High State

When Jody woke up, he was in his mother's courtyard, his head resting in her lap as she played the harp. The woman looked like a celestial maiden entertaining the heavenly court.

'Maybe I should become a painter...' Jody felt his mother would greatly inspire him to create an astonishing art portfolio.

Listening to this music, he felt some strange strength entering his body. He activated his mind's eye to investigate. He was shocked to see that the music contained a soft origin force that gently sunk into his veins and blood, slowly tempering his body and nurturing the tiny mana crystal in his abdomen. Once he awakened as a Sage, this crystal would become a mana pool. His mother's music was improving his foundation.

The peaceful melody served to do the same for his soul. Although awakened, he lay calmly in his mother's lap. His gaze was the epitome of ease. It took a total of two hours before Jody even recalled what happened before this moment. Jody abruptly sat up the moment he did, alarming his mother and cutting the tune short.

"It's okay, little Joe. You are at home. No one can hurt you in my presence," Jody's mother comforted him in a soft and sweet voice.

Jody relaxed his tense body and looked around. He was indeed back home. However, when had he even lost consciousness?

"Come, my son. Now that you are awake, it is time to resume your studies," Lady Isis stood up and grabbed Jody's hand.

She didn't try to carry him, as she had already learned of this little twerp's temperament. He was unwilling to be coddled like that, which was opposite to most children who desired it too much. She still felt unsatisfied but didn't want to fight with him about this.

"We do not have much time, and you will no longer be accompanying your father for now."

"But, Ma," Jody frowned and had many questions to ask.

"Not buts! Be silent! Today, you listen." Lady Isis' tone brokered no room for debate.

Jody could only silently follow his mother while feeling helpless.

For the rest of the day, Jody accompanied his mother, and she refused to mention the previous incident, no matter how much Jody asked. Even when he was on the verge of award-winning fake tears, she told him, "Charlotte is perfectly fine. I'm sure you will see her soon. As for House Shu, it no longer exists. A pity… a true pity. In two weeks, your father and I will be getting honored by the pharaoh for exposing House Shu's corruption. There will be a ceremony for you on that day as well."

Jody couldn't help but recall the ceremony that honored Milly as a princess. Was he to become a princess? How insulting.

"You do not need to worry over these things," Isis didn't know the boy's thoughts, but she could see his cute little scrunched-up face. "You must focus on studying all you can before the fates summon you."

Two days passed just like that.

Today, Jody was again with his mother, third mother, and older sister.

Isis introduced a fourth and fifth language to his studies two days ago. She was very shocked when Jody could read and write fluently on his third day of lessons. Then again, his mother became increasingly numb to her son's abnormal talent and comprehension skills.

When not studying, Jody spent much of his time playing with his older sister, Kamila, usually in her room at her mother's palace. During this time, he hadn't seen his father or the Honored Wolf Pack at all. At this moment, however, Jody was sitting in a daze against the east wall of Kamila's room while the latter told him stories about her dreams as usual.

"…But the big vicious three-headed dog didn't scare Milly in this dream on account of Milly being super strong, but not as strong as my little brother. Little brother, you were the strongest!" Kamila chimed along in her little bell-like voice.

Jody couldn't help but notice that she had grown closer in speaking style to his mother, as she had been officially received as Isis' direct student. A lot of people made a big deal about that event. It was the talk of the House. They kept receiving thousands of gifts. Of course, Jody wasn't sure what this even meant. He didn't see a difference between now and before, other than Kamila's inability to scare off his mother as she did her other teachers.

But most of the time, Kamila was beside him while his mother guided other students. It was as if his mother couldn't be bothered teaching the basics, so she left it to him. At least, that's how Jody complained to himself.

"Your dreams are… truly odd," Jody commented absentmindedly.

Subconsciously, Jody knew there was something about Milly's dreams that made him feel highly suspicious. Though he couldn't quite put his finger on it, the more he learned about the uniqueness of this world, the more suspicious he grew. Such things were likely not just coincidence. Kamila sometimes dreamed about things that it seemed shouldn't even belong in this world, in Jody's experience.

Of course, this could be wrong.

This one particularly dreadful nightmare had also reoccurred a few times, though Jody and their mothers were the only ones who knew about it. This was because it involved the death of his father. To speak of such a thing was blasphemy; anyone who did so would be severely punished if they dared.

Alas, this was not where Jody's attention was currently centered.

He couldn't focus his attention on his sister's dreams right now. His heart was racing. Due to his host awakening, the range of Jody Trill's Spiritual Sense had shockingly increased to twenty yards in a single direction! It was only about four or five feet before this. Had Jody told anyone about this, he would have understood just how rare it was! Unfortunately, he hadn't dared.

This was because he didn't know what a child should and should not possess in this world. He had learned from the previous incident that he shouldn't show off too much. There were already people wanting to kill him! Jody knew that it now felt like all five of his senses were combined when he activated his mind's eye. He could only focus on one at a time, but once he stopped focusing, he would re-enter that unique state.

His Titanic master's legacy referred to this as the High State.

