Chapter 1055: Deeper Layers Rowan had been in Stone Reach for eight days, and in all that time the Ascendant Sun stayed constant in the sky, but he could feel the changes in the wind, he knew that the darkness was not far away, Calamity was coming. His days had not been idly spent, learning about this world while exploring the abilities he had unlocked with his consciousness was a priority. Although his newly gained Consciousness was still dormant, Rowan was not willing to wake this part of himself up before he had finalized his plans to attack this realm head on, he could still mine the impressive memory banks of his consciousness, closing out many gaps in his memories, sadly not all of them, but enough important memories that guided the next part of his plans, refining it to a higher standard. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 It may not seem like it, but from the moment he had stepped out of the universe of his birth, a million years had nearly passed, and for him, it was almost like a month had gone by. Reality was not how he had once made it to be, and he had been handed a mountain pile of mysteries to resolve with his only tool being a small shovel, he had no choice but to dig, no matter how long that would take him. Peering at the written words by the so-called Divine Ascendant, Rowan stroked his chin in thought, it was as he had expected, although his plans to use the World's Will as a vehicle to regain and overthrow its dominion was plausible, there were certain risks and vulnerabilities that could be exploited against him via his actions, he was not entirely safe. Perring deep into the abyss, meant the abyss also peered into you. Rowan could not escape the consequences of tying his consciousness with a mortal flesh born from this world, but unlike the World's Will who saw him as part of its overall design and therefore was not on a lookout against him, Rowan had plans for this realm... big ones, his right days of observation had revealed that this realm was far more complex than he thought. As he had once speculated, the two opposing forces at the surface were just what mortals could observe, beyond that level was something stranger that saturated every fundamental rule of this reality, even the Aura they wielded contained a shocking revelation that had stunned him at first when he understood the entire ramifications and what it might mean for him to control it. He looked up at the woman frozen beside him, her eyes were wide open, filled with complex emotions, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He had collected her soul, so he knew her better than she understood herself, and yet, it was a truly odd thing to see a mortal whose soul he had consumed standing before him. Rowan cocked his head to the side, this was yet another unique aspect of this realm that had presented itself to him, revealing a certain flaw in his power, and was certainly one of its most intriguing aspects. He had killed this Explorer and not just harvesting her Ascendant Aura he had also taken her soul energy, but this world had its special tricks-it could also control Soul energy to an extent. The Deific Explorer could cut out a piece of their Core Aura and store it away, and in the event of their demise, they could be resurrected with that part of themselves with only a fresh injection of purified Ascendant Aura. That was the generally accepted flow of events, at least on the surface, but Rowan knew that the waters always ran deep. It turned out that part of the mutation of Aura in this realm had to do with the Soul. It was the reason Aura, both of the Ascendant and Calamity types could merge with a Mental Space and produce Natal Treasures, the reason why Aura could be used offensively in this realm, soul energy manipulation had been molded into the fabrics of this power system. Every time an Explorer sliced off a part of their Core Aura, what they were doing was separating a small part of their soul, and in the event of their death, their Soul Energy did not vanish but lingered and when their Core Aura was fed with Ascendant Aura, it served as a magnet, drawing back the soul energy into their core once more, giving them life. In a sense, every Explorer in this realm had a Soul-type bloodline and could manipulate their souls, even if they did it unconsciously with the power of their Aura. It was no wonder at the Ascendant level, Explorers did away with their bodies, and become formless, like a soul. Rowan had just discovered one of the greatest secrets of this realm. Forget Ascendancy or Calamity, what was truly controlling this realm was the Soul. Memories of the first battle he had when he entered Doom Star surfaced in his mind, not yet completed, he still remembered the energy he created from mixing Ascendancy and Calamity, it was purple! This color was not simple, because, for one, the color of Soul Energy was purple. Looking back now, it should have been clear from the start. This place was separated from Reality, and yet it could still maintain life, so it meant it needed to have a stable foundation of Soul Origin within its control, something that could ensure the existence of mortals. Rowan did not know if Soul energy was the true foundation of this realm, there may be others, but it did not matter, he had gained an advantage nonetheless. Apart from the Primordial Keepers, the Soul-type bloodline he had found in Mira, the Third Prince backup, the Soul Origin experiments he had found in the eye of the Primordial of Time and Evil, vague hints about a River of Souls, this was the fifth place he had seen clear indication of Soul power at work, and unlike the rest, this realm had reached an astonishingly high level of Soul energy manipulation, it was even engrained in their power system.