The Window

After being dismissed from this evening's practice, Jody washed up and transformed origin for the night.

Over the next several days, he trained his swordsmanship and combat tactics under his mother's tutelage. She also taught him many tricks he already knew about, such as attacking an opponent's blind spot and other useful tricks to see through an opponent's next move. His mother's combat style differed from his father's fast and aggressive style. Isis' style was slow and intimate, like a dance. Her movements were so calculated and graceful, almost defensive in nature.

Yet, you would be in fatal danger once you fell into her pace.

She even made Jody spar with her operatives at his level so that he could gain more fighting experience.

After seeing her son utterly decimate those at his own level, she had him spar with operatives at the peak of the Sophomore rank instead.

In addition, Jody's mother guided him on efficient ways to properly utilize spiritual force. Due to his inherited memories, Jody was already excessively familiar with how to do so. However, both his mother and himself benefited from the exchange of information and watching each other practice. Lady Isis was stunned at her son's ability to manipulate his spiritual sense at such a young age. It was simply out of this world.

After this, she taught him more about alchemy.

Returning to his mother's tent, Jody immediately sat within the ascending heaven formation.

He concentrated upon the heavens, his deeply learned comprehension and realm slowly blooming. As he focused upon the origin power within himself, Jody reached a point where no more force could be absorbed. His matrix trembled in delight. Consciously, he felt that he had reached the freshman wall - that final obstacle standing between him and his rank advancement.

Using all his wisdom, Jody focused on using his newfound comprehension and realm to open the freshman window. He visualized himself sitting in front of a glass-like barrier with what seemed like an insurmountable force radiating off his body. Taking a deep breath in, he expelled pure origin force from behind him while pushing forward with nascent force from the front. Using the power of Heaven and Earth, Jody used his realm and comprehension to condense the origin force and nascent force into the perfect ratio for him.

Finally, the tiniest of cracks appeared in his realm, directly before Jody! His comprehension had unlocked a way for him to advance through this Window. With a single thought, Jody willed a wave of origin force at the crack and pushed it. As he reached the maximum capacity of both energies, he felt a thunderous force open up behind him.

It was the Freshman window!

To his amazement, rather than impact into a solid wall of resistance, Jody felt an opposing force meekly give way as if it were nothing more than mere gossamer threads woven together by a skilled artisan.

The freshman window opened for him at that moment as mystical runes invaded his mind in a frenzy. Esoteric knowledge of serenity flooded his consciousness, pushing his nascent concept forward. After serenity, knowledge of magic, life, and creation eased into his soul for a while before stopping. Jody's mind was reeling from the influx of truth as his eyes glazed over in contemplation. It was as if he had unlocked a vault filled with the universe's deepest secrets. He was both awed and humbled by the sheer magnitude of the knowledge that he had gained. It was a revelation that shook him to his core.

As he meditated on the newly acquired knowledge, he felt his body filled with renewed vigor and vitality. It was as if every cell in his body was vibrating with a newfound energy that he had never felt before. He knew that he had unlocked a new level of force that he could draw upon in battle.

Jody stood up and stretched his limbs, feeling a surge of power coursing through his twilight veins. He stood tall, proud that he had achieved this stage with only his own strength and wisdom. His mother beamed with pride as well. She knew that her son had far exceeded what she could have ever imagined by himself. He truly was a prodigy.

With his newfound knowledge of the truth, Jody stepped through the freshman window into a rank of greater knowledge. A surge of energy rushed out from within and connected itself with Jody's origin pool, allowing him further to refine his understanding of force and the matrix.

Jody had now reached the rank of Sophomore Origin Scholar!

He panted heavily, feeling as though he had run a marathon. However, his eyes shone with an intense brightness. He was ecstatic with his newfound power and knew that he still had much more to learn about this rank. But it was okay, and he was ready to take on any challenge that came his way. He walked over to his mother, who was sitting calmly in her crystal chair, sipping her tea.

"Ma, I did it! I unlocked the Freshman window and gained a whole new level of power!" Jody exclaimed excitedly.

Isis smiled at her son, proud of the progress he had made. She didn't even mind his lack of formality.

"I knew that you would do it, my son. You have always had a natural talent for this. Your hard work and dedication have paid off."

Jody grinned, feeling elated at his mother's praise. He knew that she was always the first to critique him but also the first to praise him when he did well. It was a testament to her love and devotion to him.

He felt more in tune with the universe and the origin forces that flowed through everything. Mana was everywhere, but so was rukh. It was just that rukh hid itself in true darkness. He looked up at his mother, who was watching him with a serene expression on her face. He couldn't help but feel grateful to her for guiding him through this process. Without her, he wouldn't have been able to reach this level.

As Jody sat within magic formation, he felt the power within him growing stronger by the second. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, feeling the mana and rukh flowing through him in a steady rhythm. The duality of the two forces combining in his twilight veins didn't result in mere origin force. But it wasn't quite twilight force either.

Still, the power was fascinating.

For the first time in this life, Jody felt truly alive.

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"Now...Show me." Said Isis coldly, trying to hide the excitement in her heart.

Josiah, Sek, and Isis stood in a triangular formation on the surface of the lake, encased in a layer of frozen pink serenity. The ice shimmered under their feet, reflecting the soft light of the moon above. The breathtakingly beautiful woman and her handsome son had exchanged their usual attire for billowing white robes, giving them a regal and refined appearance. Against their rich chocolate skin and piercing sapphire eyes, the robes seemed to glow. Their long, dark hair was intricately braided and styled in a scholarly manner.

