Chapter 1058: Behind The Curtains Nyla looked at this strange immortal in confusion, he was right, she had no idea what he meant, how was the death of others meaningless in some instances and in others they were meaningful? What origin was or who could affect it? What was the reason why an immortal would show his grieving side to a mere mortal was also impossible for her to understand, however, what she could understand was pain and loss. It seems like this immortal understood pain, and very deeply, also, he was not like the rest of his kind who knew only indifference towards those that were lower than them. Perhaps she should not be too surprised, was he not a killer as well as a protector? He claims that he had never crossed the line when he kills, and although this was a line that she would never see nor understand, Nyla found herself believing in his words, and in this manner, her decision was made. She smiled and sat beside her mother, and watched her mother's face, the fear, love, and protectiveness frozen in her features as she looked at the baby was heartbreaking, and Nyla "whispered, "How can I see beyond my nature?" Nyla was not expecting a quick response but Rowan did not delay before he replied, "You have always been at the door but you had no idea how to push past it. Have you ever wondered how it is possible for you to absorb both energy from ascendancy and calamity at the same time, and still have your Ascendant Aura free from the taint of Calamity? You have only been using just the surface portion of your birthright. Look beyond the surface of things and explore what's beneath." Nyla's heart shook, hearing it now it seemed so simple. Why did she not imagine the deeper interplay of the forces she had always been absorbing into her body? It had always been seen as normal for an Ascendant to grow with the Aura from both Ascendancy and Calamity because it had been purified by the world, it had always been regarded as harmless. It was said that it was the Core Aura, which was the central power location, was the essence of every Ascendant, and purified Aura, whether from Ascendancy or Calamity was just fuel to feed the Core Aura. Yet as this strange immortal had said, she was only looking at the surface of things, what could she find if she no longer looked at Aura as just energy and considered them for their individual Aspects? Her Core Aura was not just Ascendancy, it was more. If Ascendancy was life, then she was accepting death every time she took into herself the Aura of Calamity. Perhaps both Ascendancy and Calamity were just two faces of a single coin. Her thoughts entering new dimensions, Nyla did not realize that her speculations, the presence of Rowan, and the fact that she was on her last breath all created a unique state where her body essence began to unravel. Her feet left the ground and her skin began to go transparent, revealing internal organs and a cloud of Ascendancy Aura that had been engrained inside every cell in her body. Nyla's body arched as if she was in pain, as faint growing spots of black began to appear all over her Ascendancy Aura. These spots of black were Calamity Aura, as the realization that the energy she had been consuming was two sides of the same coin triggered a mutation inside her body. However, this mutation was not benign nor was it accepted by the Ascendant Aura inside of her, and her body began to collapse. Rowan's pain and fury vanished as his eyes began to follow the path of destruction trailing the body of this Explorer, making sure his presence was not interfering in this process. Of course, some of the things he had said to Nyla were the truth, but that was not all of it, he knew that the best lies were wrapped in truth, and understanding the fine line to straddle between truth and lies was one of the foundations of his Will. Due to the severe limitations he faced while inside this realm, there were some experiments he could not perform on himself or using his hands. Aura was an interesting power system and it was extremely versatile when it came to matters of identification. At this time he was walking a tight line that kept him aligned with the Will of this realm. He needed answers to some of his questions about this realm, and Nyla was the best candidate for this investigation. The only problem he had was that he could not personally interfere with the process in any manner, at least not using his Aura in any way, no one said anything about his words and how Nyla would choose to interpret them. Nyla was an interesting mortal, and the seed of his influence had already been planted inside her mind when he came across her for the first time, he only needed certain encouragement for them to bloom. Rowan knew her better than she knew herself, and so doing this was extremely easy. He just needed to show the right scene, present himself as the right candidate, and allow her to see what her mind thought she needed to see to make a reality-altering decision like doubting her state of being and pushing her mind to see reality in a way it was not supposed to. It was like convincing a mortal that fire was cold, and ice was hot and allowing them to believe in this concept so deeply that when they entered the fire, they felt cold, but the fire was still hot and despite what their feelings were telling them, it would consume them. The truth was that Ascendancy and Calamity, while both from the same root, were not necessarily two sides of the same coin. Rowan's present body also had a unique Aura signature, and because he kept his Aura pure without any trace of Calamity inside of it, he was able to push this mortal body and the technique it could unleash beyond its pinnacle. This also left certain loopholes and mysteries he could not yet touch because if he did, his Aura would be stained by Calamity, ruining his plans for the future. What Nyla was experiencing was a window to observe another facet of Ascendancy and Calamity and solidify his thoughts on this power system.