As the pain pulsed through his head, Avaln realized it wasn’t a dream.

It felt like hot liquid was constantly being poured inside his skull. It boiled there for an infinite breath, then it ran down his throat, reached his chest, and after a heartbeat, it was sent to his every limb and vein, making his conscience explode white.

He didn’t know how much time had passed until he dared to open his eyes again.

“You didn’t scream. I’m impressed.” His saviour commented, suddenly much closer.

She had an exotic, refreshing smell Avaln couldn’t quite figure out.

“What’s going on…?” He managed to ask, holding his head.

“Well, I could tell you…” She gently took his hands and pulled them away. “But why not see for yourself?”

Avaln lifted his gaze, only to find that the grey area around them was completely covered with cracks.

“Think of this space as the insides of an egg.” Her voice was calm as a pond, as if they had all the time in the world. “Now, what should you do?”

Upon hearing this, his eyes darted around. Soon, he found the biggest crack, with multiple ramifications covering the entire place… and punched it.

A grey piece gave out and fell, but outside it was all dark.

He punched again. More pieces fell and soon he felt the hot liquid acting up inside him, bubbling and rising until it reached his skin…

He finally screamed, and with it, he turned into a nova of light.

Alary was the first to wake up.

Her seventh sense was restless, and as she focused, she could feel the essence around the camp to swirl, swell and trash about, altered like a wild beast. However, she felt no hostility… but rather, a kind of joy.

She shook her head, trying to stick to the facts.

“Alary?” Alice muttered, with a hint of worry in her voice.

“You feel it too?” Alary guessed, at which her friend nodded.

They soon stepped out of the tent, and found Harold standing guard, looking in a certain direction.

“Everything alright?” Alary asked while making herself known, although she expected Harold was already aware of her presence.

And when he briefly turned around, there was no sign of surprise in his expression.

“Nothing to report, just…” He began, then saw Alary nodding. “I see the squad leader has already sensed it. Yes, probably even earlier than me... “

He was, after all, still at the Tempered Essence second stage. Even if his seventh sense was quite strong for someone of his refinement level, it still couldn’t be compared to Alary’s.

A major realm was a big difference.

She dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand, “Harold, even if I’m the leader, you are still my senior in experience. What can you tell me?”

Harold nodded, then looked at Alice and asked, “My lady, this phenomenon… does it feel familiar to you somehow?”

Alice stopped near the fire still burning in the middle of the camp, closed her eyes, and after a few breaths, nodded. “Now that Sir mentions it, it does indeed... “

Alary followed suit, while only Harold remained at his post, still staring in a certain direction.

“It feels like... when a caster waves a spell. Sir Ferrou’s knowledge is indeed deep for him to realize such a thing sooner than me.” Alice explained to Alary by her side, using Harold’s surname, “if such a thing were to happen close to us though, I would know. This, however… What do you think, Sir Ferrou?”

Harold glanced back with a stern look, “You might not believe me, but I think these fluctuations come from Greenleaf.”

Alary and Alice both opened their eyes in surprise. After half a day of galloping, they were quite far away from the city.

For them to still be able to feel such fluctuations...

“Could it be that Miss Lizbell is brewing an extremely powerful potion?” Alary proposed, at which Alice nodded in approval.

Alchemists and spellcasters had many things in common, one of them being the use of spells to achieve their ends. All alchemists were spellcasters, but not all spellcasters were alchemists.

Harold shrugged. “My experience can only tell me so much. If even Miss Dothein doesn’t know what could be causing this, then I’m afraid I can no longer offer any help.”

Alary cast a glance at Alice, who after a few breaths only shook her head, “There aren’t many spellcasters powerful enough to provoke these kinds of fluctuations, and aside from Miss Lizbell, all of them are away from Greenleaf at the moment. However, the domain of magic is vast as an ocean, and I’ve only got insights enough to fill a cup.”

She finished with a shrug, then headed back to the tent. Alary envied her carefree attitude sometimes.

“Harold, let me relieve you. I don’t think I will be able to sleep anymore.” Said Alary then, at which he only nodded, stretched a bit, and moved away.

After Harold disappeared inside his tent, Alary sat with her knees between her arms, facing in the same direction he had been looking at, and closed her eyes. Her seventh sense swirled around her, probing the already swell essence, and soon she found out such exercise was quite beneficial to her.

