Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 76: Glad Morning

The Prime-Sworn path appearing all across the dungeon was nothing more than a lesser version of the one swirling in his mind.

Though impressive, it required heavy resources, complex methods, and mages of extremely high skill at every step of the process.

Not only did these mages need to be highly skilled, they also needed to specialize in crafting and alchemical paths, with an exceptionally high level of aether mastery.

It further required the mage in question to grasp Resonant Dominance, while possessing an access grade of at least Diamond, at the very worst.

The shop already provided prepared sets meant for assimilation, which was what most would use until more mages began to appear in the dungeon, but the cost would be ridiculous.

If the manual itself cost hundreds of millions, then how much would an assimilation set cost? Even the three allied forces would have to carefully examine the pros and cons of such an undertaking.

The true method was entirely different.

The true method was absolutely perfect, pushed to its absolute logical extremes. From the path and class, to the crafting process and the assimilation process, it was flawless from beginning to end.

But it wasn’t just that.

The Prime-Sworn Path Uriel had created and envisioned had been limited to the first step, and it had been the result of dozens of ideas that ended up fitting together by accident.

It had begun with Persephone confirming his thoughts about Spark hunters, continued with him accidentally causing Enoch to form his class, and had been made possible by Ayah’s strange and ridiculously overpowered class abilities.

It was so improbable that one could say fate itself had ordained the birth of this path.

And the system had made it great, truly.

In Uriel’s mind, the details of the Prime-Sworn path swirled endlessly, from G Rank to Ex Rank, and even beyond that, extending into the second and third steps, which the system itself had expanded and paved the way for.

It also provided him with extreme detail: the intricacies of aether control, the specifics of sparks and their grades, and how they related to evolutions; the true uses of classes; the nature of frames; and the sheer importance of proper foundations.

As the Prime-Sworn Pioneer, the system owed him this much.

Beyond the third step of Ascendance, Uriel would have to once again pave the path himself, but by then, with all the boons he would have gained, would it even matter?

Now that he possessed the full method, everything would fall into place.

Both Ayah and Enoch had formed their Classes and Frames using imperfect means, while Enoch himself had carried out his evolution through an unstable, though ultimately successful, method.

Evidently, they had all gained far more than they had lost. In fact, none of them had lost anything at all.

Ayah had completed her Supreme and Death Quests simultaneously, evolved her Class and Frames, and obtained a Legendary Contracting Method. Enoch, on the other hand, had received a direct and never-before-seen Sublime Evolution, one that evolved his Spark itself.

It had been well worth it.

But Uriel would have the luxury of building a flawless foundation.

From beginning to end.

...

Uriel woke up excited.

His eyes snapped open as he sat upright, finding himself back in his room.

He looked out the window. The sun was slowly rising on the horizon, a cool stream of air flowing in and brushing gently against his face.

He smiled.

This was perhaps the first time in his life that he had been grateful to wake up, excited for what was to come. This wasn’t to say his mornings had ever been reflections of dread; rather, he had usually been indifferent to them.

Waking up alive or waking up in the underworld wouldn’t have made much of a difference to him.

’By the gods, I stink.’

Slipping out of bed, he stripped off his clothes and rushed to the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he opened the faucet of the bath.

...

Clean and wet, a towel wrapped around his waist, Uriel stared at himself in the mirror and shook his head.

’One step forward, ten steps back.’

He was back to his Lich days, looking like a thin, walking corpse, a blight to the eye. It seemed he had truly pushed himself to his limits.

Though his body was perfectly fine, most likely thanks to the system, he could still feel a faint ache spreading through his body and core. It was subtle, but noticeable.

Still, he didn’t regret it.

Chuckling at his own reflection, entirely unbothered, his attention shifted to his outrageously long hair.

His expression tightened, and he grimaced.

He loved his hair and its length and, in truth, would have preferred it to be even longer. However, years of neglect had simply ruined it.

Though to most it would have seemed perfect, only he knew just how truly perfect it had once been.

The ends were split. The strands were too oily for his liking, yet simultaneously too dry and brittle, and the curling waves were nowhere near as pronounced as they had been before.

It was a shoddy display, a stain upon his name and upon the countless hours his grandmother had once spent braiding and tending to his hair.

So, summoning a small blade of aether, he cut it off.

SHI!

From hair that once trailed to his feet and carpeted the floor, he was left with mid-length locks, barely brushing his shoulders.

Silver-white strands framed his bony face, his ivory eyes burning with quiet intensity. Running a hand through his hair and slicking it back, he attempted to smile.

’With my Lich body and new hair, maybe people won’t recognize me if I go out.’

It was an attempt to cope with his actions, but alas, it didn’t work.

He shook his head and stored the long hair away, unable to bring himself to throw it out.

At the very least, he could now start again with a proper base.

...

Walking down the stairs and entering the living room, Uriel realized that both Enoch and Ayah were still in their rooms, most likely in seclusion. The former was probably stabilizing his evolution, while the latter was finishing her class advancement.

Standing in the middle of the living room, he paused for a moment.

The pile of gems, what he had taken to calling Prime-Spark Creature Crystals, had disappeared, likely taken by Enoch to continue his evolutions.

His gaze drifted toward the kitchen.

’Hm.’ He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

’Let’s see if the Scarlet Lagoon has food I can learn from.’

Putting on his scholar set, followed by the set of veils Ayah had given him, Uriel turned and left the house.