DUAL ORIGIN PATHS

As Lynne sat calmly atop a small platform, he began recalling everything Principal told him about ‘Origin Paths’ over the past three months. In essence, there wasn’t much difference between other paths and ‘Origin Paths’. If two people of the same rank were to engage in battle, their differences wouldn’t necessarily come from the sub-path they’ve chosen.

The greatest difference, though, was the difficulty. Anyone could follow ordinary sub-paths, but for ‘Origin Paths’, immense talent was required. And even with that talent, the speed of progression was slower, but, in the end, many felt it was worth it. After all, only by following the ‘Origin Path’ can one break through the shackles of ‘Magus Realm’ and embark onto the journey through the ‘Grand Realm’.

Most believed that ‘Two Stars Celestial Magus’ was absolute peak of existence, and were consider true gods in the annals of history. However, that was just the peak of the ‘Magus Realm’. And, only people who’ve studied ‘Origin Path’ can actually transcend that boundary.

That’s why the Principal had that strange request for Lynne. What he meant was, when Lynne was breaking through the ‘Grand Realm’, he would be able to form a spacial tear to the ‘Upper World’. Principal asked if he could form another one, for him, and Lynne agreed.

However, if one were to say that following a single ‘Origin Path’ was insanely difficult, then trying to follow two was impossibility. After all, the minimal requirements were something that perhaps one in ten million people had in terms of talent. Even Lynne wasn’t certain as to whether he qualified for it or not, but he still wanted to give it a chance.

As he picked up the two books and gazed at them, he was doing his utmost to calm both his mind and heart. The first barrier of difficulty was also the first stage. One had to comprehend both paths simultaneously. To say nothing of having to comprehend one or two, he had to do it at the same time. ‘Spellweaving Celestial’ had roughly one hundred pages, while ‘Celestial Emperor of the Flames’ had roughly fifty more. It didn’t mean one was better or worse than the other, but merely that the other had more information.

Taking a deep breath, Lynne jolted his eyes open and focused his mind to the utmost peak as he flipped open the books. A massive energy suddenly erupted from both books, and roars of ancient beasts echoed from within them. Wind roused like hurricane, and Lynne was barely able to stabilize his body.

He immediately began reading both books at the same time; rather than ‘reading’, it was more in terms of analyzing, devouring and then comprehending. Both books were written in ancient characters that he couldn’t possibly understand, but as the characters moved from the pages into his mind, his could faintly discern their meanings.

Yet, it wasn’t that simple; first page contained but a single character. As two characters simultaneously entered his mind, he felt a splitting headache. Two characters were like mountain-sized beasts that couldn’t be stopped even by an army of fifty million. He immediately regained his focus and began studying the characters, both while the strong winds blasted against his body, and while the two voices roared within his mind. As to calm himself, he began muttering lowly…

“’Celestial Emperor of the Flames’… ‘Boundless Fires’… that’s the rough meaning of this character… ‘Spellweaving Celestial’… ‘Dauntless Master’…”

However, Lynne knew that even if he could faintly discern the general meanings, it was pointless, as he had to move on. It was both the test of comprehension and the test of endurance. He knew that things would only progressively get worse.

Indeed, as more pages opened, and as more characters entered his mind, things got much worse. When the tenth page was opened and the characters ran into Lynne’s mind, his ears began bleeding profusely, and he couldn’t help but groan lowly. He could feel the boundless power within those characters, and he was doing his absolute best to comprehend them and endure their trial.

When the thirtieth page was opened and the characters entered his mind, his face was akin to a bloody waterfall, as blood ran down his face from every hole. He felt as if his mind would explode at any moment, but, at the same time, he finally began gaining full comprehension from the first few pages.

As he comprehended them, the pain began dulling, and similar, ancient roars and winds – albeit a lot weaker – began exploding from his body, slightly alleviating the massive pressure. He quickly realized that comprehending the dual paths would equal having such pressure stored within his own body. Without any further delays, he focused even harder, ignoring the piercing pain coming from the depths of his soul.

