Show Me What You Can Do

Gilgamesh frowned, but it made sense when he thought about it. If 'A' was given some knowledge of God and her power, then they would likely come to know the kind of person she was and the power she wielded.

They would be able to explain how that power worked to an extent, and also be able to talk about what God used that power to do.

Gilgamesh was actually surprised that 'A' decided to teach others instead of just offing himself. He thought about that for a moment before he realized something.

If God and The Scripture fit the description of the Source Of All Things, then where did The Sovereign Natures fit in? Were the Source and The Sovereign actually just the same thing? Was it God's way of limiting the knowledge that she gave to 'A?'

Forcing him to be unable to understand key secrets to her power seemed plausible, and Gilgamesh realized that 'A' was likely not someone that she gave too much to.

Not like him, who she made perfect even by her standards. A perfection that not even she could taint. Not anymore.

"So God exists, and she's actually the Source Of All Things? That's insane!"

The Empress started pacing as she sorted through things in her head.

"She's also responsible for creating The Sovereign Natures, but didn't want her creations to know how they worked. That's the only explanation I can think of, at least."

The Empress stopped pacing, "You seem to understand an awful lot about her. Your name isn't 'A,' is it?"

Gilgamesh actually chuckled at that, "It isn't, I swear."

"I am Gilgamesh. I know God because I once had a run-in with her. She told me the truth about my life... and then placed me in the Library."

Gilgamesh sighed, "She's the one that made me immortal."

The Empress's mouth fell open. "That's incredible! God herself made you immortal!? I knew you were special! Why else would she do that?"

Gilgamesh raised his hand, causing the Empress to immediately simmer down. "It really doesn't matter why she did it. All that matters is that she did, and I'm here now."

Seeing the Empress' enthused expression, he sighed. "I seem to possess knowledge of things I'm not even aware are regarded as ancient secrets, so now I'm guessing you want me to teach you even more than you did before."

The Empress nodded. "Please, Gilgamesh." She bowed.

Gilgamesh let out a breath and nodded, "Fine. I'll see if I can help."

They got up and walked to the stage that the Empress had created for the tournament, and got up onto it. The Empress floated upward, while Gilgamesh climbed up much like a mortal would.

"You can start by telling me your name."

The Empress nodded firmly, "I am called Keylah, Master Gilgamesh."

That irked him, and Gilgamesh immediately raised his hand in protest, "Just Gilgamesh is fine."

"Well, tell me about your cultivation path."

Keylah nodded, parting her snowy hair as her aura began to come alive.

Gilgamesh saw spiritual images and manifestation begin to appear around her, lingering for split seconds as she released more and more of her power. It did not take long for him to count twelve images, but much to his surprise the number kept increasing.

Twenty...

Thirty...

Fifty...

Eighty...

Ninety...

After the ninety-ninth manifestation, her aura was fully let out, and her power oozed out into the world around her. The Spiritual Oasis, as well as the frozen water they stood on, became to come to life in a variety of ways, glowing otherworldly colors.

A deathly chilling, yet fiery sensation filled the atmosphere, causing Gilgamesh to frown. "That feels unpleasant," he noted.

"Before I even started progressing through the Awakening Realm, I meditated on my inherent nature until it revealed itself to me. I saw, in the depths of my soul, a flame that burns so hot it began to consume its very essence, yet was so cold that it kept itself from being consumed."

"A name came to me, in that moment, that I instantly knew was what my inherent nature was to be called: Dual-light."

"What does it do?" Gilgamesh asked.

"When I call upon its power, I am able to transmogrify aspects of things like true energy and natures. Using it on true energy, I can apply an unending aspect, while also simultaneously igniting that energy and using its power."

With a twinkle in his eye, Gilgamesh pieced it together. "So you can grab hold of a wisp of pure, powerful true energy, and both preserve and utilize it at once? For how long?"

Keylah was a bit surprised to see how fast he figured her power out, but it was not that shocking. "Until my soul grows weary. Right now, it takes about an hour before I'm unable to keep it up."

Gilgamesh nodded, "Impressive. That's a pretty incredible inherent nature. If you used it on true energy natures, you wouldn't have to worry about failing to refine them, you could just attempt it endlessly until you do."

"Exactly," Keylah said, seeming to slowly get more dejected, "which is why I don't understand why I keep failing to do that. Every time I try to do that to a true energy nature, the process ends in failure. I got lucky with the ninety-nine natures I possess- I managed to get them on the first try."

"But, if I could have gotten my inherent nature to work on them, then I would have been successful in securing all 150 of the natures I came across."

