The Glorious Evolution

Sometime later...

Levi and his team were seen standing on top of a cliff with a waterfall gushing underneath nonstop; its noise covering over the screeches and roars of nightcrawlers roaming the mountainous forest before them.

Dawn was just around the corner, and the hungry nightcrawlers could sense it, making them get anxious.

”It’s in front.” Nurah pointed at the forest underneath them.

”I can tell.”

Levi nodded, his spiritual vision showing him a sea of nightcrawlers infesting the surface of the forest and underneath it mostly... When he focused thoroughly, his spiritual vision showed him the Tier 3 nightcrawlers and every little detail about their appearance... aura-wise.

It was like he was using the Sensebound Pearl to refine his spiritual prowess... but this was all from the enhancement he received after he pushed straight to the Second Stage of his rank!

His freakish potential had proved to be much better than anticipated; his enhancement had increased his spiritual tank, spiritual control, vision, defenses, and anything related to his soul to a new level.

This made Levi recognize that if he decided to give up on his original plan and choose Spiritual Perception as the sole sense, his spiritual prowess might turn him into an actual powerhouse in two evolutions.

But, he never committed to such a thought... his original plan stood strong.

’No hostages... good, this makes it easier.’

After checking for any kidnapped humans and finding none... a standard protocol all Daywalkers must uphold... Levi made his move.

He cast Aethric Grasp on his body and gestured with his fingers to lift up... under everyone’s dazed looks, Levi swiftly took off into the sky, appearing above the center of the Midnight Dominion nest in no time.

”Woaah... he is floating so casually,” Jojo exclaimed, ”And without a weapon’s amplification... his spiritual control and tank are on another level.”

Nurah and the others nodded in agreement, understanding that Psych Specialists almost never used their spiritual prowess to lift themselves directly in lower ranks... It consumed an immense amount of spiritual energy, as their will was used to pull it off.

That’s why Jojo always stood on top of her Praying Beads, not daring to waste her spiritual energy wantonly.

As Levi hovered tens of meters above the forest canopy, the faint light of the peeking sun cast over him, he lifted his right palm into the sky and murmured, ”Come.”

At once, rivers of emerald mist seeped from the trees, the grass, the soil, and even the air itself, drawn to his palm as though it were a magnet.

Only spiritual energy could command aether energy like this. It was the same relationship as oxygen to iron... one starving for electrons, the other having too many to spare. Thus, they were bound by nature to meet, to merge, and to react!

What a reaction it was... The moment Levi let his spiritual energy run wild for the first time, holding nothing back, the dormant aether energy was summoned from everywhere, detaching from whatever it was clinging to, responding to its new ruler!

’This is it... I can feel it pulling like Ash’Kral said.’

Levi exhaled slowly, his mind recalling Ash’Kral’s teachings in the past hours... he had told him that his current resonance access allowed him to visualize aether energy into techniques externally, unlike most Aspects.

Most Aspects relied on solar energy within the Daywalker as the fuel to transform it into elemental-mystic-enhancement or whatever kind of specialization the technique he wanted to create.

On the other hand, aether energy couldn’t be stored reliably within one’s body... but, because it existed in abundance across the entire universe besides some specific realms, he needed to create techniques on the go.

In simpler terms... such techniques couldn’t be stored inside his own library, and he needed to create them always on the spot.

Thus, Ash’Kral taught him the way and some interesting techniques... but this was the first time Levi tried one in the real world.

”Good... gather... tighter... denser...”

As he kept murmuring under his breath, his palm felt heavier and denser until it actually started to emit a visible soft dark green light, tracing his fingers!

”Is that... Aether energy...”

Jojo’s contracted nightcrawler, Zar’Vhulek, had his eyes widened the moment he spotted the green color... He was summoned as a Praying Bead, hovering beside Jojo.

The others noticed the green light as well, which was continuing to darken and turn brighter, but only Jasmine, Jojo, and their nightcrawlers noticed the immense spiritual disturbance around Levi’s palm.

It was like the fabric of the spirit and the physical was being twisted... which wasn’t a far-fetched description when considering that the aether energy separated those two realities!

Now, Levi was bending it to his will to a terrifying degree that even non-spiritual specialists started to notice the change in atmosphere.

”What is that... why does my soul feel restless?” Shia commented in confusion.

”You felt it too?” Arthur supported, his hand on his heart for some reason, ”I feel like something is trying to strip my soul out of my body.”

Levi told him that he had unlocked a spiritual ability, but he didn’t bother telling him the details, knowing that his brother was a visual learner... he needed to see it, to feel it, and then understand it.

Aether energy wasn’t known to all as its manipulators needed to have an insane level of spiritual talent to even sense it, let alone control it.

’Oh... So much aether energy at his rank... interesting.’

A hint of interest flickered in N’ibby’s hollow eyes; her normal vision was that of Jasmine’s peculiar eye transformation.

Jasmine was using it as well, watching the white and black canvas of the world get painted with tens of massive dark green rivers getting devoured by Levi’s palm.