Fiftieth… sixtieth… soon, he had reached the characters at the eightieth page, and the pressure he felt suddenly increased by five times. He felt bones in his body crack and pierce through his skin. He couldn’t help but finally scream out from the top of his lungs; it was like a howl of a dying beast, containing agony of countless eons. Even hearing the voice caused Principal and the First Prince to feel immense sorrow in their hearts.

Currently, the two of them were at the very edge of the garden, their gazes focused on the depths. They couldn’t help but feel their hearts tighten.

“M-master… wha-what is Lynne even doing?” First Prince couldn’t help but ask in a weak voice. But the Principal remained silent. Lynne had already endured far longer than his friend; by the tenth page, Venerated Bliss was already rolling on the ground and screaming. Endure child… endure…

While Lynne still sat in a cross-legged position, he no longer looked like a slightly handsome youth with unusual bearing. He looked like a victim of war, of profane torture. White bones prickled out of every part of his body, and he was completely doused in crimson. He no longer appeared like a human, and sounds coming from him surely supported that theory.

Lynne was on the ninetieth page, while he had comprehended fully only fifty. He didn’t even dare wonder what would happen if he was even one page slower. Even now, he was barely hanging on, carrying through with sheer willpower. He could neither hear nor see nor smell nor feel any longer. All of his senses were completely shattered, and he could only faintly discern his weak heartbeat. Yet, his mind never stopped working.

As he landed on the hundredth page of the ‘Spellweaving Celestial’, the book suddenly began glimmering golden as it escaped from Lynne’s hand and appeared in front of him. It was seemingly waiting to be comprehended.

Lynne suddenly felt a barely discernible voice coming deep from within him that told him something that shook his soul; the voice urged him to immediately allow all other characters from the ‘Celestial Emperor of the Flames’ to enter him, as otherwise he would have no chance of succeeding. Yet, strangely, Lynne believed that voice. Gritting his teeth, he began flipping through the pages like a madman, and boundless, mighty characters appeared within his mind.

Suddenly, nine differently colored flames appeared around him – yellow, golden, blue, red, green, purple, gray, black and white. It was clear that black and white flames were much stronger than the others, as all others followed their melody in the sway.

At the same time, countless blades of all kinds were forged by the energy above him, their sharp tips aimed at his head. At the same time, winds sped up again, and trees around were uprooted and flung into the high sky. Yet, Lynne still sat cross-legged, with a body destroyed beyond recognition. Every fiber in his body was begging him to stop, but he didn’t listen. He was studying the characters in his mind like a madman, pushing through by any means necessary.

The flames around suddenly erupted and engulfed his body, causing him to erupt in another series of agonizing roars. At the same time, countless blades fell from the sky and pierced him. He suddenly turned in a human-shaped hedgehog, as every inch of his body was pierced through and through. He screamed and screamed, but he didn’t move. He had no other way of escaping, no other way of alleviating this pain. But he felt; as each character was comprehended, pain subsided. Although comprehending one didn’t yield much, comprehending twenty was felt.

On the outskirts of the garden, both First Prince and the Principal were kneeling, sweat breaking through, causing their clothes to appear as if just washed. Their faces were snow-pale, and their bodies trembled. All they saw were expanding masses of energy congeal above the spot Lynne was at, and then trees erupt and fly through the sky.

Even at the distance they were at, they felt enormous pressure that caused their bones to shiver, even though there was no cold. Pressure they felt, they quickly realized, wasn’t of this world. It was something much older, much grander, and much more terrifying than any army or person they’ve ever met in their lives.

First Prince suddenly recalled his father and mother, and their immense coldness and pressure. Yet, at the moment, he felt ashamed for ever fearing the two. Their pressure was akin to a droplet in a massive ocean that covered the entire universe. First Prince felt that, if even a speck of this pressure was directly targeted at him, his body would burst into the bits and pieces, never to be recovered.

