But, how am I supposed to create those Origins?

Kyte pondered this question for quite a while. About half an hour passed before he created an idea.

The space where the black light ocean originated...I wonder if it's still there?

Kyte peered into his soul and searched for that space within it. Sure enough, it was still there. The reason why was because the Space Origin was still there. Kyte mentally face palmed before continuing.

He didn't dare touch the Space Origin in case it automatically merged itself with him. So, with but a thought, the Space Origin disappeared into his mind. He commanded the black energy within his mind to encase the Space Origin into a secluded section before he returned to the other space.

The entire space was empty. However, he could sense the walls within it. He was confused as to how the space was created but he didn't dwell on that subject. It was there so it was better to use it rather than do nothing with it. Kyte tried summoning black light into his palm. He was curious if whether or not he would be able to do so, which he was. A sphere of black light manifested above his palm.

Well, this is inside my soul so I guess I should've expected this.

Next, he transformed the black light into a fire ball. He let it float out in-front of him as he watched it. It didn't extinguish or flicker; it was a perfect sphere of fire. However, other than that, nothing happened.

Hmm...what do I do? Before the Space Origin was created, this entire space was filled with black light. Maybe I just need to fill it fire? But then how does the creation of the Origin begin? Maybe it's automatic? Isn't that kinda cheating?...Isn't this whole thing cheating anyway?

Kyte mentally sighed. He stared at the ball of fire before concluding a decision. He instantly filled the entire space with black light before transforming all of it into fire. The deep void of the black light was replaced by an orange glow of fire. He decided to make the fire orange instead of any stronger fires mostly because they're all fire to begin with so it doesn't really matter. Anyway, the fire wasn't capable of harming Kyte while he was engulfed within it. He observed everything around him, trying to find any signs of an Origin coming into existence.

He moved to the perimeter of the space and examined it. The barrier separating the space from the outside was just a thin silver membrane. He pushed his hand against and, to his surprise, his hand passed through it unimpeded. He then moved his entire body through the barrier to reveal a shocking discovery.

Outside the barrier was a layer of black cloud that surrounded the entire space. It continuously streamed around the space like a flood. Kyte was instantly confused at the sudden discovery of the source which created the space.

The cloud figure is responsible? But, how? Why? It created a space to create the Space Origin? Why did...huh? During the time when I first encountered it, I remember it trying to subdue the black light while protecting me. Maybe it was trying to direct the black light into that space? If it was, it succeeded. I'm still able to wield black light though.

So, if that's the case, then this space definitely creates Origins. My hypothesis is that I need to use the cloud's power in order to create Origins. However, what if the space passively uses its power to create Origins? I'm pretty sure I've never used the cloud's power before-...wait...

No way...the cloud figure may be responsible for everything?! The first time I created black light, my ability to wield black light, my breakthrough...what if it was behind my encounter with Sol'keer? If...if that's the case, then the cloud figure has been helping me this whole time? My whole life? But, why would I encounter such misfortune if it was? No, I can't think of the cloud figure as an omnipotent entity. That's impossible. If it was, I would be completely invincible.

Why...why would it help me? Is it because it was born within me? Was created alongside me? Did I inherit it from my parents? Where did it come from? It helped me the entire time yet I betrayed it...I took away the only thing that truly cared about me and helped me...? It's been with me my whole life, but I ended up absorbing it just because I could? It's been with me...the whole time...it shared everything I experienced? What would it feel like to have your other half, who you trusted with all your existence, betray you? What...what have I done...

It was like having a twin you had lived your entire life with, shared everything with, suddenly betray you because they could. To have your most trusted person back stab you when you were protecting them, what would that feel like?

Kyte, while staring at the cloud surrounding the space, looked down at himself. A single tear streamed down his cheek as he looked back up at the cloud. A sense of loss suddenly engulfed him. It reminded him of the time when his parents were killed; that kind of feeling of losing people close to you, all because of you. They were taken away from him because of what he did. And now, he had done the same exact thing again.

"...Damn it..."

