Stillness

Four hours later, at House Trillwolf…

A handsome young boy in elegant green robes sat in the middle of a spacious courtyard. His eyes were hazel, and his face was about 80% similar to his mother's, but his little head was now bald. A light swirl of milky white mana was gathering into the boy's body. This boy was none other than Jumoke Trillwolf! Jumoke released a breath of foul air and opened his eyes.

"Almost there, one more step, and I'll reach the Prefect Freshman rank! At the Young Wolf Celebration Dinner, there will only be one name that stands out. That name is Jumoke Trillwolf!" the seven-year-old Jumoke was confident and excited.

His mother had told him that his older brother Josiah had incredible talent and potential but required a particular training method. He couldn't even train yet! Thus, he knew that he would be the strongest young wolf at the dinner party with his current sage formula. The youth competition would be his to win! The Young Wolf Celebration Dinner was an event held every year in House Trillwolf to showcase their amazing young Sages.

The competition winner would be prioritized in formula resource allocation and a scholar-level spirit fruit! There was also the chance of one of the elder nobles taking you in as a disciple! Of course, as the son of the House Lord, Jumoke didn't need to worry about resources or taking in a teacher. He would be taught by the best that the house had to offer! What he was really after was fame! His father would have no choice but to favor him and pay more attention to his mother.

Next, all Jumoke needed was to practice that battle skill he got from that strange guy. The little freshman didn't know who this man was when he first visited the courtyard, but he felt some type of familiar feeling from this person.

Almost like how he felt with his mom.

'Could he be mom's relative?'

After that, the man would often come by at night to give him advice. He always wore dark robes, but his head would be exposed. He was a handsome man with dark brown features that looked to be in his mid-fifties. Jumoke felt that this was likely some elder in the House, but the man didn't want Jumoke to tell anyone about him.

Jumoke had already benefitted a lot from his teachings, so he agreed.

So when the man gave him a ring and told him to drop some of his blood on it, he was a bit afraid, but only a bit. Jumoke's curiosity had long gotten the best of him, "This Demonic Fang Curse fits my Demonic Flame Wolf combat soul perfectly! Unfortunately, I can't train it until I surpass Origin Scholar. However, this Evil Flame Transformation Art must be started from the Scholar realm! This is also suitable. Excellent stuff."

The sun was fading behind the distant mountains; night had already blanketed the world in mystery. Enora wore a sleek black dress as she approached the courtyard where her son was immersed in formulation. As she walked into the yard slowly, she paused and stared at her meditating son. Her eyes were lifeless and dull. Her face looked like she had lost the will to live. She only felt the slightest hint of emotion when she looked at her son.

Everything else was numb.

"You poor child, I must do this, or you will be killed...he never says it. But I know."

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— Eastern Badlands, Desolate Wilds, Frozen Night Camp

Back at the camp, Jody had already meditated at the lake for six days. He was in a trance as he sat in the lotus position in the middle of the ever-revolving Neo and Dawn magic fish. [Pharaoh's Law] was fashionably wrapped around his head, and the [Cosmos Revolving Grimoire] emitted a soft purple glow as it floated before him. It was opened to the first page.

[Name: Josiah Goldwolf]

[Age: 8 years, 4 months.]

[Status: 98% Health]

[Gaea Time: 71:59]

'Sagacity: Origin Scholar - Prefect Freshman rank, 9 BP.'

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

'Perfect Synchronization with the host in progress: 99.98%.'

'Guardian 1: Cosmos Devouring Sky Wolf, Compatibility rating: 41% (Perfect)'

'Guardian 2: Mighty God Sky Jackal, Compatibility rating: 42%.'

Jody closed his eyes. Inside the Host Space, Jody used his Mind's Lamp ability to peer into the mysterious ripple in the void caused by the neo and dawn fish. He first noticed this ripple on his second day at the lake, shocking his mother, who spied on him.

Jody had never previously entered the Host Space with an artifact active. When he did so on the second day here, he was shocked to find that his Host Space had tripled in size due to the effect of [Pharaoh's Law]. The Host side of the space now looked like a sizeable and luxurious condo overlooking a vast wilderness. There was a pool and jacuzzi out on the balcony. On top of the building was a helipad, and on top of the helipad was the hosting throne.

