The Oracle Paths

Jake initially thought the advancement process would be something spontaneous, but he was clearly mistaken. The need to be in a safe place where he wouldn't be disturbed told him a whole different story.

It seemed shaping his Aura was a much bigger deal than he had given it credit for.

Now, the question was whether his current location was safe or not. However, after a brief contemplation, he figured here and now was no worse than anywhere else.

Xi shared the same sentiment, reasoning that if it were that difficult, there'd be a lot more buzz about those natives for whom this Aura advancement process went south. Their investigations revealed quite the opposite.

No one was admitting to failure. At least, not publicly.

That could only mean one thing: the evolution of this Lumyst Aura was unstoppable, but the outcome of this evolution could vastly differ from the desired expectations. It was just that no native would boast about a disappointing result if their First Form turned out different from what they had hoped.

'The bracelet doesn't give any advice on this, so it's up to me to figure it out.' Jake observed with a determined look.

[Whatever this First Form is, advancing your Lumyst Aura is a good thing. The stat boost alone makes it well worth it.] Xi reminded him in an encouraging tone.

Listening to his Oracle AI, Jake stopped worrying for nothing and decided to take care of it right away. The sooner it was done, the sooner he'd have peace of mind. Besides, now that he had decided to go on the offensive, he'd need as much power as possible.

"In that case, let's not waste a second," Jake declared gravely as he sat cross-legged in the center of his tent.

He closed his eyes, then deployed his mental senses to focus more intensely on his unified Lumyst Aura. This formless mass of spectral and invigorating light that few natives were able to perceive quickly became the center of his attention, erasing everything else.

The energies of opposing natures, seemingly on the brink of mutual annihilation, instead found a precarious balance, coexisting in a tumultuous harmony. This unlikely peace was not without governance; it was the will of Twyluxia itself, a supreme and invisible force, that dictated the laws orchestrating this chaos.

Given what he now knew about this world-plane, it was becoming increasingly evident that this continent was very likely sentient. The mystical force suppressing their Evolver powers might not just be the result of pre-established rules, but of a genuine conscious influence. In the meantime, in this specific context, this supreme force to which every living being in Twyluxia was subject was working in his favor, making the impossible possible.

Spirit Lumyst, Life Lumyst, spectral energy formed from the impure Spirit Power of harvested souls, lifeforce stolen from victims, and… Soul Power. As he focused his senses on them, his perception of these different energies only sharpened, giving him an increasingly acute understanding of their behavior.

A tiny portion of these energies, through constant contact with the surface of his skin, sweated through his organism, triggering slow but profound changes making him more apt to one day cultivate Lumyst in addition to improving his constitution and cognitive faculties. The rest of this amalgam formed a sort of resonance with his body and spirit, explaining the stat boost he enjoyed.

So far, so normal.

But as Jake explored their interactions in more detail, he soon discovered that this harmonious chaos wasn't really so. The mysterious force forcing them to coexist inevitably led them towards a fusion.

Even if he did nothing, his Aura would inevitably take shape. The Oracle System notification was just to remind him that he could also play a role in this process.

Upon reflection, it made sense. It was probably what happened for most ordinary natives. Unlike him, these talentless soldiers could neither perceive nor control these energies. Only those Soulmancers and Lifemancers who had received the Lumyst Breath Grace allowing them to cultivate could influence the Lumyst of their Aura, but only that Lumyst.

So, what could he do to steer the outcome of this irreversible process? Jake racked his brains for a moment, then figured it was all about the Intents.

True Will of Intents. It was this way of mobilizing Soul Power that grew as one practiced a certain intention. Unlike True Will of Habits, which simply required practicing a certain movement until it took on significance in our lives, Intents demanded emotional investment.

For example, in the case of Killing Intent, killing often could make our lethal attacks more lethal, but if the intention wasn't there, it would never be more than True Will of Habits. For it to become an Intent, one had to actively wish for their opponent's death.

It was the exercise of this will to kill that would eventually form Killing Intent in the true sense of the word. The spiritual pressure of the individual would then be tinged with a murderous aura fueled not only by Spirit Power but also Soul Power.

The catch was that an Intent like Killing becoming too strong could quickly turn into an obsession, making its bearer an unstable sociopath incapable of living in society. Of course, that was only if an Evolver cultivated no other value.

In real life, the soul was the sum total of all its lived experiences, emotions, and feelings, and unless one was in that state of murderous thirst 24/7, for far too long to remember anything else, then mastering such an intention remained possible.

But then, why were True Will of Intents so rare among Evolvers? Simply because this focus on intention, rather than action, was much harder to practice than a repetitive movement.

On a battlefield, for instance, Jake might slaughter enemies in droves, but did he really feel any hatred or thirst for murder towards them? Not really. Unless an enemy directly targeted what mattered to him, Jake would never fervently desire someone's death. It wasn't in his nature.

Following this reasoning, developing real Killing Intent for Jake would take a tremendous amount of time despite his immense mental strength. The murderous aura he could emit with Spirit Power might seem scary, but it was ultimately insignificant compared to what he'd develop if he infused some of his Soul Power into it.

That's where Lumyst Aura came into its own.

The little Soul Power corresponding to the moments when Jake had truly wished someone dead, and which represented far too brief instances of his existence, was currently part of this formless mass mixing different energies. These laws governing Twuyluxia seemed capable of forcing this miracle.

And it wasn't just the Soul Power from Killing Intent. There was also a bunch of Soul Power from different Intents. Their common point: These Intents were all related to war, more or less.

These were all the intentions, feelings, actions, and mindsets that Jake had adopted in the course of his battles since becoming an Evolver. Killing Intent was the most prominent of these, but there were others such as Domination Intent, Command Intent, Fight Intent, Conquest Intent, Resilience Intent, Courage Intent, and so on, representing different facets of himself.

There were also other, more obscure Soul Powers, less defined, reflecting more what he might want to be, his secret ambitions and desires that sometimes crossed his mind subconsciously during these fights. We fight, kill sometimes to save people, for money, revenge, or just out of boredom or sadism.

Without necessarily taking pleasure in killing people, Jake would be lying if he claimed he never enjoyed his battles.

When Jake came to this realization, everything became clear on what he had to do: These different Soul Powers extracted by force by Twyluxia all wanted to become the cement of his future Lumyst Aura, but their incompatible natures were precisely what prevented the fusion of these energies.

If he let the process run its course, one of these Intents would eventually prevail, but that would then be leaving his fate to chance.

And if there was one thing Jake had learned about himself over the course of his five Ordeals, it was that he hated leaving his fate in someone else's hands.

It would be up to him, and him alone, to select the Intent of his choice that would become the unifying cement of his future Aura. And as for which to choose, he already had a pretty good idea.