"Ugh."

Despite the pain, I knew that I couldn't relax.

There was still one last step.

The hardest step had been completed. All I needed to do now was collect everything that was leaking and merge it into a vessel.

I already knew what I wanted to merge my domain into.

"Hoo."

Taking a slow, steady breath, I looked down at the countless tendrils of varying colors writhing as they emerged from my body, each one pulsing faintly with its own strange light. Controlling the mana in the air, I collected each tendril and had them move towards my hands as a faint image appeared in my mind.

It was that of a book.

Indeed, this was the vessel that I had chosen.

A book.

There were many others that I had in mind, but this one felt the most fitting, especially when I recalled my fight back at the Rite.

This felt like the most ideal form for my integrated domain, and since my mind was already set up, it didn't take long for the outline of the book to appear in my grasp as the tendrils all started to move towards it, a faint glow spreading across the room.

While the process was no longer difficult, it was still rather tedious.

I had to connect each tendril to the outline of the vessel in my grasp, adding them one by one without losing concentration.

It was a slow, tedious process that lasted several hours.

Drip! Drip!

As sweat dripped onto the wooden floor, I remained seated, staring at the tangible book that rested right above my legs.

'Almost there...'

Only a few tendrils remained as I guided each toward the book, its glow intensifying with every connection. The faint outline solidified, and slowly, the finer details began to take shape before my eyes.

A golden cover took form soon after, its surface adorned with countless tiny orbs of different colors, blue, pink, violet, and more... each one pulsing softly. They circled a massive black orb set at the center, their hues shifting and blending in a slow, mesmerizing rhythm.

A connection formed between the book and me, and the moment the final tendril fused with it, the glow began to fade. The light dimmed completely, and I felt the book's weight grow solid and real in my hand, pressing firmly against my palm.

"....."

I sat in silence, staring at the book in my grasp for a couple of seconds before slumping back onto the ground, my breath extremely heavy.

"It's... haa... over."

I looked around me.

The floor was still stained with blood, though much of it had dried by now. I wanted to clean it, but I was too exhausted.

I could hardly lift up a finger, my entire arm shaking.

But still...

"I... did it."

Staring at the book in my hands, I felt an undeniable excitement.

I had been delaying it for quite some time, but I had now fully integrated my own domain into a vessel. It was safe to say that I was now a full-fledged 8th Tier.

All that was left for me to do was to reach the sixth level of emotive magic.

But this level...

'I'm still quite far from it.'

This was a level few had ever reached, and I had no idea where to begin. There were no records, no guidance, nothing to look back on. From this point onward, I would have to carve my own path and uncover the secrets of this new realm on my own.

But would it be enough?

Would it be enough for me to become the 'Eighth God'?

"I don't know, but I don't really have a choice but to try."

It was true that I was far from reaching the 6th level, but it was also true that I was way ahead of most people, especially after absorbing the ball of resentment that came from Julien.

In fact, I had yet to digest those emotions fully.

They were still lingering within my body, waiting to be absorbed fully.

"Perhaps I might find something once I fully absorb those emotions. For now, I'll take things slowly. I have... no choice but to take things slowly."

The plan for now was to find Noel and Delilah.

I was quite worried about the safety of both.

But still, there was something else that was bothering.

"Advent of the three calamities."

Indeed, it was time for me to think about those three. It didn't seem like Panthea was aware of the fact that those three were the calamities, but what was I supposed to do now?

'Given what she's told me, they're going to be incredibly dangerous in the future. In fact, they might be the reason why a second Mirror Dimension might form. How should I handle this?'

I wanted to tell them this, but I needed to be careful about this information.

If what Panthea said was true, then they were connected to the Outer Beings. I couldn't afford to let them realize that I knew.

But then again, I had told them quite a bit about myself.

"Ugh."

I ruffled my hair in annoyance.

This situation...

...It was quite annoying.

