Chapter 263: Natal Fabric Layers of Existence

As of now, Uriel only had two talents: the first coming from his Terracrule Sovereign, and the second from his Void-Bound Chaos Blood Hound.

Respectively, they were the Twilight Sky Resonance Talent and the Divine Root of Chaos Talent.

For the latter, Uriel used it almost all the time due to the repeated battles and dangerous situations he found himself in. It had been pivotal to his survival in the last weeks and had even helped him understand more about the truths of Will.

But for the former... there wasn’t much.

...

[Lineal Spark Talent: {Twilight Sky Resonance}

>Details: This talent allows one to enter permanent Timeless States of resonance with any subject they innately have an affinity to.

•This talent heightens Light, Earth, and Dark Arts talents, but also opens the doors to True Natal Mancy Sorcery!]

—

Uriel had mainly used this talent for Timeless Resonance—something he’d used to open his Pioneer Scale, but also something he’d used to temper his Will before he fought Kael, which had allowed him to be an inch away from death without going mad.

As of now, Uriel’s Will was so refined and potent that even he didn’t truly understand its depths.

But that was it. The true core of this talent still eluded him in ways he hadn’t found a solution for.

He didn’t know what Natal Mancy sorcery was, nor did he know how the Elemental Arts and Timeless States of resonance were related to one another.

"..."

But now, he did.

Natal Fabric Layers of Existence.

That was the true name of what Uriel had simply called Fabric Layers. And what would Natal Mancy Sorcery be, if not a form of magic that controlled those layers?

[Awaiting Natal Stability!]

[....]

Uriel saw the notification and nodded to himself, immediately finding the issue.

Whatever evolution his talent was undergoing would cause changes to his body and perhaps even grant him a new additional spark trait.

And for that to happen, his current evolution had to first be completed. It was even likely that his current evolution would cause mutations within that.

But it was fine. He didn’t need that talent to pass this trial.

’I see.’

His Body and Physical Natal Fabric Layers were laid bare in his mind as an endless tapestry of complex laws, sigils, and formations—both of aether and flesh—a blend and form of magic he could barely fathom.

He couldn’t understand the layers yet, but he had supreme lordship over them. Meaning he could easily and almost instantly point out the issue.

’The Spire Spirit placed a lock across these two layers that severed my Will from them. It also somehow twists the body layer into a cage for my Will.’

’So that, in essence, split me into two halves that can’t communicate with one another. But somehow, it also made my Will much more potent.’

He frowned.

’Does that mean that my body drags my mind down in general? How is that possible?’

Uriel had a ridiculous amount of body traits for a G-Ranker and, soon, he was sure he’d get even more. He couldn’t possibly fathom how his body couldn’t keep up with his mind, let alone the fact that, according to what he’d found out, it also actively limited it.

He didn’t know if his mind was limited because his body was plagued by his disease, or if his mind was limited because it was simply that great.

Or if perhaps it was both.

’I’ll look into this later.’

Uriel didn’t waste any more time and, with ruthless momentum, targeted the lock spanning his two layers and shattered it so smoothly it felt more like a joke than anything else.

This trial was almost too perfectly fit for him.

Not only did he have a path specifically suited to deal with this, but he had a Will too heavy for most things to seal or contain.

PAH!

The lock broke, and Uriel regained control over his body, taking a deep breath in as his mind and Will settled back into place.

He frowned deeply as he felt like his spiritual form was being stuffed back into a tight container—too tight and too small for him.

But he pushed it down.

’Maybe the evolution my past self triggered was aimed at this.’ His frown eased. ’I hope. And if not, I’ll find a solution.’

He walked over to the slumped duo, then knelt beside them and easily shattered their locks. Somehow, he could feel and see Samael’s Layers but still couldn’t see his Weave.

He wasn’t sure if it was because the Weave lay in a deeper layer he didn’t have access to yet, or if it was because of Samael’s strange veiling ability.

He stood up, then turned to his Mirage. "Hey."

The Mirage looked at him, and before he could even ask, the creature bent down, easily picking up both Korynth and Samael, as well as the large coffin.

It looked at Uriel again and sternly nodded.

Uriel chuckled and flashed it a thumbs up. "Well done, buddy. Thanks."

Then, they entered the portal.

....

Uriel expected the second floor of the spire to look rather similar to the first, but what he entered was just a simple white room.

The only things of note were that it was rather cold and that, in the center of the large room, four cylindrical vats could be seen, filled with sloshing purple waters.

The Spire Spirit, who sat cross-legged with its back to the portal, suddenly turned around to stare at him, eyes wide with shock.

It couldn’t believe its eyes.

"How... what?!"

It had only been a dozen minutes. It was absolutely impossible for Uriel to complete the trial so rapidly, let alone manage to free his companions in that span.

It made no sense.

"Hello again."

The Mirage, which Uriel had decided to start calling Mirai—because why not?—followed after him as he stepped a couple meters behind the Spirit.

The Spirit hurriedly stood up and turned to face them, still unable to believe how this was possible.

Uriel noticed its shock. "Are you alright? Apologies if I took too long, I was taken a bit off guard."

"You could’ve gone even faster?!"

Uriel’s face twisted slightly. "Yeah, most likely. But I’m here now, aren’t I?"

The Spire Spirit was about to speak, but then it sighed, deciding otherwise. It hadn’t expected Uriel to even pass this first trial, let alone do it so rapidly.

None except four others in the Spire’s history had ever gone even this far.

"Is this the next trial?" Uriel asked, pointing at the vats that stood not too far away from them.

The Spire Spirit shook its head. "No."

"That is your reward."