205. He Never Needed Rescue
In a small, damp cave near Cascadia's border, I sat cross-legged with closed eyes, sinking into internal vision.
On the way here, the embryo's consciousness and mine fought countless battles, neither of us able to win a lasting victory.
The terrain was much more treacherous than my journey to assassinate the Ascendant King, with vampires lurking everywhere. It seemed as if the Blood Moon Vampire King had deliberately cleared all vampires from the area to give us easy access for ambushing the bull vampire. Now, those vampires were returning to their territory.
The embryo had fought and killed quite a few vampires—I knew this because the panel kept adding to my absorbed lifespan.
It was a dangerous endeavor, however, because the embryo had learned none of the fighting techniques, and was just starting to master the vampiric blood gifts.
Fortunately, the embryo recognized the harshness of the world and its own frailty. It remained dormant for a long while, hiding within the crystal core while letting me handle the worldly dangers—gathering strength, no doubt, for a final counterattack during my most vulnerable moment.
I didn't follow the path that we came. Instead, I ran towards Vancouver, specifically Seamist County. Yet, I didn't cross its border. I couldn't be certain I would be safe there, as Chloe might have announced that I was a vampire through her gold bell. The last thing I wanted was to face a group of Vampire Hunters determined to kill me—hunters I had no wish to harm.
Back when I was preparing to leave Surrey, I had already understood the importance of talent for ascension to the fourth realm.
Whether it was crystallization or harmonization, whether forming an Infant of Love or a Redeemed Spirit, they were actually all doing the same thing: using energy sources to create a vessel capable of containing one's consciousness or even one's soul.
What is the difference between consciousness and soul anyway? One is a scientific term and the other spiritual? I really can't tell one concept from another.
However, either way, any vessel that can contain such a thing must be spiritual in nature, making it prone to developing its own self-awareness.
To break through to the Ward of Nature, fully harmonized warriors must compete against their Infant's consciousness for control of the vessel—a process known as Spiritualization.
Talent deficiencies in this process cannot be overcome simply by spending more time. In fact, the longer one takes, the more dangerous it becomes—as the soul of the Infant grows increasingly mature, until it might even completely devour its master.
A Redeemed Spirit created from the power of faith would likely possess a gentler, more manageable personality.
However, in my case, I had used fierce and baleful vampiric power to feed the crystal, combined with the greedy Cosmic Devouring Crystallization technique—making my Infant far more violent than most.
Put simply, I—with an already inferior aptitude—now faced a challenge far more hellish than what other Crystal Realm warriors typically encounter.
After absorbing the old Leviasaur's vampiric power in Temple Village, I had fully formed the Embryo of Harmony. Although I was only one step away from creating a true Infant of Love, I hesitated to proceed—I wasn't ready to confront its soul. What I hadn't realized was that, given thousands of years, even an embryo could possess sentience.
I also hadn't anticipated that it would be awakened by the Infant of the Ascendant Vampire King.
When I killed the bull vampire, its physical form perished, but its soul escaped into its Infant, which was already fully Spiritualized.
I wasn't afraid of it when it stood eighty feet tall with its many treasured weapons—I certainly wouldn't fear it as a mere foot-and-a-half Infant.
However, my embryo sensed a powerful ally in that moment and launched its attack, perhaps prematurely. Had it waited a few thousand years longer until the Infant was fully formed, its consciousness might have grown too powerful for me to overcome.
Now I must devise a way to destroy its soul. I hadn't worked this hard for so long just to end up building a nest for another bird.The dark red veins of the Melting Sun Furnace emitted a faint glow, and a heavy suppressive force rapidly converged towards the Cosmic Devouring Crystal.
Although the Melting Sun Furnace could prevent the crystal from acting up, it could not hold consciousness into place.
Don't panic, I can beat it. I secretly cheered myself on. And there was a silver lining every time I fought the embryo—the strength of my soul had grown stronger.
After the searing pain, and when the embryo's consciousness subsided, my mind felt sharp and clear. The whole world seemed to have become a little more amiable.
Ah, so that's how it is.
Competing for control of the Infant of Love was itself a form of training—not of the body, but of the soul. The stronger the opponent, the greater the benefits one would receive. From this perspective, it wasn't a total loss.
I had seen this kind of battle many times before. After Nine Cycles Sanguine Resurrection broke through, a similar conflict would erupt between vampires. This time, however, I was the one who had entered the arena to fight.
I had also destroyed vampire consciousness before, but had always relied on my death energy. However, death energy would damage both the embryo and the crystal.
And also the Seed of Faith. Through my internal vision, I carefully observed the white seed nestled within, comfortably wrapped in wave after wave of white lights.
I took out the Key of Vancouver—the enchanted silver cross that General Grant had given me. I activated it with essence.
VOOM!
Like a vacuum, the power of faith was drawn toward me in a swirling storm.
… …
"Using vampiric power to harmonize? Isn't that like raising a vampire inside him?" Chloe said incredulously. "No wonder he was so eager to kill vampires."
Even though it sounded strange, Chloe found herself readily accepting Aisha's story. Back at the waterfall, John had clearly displayed symptoms of dissociative identity disorder—he could have easily killed her there, but he had stopped his attack mid-strike and run away.
"Just a month ago, he was merely a Wave Realm Breaker, and now his Infant has already gained consciousness—have you ever heard of such remarkable talent?" Aisha Patani sighed. "He mastered Cosmic Devouring Crystallization in a single afternoon and helped me break through the very next day. We must help him. If he overcomes this predicament, he will be the savior of both Cascadia and New Terra."
"But how can we help? The battle is raging inside his own mind," Chloe said, her brows furrowed with concern.
"He has never needed rescue in battle," Aisha said with unwavering confidence. "Let's establish a perimeter and make sure no one disturbs him."
Aisha pointed at the cave, which was now clearly in view. She took position at the left of the entrance while Chloe guarded the right. Samir Jabal, too severely injured to keep pace with them, had returned directly to Cascadia from the waterfall.
Since the cave was close enough to Cascadia, Chloe used her gold bell to send an urgent broadcast to the Vampire Hunters: Request immediateReinforcement, John Kane is in danger.