Gilgamesh frowned for a second, then he thought about something for a second. As his brain went over some information, he nodded and said, "Alright, show me."

After he said this, he started to look around in the air, as if he was trying to find something amongst the specks of dust.

The Empress scoffed. "Show you? Show you what? It's not like I have a seedling of true energy right here just waiting for me to-"

"There you are," Gilgamesh said out of the blue, then grabbed at what appeared to be nothing floating in the air.

Keylah eyed him strangely as he walked over to her with his hand closed, but when he opened it her mouth fell open wider than was humanly possible.

That was because, there in Gilgamesh's hand, was a seedling of true energy comprised of a sandy gust of air, constantly blowing around in his palm and scattering desert sand on it, creating a tiny desert on his hand. It seemed to accept the fact that it was taken from the world, and settled down on Gilgamesh's palm most amicably.

"Did you just-- A true energy nature-- Was it in the air!?"

Gilgamesh cleared his throat, "Ahem. Focus up."

Keylah somehow managed to suppress her shock and excitement, but her curiosity still got the better of her. "What even is it? How come I've never seen it before?"

Looking at it placidly and without a shred of care, Gilgamesh said, "It's Desert Air, a true energy nature that I realized you don't even possess. Try to use your inherent nature on it."

Keylah blinked.

Did Gilgamesh just casually figure out what nature she didn't have? Could he see through her that well?

How!?

"Focus, woman!" Gilgamesh barked, snapping her out of her state of incredulity and confusion. She looked down at the true energy nature in Gilgamesh's hand and swallowed before bringing her own hands out in front of her.

Her aura came to life yet again, and her hands started glowing the same color as both her eyes and her dress, simultaneously displaying the duality of her inherent nature.

Under that glow, the Desert Air began to heat up while also cooling down, slowly entering a bizarre state of existence that was somewhere between extinction and preservation.

Her inherent nature attempted to hold the Desert Air in place, while also consuming it. It was like it was both killing it and saving its life.

All in all, it was not at all pleasant for the Desert Air.

Gilgamesh observed her process a while longer, then saw that it was doomed to fail. "You're focused too much on what your inherent nature should do to the true energy nature. You need to be trying to understand the true energy nature, and how it should react to your inherent nature."

"You need to do things the other way around. Try it."

Keylah gulped as she tried to heed Gilgamesh advice. The glow on her hands dimmed and intensified at certain points, meanwhile the Desert Air went from excited to stagnated numerous times.

"Alright, stop there," Gilgamesh said with folded arms. The Desert Air, once he let go out it, slowly faded back into the world, becoming one with it again.

Keylah took a deep breath, shut her eyes and reined her power in, then she let it out and opened them. "So?"

Gilgamesh tapped his finger on his arm as he prepared to respond, "You don't seem to have much interest in understanding how the true energy natures you come into contact with work. If you did, you would be able to slowly exercise your inherent nature's power over it."

"If you can understand how Desert Air works, and its properties, you can better understand how to trap it in dual states."

Keylah frowned, "But isn't cultivation about forcibly aligning natures of true energy with my soul? Why do I need to understand both true energy natures and my inherent nature? I just need to refine the natures of true energy and then force them to adapt to my soul."

Gilgamesh suddenly stamped a foot down on the solid ice, and his expression devolved into annoyance. "Wrong. That's a narrow-minded and imperfect way of thinking, which only limits your growth. I don't understand how so many of you think that that method is the 'right path.' It's disgusting how wrong it is."

Gilgamesh took a step forward to the startled Empress, who was full of questions, and raised a single finger.

"If my brain and my finger weren't in perfect unison, I couldn't move it. If my brain tried to force my finger to move, but my finger didn't want to move, it would create a conflict that could very well damage my body."

"It's the same with true energy natures and inherent natures. Not so?"

Keylah was about to open her mouth in rebuttal, but she could not find the words to use. There was nothing wrong with what Gilgamesh was saying.

She pursed her lips and fell into thought.

Gilgamesh scoffed. "Do you finally see?"

"Cultivating like that is flawed. I'm sure this starting ground is the only place such a low-tier cultivation theory exists. Such a method creates nothing but imperfections."

Keylah shook her head, "So what do I do? Do I have to meditate on every true energy nature I possess?"

"Ha!" Gilgamesh mocked, "Even better."

"You get to have fun starting all over from scratch, and doing things properly this time."

Keylah leaned forward as a bead of nervous sweat ran down her face. "What do you mean?"

Gilgamesh gave a small smile.

"I mean, you get to sever your connection with all ninety-nine natures, and do it all over again. This time, meditate on each of them, and don't even try to refine them unless you understand them completely."