Tears glided down his cheeks, rolled off his jaw, and disappeared into the darkness around him.

~~~

-One Week Later-

After that event, Kyte immediately left that space and decided to fall asleep. The formations were already placed around the group so he didn't have to worry about any stray monsters attacking. He placed himself in a certain spot on top of a tree so the rising sun would shine light onto his face, causing him to wake up. He slept quite well up there, probably because of the fresh air or maybe because the vastness of space peering down on him comforted him. To know that he was created from the same elements within the universe itself gave him a unique home-like feeling that he didn't expect.

Anyway, the few days following were filled with the same traveling and resting. Occasionally, monsters came running out of the forest trying to attack the group during their resting periods. Fortunately they were no match for Kyte's grand formation. Also, the other Gifted had long become accustomed to such happenings so they no longer freaked out when something weird happened.

Kyte didn't know if it was because they were still relatively close to the mist or not but there were no more symptoms. He hypothesized that the farther away they moved from the mist, the more the sealed Gifted would react. Eventually they would all go through the unsealing process, which Kyte would obviously observe and experiment with.

Aside from that, nothing new happened. Kyte had decided to try the simplest method of creating an Origin: waiting. Unfortunately nothing changed within that one week of time, so he tried something else. He moved to the outside of the silver membrane in the space. He then tried to command the cloud to change the fire but nothing happened. He silently stared at the cloud for several seconds before forcing him to refocus.

He wondered whether or not he was capable of controlling the cloud's power. He didn't even know what its ability was in the first place. He never had the chance to discover its secrets because he didn't know it was there. He couldn't do it anyway because he absorbed the cloud figure. He would have to somehow discover a method to use the cloud or find someone with the capability to help him.

Now that I think about it, shouldn't my grandfather know something? He's from my mother's side, so surely he knows what's happened. But, why didn't he say anything? If he knew about everything, why would he just leave me? Haaah...the fuck is wrong with my family, honestly...

I guess the only person that can help me is my grandfather. I'm certain he's still alive if he was involved with whatever I'm connected to. But, where could he be? There must be a reason he left me. His last deposit in my bank account was rather large as well, at least six months worth. I guess the only place I can find him is the Core. I'm assuming he knows what the cloud is, so he definitely is no ordinary person. Well, I'll worry about it when I actually reach the Core.

Kyte only speculated as to why his grandfather left. He would have to secretly gather information about it when he reached the Core. Hence why he wanted to use the A rankers for the start of his information network. Also, Mark, the guy with the Gamer ability, would also be a very helpful addition to Kyte's network. If Mark lived up to Kyte's expectations, Kyte would have some very powerful back up if things got too hairy.

Of course, if Mark didn't evolve into a helpful comrade, Kyte would kill him. Better to have him on his side than not. Also, if Mark had somehow met with a future enemy and joined his side, that would be horrible. If Mark wasn't with Kyte, he wouldn't be with anyone. It's unfortunate but that's the way it is.

Aside from these things, Kyte and the group didn't do much. Kyte tried different things with the Origin Creator, which is what Kyte called it, but nothing seemed to work.

He decided to work on refining his formation theory during the travels. The faster he can create and use them, the more efficient he would be in offense and defense. Unfortunately he wasn't capable of creating his own formations at his skill level. He would have to wait till he reached the eighth stage before obtaining information about formations in the Master level. Then he would have to wait until probably the tenth or eleventh stage for Grandmaster formations. He would have to work with what he has.

And so, they traveled like for one more week. They had moved quite far from the mist region and were very close to the edge of the forest. The sealed Gifted had begun to grow more confused as time went on, so Kyte kept a close eye on them.

Kyte estimated that they needed at most two more days until they exited the forest. Once that happened, all they had to do was travel in a straight line directly to the Core. One problem Kyte would have to face is the real amount of time they spent inside the forest. They clearly traveled for over two weeks. The mist region had sealed their memories for who knows how long.

Meanwhile...

~~~

-The Core-

"General Rayth, we've successfully cleared the second level of the Dread Ruins." A man said.

"Good. Keep the defenses around the Entrance as tight as possible. We do not want another break in our line due to unforeseen attacks by Guardians." Rayth said.

General Rayth, or Durald Rayth, was currently sitting in his tent within the heart of the GG front lines. They were guarding their side of the Dread Entrance to keep the Guardians at bay. It was quite weird because one side was filled with tents while the other was completely empty. However, this did not cause any GG members to lower their guard. They all knew the Guardians were there, even if they were unable to see them.

In order to enter the Dread Ruins, General Rayth would have to personally move and help defend. He was one of two King rankers on the front lines, however, Rayth felt that he would have to call for reinforcements. He himself was only a middle King ranker while his right hand man was a low King ranker. Both of them even had to join forces against one Guardian just to keep the total casualties to a minimum.

Due to their combined strength, GG was able to clear the first two levels of the Dread Ruins. What came with that was all the loot available within the Ruins. Dread Stones were plentiful, Dread Equipment appeared everywhere, and new technology was also discovered. Well, the technology was technically old, but it was different from what GG had seen before.

The God Fiber and Mineral families were set to overdrive as they worked incredibly hard to create new weapons and armor with the increased amount of Dread Equipment. Along with this, the quantity of Dread Stones increased. However, only Gifted who had participated in the defense and offense around the Dread Ruins were capable of obtaining large sums of Dread Stones. With this came more business and more equipment. Everyone wanted to fight in order to gather Stones, however, unfortunately only high S rankers could participate. That doesn't mean everyone was excluded, though.

Overall, the first two levels of the Dread Ruins vastly increased GG's power. More opportunities arose from within GG and many Gifted sought different paths of power. The three Gifted that specialized with souls even took a few more disciples because of the large increase in morale.

However, not everything can last forever.

And that's the end of the double release today! Woohoo! Second time I've done one of these I believe.

Anyway, I did a double release today because there was only 1 chapter last week. Sorry about that! It's practically guaranteed that there will be a third chapter this week. I don't know when, though.

So, this chapter pretty much ends the travels through the forest. I wonder why Sistaina was trapped at the bottom of the lake for 30,000 years?....I wonder when she'll be relevant again...mwahaha.

Anyway...hope you guys enjoyed these two chapters.