Sweat had begun to trickle down Lieben's forehead.
Faust had been waiting for nearly hours. Evening was close; dark clouds loomed right behind them, waiting to descend.
I wonder how it's going inside his mind. It must be had for someone like him. Zueka is no ordinary type of energy. It's the second main source behind soul...
Soul is not a source of energy yet it can create one... and the ultimate source "to energy" is Zueka. So to put it simply soul is the most unique and pure thing in the entire creation. So it's not only limited on itself, it can also create so many things...
Someones Sovereignty's strength and output actually comes from Zueka, yet most still not know it. If someone has mastered their Zueka they can—let's say they have an... Fire Sovereignty.
If they're around a fire, they can use and control it without any problem. What if there isn't any to control, can't they just create fire? Of course they can!
Yet it will eventually run out in such a short time, because they don't have the efficieny also their fire wont be even so destructive or burning because of their lack of output.
Which means a lot of Sovereigntys actually don't give anything other control. Creation comes from the soul and the Zueka—yet if they can create fire why don't they create other things too?
The reason they can do that is because of their Sovereignty, if they didn't have the fire control and knowlegde they wouldn't be able to do that.
The power to create things using the soul's purity is actually so hard only a few people ever lived on earth could master that... at the verge of death—and whcih is ironic 'cause most of them almost lived for centuries...
I wish I could've seen those people. From the ancient times. The strength and power they had. These days are nothing compared to the old days.
Faust had taken a seat by a tree hours ago to watch Lieben focus; he had even fallen asleep and woken up repeatedly, yet Lieben was still maintaining his concentration.
Although he hadn't noticed it himself, splinters from the tree he'd rested his head against had pierced all along his nape; the back of his black T-shirt had taken on a slightly burgundy hue from the blood trickling down from his nape.
Since Lieben's attempt didn't seem like it would end anytime soon, Faust decided to hum a song to himself in a tone that wouldn't disturb him or break his focus.
♪♪The kings kneel down before me alone~♪♪
♪♪My men never falter, never defy my throne~♪♪
♪♪If you hear my name, spread the word—heads will hang low~♪♪
♪♪Even stars only shine by my leave, by my glow~♪♪
♪♪Let none stray from my path, for I will never bend, never fall~♪♪
"Hmm~ Hmhmhm~
Because he loved praising himself and being praised by others, singing a song like that was... how to put it... exciting for him. Steam practically seemed to rise from his head, his face flushed; with his red cheeks, he was grinning so hard he looked ready to rub his eyes raw, eyebrows raised, even a bit of drool slipping from his mouth.
He was grinning as if he'd lost his mind, stuttering a little as he laughed softly. As if the absence of anyone around, and Lieben being unable to see himnfelt like a gap, a perfectly formed opportunity.
While Faust was lost in himself, Lieben's inner world was anything but pleasant. Just as Faust had said, what felt like mere seconds and minutes there could equal hours or even days in the normal world. Despite hours having passed, Lieben had only just reached the place he was supposed to arrive at.
* * *
A completely white space. Lieben's feet were touching something, yet there was no ground. A pure white, endless void—and he didn't have the faintest idea what he was supposed to do there.
As he questioned what he should do and what he would do... he decided to walk straight ahead, to... absolute nothing?
"I'm a simple man. Walking forward is always the best choice."
He walked through the endless light.
"Where am I even supposed to go? Is this my soul? If it is. Damn! I didn't knew I were this good of a person. Such a purity."
A voice of unknown origin and nature called out to Lieben.
"Come to me Lieben. Come to me."
Huh?
"Was that a woman or a man. I even doubt if that's a actually a human calling out to me."
Lieben, unaware of what was happening, only looked around. Maybe something had appeared. Maybe someone had arrived, anything was possible, yet despite all that possibility and hope… nothing had changed.
"The same endless light. Is this a fucking joke!? Faust!! Are you hiding somewhere? There isn't anything!"
He was starting to lose his mind. Faust hadn't said anything about what he was supposed to do. What he needed to do wasn't actually that big of an issue. How was he supposed to get out? Where was he? Those were the questions truly driving him insane.
From the outside, he was already sweating, but now he had started to sweat even within this unreal, dreamlike space. No matter how much he tried to deny it, fear and stress were beginning to creep in.
"Heheh—This is not funny... GET ME OUT!"
Caught at a vague point between fear and anger, he started running toward the nothingness with everything he had. Until all his energy and breath were gone. Until he was flushed, until he barely looked recognizable.
At some point, he'd built up so much speed from the momentum that his skin felt as if it were about to give way. After draining himself and running for minutes on end, the moment he stopped because he couldn't breathe anymore... a light appeared before him.
A blue light—clearly very far away. The reason it stood out didn't seem to be the light itself, but rather the space it existed in, or its distance. Or maybe it was simply… trying to draw his attention.
Lieben was so out of breath he could barely speak—the words coming from his mouth sounded harsh and hard to make out because of his lack of air.
Even so, driven by anger, he raised his voice despite those strained words, and the sound echoed throughout the endless void.
"RRAAGHH!—"
hufff... hufff...
"FUCK THIS—"
huff... huff...
"I AM—"
He slammed down hard onto a nonexistent ground—one made of light.
Yet not a single sound came out. Was the ground physically tangible but invisible? Or was it something special... something that existed only so Lieben could walk upon it?
He tried to drag himself toward the light using his hands. Because of the ground's perfect smoothness, he had to use all his strength just to press his hand down and stick it to the surface long enough to gain any stability.
How long can I even continue this?
huff... huff...
But he was determined.
Even as his confidence slowly began to crumble, he was still moving forward bit by bit. Maybe it was only centimeters but under such hardship, it was a great achievement.
At last, he saw it.
A blue aura.
This was clearly the source of the light. That clear, vivid blue hue and within it, there seemed to be something else, something impossible to define, a substance that looked almost solid.
"Was this thing the voice? I know I had not crawled that much distance. Did this—aura? Come to me?"
He lifted his hand to reach for it. It stood right by his head.
Close! So close!...