Next to them stood a masked ninja girl, garbed in the sleek black bodysuit of the Frozen Night. The material had an otherworldly quality, resembling a hybrid of leather and steel. It hugged her lithe form tightly, emphasizing her strength and agility.

"Okay, ma, watch this!" replied Jody with bright eyes and heavy enthusiasm.

The atmosphere that erupted from his body was no longer silver, but yellowish instead.

The nemes headdress [Pharaoh's Law] manifested on his head amongst glowing lights, and the pupils of Jody's oceanic eyes went vertical. His physique seemed to grow in size and strength almost imperceptibly. With another thought, an ancient-looking magic tome manifested before him with more motes of light. The grimoire flashed open to the second page, and a magic circle lit up on the ground next to Jody as a violent barrier of light covered his form.

A fierce, blazing pillar of emerald fire erupted from the magic circle, transforming into a massive three-meter tall wolf with sleek, metallic black fur. Serenity runes adorned both sides of its muscular body, while a striking two-meter-long black angel wing sprouted from its right shoulder. Hovering above the wolf was a wispy, pale golden celestial ribbon that seemed almost otherworldly, like a shimmering hologram. Etched into the ribbon were intricate symbols representing destruction and the laws of the sky, scattered in a chaotic yet mesmerizing pattern.

This was Jody's first combat guardian, Sylvester Tricko, the Cosmos Devouring Sky Wolf! Sylvester sat on his hind legs and stared straight ahead as if this entire world were beneath his notice.

The third page of the grimoire glows with an iridescent purple light, a sudden burst of energy erupts from a crimson magic circle. From the pulsating magic circle emerges a striking seven-year-old boy with brown skin and pointed ears that resembled those of a fierce canine. His entire body was covered in thick, fiery red fur, save for his bare chest and private parts. On each arm, he bore massive glyphs of sword, god, and power, marking him as a formidable warrior. And towering over his small frame was a colossal golden sword, its blade radiating intense heat like molten metal, while seven ancient runes glowed on its hilt, imbuing it with untold power.

The sword continuously released scarlet steam like energy. This was Jody's second combat guardian, Xavier Tricko, the Mighty God Sky Jackal.

Jody's glanced back at his grimoire as it flipped back to the first page.

[Name: Josiah Goldwolf]

[Age: 8 years, 5 months.]

[Status: 102% Health]

[Gaea Time: 55:19]

'Sagacity: Origin Scholar - Basic Sophmore rank, 15 BP.'

'Berserk: Wimpy Man Realm - Level 7, 32.5 bp (estimate)'

'Perfect Synchronization completed.'

'Guardian 1: Cosmos Devouring Sky Wolf, Compatibility rating: 49% (Perfect)'

'Guardian 2: Mighty God Sky Jackal, Compatibility rating: 52%.'

As if on cue, a monstrous shadow demon emerged from Sek's shadow, standing at a not-as-imposing height of five feet tall. Its menacing figure resembled a twisted fusion of a grizzly bear and a goblin, with razor-sharp claws and glowing red eyes that seemed to pierce through the darkness. The air around it felt heavy and ominous, but Jody and Sek remained exceptionally calm. Jody had seen Sek's combat soul once before, but it had changed now that they both became sophomores. It was taller, and slightly more ugly.

Next to Sek was also a humanoid shadow. The shadowy presence strongly resembled a little girl or maybe even Sek. This was Sek's shadow avatar, Grimm!

The two youths silently admired the efforts and talents of their peer, while Isis tried to relax her chaotic mind before speaking. She was raising an abnormal freak whose vassal turned out to a less abnormal freak.

"Josiah, you are a transcendent soul," Lady Isis started with a powerful statement, that made Jody's eyes brighten in astonishment. "It is about time I explained to you what that means."

"Yes, honored teacher," Jody and Sek saluted humbly in harmonization.

"My original name..." began Isis as she slowly ascended into air above the pink lake. On her glabella, a crimson oval-shaped gemstone had appeared. "Is Isis Novaharah. A surname that is not even guaranteed to exist yet. I, too, am a transcendent soul."

As she spoke a magical serpent crawls out from her back. This snake had beautiful scales that shifted through seven different colors like a rainbow. It seemed to have whatever length it desired, as it kept changing sizes. This snake would never look the same from one second to next, making it seem illusory and mysterious. There was a mighty silver horn, covered in runes, on the serpent's forehead.

The Seven-Colored Celestial Serpent combat soul manifested around her shoulders and coiled down her curvaceous body, it's head coming to rest next to Isis' face.

"This, is the combat soul that gives me the most grief," Isis looked at the serpent dotingly. "She is a sister to me, as your partners should be as your siblings. This is Niagara Shu, the lady of the mist."

The serpent's eyes flashed, and the scene before Sek changed. Before her was the white-robed, otherworldly goddess of serenity she had grown to admire so much. But instead of a serpent being around her body, she was being hugged by a chocolate woman who looked 90% similar to Mistress Frozen Night. The greatest differences were their demeanor and eye colors.

Sek stared in awe with her jaw open. Jody quietly closed her hanging jaw.

Isis cast her beautiful gaze on the two youths present as well as their summons.

"All of you gathered before me are attached permanently to my son. Which means you are all my children. Just like Niagara here is just as much your mother as I," Isis said very seriously, causing Jody to frown. "Today, I'll teach you more about combat souls and how they relate to our paths."

Jody looked up into the brown eyes of the seven-colored scaly beast and was shocked to find the beast staring back. If Jody accepted himself as insane, he would even swear the serpent's eyes contained a gentle smile.

'Trippy...'

"Does the host have an inquiry?" replied the artifact spirit of [Pharaoh's Law].

Hearing the mechanical voice in his head, Jody's heart felt stifled for some reason.