Body and Soul

He cycled Essence as fast as his core converted it, churning in that endless well. He was reminded of his conversation with Zacharia about the meaning of a person's life. The idea behind everything that one did. Something about his choices resonated with the things that Zach had spoken about, it felt as if the overarching ideas a person followed somehow had a purpose. Even if someone was more... Spread out, as Zach was, he still followed an idea. Having a Class and a Path that were closely related might not be the only way. Zach's idea was all about Knowledge, it made sense for him to have different paths, not just a singular direction. Ryun... he was something else. His True Name, HE WHO ENDURES TO BEHOLD THE BEGINNING OF ALL, gave him a deeper understanding of himself. His goal was to endure, and witness the great cycle, the end of the Infinite Realm, and to see the birth of a new beginning.

He wasn't just tied to Oblivion, or True Death, he had other desires, his love of advancing, of discovery. It was all wrapped up in that idea of reaching the End but enjoying the Journey to get there. He wanted to embrace that part of him more.

He turned back to his core and advanced again, reaching the Early Eternal Realm. The choice of the two upgrades appeared in his vision, and he read through the first one carefully.

Ankh of Greater Eternity—Form of True Oblivion, True Death

Your Body and Soul are inescapably forged together. You are a singular entity, comprised not out of a body and soul, but raw Essence and Meaning. Appearance and size dependent on will and meaning. Consuming high tier Oblivion Essence or Qi temporarily raises stats up to 200%. Your meaning endures for as long as a single Essence of your body remains, and you can regenerate to full from it. Regeneration accelerates depending on damage, the more there is the faster you regenerate.

Realm restrictions lifted, able to walk on any plane.

Evolved Form perk removed.

All Immortality powers removed.

Ascended State altered.

Benefits retained: You do not age. You no longer need to breathe or eat food, but will need to consume Oblivion or related type Qi or Essence. Reproduction will only be possible through use of powers.

Gain +60% to intelligence, wisdom, vitality.

You embody the ideas of several Aspects, ultimately, all had led you to two—Oblivion and True Death.

It wasn't much, a simple upgrade mostly in numbers, some regeneration. Ryun wasn't too disappointed. His perk was already one of the highest quality. He hadn't expected there to be much that could be better than it. If he was being honest, he had expected just a single option, but there was another. He turned his eyes to the second one, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at it.

Nascent Ascendant of the End—Domain Aura Authority, Incomplete Idea of the End

You've walked the Path of the End through Oblivion, but you have taken steps away from the singular path. Take a step now onto a greater path where many branches come to their End. Your forged existence will retain the parts of it related to Oblivion and True Death, but the elements of your Soul will retake the primary domain.

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You are the raw meaning of a Soul embodying the End, augmented by your Aspects. More compatible Aspects can be added to the whole. Appearance, size, and presentation dependent on will and meaning. Consuming high tier Essence and bringing it to its End grants you fuel to grow your Soul domain authority. Your meaning endures for as long as a single piece of your Soul Essence exists, and you can recover to full from it. The strength of the Idea behind your existence grants you power. Nascent status grants you a tiny portion of this power, +200% to all stats when acting according with the principles of the End.

Realm restrictions lifted, able to walk on any plane. Ascendant path guaranteed upon complete advancement.

Removal of Aspect Manifestation: Oblivion Aura—Oblivion’s Persistence.

Reproduction will only be possible through use of powers.

Relevant Perk alteration.

Gain +60% to intelligence, wisdom, vitality.

You embody the ideas of several Aspects, weaving them together to form a singular Idea.

What the... It was a sidestep? An upgrade? Ryun wasn't certain at all. What it undoubtedly was, was interesting. His being was made of a forged Body and Soul, he didn't have flesh and blood, he had an Oblivion-type Essence that contained both his physical form and his spiritual. Most people had a separation between the two. The Soul resided in a layer beyond the Real Realm, close enough that it could control the vessel, but far enough that it couldn't be easily damaged. That was understandable, Soul was fragile, and only specific type of powers could interact with it. Ryun's Soul was as strong as it was different. It existed in the Real Realm, merged into a singular layer. Every attack against him, those that could damage him at least, dealt Soul damage. But his Soul was much more resilient, it regenerated alongside his vessel.

This second option would somehow change his vessel again, and this time into something that he didn't quite understand. Hints were there, Ideas, Aspects, but he didn't quite see the full picture. Not yet at least. He couldn't tell if it was an upgrade at all, losing his aura? Yet it was there in the name, he was certain that he would gain something. He would change, again, that much was certain. It felt like the Framework was giving him an option to take another path, something that he had been moving towards without realizing. There were hints hidden there that he didn’t understand yet.

He looked back, trying to remember what he could've done to be set on this Path. The Ethereal, his fight with the Grand Spirits, it was... He had caused the End of a being that was supposed to be a pillar of the Ethereal Realm, and he had captured another. And then... He had lost control. He remembered his meaning turning his vessel into a hill sized hole of nothingness with tendrils spreading and smashing everything they could reach for hundreds of meters in all directions. He was a monster, like... like Hastur, only one made of a Soul flavored by Oblivion. He looked down on himself, his body was... His instrument covered him, creating the shell of Flesh and Blood, it wasn't real. He had stopped being a humanoid a long time ago, he had just pretended. Unable to let go of his form. The real him was the being that had consumed a territory, that had raged and lashed out, not the shell that he covered himself with.

He felt the instrument shake, his skin rippling as if to change form and he focused. He didn't want to change it now, but it reacting to his thoughts was interesting. He had to learn more about how to control it better.

He closed his eyes and thought about his choices so far. What was the Nascent Ascendant? What was the Domain Aura Authority? He didn't know, but he wanted to find out. He had already made the decision to follow this new path, wherever it went. He felt it call to him. He made the choice and felt the change move through him. Suddenly he keeled over then dropped to his knees as he felt an intense feeling of pressure coming from everywhere around him. It was as if he had suddenly been squeezed into a shape that was far too small for him. He felt his body trying to expand, to spread, and he felt the instrument restricting him. It rippled, as if it wanted to help him and change with him, but he stopped it.

He focused on himself and tried to take charge of whatever had happened. He forced his body to remain the same size, the perk clearly said that his size was changeable according to his will, the same as it had been in his previous perk. It took him awhile, but he felt like the need to expand had subsided. He still felt like he was squeezed, like there was too much pressure from all sides, but this time it was his will holding him like that. He felt... denser.

He let himself fall back, and sat on the ground, exhausted. He hadn't felt real exhaustion in a while. His body felt different, a lot different. He smiled inwardly; it had been a long time since he had to learn something new about himself. Immediately, he grimaced, as he remembered Tali. He felt guilt rising at having even for a moment forgotten about her, but then he shook his head.

He had no course other than to wait. Alone, he couldn't be certain of his success. He had to wait for the others. He had time, days, to practice and familiarize himself with his upgrades.

He took a deep breath, then turned his attention to his body and got to work.