Seven thousand wisps flowed freely, clashing against Vivi’s protective layer. She clung to the protective wisps with her eyes closed, still focusing entirely on the sixth sense. Without distractions, she managed to keep the layer active, somewhat protecting herself from the seven thousand wisps. After two hours of practice, seven thousand wisps no longer hurt, and her protective layer stayed firm.

She’d figured out two tricks to make the job easier. The first trick was quite simple: as the protective layer withered from the rampant ether fighting it, Vivi had to replenish it with fresh new wisps. The protective layer wasn’t just a one-and-done type of problem to solve. The layer had to be constantly patched and reinforced, requiring much of Vivi’s attention.

The protective layer was like a hut, or the hull of a ship that constantly required patching and repairs from the damages it sustained outside.

The second trick was what she called focus manipulation. A dramatic term, perhaps, but knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore was crucial.

When surviving ascension skills, as counter-intuitive as it felt, the thousands upon thousands of wisps rampaging in her body had to be totally ignored.

The main thing Vivi had to pay attention to was her protective layer. That layer was her home—her little hut within a storm. As long as she huddled up inside, and as long as she made sure the walls of her hut wouldn’t fall, the storm wouldn’t hurt her. Attempting to manipulate the storm itself was close to impossible.

Even without touching the seven thousand wisps, her body was still filled with insane amounts of ether. She wasn’t supposed to channel and control such amounts of power. She just had to survive. The more ether she could survive, the more she could direct at her opponents.

How long has it been now?

“You’ve kept the protective layer up for three minutes,” Lucius said. “We’ve been training for just over three hours.”

Vivi made a mental note to get rid of the ascension. Wisps dissipated into the air as mist, and she let go of the protective layer. “I think that’s enough for tonight,” Vivi said. She had wanted to sleep for six hours. And to not break the rule of spending more than half of the night practicing to allow for true rest, she could practice for three hours. “We need to get back to the ballistas.”

“Should I cut the connection?” Lucius asked.

“No, let’s test one more thing,” Vivi said.

She took a breath, preparing herself. This next part would probably be painful.

Lucius watched her curiously. “Testing what?”

“Our maximum limits,” Vivi said. “I’m going to keep pushing ether into you now. Burn it all, and send it to my body. I won’t try to protect myself from its effects.”

Lucius floated ahead of her, tail lowering slightly. “It’s painful for me to add so much ether.”

“We’ll have to buy real ascension skills later to lighten your load,” Vivi said. “For now, let’s see how far our limits can go.”

Lucius looked troubled, but he eventually took a pose and said, “Fine, let’s try this. But don’t let this traumatize you, Vivi. It will probably hurt more than any death you’ve suffered here before.”

Vivi nodded. She closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and prepared herself.

Then she pushed ten thousand ether into Lucius’s core.

The spirit lit ablaze, and explosive ether surged into her consciousness. Fifteen thousand ether total, roughly the same amount she’d used for her ascension against the first two golems. The power in her limbs was already incomprehensibly great, with enough ether to shatter a building with her bare hands. Beneath the power and strength, her body burned alive, organs slowing down, begging for relief.

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She pushed another ten thousand wisps into Lucius.

The total amount of wisps in her body grew to roughly twenty thousand. With such large numbers, hundreds were exiting her body every second, already diminishing to the air. From then on, Vivi pushed a constant amount of ether into Lucius to replace the escaping wisps, keeping herself at twenty thousand.

The discomfort grew to unbearable levels. She could have flicked a wrist, and it would have sent a shockwave, probably killing a man if someone were to stand in front of her. Her body felt as if it was made of lava; so immensely hot that her perceptions couldn’t feel anything but the amount of ether pillaging inside her.

She added another ten thousand.

Immediately, she felt something rip apart inside her leg. A muscle, it seemed, had been torn. Nothing vital yet, though the rest of her body was following suit. Thirty thousand ether was too much; more rips appeared, sharp pain pinching at her all over her body.

She hesitated before her next move. She wanted to try something, but she was afraid of the effects.

But she was in Paradise.

Vivi reached into her void core, letting loose all the void wisps that tried to escape.

Her consciousness darkened, and the burning sensations of the thirty thousand wisps settled down. Suddenly, pain lessened. Rips stopped spreading inside her body.

The void wisps, Vivi realized, formed another layer within her. A protective layer, fighting against the thirty thousand ascended wisps. More than a thousand void wisps pillaged her body, filling her with yet another wave of power.

Her perceptions of the ethereal realm were utterly indescribable; she sensed deep into the ground, feeling every wisp of ether moving within. She could feel Ythar’s dream island in the distance, every wisp of ether escaping into the air from her body—and the sensations attacked her all at once, as if staring into a sky made of ten thousand suns.

She added another ten thousand wisps.

The void core was loose now. She would turn into a monster now. Closing it would only be possible if she went through another battle for her life.

Vivi couldn’t even tell how many wisps were inside her then. Too much. Her consciousness was just ether—a battle between void ether and ascended wisps. Vivi was a poor host in the middle of it all, desperately trying to survive.

Somehow, the forty thousand ascended wisps still didn’t kill her. No more rips were appearing. It was the void ether causing damage, reaping her head, eating away at her thoughts, destroying what made her human.

She leaned back, and her head collided against the tree.

An explosion followed as the tree snapped in half, the trunk shattering like glass. The pieces of bark spun above her head from the wisps that escaped her, forming a tornado around and above her.

And she still wasn’t dead.

She added fifty thousand wisps, and further ripped open the doors to her void core.

All void wisps within her core flowed into her body. Nearly ten thousand of them, with tens upon tens of thousands of regular wisps. The ground underneath her began to crack. The air itself fluttered, a tornado forming around her.

Finally, her senses disappeared, and Vivi lost consciousness.

***

Vivi jolted awake.

Then she froze perfectly still, eyes staring at the silk curtains of the bed. She felt a headache, her heartbeat. Thoughts ran in her head again. I am Vivi, she thought. A runesmith. Vivian Runeblessed.

“Vivi…?” Lucius asked.“Is everything okay?”

Vivi blinked, looking around herself. She’d woken up on a noble bed with black sheets and a thick blanket. Her back was sweaty, as if she’d slept through an intense nightmare. The sensations from Paradise were still fresh in her head. They’d stopped abruptly as she woke up, bringing her back to reality.

“Holy mother of all ether…” Vivi whispered. No more void ether, Lucius. Even in Paradise At least not that much.

“How did it feel?” Lucius asked.

I lost myself, Vivi thought. I don’t think I died. I just turned into a monster.

Lucius said nothing.

What about you? Vivi asked. Did it hurt?

“I’m not certain,” Lucius said. “I passed out after thirty thousand wisps. I think I burned ether half unconsciously.”

Vivi hugged her knees, thinking about what had happened. She remembered lightly tapping her head against a tree, only for the tree to disintegrate into bits. That was dangerous, Vivi thought. Way too dangerous. Looks like seven thousand ether is the safe limit now. We’ll need to practice more.

“How many wisps did you reach before you died?” Lucius asked?

I think it was around seventy thousand regular wisps?” Vivi thought. It couldn’t have been ninety thousand with all the wisps escaping. The void wisps protected me from dying. But that’s not very helpful, considering I immediately turned into a monster afterward.

“Well, regardless, we made progress,” Lucius said. “We know what to practice next.”

Yes, Vivi thought. Now, let’s see if the ballista makers are still awake.