Chapter 374 - An Abnormality
"I don't know the answer, Li." Arthur shook his head. "I'm just as clueless as you are, if not more. But, finding a way to grow stronger is a part of this test, and it's one I believe you will pass."
"... thank you," Li slowly nodded in thanks. Arthur stood up and left the man to find his answer.
He lied.
Arthur knew a part of the answer, if not all of it. The secret to increasing your spiritual energy is to be one with everything, precisely what he did with his Art of Creation.
However, Li needed to figure out a way on his own. This was also a part of growing stronger. And it wasn't like Arthur could teach him his Art, nor did he know if he can use his Art in such a way, but he knew the concept was similar.
Dust flew into the air when he landed on the ground. Arthur looked at his golden feet as he felt the spiritual energy in the dust. He knew that everything was a spirit in this realm, even the ground.
'To be one with everything,'
Arthur walked toward the edge of the city before leaving it. He kept walking until he reached the highlands they visited before. Then, he ascended the cloud.
Finding a flat piece of cloud, Arthur sat down and closed his eyes. His senses stretched to cover the cloud, the island, and the lands below it. The Skyey World was truly infinite.
"Existence is unfeeling,"
Arthur recited his Art. As he did, he tried to see how it affected the world around him. He kept note of how he assimilated the world's existence into his power.
Existence wasn't solely a physical property, but the combination of everything you represented: your spiritual energy, physical body, soul, the sea of consciousness, and your Reality Gate. These are deeply integrated into one, and Arthur strengthened himself by using the world to enhance all of them.
His Art of Creation allowed him to move his mana so that he creates harmony with the world, resonating with its existence.
Then, he would tap into that infinite source to break through the limits of his body and evolve into something stronger. However, he never tried to strengthen himself using the Art, only for evolving and fighting.
'How can I resonate with spiritual energy?'
There was no stat for spiritual energy, the source of spirits' power. That's why Arthur was confused when he arrived and realized that his spiritual energy was beyond his rank.
'Master Ronin said something similar,' At that time, Arthur dismissed his Master's words as nothing but an exaggeration. 'Master said that I hold more fate than I realize. Was he referring to my spiritual energy?' It did make sense, but that poses a question that Arthur feared answering.
Why did he have this amount of spiritual energy? Who was he exactly, other than a scavenger that chanced upon a legacy? Was he randomly chosen because he fell into a crack in space? Didn't the other team members, who were of the deme-rank, fall into the same gap?
The questions were infinite, but they all boiled down to one truth: Arthur didn't know who he was, what he was, or who the being with golden eyes was. The answer to all of these was the same, and he was tired of being unable to obtain it.
There was no mana here, so he needed to recite his Art. His spiritual energy moved, the same energy that made up his spiritual arm, and it began to resonate with the world. He guided them through the pathway, and he felt the spiritual energy in the surroundings merge into his.
The moment he stopped using the Art, the energy disconnected from his body. Arthur sighed and opened his eyes. He found that the cloud he was sitting on has changed shape, creating a giant dome around him.
"Easy now," Arthur smiled and stood up. He walked to the cloud, and it parted way for him. It seems using his Art walked like a magnetic force for everything.
As his feet sank into the cloud, he found it to be fluffy. Arthur crouched and tore a piece out of it. The cloud was akin to compacted cotton candy.
Arthur tore another piece and added it to the previous one repeatedly. In the end, he had a fluffy pillow that he used to sleep.
***
"Can you even sleep in your current form?"
The voice startled him, and Arthur opened his eyes to see the doll standing above him. He groaned and turned to the other side.
"It works like meditation; you just stop seeing and thinking. So hibernation seems like a proper term for it." Arthur said without looking at him. Then, sensing the doll sit beside him, he opened his eyes.
"You are a peculiar one." The doll said as it looked at his body. Arthur could see its clear marble eyes with the two dots of light resembling pupils.
"My chains?" Arthur looked down to his waist and torso, which had golden chains floating in and out.
"I still doubt if you are human because of those," The doll glanced down. "But no, it's not about them. You are the first person who can sleep on a cloud."
"Hm? Li could walk on it as well, though."
"Hah, probably because you were with him. Do you think all clouds have this texture?" The doll pointed down. "If this spirit doesn't like you, then you would simply pass through the cloud."
"They call me the Seika of Living Beings," Arthur sat up. "Maybe that's why spirits love me."
"Hah," The doll looked at Arthur with pity. "How does it feel like to be loved not for who you are but what you can offer?"
"That is..." Arthur paused. He never thought about it that way.
"Loved Ones have it easy," The spirit continued. "But something is robbed from them as well: the ability to feel any meaning in the love you receive."
Arthur was silent. Larza coveted him because he was a Seika of Living Beings, and that's why she bought him. Dia was the same; she wanted him for his ability.
'Did anyone ever love me for who I am and not for what I can offer?'
"I got into your head, didn't I?"
"Your words are a reflection of how you feel, too," Arthur said after a while. "Is that how you felt, too? Is that why you hate the Spirit Sovereign so much? For cursing you with the ability to feel?"
"... you talk too much." The doll ignored Arthur's questions. "Your friend is nowhere near close to growing stronger."
"I'll just have to wait." Arthur threw his body back and leaned on the cloud.
"As you do, how about you pay the rent of staying in my city?" The doll stood up. "Follow me."
The carpenter walked away without waiting for Arthur's answer. The latter sighed and stood up before following him. Since the spirit showed interest in him, he wouldn't refuse it.
They walked toward the edge of the island, toward a flower bed with a single tree in it. The tree's surface shone brightly in the sun as if it was made of glass instead of wood.
"This is also a spirit, but it's a shitty one." The doll said. "It wouldn't let me take some of its wood to create what I want."
"And you called me here to convince it?" Arthur snickered. "Am I your lumberjack now?"
"It's better than sitting around and sleeping," The doll grumbled. "I'll leave it to you. Bring me some of its wood, and I'll help your friend grow stronger."
"And every time I bring you some of its wood, you'd have to answer three questions of mine."
"One question," The carpenter curtly said as it walked away. Arthur smiled and turned toward the tree.
The flower bed surrounded the tree, stretching into the distance. The tree looked as if it held glittering stars within, reflecting the light in Arthur's eyes. He walked toward the tree and reached out his hand.
'Phew...'
The branches moved in the wind, and it brought the scent of flowers alongside it. Arthur felt the spirit of the tree, similar to Rega's existence, resonate with him.
'Oh?'
Arthur was surprised to find the tree unwilling to communicate with him, even though this has never happened before. He touched the tree, and a force pushed him back.
"I see," Arthur smiled. He then closed his eyes and used his Art of Creation. Placing his hand on the tree again, Arthur injected it with his energy, strengthening it.
The tree extended a branch as he began using the Art, and the branch then detached itself from the tree. Arthur picked up the branch that looked like a bolt of lightning and nodded toward the tree in thanks.
Arthur walked back toward the carpenter shop and pushed the doors open when he arrived. The carpenter turned to him, and his eyes went wide with surprise when it saw the branch in Arthur's hand.
"You are an abnormality..."