flipped. He did realize he had a lot of misunderstandings and false assumptions, with the biggest on being the assumption that his body in there was even somewhat real.
The vessel Jake inhabited was just a mere frame of reference to make interpreting the Soulspace easier. He had limited himself to his body, while in truth, everything outside of a few external things – the First Sage included - was all part of Jake.
“You realize now, but I continue to see your doubt. It’s true; the Soulspace isn’t really that important to train or even understand... at least not normally. Tell me, have you ever spoken to others about entering their Soulspace? Because, believe it or not, that is far from a common ability. Especially doing so freely.”
Jake didn’t respond to what he assumed to be a rhetorical question, in part because the First Sage took things up a notch. He began to manipulate the ground beneath Jake once more, forcing him to counter the old man as Jake destroyed most of the massive spikes coming for him while directing some of them toward the First Sage above.
“That is a talent and a gift. One you would do well to make use of. In the long run, it will allow you to better understand and interpret your own Records... and by doing so, get a better idea of how you can affect them. Not to say there can’t be some more immediate benefits.”
The two of them attacked each other relentlessly as the entire Soulspace was torn apart over and over again, their control seemingly evenly matched, which really showed how much of a monster the First Sage was. He was forcibly controlling the inside of Jake’s soul and not just matching him but doing so while casually talking.
However, Jake was at least improving, and improving quickly, as the control of the First Sage began to slip in tandem with Jake’s growing stronger. Earlier, the First Sage had asked Jake why he allowed him so much control before, and now Jake was gladly taking it all away.
He forced space to crumble all around the First Sage, everything folding in onto itself as the First Sage responded by unwrapping what trapped him before removing all space in his immediate surroundings.
Right as he did so, Jake reached out and forced space to reappear, the First Sage taken by surprise as everything around him imploded. Jake saw reality itself wrap around the body of the old man, but right before it could crush him, he snapped his fingers as all the space disappeared once more, with Jake finding himself unable to bring it back this time around.
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“Good... very good,” the First Sage said, clearly satisfied. “I do apologize for my harsh tone earlier, but it wasn’t difficult to see that sparking your spirit of competition was the best way to make you progress. Now let us move on to the third task... to truly claim and make everything yours.”
The fight continued as Jake kept pressing whatever advantage he could get. All sense of weariness was also long gone, as Jake realized that despite his body being broken over and over again, he hadn’t truly taken any damage. It had all been in his damn head as he believed he had to feel more weary and weaker, thus making it a reality. The body he constantly lost had been so weak that now he didn’t see it as being representative of who he was at all anymore.
Jake wasn’t doing anything he wasn’t capable of. He wasn’t growing stronger at all... he was just claiming what power he already had in the first place and simply didn’t know how to access and use. He felt the entire world around him within his grasp, with the only two areas he didn’t have total control over being the ones right around the First Sage and Villy’s drop of blood.
Raising his hands, the roaring sky of inexhaustible arcane energy surged as Jake brought down a massive pillar of pure power that fell upon the First Sage. The man defended as a barrier appeared, barely blocking the attack as Jake kept increasing the intensity of the attack... the First Sage finding time to speak even while being pressured.
“By now, you may have already begun to suspect, but allow me to make it absolutely clear: within the Soulspace, you are absolute. Some even call it the Soulrealm, though that term was never widely adopted, even if I believe it may be more accurate because it is indeed the realm within the soul. A realm that can one day be solidified and manifested into reality... through a process called Divine Ascension.”
Hearing the First Sage finally confirm something Jake had long suspected was kind of nice. It wasn’t very useful knowledge and probably not some massive secret, but he was sure the First Sage was going somewhere with the revelation.
Upping the pressure of the arcane beam he was currently trying to scorch the old man with, Jake finally found purchase as he broke through the barrier erected by the First Sage. The energy burned through the old man, seemingly consuming him whole... yet his voice echoed again.
“Consider the implication of a mere mortal even daring to make thoughts toward how his Divine Realm shall one day look. But also consider the thoughts of already making more use of your Soulspace now. If you know it can one day become real, then why not at least make it real to you personally? Real, and something that is entirely of your own design. With understanding comes the opportunity for expansion.”
The arcane energy dispersed, an uninjured First Sage standing where the massive pillar of destruction had been mere moments earlier.
“I’ve already used my Soulspace for training before, but you say I can make it even better for it?” Jake asked, not willing to give the First Sage a break even if he spoke as he attacked once more.
