The act of splitting one's soul was certainly not unheard of. However, it was something only known to be done by those who had reached the illustrious realm of Supreme Magus. Even a Grand Magus would not dare carry out such an act recklessly. "As I said before, you have an above-average soul, or else I wouldn't be suggesting this. Still, even if it works, the repercussions will most likely be fatal." There was no need for Emery to elaborate what would happen if the process failed. Given his current cultivation and situation, the only result awaiting Emery in the case of failure was death. The Supreme magus guided Emery to repeat through several series of incantations. Just like the previous time, where he moved his consciousness to the spiritual core, formation runes were swiftly formed. When Emery finally reached the end of the chants, the supreme magus' soul was the one who cut his soul in half with a stroke of his power. [Your soul has been severed] In that instant, Emery felt an excruciating and indescribable sensation of pain. After getting through the tortuous experience, he entered a state of confusion. It was as if he had lost his sense of self completely. He was astray from reality, drifting further into madness. Fortunately, the supreme magus intervened and guided him through until the separation process was completed. When Emery came to his senses once more, he was welcomed by a miraculous sight, of another soul, one completely identical to him. Before there was only one him, but now there were two. The original soul felt as if nothing had changed other than the lingering sensation from the painful separation. However, the same could not be said for the second soul that had just come into existence. It experienced the journey towards the dark core, a similar situation that its counterpart had experienced within the nature core. Different from the original, what it discovered upon entering the core was a scene of complete chaos. The eight pillars that should have towered majestically looked extremely pitiful, in a frail state with obvious cracks all over their surface. They looked as if they would break apart at any moment. The culprit of such a disastrous scene was none other than the surging vortex that exerted a powerful pulling force. It was of course caused by the female grand magus devouring act. It greedily drew everything into it, akin to a starving beast. Wasting no time, the second Emery's soul quickly stood up for the magus trial. — [Darkness spirit - 7 pillars] [Devour spirit - 1 pillar] [473 spirit force found] Before he even began, Emery's eyes widened in shock when he saw that only half of his spirit force remained. With it having been devoured by the female grand magus already, this would definitely be a difficult trial for Emery. [Your understanding in law of elements were measured] The trial promptly started with the seven pillars of Darkness. Once again, Emery saw his vision shift, before he found himself entering a vast and seemingly endless void. He was deprived of all his senses; unable to see, hear or sense anything. A complete darkness. Just as he was about to undergo the trial and traverse the void, a notification suddenly entered his mind that couldn't help but bring him another round of anxiety. [Abnormality found within the spirit energy] However, that anxiety soon dissipated as Emery quickly understood what the abnormality was. It was the Khaos energy that resided within him. Each of seven pillars that existed in Emery's dark core possessed a small portion of Khaos energy. When he began to retrieve them, another notification swiftly came to his mind. [You have succeeded in comprehending an advanced law] [Integrating comprehension of law…] [1%... 2%...] Much to his surprise, just a small amount of Khaos had given him a tremendous amount of comprehension of the law and as it entered his soul Emery entered a void in space, where he felt as if his existence was being pulled and pushed apart by an invisible force. Recognizing its similarity to his gravitational force, Emery knew it was his comprehension of space and gravity that were being tested. Slowly but surely, Emery was able to grasp his surroundings and started to regain control of himself. Unfortunately, he couldn't dive further into this matter as his thoughts were interrupted by the destruction of one of the pillars. Seeing the rushing vortex – the one who caused the phenomenon, Emery knew he was in a race with Zenonia in absorbing the power of Khaos. One by one, as the two of them fought over who could absorb more, the pillars started to break apart, bringing even more chaos within the dark core. Hence, he swiftly saved as many as he could and accumulated what he had. When all seven Darkness pillars were finally destroyed, it was time for Emery to form his magus core. However, he soon discovered that such an act still seemed to be out of the question. "No! No! Not yet!" As it turned out, the unformed core was expecting much more spirit energy – an amount Emery did not have. This naturally resulted in a backlash against him, causing him to experience extreme pain that tore through his second soul. "E-Elder, what… happened?" asked Emery, stuttering, tormented by the painful sensation. However, the answer he received was one he did not expect. "Unfortunately, I am not proficient in the darkness element. Moreover, this spirit core that you formed is not something I understand." Emery stood before the last piece of the puzzle: his unique dark core. The one formed by the Dragon Killgragah. He just can't accept that he would end up dead because of this. "Elder, please, what should I do!?" To his dismay, he saw the old man shaking his head with a helpless look. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. Not until you manage to form the magus core." Emery, of course, was left speechless by that answer. Apparently, he had finally run out of luck, this seemed to be the end of the line for him. As if that wasn't bad enough, not only did his soul demand more energy, the vortex's pulling force didn't end. In fact, it became more ferocious as if it was a predator that had found prey. Now that the seven pillars of Darkness had been destroyed, the vortex was also trying to devour his unfinished magus core. Stuck in such life-threatening Chaos, Emery realized there was one pillar, on the opposite side where the Darkness pillars were before, still standing. One that was different from the others: his Devouring pillar. That one particular pillar governed over the mist of energy he had not yet devoured. The one he devoured from many dark elves he fought before, as well as the Half Moon magus capable of gravity spells, Magus Cassian. With no other options presented to him, Emery decided to set up the magus trial of the last pillar without finishing the first one he started. As the last pillar of his dark core – the Devouring pillar – broke apart, what Emery found inside was another vortex that instead of giving him power, actually joined in to try absorbing him. This meant there were currently three different entities within his dark core: his unformed magus core filled with Khaos energy, Zenonia's devouring power, and his own devouring power. All three took the form of three separated vortexes which multiplied the chaos within his core. In such a situation, where the only ending for Emery would be getting sucked dry by the female grand magus or death, something unexpected suddenly occurred. Either it was because of his innate survival instinct or simply a pure fortune, Emery's ability was unconsciously activated. [Spirit Absorption] The three vortexes headed towards each other before merging into one powerful pulling force that redirected Zeneonia's devouring ability in reverse. With an immediate change in the tide, it drained Zenonia's power into his soul instead, and Emery saw a familiar dark smoke cloud his core. [Your soul force has increased exponentially] [You have succeeded in comprehending the law of Space] [You have succeeded in comprehending the law of Gravity] [You have succeeded in comprehending the law of Devour] Three different advanced laws, all still increasing, in the process of measuring his full comprehension. On the other hand, the amount of spirit energy the combined vortex had was enough to form a layer of energy that nourished his core. Surprisingly instead of a crystallized one like his nature magus core, this one was just a simple pitch black stone. It was the most painful experience Emery had ever experienced, so much so his consciousness almost slipped away multiple times. Before he fell into darkness, finally the core was reformed. With it, a notification came into his mind. [You have successfully formed a new core] [Primal Core] ---------------------------------- Join the discussion on discord through my website www.avans.xyz