*

In the end, I never got to tell them. I decided to observe them for a little longer to determine whether it was safe to share this information with them. Given the nature of the information, I couldn't afford to take any risks.

The days passed like that, and without anyone or anything stopping us on our journey, we were able to reach the borders of the Clora Domain rather quickly.

Soon, we were going to leave the 'Land of Light'.

"Brrr."

I held my arms tightly, staring out into the distance. All that stretched before me was the endless sea, yet the change in the weather was unmistakable. It was growing colder with each passing day.

"What are you doing?"

Leon arrived next to me, giving me a weird look.

"You do know that you can coat your body with mana to protect yourself from the cold?"

"I know."

"Then...?"

"I'm just trying to get a feel of the cold. It's been hot and dry for so long."

The weather in the Mirror Dimension was extreme. There was no such thing as pleasant weather here. It was always extreme, one way or the other. The chill I felt now was no exception; it may look like it wasn't affecting me much, but the temperature was in the negative degrees.

"How long do you think it will take for us to arrive?" Leon suddenly asked, staring towards the distance as a certain fog began to appear.

I mused for a moment before answering, "It should take around a couple of hours. We're nearly there, but that's not the main problem."

"You're talking about those from the temple of light?"

"Yes."

I gave a brief nod.

"Although they've yet to make themselves appear, I can pretty much feel their presence. They're watching our every movement, and I suspect that it won't be long until they finally start to make their move."

Leon's expression darkened at the thought, his body visibly tensing.

"...Do you think we have a shot if we fight them?"

"Nope."

This much was clear.

The Living Saint alone could probably wipe the floor with us, and that was in spite of me finally integrating my own Domain. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that things were actually hopeless.

In fact, I didn't think I would have to worry about the Living Saint.

'If my prediction is correct, Panthea will likely make her move soon. She'll probably act the moment they begin their assault. She wouldn't want the Living Saint fighting alongside the others. In that sense, she's probably expecting us to deal with a few of the Seats ourselves so that the burden on her is lower.'

That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Everyone present was fairly strong. Leon, Aoife, Kiera, and Evelyn could all handle a Tier 8 user. They might not necessarily win, but if they grouped up in pairs, it was possible.

Leon could handle one alone, and so could Anne.

The same was for me.

In that regard, this situation wasn't extremely dire.

The only issue was that all of this was just speculation on my part. I had no way of knowing whether Panthea truly intended to deal with them. Still, even if she didn't, I had a few plans of my own to fall back on.

I didn't waste the past several weeks doing nothing.

"Hur. Hur."

All of a sudden, a soft laugh caught my attention. When I looked down, I saw a little girl gazing up at me, a faint, knowing smirk playing on her lips.

The hell...?

I was all too familiar with this little girl.

"What are you doing out here?"

"...Aoife let me out."

This little girl...

She had changed since the last time I had seen her. She was still a little girl, but she grew much more spiteful.

'I don't know what has happened in the time that I was gone, but it almost feels like she's been trained by Kiera or something like that.'

She was just...

Weird.

"Hur. Hur."

And that laugh of hers... It was really creeping me out.

"Ehm. You want to watch some TV?"

"TV?"

Theresa looked at me strangely, shaking her head at the same time.

"I'm too grown for that stuff. I don't need to watch it."

"...Oh. Then do you need anything?"

Shake. Shake.

The little girl shook her head.

Staring at her, I grew speechless.

I was just about to follow up when I suddenly felt something, and my head turned towards a certain direction. As if also sensing what I was sensing, Leon turned his head towards the distance, and my heart sank.

"That's faster than I expected."

"...Yeah."

Turning my attention back towards Theresa, I spoke, "Tell Aoife and the others to get here quickly. We're about to have a... group exercise."

Yeah.

Group exercise.

Extending my hand, a book appeared in my grasp as I pursed my lips and looked towards the distance once more.

'I hope my previous guess was correct.'

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