== BARRIER TIME ELAPSED: 769 DAYS... ==
"Uuuuggghhh.... Wh...wheeree...aaaamm... iiiii?" I groaned as consciousness returned to me, each syllable stretching like taffy in my disoriented state.
The sensation was unlike anything I'd experienced before—not the heaviness of waking from natural sleep, but something deeper, as if my very awareness had been scattered across dimensions and was only now reluctantly coalescing back into a single point.
"My lord, glad to have you back in the world of the living," Codex replied softly inside my head, his familiar voice the only anchor in this sea of confusion.
"Huuuuhh?" I said groggily, struggling to form coherent thoughts and understand my current situation. My consciousness felt fragmentary, pieces of myself returning one by one like ships emerging from fog. I had the distinct sensation of having been through a coma for the ages, my perception of time utterly distorted.
The cave around me seemed both familiar and alien, as if I were seeing it through new eyes. The crystalline formations on the walls pulsed with slow, deliberate rhythms that somehow matched the cadence of my thoughts. The pool at the center was now completely still, its surface reflective as polished obsidian, showing nothing of its depths.
"Seriously, Codex... what the hell happened...?" I asked, still groggy from the long slumber. My last memory was of the imploding energy, the Container Core formation collapsing inward, and then... nothing. A blank space where experience should have been.
"It'd be best if you expand your soul sense, my lord... otherwise I'm afraid you won't believe me even if you want to..." he said warily.
Now that caught my attention. The cautious tone in Codex's voice was new—he who had witnessed the birth and death of universes sounded genuinely unsettled. Whatever had happened during my unconscious state must have been beyond even his vast expectations.
Even though I felt as if I'd had the most shittiest slumber, I expanded my soul sense nonetheless. The effort was surprisingly effortless, like flexing a muscle that had been strengthened rather than atrophied by disuse. My awareness expanded outward, suffusing the cavern with my perception.
The fact that I could still do it amazed me, considering I was now recalling the painful scorching I went through when I was forming my reactor core. It was then my random weak thoughts ground to a halt, and my grogginess faded away completely.
From my soul sense, something was different—it was interwoven with mana sense. Ideally, I shouldn't even have a mana sense since I was missing my body to even utilize said sense effectively, but... what the hell was this?
Right now, my full mystical senses were anything but normal. Despite the number of times I tried to convince myself I was hallucinating and something wasn't straight, my senses still returned the same feedback, confronting me with a reality I could barely comprehend.
The reason for my astonishment wasn't because I'd failed the reactor core formation... the problem was that it had succeeded—and a bit too well at that.
Right now, inside the cultivation chamber I was in, my soul and mana senses showed me that the formations originally set—the aegis and primordial formation set by Codex—were there but different from before. The aegis barrier that had once glowed with a golden-purple light now shimmered with colors that shifted across spectrums I hadn't known existed, pulsing with a rhythm that seemed to bypass my senses entirely and register directly in my consciousness.
The symbols and runes that composed the formations had changed as well, evolving from their original configurations into something more complex, more integrated. They no longer appeared as distinct elements but as a unified system, each part flowing seamlessly into the next in patterns that suggested intelligence rather than mere design.
Aside from that hovered my core, specifically it hovered inside an ethereal form of which when I paid attention more deeply, my world view—or rather my vision—shifted from using my mystical senses to actual sight.
When I "opened my eyes," I came to discover that I was in an ethereal multicolored form and not in an actual body. My form resembled a spectral version of my human self, translucent and shifting with currents of energy that flowed through me like blood through veins. Each movement left trailing wisps of luminescence that faded slowly into the air around me.
And the eyesight I could see with? It was a combination of all my mystical senses accompanied with the normal color variations of the world. In a sense, it was as if I had obtained my body's eyes but not at the same time, since I currently looked like a goddamn specter. The world appeared in layers—physical reality overlaid with the flows of energy that permeated everything, the hidden structures that supported existence itself suddenly visible and comprehensible.
"Codex... you better have a damn good explanation for what's going on, since what I have in mind is completely out of scope..." I said in complete fascination, watching as my spectral hand left patterns of light in the air with each gesture.
