Enigma

Bidding Ling goodnight and escorting her out of his room, Amon returned to the mirror and sat in front of it on Ling's chair.

'Where do I even begin? One problem at a time. Then the first one is how did I pull out my robes that used to be in my storage rings out of thin air. I don't have my storage rings on my person anymore, and I do not have any Source in my body that I could detect.'

Standing up, Amon tried to imitate his subconscious actions when he first met Ling outside Lilium city. Swiping his right hand over his left, he focused on a complete set of clothing; Amon was sure he stored in one of his storage rings before he lost them all.

A complete set of clothing, shoes, and underwear appeared in Amon's right hand. Looking at it, Amon had both an insight into how he just did it and a bad feeling about the energy he used to pull it off.

Placing his clothing aside, Amon sat down. 'I'm pretty sure my physical actions had nothing to do with what I just did. As for the energy I used, it could only be what the heart had collected over the eons, soul energy.'

Closing his eyes in focus, Amon tried to locate the purified soul energy and the content of his absent storage rings. His internal search led him to the cause of everything, his heart. Feeling a change in his surroundings, Amon opened his eyes to be met by void.

Floating, Amon could not see, hear, or feel anything. His instincts kicked in, and he already understood where he was. 'Huh, how convenient, endless space for my personal use. Wait, how did I know that?'

Placing a hand over his heart, Amon had his first solid confirmation that he was not a human. 'Instincts. If I were a human, an Intelligent Race member, then I would need to figure everything out on my own, intelligently. However, I learned about this void intuitively, which makes me a Wise Race member, guided by imprinted instincts in me like a Phoenix.'

Pulling at his hair, Amon grimaced. 'That can't be right. My instincts did not guide me when I tried to read and understand the Runes on my body. Am I both an Intelligent Race member and a Wise Race member?'

Sighing Amon gave up on trying to understand his new self and body. It was meaningless to try to give himself a label that confirms what he is used to and to what he understands. Nothing about the Heart of Entropy's previous state as a Prime Ethereal Treasure was normal; why should Amon's new self be 'normal.'

Stretching his arm above his head within the void, Amon summoned the soul energy, the Heart of Entropy purified out of many victims. The void curved and stretched, allowing a small sphere of soul energy to appear in front of Amon.

Disappointed, Amon gripped the compressed soul energy ball that was no bigger than his hand. "What happened to the rest of you? Why only so little remains?"

An idea ran through Amon's head. He immediately tried to summon all the Source crystals and gems he used to have in his storage rings. Nothing appeared, and it was all Amon needed to affirm his speculation about what happened to the overwhelming majority of the soul energy.

"Becoming One with the Heart of Entropy must have carried an enormous price. A massive amount of energy was needed to build a proper soul, spirit, and body for Entropy. The Heart of Entropy used everything at its disposal, probably much more than I could possibly imagine since I doubt, I was the only person who carried Source gems and crystals when they encountered the heart."

Amon let go of the soul energy orb and willed himself out of the void within his heart, back to his room.

"I should not be troubled or dissatisfied about anything. I'm alive after escaping certain death that claimed the lives of many Primordial monarchs. Creatures far more powerful than I ever was, I prevailed, where they failed."

Amon took a deep breath, a breath of assurance, enjoying the feeling of being alive through the air entering his lungs. Exhaling the air out, Amon smiled.

"Now, next problem. Where am I, and why did my throbbing muscle choose this planet of all terrestrial planets out there. There must be a reason and not just a random probability. Hmm, the only way to find out is to explore it. I should at least identify my current solar system rank through Ether abundance and quality."

Amon walked to his bed, removed his towel, and sat on the bed in the lotus position. Slowing down his breathing, he reached out with his senses like he has done many times as a Phoenix, trying to feel the Ether around him. Slowly, fear and apprehension were apparent on Amon's face. He could not feel anything.

Disturbed, Amon opened his eyes. A surprise awaited him. He saw something he could not comprehend or identify. Small, glowing purplish wisps and auroras floated sparsely in his room. He reached to the closest one to him with his hand, but it went right through his fingers.

Shuddering in his place, Amon touched the area around his eyes, excitement filling his heart. "Is that the Ether? Oh, mother..."

Freaked out, Amon jumped out of his bed, chasing the sparse floating purplish wisps and auroras which he could not touch or interact with while his manhood dangled around like an insane person.

His happiness could not be measured, to the best of his knowledge; he was the first being able to lay eyes on one of the most significant unknowns in their universe, the Ether.

"Oh, my heart! I love you so much. We are definitely even now, no hard feelings. Ah, I can see what no one saw before me! Wait, can I see Source too? I must be able too! Damn, wish I had something that had Source in it."

After a while of dancing around like an obsessed idiot, Amon calmed down, still unable to stop smiling while sitting on his bed. "Enough playing around, I will have plenty of years to study the Ether with my eyes when I'm free to do so.

I should concentrate on what is essential, the Profound Ether Way. I need to start as soon as possible and become a Sorcerer, or instead what they call them here, a cultivator. I wonder if this household can lend me some Chipped gems or crystals to get me started."