A familiar feeling found a place inside her gut, but she soon shook it off and focused on taking advantage of that rare opportunity instead.

By the time Avaln opened his eyes again, he was floating mid-air, and everything had changed around him.

For starters, the grey area from before had disappeared, giving way to a massive circular library spiraling away from him, with no apparent end but a thick darkness. His sense of direction was also completely outmatched by its sheer size and the library’s unusual composition, as instead of going up, it piled up horizontally both left and right, almost like a mirror.

And even though he could recognize it as a library, every time he tried to distinguish a book in one of the shelves, his gaze would become blurred, followed by a sharp pain coursing through his head.

“I wouldn’t look too long if I were you.” A female voice warned him, “It should calm down soon enough, but you are not yet capable of controlling its might.”

Avaln heeded her advice, but soon his attention was caught by rivers of black liquid he had failed to see before, floating towards the shelves in some chaotic yet organized pattern, covering everything in sight, and wondered how he hadn’t noticed them before. In fact, he now realized the whole library was still growing, and the bark forming its structure moved as if one was watching how a tree develops over hundreds of years in just a few minutes.

He could even see leaves sprouting from the nearby shelves.

He reached towards one of them in an attempt to touch it, but soon noticed a wet feeling in his fingertips. A spot of black liquid much like the rivers he had seen before obscured his skin, and soon recognized it as a drop of ink.

“Don’t worry, those should stop after a while.” She explained, almost reading his mind.

“What is this place?” He asked then, while trying to discern just how far the library extended.

“This place is your newly formed Tower of Babylon.” She answered, a hint of nostalgia barely noticeable. “We are inside your soul. Look there.”

Avaln glanced in the direction she pointed at. Soon, he located a giant, open blue book floating mid-air, from which torrents of ink flowed towards the shelves, splitting into thin rivers and following in the same spiral the whole structure seemed based on.

It somehow gave him a familiar feeling, and after a few breaths, he realized it was the same one he had tried to read all these years, albeit its size had greatly changed.

“So it wasn’t empty…” He muttered out loud. “Tower of Babylon?” He inquired then, a bit confused.

Her purple hair waved as she nodded, expecting the question. “The name comes from an ancient legend, of which nothing but hearsay remains. It tells of a time when real gods still existed, and knowledge was the path humanity found to reach them. That knowledge was stored in a building that grew in size until it touched the heavens, and the gods, out of fear, struck it down. But humanity remembered, and sought a way to keep their knowledge inside, away from their eyes... Until one day, a little girl found out how.” She made a gesture, covering the surroundings, her eyes closed, as if reminiscing was painful. “The technique spread, and received the same name of that old legend.”

Avaln fought his desire to examine his surroundings more closely, for he doubted his head would be able to stay whole otherwise.

“How long did it take you to reach the last page?” The woman asked then, with that same tone of indifference, mixed with curiosity this time.

Avaln rested his gaze against her scarlet eyes, inevitably wondering what was that sensation he couldn’t shake off...

As if they told him a tale he couldn’t quite understand.

“Well?” She insisted, breaking his line of thought.

He glanced sideways, a bit embarrassed. “Ten years.”

She squinted her eyes slightly. “Don’t lie to me.”

A shiver ran down his spine upon perceiving that sliver of displease in her voice. In any ordinary person it would have been almost negligible, but amidst her indifference it rang out as loud as thunder.

However, Avaln couldn’t but be a bit annoyed by it, as he thought that for her it was such a long period of time, she didn’t even consider it may be the truth.

“I’m not lying, it really took me ten years. I’m sorry for disappointing you.” His words were charged with a poorly hidden resentment, and by the end, he had to bite his tongue.

“No wonder you look so young. You are young.” She muttered, nodding to herself.

Avaln blinked a few times, as comprehension suddenly dawned on him.“Isn’t ten years a long time?” He inquired.

“It’s not.” A purple lock gently swayed as she shook her head, deep in thought. “I’m quite impressed.”

Despite what she said, her tone remained indifferent, and Avaln couldn’t help but wonder if she truly meant it.

He shook his head. Did it matter if she did?

He realized It didn’t. There were far more pressing matters than feeding his ego, anyway.

“What is that blue book, exactly?” He asked then.

The question had been bugging him for so long it surprised him he hadn’t asked sooner.