This was the real way to utilize Spiritual Sense, a method of the Legendary Domain. With Jody's Spiritual Sense spread out, he knew everything going on within ten meters of himself. Once he reached the next level of Spiritual Force, he could freely manipulate his mind's eye. This was indirectly the reason for the acceleration of his heart. As he was experiencing the limits of this new skill, he accidentally 'saw' something thrilling.

As it turned out, the bath was in the room directly opposite the wall he was currently sitting against. On the other side of the wall, a mere twenty feet away, completely naked and present for reasons Jody could only guess in his heart, was his father's second wife, Lylian Barong. He had used his immature spiritual sense to spy on her before, but this time was different. He could smell her exotic and knee-buckling fragrance, hear the tiny drops of water falling from her skin, and see every inch of her mind-numbing and soul-stirring features.

Her mature and beautiful body was on full display as she washed with help from her maid's water magic. Her creamy skin appeared to be glittering and had a translucent luster to it. It was satiny and smooth, like a young girl. Her towering chest was perky, with no sag whatsoever, and there was a pair of bright pink pearls dead center of each tower. Even a monk would lose his bearing when staring at the work of art reflected in Jody's mind.

He couldn't stop looking. He had thrown caution to the wind. Even dying would be worth the sight.

Such a delicate and slim waist shouldn't be capable of appearing on a married woman who bore a child. Below that was a heart-shaped grassland that made Jody's head spin. He knew it was wrong. This woman was his second mother, the mother of his father's oldest child, his unknown elder brother, Horus Trillwolf, 'But damn, how could any man under the heavens not fall under the spell of such a magnificent creature. Damn these powers...I should've never seen this...'

"I'm ruined," Jody solemnly dropped his face into his hands, feeling like he was destined to war with his father at this rate.

WHY HAD HE SEEN SUCH A CREATURE!

A pity. Jody really liked that guy. Maybe he could make them divorce without hurting him...after all, he was still a child. He could play the long game, slowly wedge them apart, then boom! Handsome twenty-year-old Josiah comes to the rescue.

'Damn, how could any man under the heavens not fall under the spell of such a magnificent creature...'

"What did you say, little Jojo? Magnificent creatures? Where?" asked Kamila curiously. Before wagging her finger at him menacingly like he did something bad. "Mother says no curses!"

"Ah, nothing, sorry, sorry," replied Jody mechanically, not even realizing he had thought and not spoke those words, and thus the uncanniness of his sister's response.

"Okay, well Milly was just saying that last night, I dreamed about…"

Although it was true that his own mother was consistently in the nude, her bearing was more noble and graceful. Plus, it was his mother, and it was impossible for him to feel anything other than slightly queasy and epically appreciative when he saw her body. All other thoughts would result in self-harm, which he didn't enjoy explaining to the problem.

Lylian's body, however, was utterly a muse for Jody's lewd thoughts. She completely prevented his mind from staying juvenile. He felt more like a man in the presence of this woman than when he really was one. It had to be said that in his previous life, Jody was not a Saint by any definition, but he was all man.

With great effort, he withdrew his Spiritual Sense after a few more minutes of peeping. On the other side of the wall, Lylian casually glanced at the wall after that weak Spiritual Sense was withdrawn. A strange glint was deep in her eyes before she turned her attention away. 'Surely it's not Milly…so then is it Jody? It seems to have improved a lot since then...'

After calming himself down, Jody took his sister Kamila and walked over to his favorite stream, which was separating Lylian's courtyard from his mother's own. Jody just wanted to clear his head, as the last few minutes had been very stressful.

"What are the third little brother and this second little miss going to play now, little third brother?" asked Kamila, her little head cocked to the side like a puppy.

"We're going to sing and throw rocks by the water. Then, we can lay in the grass. My ma says that I have to try and make my main soul all calm and tranquil, like a lake, so I will be able to sense the platform of destiny," Jody was collecting rocks as he responded.

He was as far from calm as he could be, so he felt he needed to act his age.

"Yay, okay!" Kamila clapped her little hands with a radiant smile on her face before giggling, "Milly likes to sing and play with third brother the most!"

Kamila seemed to think of something, looking hesitant suddenly.

She spoke softly, "Little Jo Jo, Milly wants to ask…"

"You want to know what the Destiny Platform is?" Jody looked at his big sister, who had the memory of a fish sometimes and asked, only to see her nodding vehemently with sparkling eyes.

Jody laughed involuntarily, "This is a little… complex, so listen closely, okay?"

Jody took his time and played with his older sister as he tried to simplify the information for her to understand. After all, Kamila was a rather smart child, and he didn't know how many days like this they had left.

The Destiny Platform existed within the void as a small part of the nine-layered heavens. After those possessing Sage bodies have their host soul awakened, they will soon temporarily align with the law system of the Truth of Fate! This temporary synchronization forms a spiritual bridge between the laws of fate and the souls of man.

At this moment, the one aligned will be able to sense the existence of the Destiny Platform and have their consciousness transported into the eighth layer of the sky to 'visit' the platform. The Fate Essence in the platform of destiny will then condense into Artifacts of Fate, spiritual tools shaped by the potential of the main soul based on the world and race they were born to.