Amon frowned and extended his arm in front of him, summoning the soul energy from his heart. "Or I can use a little bit of you to get me started? Will that even work?"

Shrugging carelessly, Amon closed his eyes and started thinking about which Sorcerer's method to use to establish his Profound Ethereal Veins. 'Father always wanted me to use his Order's methods, meh, why not make the old rooster happy, it is not inferior to my clan's methods anyway.'

As if it was reading its owner's thoughts, the Heart of Entropy pulsed out loudly, rejecting the world and its methods. Amon's eyes sharpened, and unconquerable sneer marred his face as his instincts kicked in.

Pressing the soul energy orb between his palms, Amon absorbed the whole thing in one go, straight to his heart. The Runes and Arrays on his body lit up like the stars in a clear night sky. An event horizon emerged and surrounded Amon, cutting him off from the rest of the cosmos.

Pain assaulted Amon's skin, muscles, bones, and heart. The Runes and Arrays on his body were forcefully penetrating his skin, reaching for his bones. It felt worse than being burned alive. The gravest of it all came from his heart. He felt the nerves around and inside his heart were being torn apart to make space for new emerging veins.

Soundlessly screaming within the event horizon as the sound had no medium to travel through. Amon clawed at his heart and his skin, wishing he could tear it all off. There was not a single spot that did not hurt. Even his testicles felt like they were introduced to an erupting volcano.

The Profound Ethereal Veins emerging from Amon's heart slowly spread across his body, the moment they reached for his brain, he immediately passed out, put under a life maintaining coma by his body.

***

"Big brother, wake up! It is midday already!" Yelled Ling while shaking Amon awake.

"Urgh, alright, alright!" Amon pulled himself up, feeling fatigued and aching all over.

"What happened to your tattoos? I mean the Runes and Arrays on your body, they are all gone, you big pervert?" Said Ling while turning her head away from looking at Amon in his birthday suit.

"Eh?" He inspected himself, the moment his eyes focused on the bare back of his hands, the Runes and Arrays immediately emerged. Experimenting, he willed them to disappear, and they did. 'Huh, guess I can control whether they show or not now. Last night is something I don't want ever to remember or experience again. Fucking heart, why not just kill me and get done with it.'

"Put on some clothes!" Ling kicked Amon on his bare butt. Her face could not possibly get any redder from embarrassment.

"Oh. I guess I fell asleep naked. Say, little Ling. You have seen everything already; I feel violated and no longer marriageable. I'm going to ask your dad to marry us off to maintain my honor." Said Amon while feigning hurt.

The little girl could not handle Amon and ran away, covering her face while yelling, "No!"

Chuckling, Amon walked towards a water basin in his room and washed his face. He dressed in an elegant gray comfortable shirt, dark blue pants, and black shoes.

Leaving his room, he noticed Ling peaking from a corner. "Dad wants to see you at the mansion back garden."

"Lead the way, little princess."

Amon followed Ling around. He rather enjoyed the simple artistic design of the mansion. It made one feel as the estate was part of ancient human history when it was reasonably new.

The two walked out of the mansion back door. A flower garden wafted Amon's nostrils with its pleasant scent and colorful scenery. Looking ahead, Amon saw Gui sitting on a chair looking at the far right of the garden, towards the single tree in the whole garden.

Amon followed Gui's eyesight and lost his breath in the process. A stunning scene was forever imprinted in his memory and heart. Not even the best painter could capture the striking animated picture Amon was lost in its perfection.

A superb shining golden hair dazzled Amon as it dances under the single flower garden tree. Subconsciously Amon stepped forward, while he had impeccable eyesight, he wanted to get closer to this graceful scenery, to the beautiful dancing girl.

Watching the young lady continue dancing gracefully unaware of the world around her, Amon wondered whose light was more blinding, hers, or the sun. She had a blemish-free, porcelain white skin. Proportioned face, slim cheeks, straight small nose, long eyelashes, but more than anything else, what indeed killed Amon where he stood were her naturally glossy, luscious pink lips.

He has never desired to kiss a woman as much as he wanted now, never has his heart stirred for a girl before her. He foolishly thought beauty starts and ends with the females in his clan. He could not be happier to be proven wrong.

Taking a deep breath to take control over himself, Amon focused on the Source energy looping around the girl as she dances, then entering her body through her opened pores, her Profound Ethereal Entrances. He was glad to confirm that he can see Source too and not just the Ether. It had a different shifted color; Source is cyan blue while the Ether is purplish.

The girl gradually slowed down and broke away from her dance when she felt she had cleared all the Source from the Chipped crystals in her bracelets. Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, she noticed the handsome youth looking at her.

Their eyes met; striking gray-bluish eyes met cold, emotionless blue eyes. Amon's right eyebrow rose, the girl's entire face was akin to a block of ice, utterly void of any human expressions, unnaturally neutral. To Amon, it appeared the girl was not putting a cold front or pretending; instead, she was emotionally stunted, he thought. 'Which cruel monster has hurt such a perfect creature and took her smile away.'

The girl tilted her head while she gazed at Amon's eyes, looking more in-depth at him, beyond his outer shell, her essence guiding her past the shallow waters. Softly she spoke, "Enigma."