Chapter 1808: Connection
"Though I suppose it'd be more accurate to say that the Void Core is just a part of the inheritance she's integrated into the Shadow Plane."
Hearing those words, Valyr felt his jaw drop down from the shock he felt from Arcane's confirmation.
Yet, as if she did not notice the young man's surprise whatsoever, she continued where she left off with a nonchalant tone.
"If we're talking about the inheritance she's integrated into this plane as a whole, then that would be composed of the Shadowsource, the Void Core, and the Abyssal Pool."
"Then again, I don't think anyone's comprehended the essence of the Abyssal Pool as of yet," she muttered to herself. "If someone did, then I would've already felt the resurgence of Chaos Energy in the universe a long time ago."
"Oh well."
Although Arcane talked about it in such a nonchalant manner, Valyr could not help but feel like multiple explosions were going off in his mind at that moment.
After all, at his current level, he only thought of the Void Core as a way for him to better improve his understanding of both Shadow and Void Energy in preparation for the energy that came after it.
Yet, lo and behold, the same Void Core he didn't think too much of was actually connected to a being that prompted even Arcane to be careful with what she had to say.
'…Man.' Falling silent as he processed and organized all of the information Arcane shared with her about the being and her connection to the Shadow Plane, the young man could not help but let out a sigh as he sent out a message through a certain connection.
'…You there, Meyers?'
'What's up?' Not even a second later, Ataraxia's voice echoed within Valyr's mind, allowing the latter to feel a bit more at ease after listening to the bombshell Arcane dropped in front of him.
'You know how I headed to the Shadow Plane, right?' said the latter in return.
'Yeah?'
'Well…'
At those words, the young man began to explain how claiming his long-due rewards from the Shadow Plane led to him finding out that the concept plane was connected to a mysterious entity.
Naturally, he mentioned how Arcane appeared in the Shadow Plane along the way, telling his other self how he wouldn't have known about it in the first place if not for her.
Yet, rather than be shocked by Arcane's sudden appearance, Ataraxia's response to his words sounded more like he had already expected it.
'Oh, so that's why she left me earlier,' said Ataraxia, which made Valyr raise his eyebrow.
'Wait… aren't you currently in the Mystic Plane, though?' asked the latter back.
'Uh huh.'
'So that means Arcane was in the Mystic Plane earlier?'
'Pretty much.' Ataraxia nodded. 'In fact, before she left the Mystic Plane, she told me that you did something that caught her interest, so she wanted to check it out.'
'Something that caught her interest…'
At those words, Valyr went silent for a bit as he went through his entire conversation with Arcane in his head.
Soon, bits and pieces among the words they shared began to surface in his mind, transforming into puzzle pieces that seemed to form a greater image.
Allowing the gears in his head to turn as fast as they could, those same pieces soon fell into place, allowing the young man to better understand not only what he had just done…
But why Arcane had appeared in the Void Core and told him about 'Her'.
'Let's catch up later.' With these words signaling the end of his conversation with Ataraxia for now, Valyr soon returned his attention back towards Arcane as he took in a deep breath.
Then, with a soft exhale, he looked back at her and asked, "Does the Void Core have something to do with her final wish?"
"It does." Seeing that he was finally catching on what she was trying to tell him, Arcane gave off the feeling of a faint smile as she faintly nodded. "Compared to the Shadowsource and the Abyssal Pool, it's the part that aligns with her final wish the most."
"And I assume her final wish is to turn the 81 Phases Mana Reformation Scripture into something that works with Shadow Energy?" asked Valyr in return.
"Not necessarily, no." Arcane shook her head. "Instead, her final wish is to transform Shadow Energy into something that has the same ease of access as mana."
"Whether it be in its usage or in its path to making stronger, she made sure that there would eventually come a day where Shadow Energy could be a counterpart of sorts to mana."
"However, long before she could even take that step…"
As those words echoed throughout the Void Core, Arcane soon went silent, only to then give off a feeling of melancholy and sadness that made Valyr fall silent as well.
After all, even though she did not finish what she wanted to say, the young man already knew what Arcane meant by it.
Then again, with how Arcane was unable to tell him the being's name, it meant that the being was at least around Arcane's level, if not greater while she was still alive.
And if that were the case…
What caused 'Her' to die?
"…I've gone off topic again." Noticing the pensive expression on Valyr's face, Arcane let out a soft cough in a bid to snap the former back to reality. "My apologies."
"…" Though Valyr remained silent at her words, the expression on his face already told the latter what the young man wanted to say to her.
Allowing the silence to envelop them for a bit, the two glanced at each other as they wondered what they should say in order to bring the conversation back to its previous topic.
Thankfully, it did not take long for Valyr to find a starting point.
"So, should I continue what I was doing earlier or…?" he asked, scratching the back of his head in slight confusion.
Knowing what the young man was implying, Arcane nodded as she replied, "As I've said earlier, what you've achieved deserves praise, not punishment."
"Plus, considering how you've already begun to make progress in integrating the two only after comprehending the Void Core's first segment makes me hopeful that you'd eventually make it a reality."
"However, I can sense that your time here is quite limited," she continued. "Although that time has been extended to an absurd degree thanks to the Void Core, you'd still be forced to return after about a decade or so."
"With that being said…"
"What if I offered to help you make Shadow Energy more compatible with the scripture?"