Chapter 10: Qualifications.

The same crimson ocean and a mirrored gray sky surrounded Aza'zel. However, both the hands below and the faces above were unprecedentedly silent.

That was because a third, balancing force joined the mysterious space, in the shape of a high black throne with an expansive platform of darkness beneath, and a high curtain of darkness connected the ocean and the sky.

Aza'zel sat silently atop the throne, armrests occupied by his hands, while Soulguider and Exsanguinator floated in a perpetual rotation in front of him.

Aza'zel didn't know how much time he'd spent in this mysterious space, but he finally understood that these demons in his mind weren't some malicious spirits but the fallen, heroic spirits of his race's supernatural totemic warriors, and burrowing their ability came with a price.

He needed to nurture them with blood and souls, as while they were linked to his soul and bloodline, the opposite was also true. Furthermore, the origins of Soulguider and Exsanguinator were much deeper than he'd expected in the past.

Aza'zel gave the two, elegant revolvers a silent glance.

He asked faintly, "Aren't you two going to show yourselves?"

Silence.

The space was silent, but Aza'zel had all the time in the world to wait, not like he could perceive the concepts of time and space in this expanse anyhow.

Soulguider and Exsanguinator quivered, a halo of gray descending from the sky into the former while a halo of crimson ascended from the ocean into the latter.

Aza'zel watched with amazement as the guns twisted and took on a humanoid shape, fashioned after beautiful twins, each clad in a palace dress with withering flower embroidery.

It was easy to differentiate their identities based on the colors of their dresses and hair.

Their expressions were cold, and it was the Exsanguinator who spoke first, "What do you want?"

Aza'zel was confused by her attitude, asking, "You're asking me what do I want? You do realize that this is my body, right?"

The Exsanguinator creased her brows. "We were sealed inside this body with a formation, don't act like we've chosen to stay here. Let alone you, not even your ancestors are worthy to control us."

Aza'zel felt a little awkward, because he also realized that he had access to about one point of their power despite having linked to them through his bloodline.

He didn't even know what criteria had to be met if he wished to use the full ten points of their powers in the future.

Seemingly able to see through his thoughts, the Exsanguinator scoffed. "Don't even think about it! The minimum qualification to get my recognition is becoming a Progenitor, at the very least!"

The Soulguider furrowed her eyebrows and said, "But if we don't help him get stronger, are we supposed to be trapped here forever?"

The Exsanguinator paused, waving her hand. "Fine, I guess we can help him a little… This little space is created from our origin power, and while you can only exist here in spirit at the moment, you can probably enter with your real body after the third or fifth transformation."

The Soulguider added, "You can also dilate the ratio of time by expending source energy, but you can't sense a thing right now because we're doing it for you. In the future, you'll have to experiment on your own. Oh right, you need to supply us with source energy too, partly to help you and partly to recover… Mostly to recover."

In a flash of gray and crimson, the beautiful silhouettes retained the appearance of ancient revolvers and returned to Aza'zel's hands, leaving the young boy in silence, all alone, in deep contemplation.

Information limited to the 'Secrets of Nine Transformations' appeared in his mind, presumably a parting gift from the two women, but the mysterious world was already falling apart after it lost its support.

As much as Aza'zel wanted to contemplate the intricacies of the 'Secrets of Nine Transformations', he knew that he didn't have barely sufficient source energy in his source crystal to dilate time in this world at leisure.

As his senses returned to the real world, he could feel his body undergoing some sort of quantitative change.

Dense bloodline energy filtered through his flesh and muscles, washing away the previous sense of hunger while his thin body began leaning towards the lithe standard.

He breathed in deeply, yet he accidentally injured his inner cheeks with his protruding fangs—he totally forgot about these little fellas, and the jolt of pain induced a sudden gasp of alarm from Aza'zel.

"Don't move, your body is still adjusting. For now, just lie down and listen to this lecture, it should help clear some of your confused thoughts." Caidie's voice drifted over, but Aza'zel felt shocked because he didn't rely on his world of echoes to locate Caidie, but he could sense the presence of her soul, albeit barely.

Aza'zel could only think back to the Soulguider, this ability to sense souls within close proximity could only be attributed to her.

Although this perception was limited to the living and no more, it was still very helpful to Aza'zel, as this meant that no one could make their way around the flaw in his world of echoes without his notice anymore.

As Aza'zel couldn't speak coherently yet, Caidie proceeded to explain—or rather read from the ancient parchment, occasionally pausing to explain her personal insights. Aza'zel really wanted to ask if Caidie had achieved her first transformation, and what was her bloodline's totemic seal like, but he couldn't voice out one word, let alone a sentence.

The transformation process took almost two days, and through these two days, Caidie made sure that she'd gone over the contents of the anchor parchment meticulously.

Noticing that Aza'zel's advancement was about over, Caidie packed up the parchment and said, "You head downstairs, follow the street to the right side for three blocks, and then you wait by that corner. Your little friend will pick you up from there."

Caidie smiled, adding, "I know you wish to ask me a few questions, Your Highness, but don't forget that this experience is very valuable to you, and you should cherish it well. I thought about sealing your source crystal, but let it be a small test for you."

With that, she silently approached the window and disappeared beyond. Even if she didn't advance through her first transformation, Caidie's identity as a supernatural totemic warrior still existed, not to mention she enjoyed the ranks of nobility.

Minutes after Caidie's departure, Aza'zel gasped deeply and sat up, his body almost immediately dishing out a heavy dose of sweat. Aza'zel knew that from this moment on, it remained a mystery as to when he'd reunite with Caidie once again.

…

Evening on the same day, Aza'zel arrived at the aforementioned crossroads corner, and casually found himself a wall to lean on and occupy the corner.

With her boundless generosity, Caidie fetched him a new pants, shirt, and quite the resilient raincoat.

Aza'zel didn't know if Saxon was going to show up or not, and so, he decided he might as well wait by the side and see how things played out.

In his world of echoes, people came and went without a particular rhythm to their actions, each minding their own business. That was until a group of three, two men led by a tall woman, slowly approached Aza'zel from a distance.

Aza'zel didn't know what they looked like or who they were, he only noticed that others parted way for the trio, and these silhouettes were definitely headed his way.