-He is still not stopping? Just how rich is his spiritual energy reservoir?-

Jasmine was rarely impressed with anything, but as she gazed at this sight, she couldn’t help but feel outclassed for the first time.

She had immense pride in her spiritual energy since it was one of the main ingredients to channel her Ink/Erasure Aspects... Yet, here she was, watching as Levi dethroned her while still being at a Junior rank!!

Unbeknownst to his friends’ thoughts, Levi concentrated on a single object... Limit-testing his spiritual prowess, not wanting to leave anything stored.

He wanted to know his limits; he needed such information to understand how he could manage it better.

Keeping his spiritual vision active 24/7 was nothing but an indicator... today was the day everyone would see what monstrosity was hidden beneath.

’I am nearing my limit... I can feel my mind going hazy.’

Whoosh!

The moment Levi started to feel somewhat disoriented and assaulted by a light headache, he knew... about 5% of his spiritual energy was left in the tank.

”Jojo!” He called out loud; his raised palm shook nonstop.

Seeing the air around it was compressed, and the dark green light grew thick, viscous, almost liquid, Jojo knew that Levi was about to make his move.

”I got you.”

Solemn, Jojo gave him a slight nod, summoning the rest of the praying orbs, keeping them on standby... Then, she cast a spiritual barrier around the team for extra safety. Although Levi was far away and wasn’t directing his attack at them, she had a bad feeling.

Meanwhile, Levi’s loud voice had pulled the attention of nightcrawlers underneath him... most of them raising their heads to see a green dot flickering nonstop.

At once, their instincts screamed at them to run away, their souls squirming in fear... Low-tier nightcrawlers always respected their instincts.

Rooar!! Kreee!! Kraaa!!...

The forest was suddenly filled with a symphony, conducted by a unified feeling of dread... the ruckus had drawn the attention of the nest’s leaders at its depth.

”What’s going on up there?”

”Are we under attack?!”

”Let’s check the perimeter quickly.”

As an unaffiliated Midnight Dominion, the nest’s hierarchy wasn’t strict, allowing a union of Tier 3 nightcrawlers to lead simultaneously... It was more of a survival tactic, as even nightcrawlers understood the concept of strength in numbers.

Thus, the three Tier 3 nightcrawlers emerged from their hidden caves, each distinct in form... a blue Stork with bladed arms, a furless black humanoid Bear, and a scarred Hyena. Their eyes immediately fell upon the chaos of their nightcrawler armies scattering in every direction

They were kicking up clouds of dust hindering their vision... yet, the green light in the skies was bright enough that it pierced the clouds.

”What is that?”

Just as the three partners were about to diagnose the green light, their hearts suddenly skipped a beat... they felt it, something deadly was coming.

They glanced at each other for less than a split second, then they immediately dipped back into the cave, using whatever ability in their arsenal to shield themselves and increase their speed!

Alas... the moment Levi chose their nest to test his spiritual prowess, their fate was sealed...

With fingers stretched wide as if to grasp the forest itself, Levi swung his palm in a straight line as he wanted to smash the earth itself... uttering simultaneously his first decided Battle Arts...

”Aethermancy Arts: Judgement’s Palm.”

The words resounded across the silent forest akin to a divine verdict... and then, in the next instant, all the stored, raging aether energy in his hand erupted downward, creating an enormous beam shaped like an ethereal, colossal palm!!

It descended in a blink, smashing into the heart of the forest with indestructible force!

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The ground quaked violently as over a hundred meters of terrain was flattened in an instant!

Trees splintered into dust, the soil was overturned, and the rocks were broken into fine sand... The nest’s central zone was erased in a single breath with everything above it and underneath it.

Yet, this was merely the beginning...

Whoosh!

A devastating surge of spiritual invisible aftershock rippled outward, akin to a nuclear aftershock... the only difference was the target.

The three elite nightcrawlers felt the powerful tremor above them, almost causing them to trip out in their underground tunnel.

”Motherf*cker... why us!”

”Damn it!! This is our third nest!”

”Keep running! We can always start over somewhere else...”

Before the Bear-like nightcrawler could finish his sentence, the spiritual aftershock had arrived.

Thud, thud, thud...

In an instant, the three of them... along with every nightcrawler within two kilometers... collapsed one after another, their bodies going limp as though someone had simply switched them off

BOOM!! Crack!!

Meanwhile, Jojo and the others weren’t given even the chance to react to this unholy, horrific sight before the spiritual shield got smashed by the spiritual aftershock, cracking at once!

”So intense...” Jojo bit her lips as she reinforced her barrier with her arms outstretched, consuming as much spiritual energy as it took to keep it active!

Seeing her struggle against nothing, Arthur and the others kept switching their dumbfounded gaze between her cracked shield and Levi.

Even their summoned nightcrawlers were left utterly stunned, their eyes widened to the limit from their weapons.

Fortunately, the spiritual aftershock died out as swiftly as it had arrived... leaving behind nothing but an eerie silence across the forest.

”What the actual...” Shia murmured, the lollipop falling to the ground from her parted lips as her aghast eyes were left affixed on Levi.