"Well... to be exact, from what details you had shared with me, the procedure involved having your soul being at the very epicenter, to be at ground zero of where the reactions originate so that everything and all reactions afterward won't be poisonous to you and carry your essence signature, thus allowing for you to control even primordial mana not generated from your core as well..." he began, his voice measured, choosing words carefully as if explaining a complex theorem to a student.
The air in the cavern seemed to respond to his words, subtle shifts in the ambient energy creating patterns that complemented his explanation, visual echoes that enhanced understanding on a level beyond mere language.
"The process, though dangerous, succeeded and it did exceedingly well. In the year you were in a coma, caused by your subconscious mind to protect your ego, the reactivity of primordial mana increased exponentially and continued to do so. The Container Core formation, fueled by the primordial mana's reactivity and increase in quality as well as quantity, worked as intended in being the outer shell of your actual core..." he continued.
An entire year. The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow. I had been unconscious for a large period of time while these transformations reshaped my very essence. The world outside had continued turning, events unfolding, time flowing unceasingly while I remained in stasis, evolving into something new.
"However, due to the unexpected violent and higher nature of primordial mana itself, the formation... evolved. It did its work and went a step further ahead, eliminating the other processes we would have undergone to improve your strength. Since your soul was at the very center of it all, it used it as a template to form an outer shell itself, the ethereal spectral version you can see currently."
As Codex spoke, I examined this spectral form more closely. It wasn't merely a visual representation of my soul; it had substance, albeit of a kind that defied conventional matter. I could feel sensations through it—the ambient temperature of the cavern, the subtle currents of energy that flowed through the space, the weight of my own existence in a way I had never experienced before.
"This evolution was triggered because of the large quantity of the mana being generated outside the scope it was meant to handle in both quantity and quality. And with the safeguards inside the spell, it ideally self-generated more of itself and grew with whatever limits your subconscious soul could handle as the maximum output of reactivity of primordial mana."
The implications were staggering. The formation, designed merely to contain and channel the energies I was manipulating, had evolved beyond its purpose, developing a form of emergent intelligence that anticipated needs I hadn't even articulated.
"As is, think of the specter form you're in to be a representation or form of your soul. In short, if the formation had not evolved and formed this specter form to be your first line of defense protecting itself as the shell of your actual core as well as your soul, many perceptive beings would look at you as a being with no soul at all since the nature of your core would blind them."
Damn, that was... badass. My current specter form was only that, like a specter, but I could feel as if it could do... more. Much more. It was a conduit for power, a buffer against hostile energies, and potentially, a weapon unlike any other.
With that, I thought of casting a simple fireball spell, curious to see how this new form would channel energies. Upon silently mind-casting, a ball of fire hovered over the ghost-like multicolored hand I had raised.
But the next thing that happened was the fireball suddenly began increasing in size, its flames shifting from mundane orange to blue, then to white, and finally to colors that had no names in any human language. Within seconds, it looked similar to a miniature sun, its heat and light so intense that it should have vaporized the cavern around me—yet somehow the energies remained perfectly contained within the spell's boundaries.
Before it grew even larger with the smallest of inputs of mana I was doing, I cancelled the spell, hastily withdrawing my will from the construct before I blew up my humble abode. The fireball dissipated not with an explosion but a soft implosion, its energies drawn back into my spectral form like water down a drain.
"Seriously, this is too much.... I will need further experimentations since I doubt the capabilities I have in mind are barely scratching the surface...." I said, both thrilled and terrified by the power now at my fingertips. What I had just witnessed wasn't merely an amplification of a basic spell—it was a fundamental transformation of how magic itself functioned through my new form.
The cavern around me seemed to respond to my emotions, the crystalline structures pulsing more rapidly, the ambient energies swirling in patterns that reflected my mix of excitement and apprehension. Even the air felt different against my spectral form—not as a physical sensation but as varying densities of potential, regions where reality was more or less malleable to my will.
"For now, let's work on the body to contain and hide it all," I said, most definitely feeling even more vulnerable with how 'exposed' I was. Despite the immense power at my disposal, I felt naked, visible to any being with the slightest sensitivity to energies. Without a physical form to contain and conceal these powers, I was a beacon in the darkness, a flare that would attract exactly the kind of attention I needed to avoid.