The throne was still made of dragon bones, but the design was no longer so archaic. It was more modern. The balcony overlooked a lush, beautiful grassland full of perilous thunderclouds and housed a giant dragon egg hidden within a nimbus thundercloud. This forested grassland area spread over 2,000 acres before the world ended and became an expanse of stars. The fragmented puzzle piece of an endless cosmos now looked like a vast field of stars, with some kind of natural barrier at the far end of the galaxy.

Even better, activating Mind's Lamp was more magical, as it made Jody feel like his spiritual awareness was akin to three different drones flying around, and his consciousness was the screen. He could switch between views or see it all at once.

"This must be the effect of my spiritual force being pushed to the third level, the spiritual awareness rank. Although my strength hasn't improved yet, this space is still benefiting from the temporary strengthening of my soul," Jody thought at that time.

While exploring the new limits of his awareness, Jody became aware of the energy ripple.

"Hey X, do you know what this is?" asked Jody to the little red-furred wolf boy floating on a nimbus cloud beside him.

"Yes," replied Xavier curtly.

"Well then, can you tell me?" asked Jody, slightly impatient now.

"Well…no. It is better for you to figure it out on your own," replied Xavier.

Jody nodded.

Even if Xavier didn't tell him what it was, he still knew what it was and hadn't taken action. This quelled Jody's worries that it would be life-threatening. Thus, Jody let his curiosity get the best of him. He sent his awareness into the ripple and was dumbstruck by what he found. As soon as Jody's awareness first came in contact with the ripple, his consciousness was swallowed, and he was shown an utterly shocking vision that he would remember profoundly for the rest of his life.

Two omnipotent beings stood in a dense, ever-shifting nebula of the most primal and ancient forces imaginable. Bolts of celestial lightning danced and clashed around them, their colors ranging from ominous black to fiery red to gleaming scarlet gold. The deafening booms and thunder crashes reverberated through the endless expanse, creating a symphony of power that could only be described as divine. Amidst this chaotic display, the two beings stood tall and unwavering, their mere presence commanding awe and fear in all who beheld them.

The varied strikes and thunderous booms, in combination with the sounds of the chaotic primal forces, was like the most ancient and beautiful musical symphony.

The supreme beings were so enormous that every other creature in the cosmos and even the cosmos itself seemed like tiny existences in comparison. Even the most massive stars were only fractions of the size of these two creatures. Their bodies glowed with perfect light, that seemed to illuminate the entirety of existence.

The deities held their palms together and begin to chant an incantation. The words of this incantation turned directly into billions of runes that instantly formed hieroglyphs that could old be described as divine dragons. These hieroglyphs literally came to life with world-shattering roars and flew into the never-ending primal nebula of chaotic and thunderous energies. Just like that, these draconic beings became the first creatures to inhabit this scene of godly chaos.

Those incantations made Jody's soul shake painfully. This almost caused the entire vision to turn blurry, destabilize, and tear apart. He used his overwhelming willpower, which had been tempered over two lifetimes, to maintain his focus. Once the vision regained its clarity, he was shocked to discover he could understand the ancient language hidden within the incantation! Within the incantation, words that formed had no sound and only power.

Jody was suddenly able to perceive a fluctuation that his soul could interpret as words that he understood.

…TO BE IS NOT TO BE…

…WITHOUT DEATH, LIFE IS MEANINGLESS…

…WITHOUT MEANING, NOTHING MATTERS…

…WITHOUT MATTER NONE CAN BE…

…TO BE IS NOT TO BE…

…THE SKY WILL FALL, AND THE HEAVENS WILL HIDE…

…TO CREATE IS TO FACILITATE DESTRUCTION…

…TO DESTROY IS ONLY TO START AGAIN…

…TO BE IS NOT TO BE…

As these words echoed through Jody's soul, millions of runes manifested myriad powers and energies and heavily collided with the heavenly chaos, causing a doomsday explosion. The explosion's light blinded everything for an excessively long time. It was so bright that everything had become white. Jody saw nothing but absolute still whiteness for an amount of time he could no longer gauge. It was as if time had yet to exist at all. This was like being in a totally blank space, nothing moved. There was no sound or anything else.

It was complete and absolute stillness.