CHAPTER 215: TRANSCENDENCE (1)

Adrian and the rest rushed over to the window, their eyes drawn to the scene of escalating power within the training chamber.

The previous, perfect harmony was now gone gone, and the brilliant arcs of lightning had vanished completely from the room.

Now, all that were left were the four basic elements: the miniature star of fire, the orbiting sphere of water, the swirling vortex of wind, and the dancing chunks of earth.

They were all still circling around Nyra, but not in a slow, serene dance like before. This time, they were moving aggressively, whipping around her with a violent, chaotic speed.

Adrian looked at Von, who watched with a shocked and deeply concerned expression. "This isn’t meant to happen," the Master muttered. "I saw the lightning element stabilize and integrate with her. It was meant to be the same with these ones, one by one. This... this is a forced, chaotic fusion. She’s losing control."

Just then, as if to prove his words, the elements began to combine violently. The star of fire slammed into the sphere of water, creating an explosive cloud of superheated steam.

The wind vortex tore at the chunks of earth, grinding them into a furious sandstorm.

Karl and Serena could only see a blinding, chaotic flash of light that threatened to tear the room apart. Von, as a master, could perceive the sheer, terrifying scale of the mana being unleashed.

But Adrian, with [Omnisense] active, saw what the others could not. He saw past the external chaos to the perfect order within. He saw the fundamental frequencies of the four great elements being bent, broken, and then rewritten under Nyra’s mana into a new, single, harmonious chord.

He saw the four separate but connected pools of energy in her mana core churning, dissolving, and then merging into a single, unified core of unimaginable density.

It was no longer a core of fire, or water, or wind, or earth. It was a single, perfect sphere that radiated a new, unknown type of energy. He was witnessing the creation of something the world had never seen before.

The cocoon of chaotic light around Nyra pulsed one last time, a wave of pure, white brilliance so intense it washed out all other colors and forced everyone, even Adrian, to look away.

A silent wave of harmless energy washed through the room, through the tower, and out through the entire city, making every living thing pause for a fraction of a second, feeling a sudden, inexplicable sense of wonder.

When the light finally receded, Adrian expected to see Nyra collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. Instead, she remained floating serenely in the air, her eyes closed, a proud, satisfied expression on her face.

Adrian didn’t head into the room immediately. Instead, choosing to communicate with her via a mind link, he sent a single, simple thought. ’Were you successful with your breakthrough?’

Nyra was stunned for a moment after hearing his voice directly within her head, but she reacted quickly. ’You bet I did!’ her mental voice came back with confidence. ’I owe it all to you though, so thank you for all your help.’

’How do you feel?’ Adrian asked.

’Not strained in the slightest,’ she replied. ’In fact, I feel better and stronger than ever.’

Adrian broke the telepathic link. "Nyra, come on out."

The door to the training chamber opened, and the newly-Transcendent princess walked out. Serena and Karl, who had become close to her over the recent weeks, immediately bombarded her with questions upon her arrival.

"Nyra, that was amazing! What happened at the end there? It looked like you were going to explode!" Karl exclaimed.

"Are you okay? You feel... different. The power coming from you is so calm," Serena added, her magical senses on high alert.

Nyra looked at Adrian, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. Adrian could sense she was hesitating on whether to reveal the full truth of what she had achieved.

He trusted everyone in this room implicitly, and so he gave her a slight, permissive nod, despite not knowing what had happened himself.

So she went ahead and explained. "It was because of the manuals Adrian deciphered from my home. They contained a Transcendent technique for each of the basic elements, but that wasn’t the biggest part. If you study them closely, you realize they aren’t just separate spells. They are components, designed for a grander purpose: to achieve a state of being we can only call Harmony."

She tried to explain the state, her hands gesturing to describe a concept that was almost beyond words. "It’s the ability to see the four cardinal elements not as separate, warring forces, but as a single, unified whole. Fire is not the opposite of water; they are two expressions of the same underlying energy."

She looked at her own hands. "My Ascension took longer than normal because I was attempting to use the knowledge in those manuals to achieve Harmony during the breakthrough itself. The power is... immense. I still have a lot to figure out, but it’s truly strong."

"Damn," Karl remarked. "So are you stronger than Adrian now?"

Nyra entertained the thought for a moment with a playful glint in her eyes. She recalled all the impossible feats Adrian was capable of, and then shook her head.

"I don’t think so." A daring smile touched her lips. "But who knows? What do you think, Adrian?"

"No, don’t ask him!" Karl interrupted immediately. "You can never trust Adrian to give a straight answer! I suggest the two of you fight! Yes, that’s perfect!"

Serena shook her head and managed a small laugh. "What is it with you and fighting, Karl? Give Adrian a break. He’s been busy."

Adrian, however, wasn’t focused on their talk. He was processing the implications of what Nyra had said. He had this uncanny feeling that her new abilities meant a whole lot more than was revealed.

He snapped out of his introspection. "Serena’s right. There will be no duel of any sort." He then turned to the Princess and gave her a genuine, respectful nod.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Nyra. You’re one more Transcendent added to our ranks." He paused before adding firmly. "And it’s time I become one as well."

All of them looked awed that Adrian had finally decided to chase his own breakthrough.

"I just wanted to confirm you were all doing alright," Adrian continued, proceeding to issue some directives,

"Karl, Serena. Endeavor to study the knowledge I sent you. It is not a request."

After their varying nods of approval, he turned to Nyra.

"As for you, you deserve a rest for now, but try studying those manuals more. I believe you haven’t grasped the full extent of ’Harmony’ yet."

She shook her head to say no, she hadn’t.

"Take it seriously," he reiterated. "We will meet again after my breakthrough."

Nyra was curious what he meant, but it was too late. With a single thought, his Power Suit materialized around him. He gave them all one last, confident look before launching himself through an open window and into the sky,

"Let’s see what all the hype is all about."