Helial inhaled deeply as he made the fullest effort to strike the balance he yearned for. He focused on the changes his Soul was undergoing. His eyes being closed, he caught sight of his Meridians, indestructible thanks to their demoniac properties, and the two Mana flows which intertwined and untangled relentlessly.

And yet, for how hard Helial tried to attune those strikingly different Manas, he felt he was still far from reaching the perfect communion. Life and Destruction were blocked one step away from harmonizing. Every time they were on the brink of communion, something seemed to get in the way, and the metallic flavor of blood would announce Helial a new failure.

It was a dangerous training indeed. Anyone else would have probably died in the attempt to control the two powerful Manas inside one body without much care of their very health. However, Helial had Body of the Qilin and a Demon’s Meridians, which let him come up with infinite ways to play mad.

After all those tries, Helial was beginning to feel a little frustrated. It really looked like there was no way to combine the two types of Mana. Helial had already tried everything, but they still contained impurities. The boy saw it fitting to stop training and began to meditate instead.

The Devil was sitting in midair before his last pupil, who apparently was stuck in a pretty tough bottleneck. Throughout the whole universe, nobody had ever accomplished the feat that pig-head had set himself.

Siche, Iblis’ most talented pupil, had tried as well. Even though she was far ahead of Helial’s First Phase, she never found a way either. With a hand on his chin and a sinister spark in his eyes, the Devil wondered whether the little shithead could actually do the undoable.

“If it didn’t work the first two times, there’s no reason why it might work the third,” Helial mumbled.

The Devil caught his words and asked: “Didn’t you believe in persistence?”

“I do,” Helial said as he slowly opened his eyes, “but I also believe that the best way to overcome a wall you’ve already crashed into is adjust your direction or find different tools. How many creatures in the universe tried to fuse these two Manas before me? And their control was far better than mine, of that I’m sure. What insane thought would lead me to conclude that I could possibly do it?”

Helial was pondering aloud. His words seemed to be the beginning of a longer monologue.

“At the crucial point, the two Mana types unavoidably reject each other. It’s several weeks now that I’m training, and I made no progress. Even Vidio’s Skill has its flaws. There’s no point in creating an imperfect Skill which would risk damaging my body and Dao. Even a kid couldn’t balance these two forces at their lowest level, and the difficulty increases with age! There’s why you either choose Life or Destruction. They can’t be as one.”

The Devil shortly nodded. He saw his point, but he still didn’t see where this was going.

“You taught me that Life can borrow some knowledge from Destruction and use it to reach higher peaks, without withholding anything from Destruction nonetheless. Just insights, general principles you break down into their primordial, neutral form…”

The Devil’s expression changed drastically. And so did Helial’s.

“If these principles have no master but can tend either towards Life or Destruction, it’s the owner who establishes their nature. It’s like, every man can choose either to do good or evil. We experience this every day. There are high principles having no owner. And I could derive either Life or Destruction from them. If I were to extract these free principles, if I undid and embraced them at the same time…” Helial slowly stretched his hands out in front of himself. He looked at the back of his hands, turned them and clenched his fists. Then, he withdrew them and laid the palms on his knees.

“The principles are unstable, which is why there are absorbed by Life or Destruction as the case requires. If someone tried to extract a piece of knowledge without controlling it, it would only damage their body. These principles you’re talking about are the very foundations to cultivating Mana and creating Skills. It’s like letting an incredibly wild energy flow inside your body which you’re not able to control. How do you think it would end up?” the Devil asked with some slight regret in his voice. Helial had learnt a lot already, but there was still a long way to go if he wanted to grasp such profound concepts.

“If Iblis had yielded to Amaterasu, and at the same time Amaterasu had yielded to Iblis? What would have happened, at that point?” suddenly asked Helial.

At these words, the Devil’s face became an emotionless blank mask. “None of them would have ever done that.”

“If they both had yielded at the same time, they would have struck an otherworldly balance. Just because it’s unbelievable to picture, just because you can’t imagine abandoning every form of control, doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” as Helial’s words grew more mysterious, a strange Aura engulfed his body. “But if Life were Destruction, and Destruction were Life, that would be the flamboyant endless explosion which eventually turns out to be null.”

The Devil furrowed his eyebrows and grew serious. He blurted out: “There is no such power. And it wouldn’t be controllable anyway. Nothing would have happened if they both had surrendered. Nothing. The entire universe in war. How could you even consider surrendering? Also, if Life and Destruction annulled each other, how could they form a Skill?” Helial was going insane. These were no stale theories; it was a brand-new line of thinking. Once struck the ultimate balance between the two forces, no Skill could be created.

Life Mana and Destruction Mana worked linearly enough in an endless circle. In the situation described by Helial, there would be no such thing as a Mana reflow. Mana could come out of one’s body just as easily as it had come in. Once struck a balance out of the two explosions, give or take the energy would deplete itself. It would generate no circle.

“You don’t understand, Iblis. But I do,” a broad smile spread across Helial’s face as he let out these words. “You ruled over the universe, but then your instinct ruled you over. You tell yourself this is impossible just because it’s unconceivable for you… Extract the principles.”

The Aura grew violent through the room.

“Neutralize them.”

Around Helial, air rippled.

“Combine them and divide them. And finally, let them loose on Life and Destruction. Together.”

BOOM!