The Glorious Evolution

”You have six aspects, three weapons... the sky is the limit,” Ash’Kral warned. ”Though, don’t try to mix Void or Darkness with Sunflame... they are two opposite forces; you won’t be able to create any decent combo with your current resonance.”

”Hmmm... I expected as much,” Levi nodded.

Levi understood that for abilities to combine, they needed to either elevate each other or synchronize... like the Aetheric Combustion System.

Meanwhile, even though it sounded fun to combine Void with Sunflame, they would start devouring each other until only one was left.

Still, from Ash’Kral’s words, it sounded like there was a chance to make it happen if he had a much higher resonance access. It made sense... the higher the access, the more details he could add, which helped him get more control of those Aspects and thoroughly analyze if there was any way to create a powerful technique from them.

For now, he put those thoughts in the back of his mind and focused on what he could do.

”Let’s create some basic techniques first and then see if I can combine them.”

Levi decided to start with the Sunflame Aspect... he manifested his Starpiercer rifle and requested Ash’Kral to create some wooden dummies across the grass field.After they were created, Levi rested the rifle on his shoulder and aimed at the closest target... then, he started the visualization process of Sunflame Bullets, each one with a different detail.

He already had plenty of practice with his Nine Senses Seed’s Aspect, so the visualization process went as smoothly as butter.

”First, the core...”

Levi imagined a tiny golden bullet born inside the chamber of his rifle... then, he started adding the details he wanted, shaping it to his utmost desire.

For now, he wanted to create an armor-piercing bullet, so he focused only on details that would enhance its piercing effect.

He made it thinner and longer, resembling a golden 40 mm bullet of a Winchester Magnum Rifle.

Then, he made its tip much hotter than the rest, making it glow faintly red... This ensured that it would pierce through most objects.

After adding about eleven details, Levi registered the bullet as a technique in his library and aimed the rifle at the closest target.

Deep breath.

Trigger.

Fire.

The bullet sliced through the air like it meant nothing before it... It reached the target in a blink and went through its wooden chest, disappearing into the void.

Levi pulled down the rifle and checked the damage after noticing the dummy was still standing... he thought that maybe the bullet wasn’t as powerful as he expected, but when he zoomed in on the dummy, his eyebrows rose in astonishment.

”Damn... it pierced so fast, so well... it literally left a tiny hole in its chest without rocking it.”

Levi knew that such a result could only occur if the bullet was almost unaffected by piercing the dummy... like piercing wood was the same as piercing air to it!

This kind of potency made Levi’s grin widen.

He swiftly switched to another type of bullet and fired it at another target... This time, the instant contact was made, the bullet exploded into a giant fireball, consuming the grass field around the target.

Levi kept moving all over the place, firing other types of bullets... he switched to a fracturing bullet that shattered into countless searing shards, resembling a shotgun round.

Of course, Levi wasn’t limited to just sniper gun style... he soon switched to other methods of destruction.

He held his rifle like a machine gun, tightening his grasp on the excess chain attached to the rifle.

”Say hello to my little friend!”

Then, he laughed while firing hundreds of small, fiery golden rounds nonstop, turning the remaining wooden dummies into burnt fragments!

Once he finished them off, Levi pulled the rifle next to his mouth and blew the smoke off the muzzle.

Levi would be lying if he said that he wasn’t having fun... to have this much creative freedom with Sunflame was more than just amusement; it was a morale booster.

To know that he could kill nightcrawlers in any way or form made him confident in taking down even the Leviathan Phoenix in less than ten seconds.

After all, he was no longer limited to the past.

”Alright, let’s test out some basic Void techniques now,” Levi switched his weapon to the Judgment’s Chainstaff.

”Be careful with melee Void techniques... without the Void form, you are still in danger even if the divine skin has enhanced your resistance,” Ash’Kral warned.

”Yeah, I know,” Levi held his chin. ”Though, is it possible to create a Sunflame-infused Aetheric barrier to keep me protected? Vice versa with the Void-infused Aetheric barrier?”

Levi understood that his powers had friendly fire activated... not even he was safe if he wasn’t careful. Without extremely high resistances, such powerful Aspects still posed immense danger to their user.

”It’s doable... You just need to find the right percentage of infusion to ensure that the barrier maintains its Aetheric foundation while still possessing the protective qualities of Sunflame or Void,” Ash’Kral nodded.

”The right infusion percentage...”

Levi wanted to test Void’s abilities, but now... this experiment stole his thought process. He knew it was one of the most important techniques he could create.

He was already using a skin-tight Aetheric barrier, which kept him protected from many things... for example, the Aetheric Combustion he used to propel himself or change trajectories and such. Without the barrier, his skin would have been peeled off by the explosions.

”Aetheric energy is one of the best friendly energies in the universe... it can synchronize with almost anything.”

Levi sat down with the staff resting on his lap... then, he created a big green sphere on top of his palm.

”Sound can agitate its natural frequency and make it reach resonance... but it’s different for Void and Sunflame. I need to infuse the perfect percentage within it to not overwhelm it, but not too little that it won’t do anything...”

Since Aether energy was believed to reside in an untouched plane of existence that separated the physical and spiritual, it possessed the properties of both realms.

That’s why it had physical and spiritual utilities... Levi needed to consider this for his experiment.

Soon, he created a concentrated flame from the top of his finger, expelling it from a couple of centimeters away like a torch.

”Easy now...”

He muttered under his breath as he moved his finger closer to the green sphere... unfortunately, the moment the torch touched the green sphere, it burned it off.

”Too much.”

Levi tuned down the flame’s concentration and enhanced the Aetheric energy concentration. Still, the same result... the flame was too oppressive.

Unfazed, Levi noted the results and kept going, making sure to make small changes in the concentration of both energies.

But, he still kept failing over and over again... since Levi was quite stubborn in such matters, he kept going at it for hours, fine-tuning the concentrations by the smallest of percentages. He had a feeling that Aetheric energy harmonized with any type of energy as long as the infusion was perfectly balanced.

Of course, the infusion percentage meant finding the exact expelling rate for both energies continuously... it wasn’t a fixed rate.

”Am I missing something?” Levi pondered with a deep furrow. ”I have gone through most viable percentages... but, it’s either too reactive or dormant.”

”I think I am too deep in the box.”

Levi stood up and walked away, leaving the Aetheric sphere hovering in midair. Then, he started circling it while tapping a finger on his chin thoughtfully.

He realized that he had taken Ash’Kral’s words a bit too literally... he said infusion was possible, but he also didn’t mention that the solution was that direct.

”Sunflame’s nature is pure and destructive at the same time... it can heal, create, enrich, and simultaneously, burn and destroy corruption.”

”Aether energy’s nature is balance and flow... it can be anything, do anything... a true neutral energy untethered by physical or spiritual.”

”Because of this, Sunflame reacts faster than Aether could respond... this leads to an unstable feedback loop: overload and failure.”

Levi paused, tilting his head in intrigue.

”In paper, those energies should support each other... but, that’s only if I stopped thinking in energy.”

Levi walked back to the green sphere and crouched next to it... then, he smirked, ”Frequency... the key is always frequency and vibrations... they are the tools of manipulating energy at its core since each energy dances at its own unique frequency, and if I don’t find the frequency that can harmonize these two energies, the infusion will always fail.”