Two figures stood facing each other before an ominously shiny black orb. One had anxiety written on his face and the other nonchalance, though his facial expression was hard to read by human standards.

Silence filled the room and Sett fell into thought. If he had to completely honest, he had a hard time understanding the words of Selt’Artek. Magic was, after all, not something he was familiar with. Essence? Harmonize? Ascendants? Sett had no idea what any of those were nor what they meant.

He could, however, figure out the main point to Selt’Artek’s words. To survive, he would have to unite with the origin of the essence that had been infused into his body through the daggers and the origin of the essence was Selt’Artek himself.

Would that not mean that he would have to ‘unite’ with Selt’Artek? Even if Sett had no idea what the union entailed, he still had a feeling that it was a rather significant thing. Sett could only the fool and ask the question.

“Selt’Artek, what does uniting entail?”

“I would sacrifice my own life essence and my living body would cease to be.” Selt’Artek started explaining nonchalant as if he was explaining what he had eaten for breakfast that morning. “The essence and the remnant of my soul would be transferred to you. Should the unification succeed, you would be able to survive this ordeal and free yourself from the false children of blood.”

Sett was shocked. Was Selt’Artek not essentially talking about committing suicide? Would he really go that far to help a single unknown stranger escape his predicament? Even the most selfless paragon would not give up their life for someone they did not know.

“This… is this really okay?”

“Child, observe.” Selt’Artek brought Sett right before the glowing orb. “This is what remains of my life. Of my divinity. My body has withered beyond imagination and my powers are waning. My time as a god is running out. Even if we chose not to commence with the unification, my time remaining in this world would be insignificant.”

Sett mulled over this. To live the rest of his life in the service of the monsters on the outside, producing harrowing images for their sacrifices. Sett understood Selt’Artek, it simply was not a life worth living.

“With the unification, I would be able to experience life through your eyes.”

“Does… Does this mean we will have to share my body?”

A horrifying prospect propped up. He had experienced losing control of his body on a couple of occasions and it was not a pleasant experience. If he truly was to share his body with Selt’Artek, Sett did not know whether he had the willpower to proceed, even if it was to save his own life.

“Not to worry, child. The remnant of my soul would be infinitely small. My soul would inhabit a small space within your body, nothing that would affect your daily life.”

Selt’Artek’s words brought Sett closer to the idea. Although the mere thought of Selt’Artek living inside his body was considerably creepy, it was not necessarily a bad thing. If he were to embark on the path of magic, it would surely be helpful to have someone along who knew what they were doing.

Sett smiled ruefully. It was not as if he actually had a choice. The only other option was death, after all.

“I accept.”

“Before you proceed you should be aware of the dangers. Know that the dangers in unification are unknown even to me. Success is not guaranteed, and failure means death. Beyond that, your body will be greatly affected after the unification. Outsiders might covet the powers that reside in your newly reformed body.”

There were bound to be many dangers to the process even Sett knew that, but Selt’Artek’s words still brought him to a pause. Just how much would he be changed. Would he begin to look like Selt’Artek? In the end, it did not matter. If he could resolve the situation that he had placed himself in he would accept any danger and changes.

“I understand… and I accept.”

With a slightly forced smile, Sett accepted Selt’Artek’s unification offer.

“Good.”

Selt’Artek’s form rippled out of existence.

“Now go forward, come together with my core and become mine kindred!”

Sett walked forward with an uneasy gait. A pressure gradually built. Not the kind that he had felt earlier, but rather a mental one. It was like the mental pressure of an exam, only countless times greater. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people, relied on him to succeed.

Reaching his hands forward, Sett grasped the black glowing core that floated in mid-air. The touch of it was strange. It was beyond anything he had ever felt. It felt as if he had touched static electricity, but it did not hurt. It simply stimulated him.

His hand slowly passed through the outer layer of the core, allowing him entry into the innermost part. With a deep breath, that he was not even sure if he needed, Sett dove headfirst into the black core.

He found himself in darkness again. He floated in mid-air. It felt as if he was engulfed in a viscous liquid.

“Good, mine kindred.”

Sett heard the voice of Selt’Artek echoing from within the infinite dark.

“The first step has been completed. There is no going back anymore. Never mind the pain that you may encounter, you cannot turn back.”

Sett gulped involuntarily. Selt’Artek’s words sounded ominous.

Suddenly, many strands of light appeared within the formerly empty space. Slowly, they snaked their way over to Sett.

“The power of light and dark are two sides of the same coin. The essence of darkness is what is tearing your body apart from the inside, thus we need to diminish it before we can proceed any further.”

Like hungry vipers, the strands of light suddenly struck out and bit into Sett.

Sett wanted to scream, yet the scream was stuck in his throat. The pain from the light, that now coursed through his veins, was so immense that it was almost indescribable. It felt as if a thousand suns burned within his body.