It was as if I was completely naked with only my core in the center of this abode of earth and complex ancient and archaic formations. My very essence exposed to the universe, vulnerable despite its strength—like a star whose brilliance makes it impossible to hide.
=== BARRIER TIME ELAPSED: 780 DAYS... ===
From the time I awoke a few days ago, I've been living in some form of torment. The process of constructing a new physical form was far from the peaceful meditation one might associate with spiritual cultivation. It was agony given purpose, suffering with direction.
Why such torment? Simply because I was playing with one of the most dangerous forms of existence: matter and antimatter, which I needed to balance to create a container for my body.
With the pain I went through as I was forming the core, it barely felt like a scratch right now as I was growing each body part down to the very cellular and atomic levels. Each moment was a concentrated eternity of sensation as I crafted flesh, bone, nerve, and sinew from raw energy, imposing my will on reality at its most fundamental level.
But from the outside, it was a grotesque spectacle, looking eerily similar to a fast-forwarded formation of a baby, but now said baby looked like a 25-year-old young man. The process was not linear or orderly—sometimes organs would form before the tissues meant to contain them, bones would materialize and hover in empty space until muscles could be constructed to anchor them. Skin would appear in patches, revealing the raw musculature beneath before smoothing over into a seamless whole.
The reason I was even attempting body formation with matter and antimatter was crucial with how my core was formed. Since I had my outer soul (the ethereal spectre form that made controlling my senses and now new body much, much easier), I needed to have a body strong enough to handle such powerful and volatile reactions and energy from my core.
The conventional flesh of a mortal—even one strengthened by cultivation—would have been incinerated in an instant by the energies I now commanded. I needed something more, something unprecedented, something that could withstand forces that would shatter planets.
As such, creating a body with the concept of atoms and matter was ideal since I could strengthen each and every single atom as I formed the cells accordingly with my primordial mana. Each atomic nucleus was a masterpiece of construction, a balanced system of forces that normally required the hearts of stars to create. I was doing this billions of times over, atom by atom, molecule by molecule, cell by cell.
But this then brought the issue of what would happen when I grew stronger, when I needed to handle even higher levels of primordial mana. The body I was constructing now might serve for a time, but eventually, as my power grew, even this enhanced form would reach its limits.
Currently, I only had a premium form of primordial mana that, if I were to compare, was at its weakest despite the quality and quantity. It was as if I was an E rank mortal if compared with the normal cultivation ranks. But in my case, I was an 'E rank' who could match evenly an EX rank and defend accordingly against a Demigod of the mortal plane. The implications were staggering—I was beginning at a level of power that most cultivators would spend lifetimes striving to reach.
To that end, the concept of antimatter was introduced. By harboring and fueling the nullification effect that matter and antimatter had on each other, I was progressively strengthening my body to withstand even higher amounts and quality of any form and type of energy I might need to control in the near future.
The process was excruciating. Matter and antimatter naturally annihilate each other upon contact, releasing energy that dwarfs nuclear reactions. Yet here I was, forcing them to coexist within the same structure, creating a state of perpetual tension that would have instantly vaporized any conventional matter. Only my will, channeled through the primordial mana that now saturated my existence, kept the reaction contained, controlled, directed toward creation rather than destruction.
Each cell of my new body was a miracle of contradictions—matter and antimatter held in perfect balance, neither able to fulfill its nature and annihilate the other, both forced to coexist in a state that defied the fundamental laws of physics. The energy produced by their proximity, their constant straining toward mutual destruction, was channeled and harnessed, becoming a source of power in itself.
In short, I was turning myself into an endgame boss—a being whose very existence challenged the rules of reality, whose power derived not from harmony with natural laws but from transcending them entirely. The irony wasn't lost on me—in my quest to hide from cosmic threats, I was becoming exactly the kind of entity that would draw their attention.
But as another wave of pain washed through me, as another section of my nascent body took form, I knew I had no choice. To survive in a multiverse where the likes of the Proteras hunted me, to preserve the timeline I had been tasked with anchoring, I needed power beyond conventional understanding. I needed to become something new.
And so I endured, atom by atom, cell by cell, molding myself into a vessel worthy of the power I now commanded. A body that was not merely flesh but a perfect synthesis of matter and energy, existence and void, being and non-being.