Chapter 13 - Omen of One (2)

As their words echoed out, all the incarnations surged into a storm that were absorbed into Sylvain's body. This instant of eruption of power within him was what he needed to kickstart his evolution. It was the perfect opportunity because this power would only be temporary as he will soon be feeding it all to his seed. But before he could proceed, there was one more thing he needed to accomplish. The light from the Scarlet Moon shone down upon him. Its weight being far heavier than it ever had been in the history of its existence. After all, it now carried the Truths of an entire System of Existence. From the Scarlet Moon, the voice of one of his incarnations rang out in the Council Hall to finish the ritual.

{You have chosen the path of endless torment. Do you truly think it necessary?}

Sylvain recalled all the innocent lives that depended on him, those he failed to save. There were countless of them throughout his many lives. And now, they cannot even return to the Eternal Cycle. Their System of Existence was destroyed. They could only slumber within him, awaiting the day he granted them new life. He looked at his family still slumbering in his palace, their existences only being maintained by his own.

"Yes."

{You have chosen the path of thankless sacrifice. Do you truly think them worthy of it?}

Sylvain looked at his people, the House of Grace prostrating toward him. He saw the golden blood that still leaked from their now featherless wings. His heart trembled. These were his children. How could he be indifferent to their suffering? He looked at Xiu Mei and Svetlana who now were no longer stopped by Ciel and were kneeling toward him together with Sylvia. Ciel herself had bowed her head. This was the one instance she knew that even their family must show deference and worship. But Sylvain did not care for such things. All he knew was that they were his family. Sylvia was his mother. Xiu Mei and Svetlana were his childhood friends who became his lovers even before he regained all his memories of his past lives. And Ciel, there was not even any need to mention how precious she was to him. He would give everything for them.

"Yes."

{You have chosen the path of the eternal march. Do you truly think you are ready?}

Sylvain's gaze went past the walls of his mansion, moving further than the boundaries of Earth. The ward he had created in his last life as the Ruined Emperor was already so thin. And now, it was mere seconds away from shattering completely. He saw beyond it, across the starry ocean of this wretched Existence he wanted no part in. He could already sense the beings within being alerted to his presence and his fury was stoked once more. This time, he swore he would not let any one of them hinder him from saving his family and his people. If they were to stand in his way, then he would ensure none survived his wrath.

"Have we not been marching all this time?"

{True. You have passed the Scarlet Tribulation. I am Arlein Grace, the Scarlet Light Bearer. It is now your turn to bear the light just as she had once asked of me.}

The Scarlet Light grew in intensity. Sylvain gazed directly at the Scarlet Moon to receive its baptism, letting its light suffuse into his eyes. His deep cerulean eyes soon became crowned with scarlet as the manifestation of the Scarlet Moon shot into his head. It was now time to begin his evolution. And just as the essence of the Scarlet Moon grasped his mind, melding with it and fusing together, the ward protecting Earth finally shattered.

In that same instant, the beings who had already sensed Sylvain earlier all turned their gazes in his direction. Many more powerful beings also learned of his intrusion and the presence of a new broken world at the outer fringes of Existence. The System of Existence could not do anything against the intruders, just like how Grace and Lapis were not attacked by their now destroyed System of Existence, but that did not mean that it would not lead its people toward them. In its limited capacity to interfere, Existence had sent a command to one of its inhabitants who was closest to Earth. And immediately, a small troop was sent to scout ahead while a main army tailed behind.

Ciel and Sylvain could already sense the attention on them, but they did not panic. They could not afford to be distracted by such things when they were in the process of a delicate procedure that they have never tried before. There were two things that were happening to Sylvain at this moment. A seed was being condensed within him from the influx of power from all his incarnations while his Mind was taking advantage of his state of flux to jumpstart its evolution. Ciel quickly checked Sylvain's status and found the requirements met.

{[Mind: Emerging Madness]}

With this, everything was prepared. The Scarlet Moon's essence was still gathering Sylvain's mind into a single concentrated area, but it would not be fast enough. Ciel realised this and finally released her body, returning her full consciousness into the Aletheian Engine before sending it shooting into her father's forehead. The Aletheian Engine did not sink into his head like the manifestation of the Scarlet Moon, however. Instead, it carved a space for itself on his forehead and became a third eye. This was the same eye that was missing from Halcyon's forehead.

The Aletheian Engine released countless ethereal strings that connected to Sylvain's entire nervous system before sinking into them. It commandeered every function within his body to rid him of the burden of having to control his body even subconsciously. This allowed the Scarlet Moon's essence to more easily piece together Sylvain's mind, and with the Aletheian Engine further pushing the rest of the remaining strands of his consciousness into the condensation, the evolution was finally completed.

Sylvain felt like something had exploded inside his skull at that instant. He was completely blinded. He had no way to sense anything around him. For a moment, he thought he had failed and died. But he had died too many times already to know that this was not death. This was something different. He tried to exert whatever power he still had to sense his surroundings and finally, the essence of the Scarlet Moon that had merged with his mind for his evolution responded to his command. It shed its light outward and that was when Sylvain saw something could not understand.

Everywhere around him were countless things that might be considered spheres or polyhedrons. Really, they could not be strictly categorised into anything. They just are. And there were countless of them of all different sizes, arranged chaotically in this incomprehensible space. It was like something between Existence and Inexistence, but unlike Limbo. Sylvain found them beautiful. The chaos they were in was natural and flowed with such harmony that he could feel true Serenity in their midst. And it was at this point that he realised he had succeeded. The eyes of his body opened to reveal the same deep cerulean crowned with scarlet, but there was something else there now. A hint of detachment between mind and body, but also a more profound closeness with the nature of Existence.

In that instant, all of Existence was assaulted by a sound that no one could comprehend. It was like the hoarse screams of agony, yet like the sonorous plucking of a lire's strings. It was like the incessant scratching of nails against a board, but also the gentle harmony of a humming lover. It was like the screeches of dying insects, but also the first cries of a newborn babe. It was utterly maddening, bringing the feeblest of minds to an unceremonious slumber while the stronger ones fell to the ground, moaning in pain, their orifices bleeding from the grace of this unknown sound. It ended as soon as it began, and yet its echoes lingered in the depths of their wailing minds, branding onto them a word that few among them understood the gravity of. It explained why the sound also seemed more inclined toward hatred, fear and disgust. The word read:

'EXILE'