Chapter 220 Seizing The Future There was a growing pressure behind his eye he knew he would not be able to ignore for long; he suppressed it for the moment. At this present time, his Berserker Aspect was at the Refined Level, and he still had Flesh Light and Bone Fire, and his Lifespan was not lost. Now, everything was merging, and his Berserker technique began to grow as his physique received all the boosts from its growth, once more he lost Flesh Light and Bone Fire as they vanished from his Mental Space, he still felt a twinge from their loss, but his falling lifespan gave him pause. "If I returned with only my mind, why did the changes in my body that had not yet occurred still traveled back with me?" Inside his Mental Space at the Palace of Ice, The air in front of his throne began to twist, and then a burning orb appeared resembling a sun, and from it Suriel stepped forth, and from their connection Rowan could feel his confusion, at this time Suriel had not yet been born, but now he existed. All the changes that occurred in the future were slowly aligning to this present reality. He would dwell long on the matter, but now was not the time. Rowan checked the Tower of Greed and the new emerging floor had been destroyed and much of the tower was damaged. In fact, it was nearly destroyed and only a bit of it was left, and it was smoldering as it continued collapsing, but thankfully it stopped it collapsing, and Rowan knew that as long as it was not completely destroyed it would slowly heal. The pressure behind his eyes was still increasing and the changes inside his Mental Space had not ended. He could feel the eyes of the Lady of Shadow on him. A loud bang happened outside his Palace of Ice as a Third Pillar of consciousness appeared, and unlike before, it was not ephemeral but completed, another bang occurred and a fourth pillar of consciousness appeared, with the ephemeral form of the fifth beginning to coalesce. Benefits of returning my mind back in time? If this was another method to cultivate his Pillars of consciousness, Rowan would gladly accept it. Having four pillars opened his way to some truly spectacular combination of his abilities that would enhance his overall power, for instance, he could increase the amount of vitality he could burn with Eruption. The pressure inside his body had reached a fever pitch, and he knew he would have to leave soon, in order not to endanger those around him in case he needed to vent, but that pressure transformed into a colorless shockwave like a ripple on a clear stream. It emanated from the center of his Mental Space, and he became distracted when the ripple passed through his Palace of Ice and when it touched his Pillar of Consciousness he saw it was information, not only of what he saw in the future, but also all the information the soul of the planet showed him. The merger of the future and the present was still happening. That ripple swept through the Lady of Shadow and Suriel, and understanding came to them. The Lady of Shadow shook as memories of her rage reached her and that cold fury that scared even Rowan began to bubble inside of her. She slowly placed it under control and Rowan sensed an increased amount of awareness on her end, and knew that she was beginning to plot. Her eyes passed over the nearly destroyed Tower of Greed, and she paused and sent him a message that she could nurture the Origin Treasure to increase its speed of recovery, and Rowan gave the go ahead to her. As the most powerful item he owned, it was necessary to nurture this treasure. The ripple that spread the knowledge inside his mental space retracted and formed a ball which began to pulsate as it continued growing, the merger had still not ended. Circe beside him laughed and snorted, "yeah, I have always run from the excellence everyone else says I'm capable of, it always seemed like too much work. Too many responsibilities… Too many chances to fail…" With four pillars of consciousness, he could easily follow the conversation between him and Circe, while monitoring all the changes inside his body. Before, Rowan joked with her here, not understanding some truths behind the smile of this woman. What was the story between her and Rico, who took her heart? His Empyrean senses lightly touched her, and he saw that the heart beating inside her chest was not hers, it was small and misshapen, the scars on the heart meant with every beat she was most likely in pain. Compared to the rest of her body, this heart was a burden, as its capabilities were more inadequate than the rest of her organs, and her body was burdened and needed to also nurture the heart instead of the other way around. The heart of a Dominator was one of the most vital organs in their body, after all their powers were based on blood. With such a disability, it spoke to the height of her talent that she was able to reach the Incarnation State at this young age. His eyes touched the form of Rico who was at this time chatting with a young girl who had both an excited expression, but her body language radiated fear. Like a deer in front of a headlight, she wanted to escape but was transfixed by his attention. His gaze made Rico suddenly shiver and looked around, before turning back to the girl, but whatever spell he had over her was broken as with a hurried excuse, she took the opportunity to leave. Rowan let the conversation play out the way it occurred while fitting pieces of the puzzle together. He broke the conversation halfway when he turned and looked deeply at Circe. She was now more comfortable with him and grinned as she said, "Something on my face?" "No, but…" Rowan pointed at her chest. She was confused at first, before she figured out what he meant, "Oh, you noticed. My heart right? It's a silly thing, my heart was much stronger before, but I had an accident. I was attacked by assassins as a child because of my talent. I will have you know that I was born in the Incarnation State, tell me, am I not talented?" Rowan rolled his eyes, and she sighed and continued, "Rico saved me… gave me his heart, it's the reason I bear his nonsense most of the time, so I appeal to you for his sake, he is a bit rough around the edges. Ok, I will admit, he is a lot worse, but deep down, he is a good person. He saved my life and harmed his chances to go further as a Dominator." Rowan smiled and looked away as he drank, "Is that so? How noble." Then he suddenly said, "Do you have a Star chart and the configurations of the surrounding planets?" "I believe I do." Circe opened her spatial ring and her Spirit rummaged around inside of it, before returning with a Data slate, and handing it to Rowan, who spent ten minutes looking through all the arrangements of the heavenly bodies around Jarkarr, he returned it to her and went back into his thoughts. When Circe invited him to join the celebration, he did not refuse, he stayed with the people and ate with them, he talked to them, some of their stories made him laugh, and Diane's proud expression among all her friends when she stood beside Rowan as his maid made him smile. The celebration continued as he excused himself, and as he walked out, he was stopped by a cry behind him, "My lord, are you leaving now?" He turned and saw Diane behind him and laughed, "Only for a short while," He touched his stomach, "I'm still hungry, so keep a portion for me when I return." "Yes, my lord. Um… take care!"