“It’s a book.” She answered.

Avaln wondered if he was being teased, so he couldn’t hide his confusion.

“Look at it.” She said, and shrugged.

“It may look like a book, but it’s far from an ordinary book.. “ He insisted, as if trying to pry open a nailed lid.

She nodded. “What else?”

Upon hearing her question, Avaln finally noticed he was being tested, breaking eye contact in order to focus. He recalled what he knew, what she had told him, and the consequences he was sure of…

His eyes inevitably arrived at the ink still flowing from the book, and an idea formed in his mind.

“Could it be... the book prepared me?”

The woman’s eyes opened slightly, with a hint of surprise. A sound of approval slipped past her lips.

“I didn’t expect you to understand so much already. Interesting.” She nodded to herself, then walked closer to him. “It will certainly make explaining everything much easier.”

She sat in front of him, crossing her legs on top of each other and folding her arms beneath her chest. Of course, she was still in the air, but Avaln soon realized he could sit as well with just a thought.

“As you said, the book prepared you. It was a good choice of words, for as you surely have realized by now, the knowledge inside required a fitting vessel first, and the technique I told you about can’t be used by just anyone. Normally, you’d need to have reached the Fervent Essence realm at least.” She closed her eyes, as if choosing carefully her next words, ”It is said that the body is a vessel for the soul, while the soul is a vessel for one’s essence...”

Avaln nodded, ignoring his shock at her revelation, as sudden hunger arising within him.

“But this understanding, albeit not incorrect, is flawed. It is not in the essence’s nature to be static, hence it cannot remain in the soul for long.” She explained, soon casting her gaze on him once again. “What do you think happens, then?”

Avaln pondered for a few breaths, then replied, “It travels to the body?”

The woman nodded, in approval. “And, what do you think has happened to you?”

Upon hearing this, he immediately glanced at his right hand, which he clenched into a fist a few times. The woman in front of him had said they were inside his soul, so he could guess what he was seeing right now was not his real fist, but an imaginary avatar of himself.

If his whole body was an illusion, then the moments in which he could feel his heart pound against his chest, or his head splitting apart from the pain, were just the only way his mind could understand them.

“You look young.” He recalled her words when she first saw him, further proving his hypothesis. If an old person still thought themselves young, their soul avatar would reflect that… or so he inferred.

However, what he was wondering at that moment wasn’t the nature of his avatar, but a certain phenomenon he couldn’t quite explain…

That is, during the ten years he had been trying to finish the book, his body never deteriorated. In fact, it had always remained in top shape: his muscles were defined, though not voluminous. He had never trained his endurance, but seeing as he could receive a few punches from someone two minor realms above him, he could surmise he actually had a strong physique…

But if as she said, the essence could not remain in one place for long...

Would it travel again? Where? To the soul? And then to the body again?

Did essence… circulate between the two somehow?

There was also the fact that his refinement level had remained the same this whole time...

Directly above the Nascent Essence realm, there was the Tempered Essence realm. If one had to point out one of the main differences between both, that would be the volume and purity of the essence inside an adventurer’s body.

Yet, for some reason, he had a Tower of Babylon now. And the woman in front of him had just said such a technique, under normal circumstances, should only be able to be used by a Fervent Essence realm adventurer at least. That last word meant so many things... for the such a realm was the peak everyone knew of; The repercussions of such a phrase were impossible to predict, but what Avaln preferred to think about now was that the Fervent Essence realm was two major realms above the Manifested Essence realm, and four major realms above his Nascent Essence realm...

So… could it be that forming a Tower of Babylon was actually unrelated to the refinement level of a person?

His mind quickly darted between what he already knew and what he had just been taught, trying to follow the reasoning he was expected to see...

“Did my essence circulation improve?” He ventured, a bit abashed. He felt like he had made some logic jumps along the way, and couldn’t quite explain them.

The woman, however, smiled gently. It was the first time he saw such expression on her delicate but until then cold features, so it didn’t surprise him to notice his heart pound against his chest.

She was beautiful.

He realized at that moment he would probably never use such a word lightly for the rest of his life.