When he thought that not just a speck, but the entirety of this pressure was aimed at Lynne, he felt boundless fear, but also boundless awe. If nothing else, Lynne’s screams still pierced through the sky – it meant that that young boy was still alive. A man younger than himself, weaker than himself, was enduring.

The ordeal went on for full seven days. Seven days of agonizing screams, of piercing winds and energy that never seemed to stop growing. The magnificent garden was in complete shambles, as all trees were uprooted, leaving behind deep chasms of dirt. Flowers and herbs and all the beauty was destroyed, yet neither the Principal nor First Prince paid even a sliver of attention to it. They didn’t move an inch from their kneeling position for seven days. Even if their bones screamed of discomfort, they didn’t dare move.

Finally, as the seventh day ended, the massive energy and the massive winds disappeared within a flash, as if they were never there. The entire garden entered a serene calmness. Even an hour later, the two still didn’t dare move, but as they thought about Lynne, they forced their bodies to endure the pain of the bones that were stagnant for full seven days.

They moved at the snail’s pace, but they didn’t stop as they headed towards the place Lynne was at. Passing through the destroyed garden, the Principal didn’t feel even an ounce of pain; the garden he carefully raised since the day he came here meant little at the moment. He only wanted to see Lynne.

Screams on the seventh day dulled, and for the last five hours disappeared completely. He feared the worst; that Lynne endured until the bitter end, only to succumb at the final threshold. He couldn’t accept that.

It took them five hours to reach a place they’d usually reach within ten minutes, and when they got there, they were completely stunned out of their wits. Within fifty meters of Lynne, there was nothing. Not even a speck of grass was left. Huge crater appeared, its depth insurmountable, chasm so terrifying neither of the two dared look down. At the center was a single tower of earth, and atop that tower a platform of stone. On that same platform a body lay.

“Oh… my God…” the First Prince muttered as he witnessed the scene.

Lynne’s body was still there, but it wasn’t Lynne; every single limb was torn and blood covered every inch of his body. His torso appeared to be completely destroyed, and through a huge crack on his chest, the two were even able to see his heart pulsate. His face was completely crimson, and his clothes were burnt to ash. His skin was charred and bloodied, and ten million wounds covered it. Some relatively shallow, some bone-deep, and some piercing all the way through. Countless holes through which one could see the other side covered his body. It was as if he had endured ten thousand years of endless torture by the cruelest means.

Yet, the saddest and the worst of all, at least in the First Prince’s eyes, was that Lynne was still alive. His heart was beating. He was breathing. And, the worst beyond even that, he was still conscious. They could faintly discern his low growls of pain. He didn’t even have strength to scream any more, let alone move a single inch of his body. However, the Principal suddenly revealed a brilliant smile as he looked at the shattered body. If one didn’t know any better, they’d think he was enjoying Lynne’s suffering. However, he knew that Lynne succeeded. He had truly comprehended two ‘Origin Paths’ and embarked on a legendary journey most believed to just be a myth. Broken bones, tendons, muscles, and all physical things can be fixed, he thought as he watched the crippled body. However, he’s still alive. And he still didn’t break mentally. Ah… I truly am fortunate to have witnessed this at such an old age…

However, First Prince didn’t know what the Principal knew. He only saw a shattered body of his new friend and he collapsed on his knees yet again. Tears fell down his cheeks, and he couldn’t help but scream out, almost as if he willed himself to release screams of agony Lynne was unable to. It was a really strange scene; a shattered body of a boy lay atop a platform, his breathing slow and ragged, yet his lips still somehow curled up in an odd smile. Across from him, a young boy was on his knees, his head towering the sky as he screamed in agony, tears dripping down like river. And, next to him, an old man smiling from ear to ear, as if he had just seen the most brilliant thing to have ever existed.