“Better for training and just better overall,” the First Sage said. “The system has already opened the door for you and you have the Records ripe for the taking... all you need to do is reach up and claim them. Claim everything. Remember, this is your world... the world of Jake Thayne. Are you saying it cannot become more than it is? Now, prepare yourself.”
Jake had sent attacks after the First Sage, but before they even reached the old man, he disappeared. Jake instantly saw him appear off to the side, and Jake responded as he made the ground rise to crush him, only for the man to stomp down, making everything explode with such force Jake was pushed back.
Before he had time to properly react, the old man was upon him. Jake folded space to limit his movements, but everything was shattered apart as the First Sage reached out and landed a palm on Jake’s chest.
The moment that happened, something changed. Before, nothing had actually ever hurt Jake, which was also why his Bloodline had been so silent. He was never in any real danger because Jake was barely spending anything on constantly regenerating his body.
However, instantly, he felt that the palm strike was very different. His danger sense woke up, and Jake felt an intense pain he couldn’t even begin to describe as he was blasted back, a searing handprint on his chest.
His eyes opened wide as the First Sage teleported again, Jake taking no chances as both katars appeared. Before, when he was getting absolutely destroyed, Jake had been working under the assumption he only had to use his own body to fight, but now he gladly dragged in everything around him to empower the vessel he’d manifested.
This resulted in Jake being far stronger as he managed to block the attack from the old man who was using his bare hands. His katars struck the exposed flesh of the First Sage, but he felt as if he’d struck solid diamond as his slash merely slid across his opponent’s arm.
Jake switched things up as he tried to get some distance by quite literally creating it through stretching space between himself and his opponent, but the First Sage proved too fast as he simply crushed space with a fist and was upon Jake instantly.
Forced to dodge, Jake was sent reeling back, the true pain once more surging through his body as he felt his own heart begin to beat faster. It only sped up further as the First Sage continued his intense offensive, and Jake began to realize that while he was in complete control of the world, none of that mattered when the one was fighting could mercilessly crush anything in his way.
In fact, the old man didn’t even try to control the environment anymore. Instead, he solely used his own body which was far more solid than Jake could even begin to imagine. No matter what Jake did, he couldn’t penetrate the First Sage’s defenses, while Jake himself was sent reeling back whenever he even made direct contact with the old man’s attacks.
“Everyone has Soulspaces, but that doesn’t mean the basis for every Soulspace is the same. Within their Soulspaces, many beasts tend to have far more powerful and durable bodies while lacking control of the environment, while ghosts and most undead have weak bodies while possessing far better control of the environment.”
Jake listened as he shot into the air, teleporting into the sky of arcane energy as he wrapped it all around him. With his increased control of the Soulspace, he knew this was where he was strongest and readily embraced it.
The arcane mana wrapped around his body, forming several layers that both defended and helped him attack as he clashed with the First Sage a dozen more times, standing a better chance now but still finding himself on the back foot.
“The reason why the basis for Soulspaces varies is that souls differ widely. Usually, this variance comes in the form of scope through the quality and quantity of Records one has, but on rare occasions, the soul itself is different from the norm. Their vessel has grown to a level where the usual conventions of the soul are something the system recognizes they can reach beyond.”
Upping the tempo even more, the First Sage pummeled Jake, his danger sense growing with every attack he received. His heart was beating quickly, and Jake tried to absorb all the arcane energy he could to keep up, but it was all in vain as he was blasted back repeatedly.
No matter what, his body simply couldn’t keep up, and he had to try to rely on controlling the environment, but he kept feeling as if he was hitting a wall.
“Mutations can occur, especially when one walks a unique and powerful Path. But balance must be achieved. With this, the system rarely helps. It is your soul, after all.”
Jake was struck again as he once more seemed to realize something. He was blasted down toward the ground as he stared up at the sky of arcane mana and felt the powerful energies within... energy that surpassed other aspects of his Soulspace.
“There is yet to be a commonly accepted word to call these people with mutated souls, but the system tends to refer to their souls as...”
As the First Sage approached Jake again, he barely responded as the old man placed a palm on his chest, causing a surge of power to enter him.
“Anomalies.”
Jake’s body was torn apart and exploded as the entire ground was torn up and the Soulspace torn asunder, the sky of arcane mana the only thing remaining.
Yet Jake felt no pain but only the thumping of his own heart. He didn’t will his body or the environment to regenerate what was... instead, he allowed his instincts and unconscious mind to construct - mutate - his Soulspace something new, this time entirely his own.