“Indeed.” She interrupted his thoughts, a hint of delight in her voice. “Such a process is usually quite lengthy, even with the help of the book, so the fact it only took you ten years to reach this stage can only be because of two reasons: One, your aptitude is quite good; And two, some external factor also helped you. Although both are not exclusive, I’d bet for the former to be more likely... but you shouldn’t discard the latter. Aptitude is important, but it can only take you so far.”

He nodded, suppressing a smile because of her casual compliment.

“Right now, even if this place appears to be vast, it pales in comparison to a true Tower of Babylon… That being said, your essence circulation is far above your realm. You’ll find out the benefits of such a thing once you start refining your essence.” She explained matter of factly as Avaln’s eyes flashed with a ray of desire.

However, his voice trembled when he asked, “Will I be able to?”

The lack of hesitation in her voice felt like a gentle hand caressing his heart. “Yes, you will. You are quite smart, so you probably already suspected it… The book, despite its many benefits, had one drawback: to function, it had to drain you of the essence your body gathered naturally. Now it has fully fused with your soul, so it will remain in stasis until you need it without hindering your refinement.”

He couldn’t but lift an eyebrow at this. “Until I need it?”

She closed her eyes, as if deep in thought. “You can’t handle the knowledge you’ve been given yet, so the book will serve as a kind of conduct, but it can only do so a limited number of times before it runs out of essence. Once it does, you won’t be able to use it again for a while, so keep that in mind.”

Avaln nodded, understanding. He already had a rough idea of what he’d like to learn first, and began to trace plans about how to proceed from there...

He felt his heart pound with anticipation, and his mouth curved into a fearless, excited smile.

Finally, He thought.

She perceived the change, and began to instruct him how to return to his Tower of Babylon, what he should be wary of, and how the book would act in the future…

Avaln lost the track of time, immersing himself in her teachings, trying to comprehend as much as he could.

His Tower of Babylon, as he suspected, was an inherited one. The blue book was its container, and what could be seen in the distance was only a mere tenth of the tower’s original size. He was also warned that he was still unable to handle even a quarter of it, so he should be extremely careful and never try to access the information inside directly.

He was also told he’d need time to comprehend any information he received.

Basically, he had the knowledge, but knowing how a boat worked doesn’t make you able to build one. He needed to study and carefully understand the principles behind anything he wanted to learn… Yet, because his essence circulation was way better than most, his connection between mind and body was also incredibly good, enhancing his speed of comprehension in such a manner he’d be able to understand and integrate most teachings in half the time and with half the effort.

Of course, that only applied to basic concepts, while the harder ones would still take a lot of time and dedication.

Avaln was also told not to depend only on what he could draw from his Tower of Babylon, but to also compare it and combine it with what he might learn in the future. The world was vast, and so was the comprehension of essence, to which one could follow many paths.

No one would be able to tell how long they were there, sitting across each other. As she tested Avaln, and he answered correctly most of the time, she became more enthusiastic, attacking his heart with multiple expressions never seen before. The mantle of indifference was still there, but every interaction was like a sudden breeze, uncovering the many emotions hidden beneath...

But as soon as he began to think about the future, realization hit him in the chest, emptying his lungs. He didn’t know how she fit in it. An idea popped in his mind then, and his face sank.

Could it be…?

“Are you really my saviour?” He asked then, as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

She wasn’t teaching him what a master would teach their disciple, but rather, what someone about to die would leave for their descendants...

How to survive.

“Once I find you, I’ll know the truth.” his own words resounded in his mind, words that had an effect on her when he still wondered if the current situation was a dream.

“Who are you?” He insisted.

She nodded, as if she had expected the question to arise at one point. “I’m her, but I’m also not her.”

Avaln raised an eyebrow.

“You must have noticed by now that you yourself are but an avatar, a mental image of how you see yourself. I’m the same… but not one as direct as yours.” She seemed a bit embarrassed, which shocked Avaln. “I’m a remnant, a fragment of sorts. The main body attached me to the book so that once it entered your soul, I could be here to guide you.”

Avaln’s gaze dropped. At some point he was not aware of, the ever growing tower had calmed down, and the darkness at the far end of its reach had turned into a night sky where only a few stars shone. Even the book had stopped pouring ink and now laid closed, back to its original size.

“Does that mean… you’ll disappear soon?” He asked, but a part of him already knew the answer.

His gaze met with hers, and as her pale and delicate lips began to say something, her head suddenly snapped in a certain direction.

“... I should have known we’d be noticed.”