Suddenly, something else stirred within his body. The essence of darkness had awoken to the new invader. It marched to face the light essence. A mighty battle ensued, with Sett’s body being the battlefield. The two essences fought with great vigour while making Sett feel as if his body was being torn apart.

“Persevere!”

Selt’Artek encouraged Sett from the sidelines.

The battle of two essences continued for many minutes, with neither side seeming to be the victor until suddenly something happened. A third essence appeared. It was far smaller than the rest, but wherever it went, the light and dark essence would be snuffed out. With their extinguishing, the unknown essence grew ever so slightly.

“Hmmm… This is?”

Even Selt’Artek’s normally despondent broke into confusion.

What was happening? Sett suddenly felt a lot better, but considering Selt’Artek’s apparent confusion, it did not seem like it was intended.

“Interesting… Mine kindred, your body’s special attribute shows itself once again.“ Selt’Artek seemed greatly intrigued by the discovery of this unknown essence. “Perhaps our chance of success is greater than I initially thought…”

Over time, the turmoil and pain in Sett’s body died down. It still hurt beyond anything he had ever tried before, but it was incomparable to before.

“Good, mine kindred. Your body is in harmony, even if it is only temporary. Now arrives the true challenge.”

A feeling of disbelief almost made Sett cry out loud. What did the crazy god mean by ‘the true challenge’? Had he not gone through enough pain?

“You possess the body of a mortal my child and channeling my true essence into it would only make your death appear that much faster. You must do what every magical aspirant has done before you and alter your body!”

Despite his unvoiced complaints, Sett listened with all his heart.

“Prepare yourself. Look inwards. All beings hold the birthright of the arcane. Feel the dormant essence that has been harmonized flowing through your veins. Grasp it!”

Sett’s eyes began to twitch. Surely the old god had to kidding. Only yesterday Sett had no idea that magic even existed and now the god wanted Sett to use it. If it was so simple, why was society not flooded with magically powered humans?

The thought was laughable. Why would he be able to succeed where all else had failed?

But it mattered little how much Sett wanted to argue, he only had one choice. That choice was to succeed. To become something more.

Clenching his teeth in preparation for what was to come, Sett did as Selt’Artek had asked.

He tried to what his house mother had often attempted to convince him to do. To tried to meditate. After all, the gurus that preached on the streets often time advertised their meditation’s ability to look inwards. From sett’s narrow perspective, it was surely the best way to go about this challenge.

Ignoring the pain, Sett awkwardly tried to position himself in a way that resembled what the street gurus had been doing. That being said, it was hard to maneuverer in mid-air, much more so when the air was so vicious that it felt like it was jelly.

Although he was still somewhat dissatisfied with his meditation pose, Sett gave up and began to feel within his body.

There were barely any sensations at all. The space they were in had no blowing air, no surfaces that touched him. Sett felt nothing beyond his beating heart and the pain that would sometimes show itself as an unwelcome guest.

Searching for something that he could not feel was a daunting task. The pain that still ransacked his body certainly did not help either. Every time he felt as if he had caught a whiff of the essence, the pain would spring forth, disrupting his train of thought and undoing all his progress. The light and darkness essence were like frightened squirrels, fleeting beyond any doubt.

After what felt like hours, Sett finally grasped the small filaments of the essence. The method he had employed was a strange one. To grasp something with his mind, even as small as the filaments was a grand challenge. They were slippery beyond all compare, threatening to escape from his mind's fingers if he eased his concentration even a little.

Feeling the essence with his mind’s eye, Sett discovered its true nature. All along, it was something that existed within his body, yet it was something was completely invisible to scientific equipment.

For many more hours, Sett endured the mental strain and held onto the unwilling essence. Gradually, over time the essence lost more and more of its inherent unwillingness. Over time, it became a small, pleasant ball of light that floated casually on top of his metaphorical palm even without him restraining it. Due to its nature, Sett could quickly figure out that this piece of essence was of the light element.

“Good, mine kindred,” Selt’Artek spoke for the first time in many hours. “You have gained the control of the essence, now you must mould it into your body. You must lay the first bricks of your ascendance.”

Along with Selt’Artek’s words came a torrent of information. The first step of any ascendant was to infuse their essence into their blood veins. This was to allow them to transfer the essence along with their blood flow. It was not an inherently strong method, but it was one of the few that was sufficient for mortals to build up their ascendant body while not being extreme enough that it would cause the mortal’s body to blow up in the process.

Beckoning his ball of light that was the light essence, Sett brought it towards the heart. Surely it would be wise to deposit the essence in the centre of all blood veins.

Once again over many hours, Sett slowly massaged the essence into the thin cell walls that made up the blood veins. Any failure would be detrimental. Massage too harshly and he could rupture his veins. Massage without any strength and he would never get anything done.

Finally, after what felt like days’ worth of exhaustion, Sett managed to infuse the essence properly into the cells.

“You have done well, mine kindred. Now repeat that method until you can circulate your essence without a second thought.”

With Selt’Artek’s words, Sett despaired.