The amount of artifacts one sees depends on the level of their destiny. The most ever recorded is ten, but these things are hard to document. Everyone's experience is their own. Still, the books all asserted that ten was already impossible. To become a Sage, one must use an artifact of fate to awaken their combat soul, so the authors often requested readers stay pragmatic in their expectations.

"But Jojo, what IS a combat soul? What do they DO?" asked Kamila while pouting like she just couldn't understand.

"Well… think of a combat soul as like a superpower that's unique to you. It's destiny, and you can either fuse them with your soul or summon them from your soul as a partner," Jody explained patiently.

Unlike Jody, Milly had already turned five. Jody felt that her dreams were probably related to her 'awakening,' as this was when it should start to manifest. Taking things a step back, this would mean his sister started awakening more than a year ago.

In his opinion, this was also why his mother accepted her as a direct student. It was best Jody tried to educate her a bit, as she was rather easily distracted, and his mother could be what some would call...strict.

To Jody, it was scary.

Jody explained that a combat soul can be awakened in two ways: "fusing" or merging the artifact into the main soul so its essence is transferred and transformed. The sealed consciousness becomes a Source Spirit with functions such as acting as a weapon spirit or increasing battle power.

"That's confusing," Kamila roared.

"The second option is to choose an artifact to serve as a medium between the combat soul and the host soul," Jody completely ignored his sister's whimpering.

Jody explained that there were two ways to acquire a combat soul: absorbing its essence, which could alter the body and blood composition, or through synchronization, in which the combat soul's flame becomes dependent on the host soul. The former had greater force genesis but less control, whereas the latter had more control but less firepower. Both offered lifeblood powers from the soul's combat abilities.

The difference between the artifacts of fate could only be felt through the soul by communicating with the objects themselves. Though the artifacts had no consciousness, hearing the mysterious voice of the fate laws was still possible. If the artifact you wanted didn't communicate with you, you would be taking a risk by pairing with it. The artifacts of fate's default function are to absorb the same force energies as the soul's primary force genesis.

When a combat soul awakens, they gift their accumulated law affinity and any remnant power to the main soul in a tiny crystal of energy known as a Force Genesis, which rests within the newly formed mana pool. This is typically a Sage's first encounter with passive and active force, also known as qi and ki, respectfully. Force is a byproduct of mana. The soul's understanding of force produces force Genesis, and the gifted Force Geneses can link combat souls and the mana pool.

Little brother Jo Jo sure knows a lot of things," Kamila felt like her eyes were still spinning due to the overuse of her brainpower. She stumped her little foot and harrumphed, "This second little miss can never listen to the tutors for so long! They make Milly so mad with all those big words. Milly likes how first mother and little brother explain things better."

"It's fine because I can read every language on the life star now. From now on, we'll teach ourselves," said Jody casually, complacently smiling, to which Kamila marveled.

"What kind of toys of fate will Jo Jo and Milly get?" asked Kamila.

Jody found it adorable that his sister utterly gave up on pronouncing the term artifact but still had a basic understanding of what he had told her. She wasn't dumb, and that was good. Jody wouldn't waste his time if it proved to be too challenging to teach her…

However, Jody still shook his head in response. "I don't know. There are records of the various types or their functions, but there's no way to tell what type you get until you establish a link. The artifact reflects your soul, and no two are identical."

Then again, Wolf Boy seemed pretty confident in his instructions.

'A holy sage's grimoire, huh...could my mother's rush to cram my head in the books be indirectly related to this?'

"Milly wants to read too! Jo Jo, teach Milly to read, please, please, please," begged Kamila as she stared at Jody with watery eyes and tugged on his robes.

"All right, already, I will teach, I will teach," said Jody with a face of exasperation. "However, you must listen carefully to this young master, or I will throw rocks alone! Get it?

"Ah! Really!? Yes, yes, definitely, do not worry, this second little miss will listen for sure!" Kamila screamed while hugging Jody and jumping up and down.

Suddenly, she noticed that the Jody in front of her face was now the same height as her and more cumbersome to lift as well.

"Wah, you grew so fast, little third. Is little brother really a little sister?" asked Kamila, with an absolutely adorable smile that definitely didn't look like she had just assaulted a decorated soldier's manhood.

Jody winced a little, his expression no longer childlike. He coughed twice and recovered before speaking, "What did you call me just now, Milly? I seem to have not heard you well."

"Baby sister! My mommy said girls grow big faster than boys, baby sister. It was so obvious to Milly," giggled Kamila as she threw her arms around Jody's neck. Jody, who grimaced, was ignored by Milly, "See? Now Milly has taught you, too, the little third sister. So now, you can teach Milly!"

"Not teaching." Jody then pushed his sister off of himself and ran away.

Unfortunately, Kamila stuck to him like glue. Eventually, Jody had no choice but to teach her how to read and write as a means to settle her down. He had noticed lately that although his big sister could be a bit ditzy, she was ultimately very diligent and even very studious. What she needed was a challenge.

Luckily, her little brother's presence alone made the little girl feel like she had to run forward or be left behind.