Chapter 264: An Untraceable Origin

Ravian remained seated at the table, studying his reflection in the mirror without allowing his interest to show.

The intruder had previously mentioned something protecting the center of his soul, but it had never referred to the book so explicitly before. If it could perceive Sovereign Pride itself, that raised an unpleasant question about just how deeply it had managed to penetrate his secrets.

“Which book are you talking about?” Ravian asked.

The left half of his mouth curled into a mocking smile.

“Don’t play dumb. That thing calling itself Sovereign Pride.”

‘Holy… shit.’

That was not a name the intruder should have known.

Ravian resisted the urge to react and directed his attention toward his consciousness, where he sensed unusual activity within the occupied territory. The black inscriptions approaching the center of his soul had stopped expanding, while several threads had gathered before the barrier maintained by his Soul Crown.

It looked as though the intruder was attempting to examine something it could not reach.

Whatever the case, Ravian needed to understand exactly what it wanted.

“And what do you want to know about it?”

“Its origin,” the entity answered without hesitation.

“Why?”

“Because I can’t find it.”

Ravian frowned slightly.

‘And he thinks I’d actually tell him?’

“What do you mean by that?” he asked anyway.

He received no immediate answer. Instead, the black territory within his consciousness began to change, and the enormous eye he had seen earlier appeared once more. This time, however, it was not looking at him.

Its gaze was fixed on the place where Sovereign Pride manifested within the center of his soul.

“Show it to me.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because there’s something I want to confirm.”

Ravian considered the request, even though his answer to such a demand should have been obvious.

Ever since the entity had invaded his consciousness, however, his thoughts had been in turmoil. He had spent days defending what remained of his soul, attempting to understand the limits of the possession while enduring the constant interference of an opponent whose capabilities he could not properly assess.

Under ordinary circumstances, he would never have considered cooperating with something that was actively trying to steal his body. Yet he could not ignore the possibility that its sudden interest in Sovereign Pride might reveal something important.

He had no intention of giving the intruder additional information about his book, but he wanted to understand why it was so interested in something it apparently could not identify.

Besides, even now, Ravian was still capable of killing himself quite easily if the situation took a turn for the worse.

With that in mind, he decided to let the intruder see only the form it was apparently already capable of perceiving, without opening the book or revealing it completely.

There was another reason he was willing to take such a risk, however considerable it might be.

‘Even I want to know more about this book.’

Sovereign Pride appeared within his spiritual space, settling near his Soul Crown.

The moment it fully manifested, the black inscriptions surrounding it began moving erratically, attempting to approach before being immediately forced back by a repelling power.

The intruder’s reaction was not exactly fear. If anything, it seemed closer to confusion.

The enormous eye remained fixed on the book for a long time. Then, thin black threads extended from it, attempting to approach the center of Ravian’s soul, but they were stopped at the same boundaries the intruder had repeatedly failed to overcome.

“That can’t be right,” the entity muttered within Ravian’s consciousness.

Ravian heard the words clearly.

“What can’t be right?” he asked, a note of optimism entering his voice.

The intruder did not answer immediately. When it finally spoke, its voice was noticeably different from its usual mocking tone.

“Who created this book?”

“Who knows?” Ravian replied.

“You’re lying.”

“Believe whatever you want.”

The black inscriptions trembled, and ancient symbols appeared around the enormous eye, changing rapidly as though attempting to arrange themselves into a particular sequence before breaking apart and beginning again.

Ravian watched them with interest but made no attempt to read them. He had already paid the price for his curiosity about the inscriptions on the stone tablet, and he had no intention of making the same mistake twice.

“If you have a question, ask it properly instead of turning my soul into a library.”

The symbols stopped moving for a moment.

Then the intruder gave a short laugh, though none of its usual amusement accompanied the sound.

“You don’t even know what you possess.”

“Apparently, neither do you.”

“That’s precisely what’s impossible!”

Its voice rose abruptly, and Ravian felt the pressure within his consciousness increase.

“Every spiritual path leaves behind a recognizable trace, even if its creator has developed an entirely new cultivation method that no one has ever used before. There are common origins, rules governing how souls develop, and modifications accumulated over countless ages. Nothing can emerge without being connected to at least one of those origins!”

Ravian remained silent, deliberately allowing the intruder to continue.

He had no reason to interrupt an opponent who seemed increasingly willing to explain the very thing that had left it so bewildered. Whether its claims were true was another matter, but hearing them would cost him nothing as long as he remained careful.

And after a few moments, the intruder spoke again.

“Tell me, what do you know about the Golden Scriptures?”

Ravian’s expression slowly but noticeably grew more alert at the question.

“I know they’re the only relic classified as First Rank,” he answered.

A derisive laugh followed.

“That’s all?”

“You’re welcome to correct me.”

Ravian had not expected his opponent to accept the invitation so readily, but the intruder seemed preoccupied with something far more important than provoking him.

After a short while, it spoke.

“The Golden Scriptures are not merely a collection of ancient texts, as you might imagine. They are a record of the spiritual path, preserving origins, rules, and knowledge accumulated since ages that no longer exist in your world’s history.”

The black symbols began moving, and a series of human figures appeared before Ravian. The first was a faint silhouette with barely discernible features, while the figures that followed displayed increasingly significant changes in their spiritual structures.

“The awakening of the soul, the connection between energy and the body, the ability to manifest power beyond it, Domains, Laws, and everything beyond them… All those stages are governed by rules older than most of the civilizations and empires you know. What you call the path of advancement today is merely one version of that path, shaped by countless modifications.”

Ravian studied the figures without attempting to decipher the symbols accompanying them.

“And who made those modifications?” he asked.

“Many.”

The intruder paused before continuing.

“But the Taboos were among those who interfered most extensively with its structure over the ages. Some altered requirements, others introduced new rules, while still others erased portions of ancient paths or closed off possibilities that had existed before their appearance.”

‘So he’s claiming that the spiritual paths we know today aren’t what they originally were… But why is he telling me all this? Has he already decided he’s won this battle of consciousness and stopped caring how much I know?’

Taken together, the intruder’s claims suggested that the current spiritual paths had diverged considerably from their original forms.

That was no small matter, particularly when the changes were somehow connected to the Taboos themselves. If the entity was telling the truth, it meant that the familiar stages of advancement and the rules governing them had undergone extensive alterations throughout history.

It was an important discovery, but Ravian was not prepared to accept it without evidence.

After all, the intruder had previously threatened to wipe out an entire empire, and there was no reason for him to believe everything it said simply because it appeared to possess extensive knowledge.

Its explanations might contain useful information, but Ravian was well aware that a confident claim and an established fact were not the same thing.

“And were you there when all of this happened?”

The intruder laughed.

“You still don’t understand the nature of the existence you’re speaking to.”

…

The black inscriptions began to retreat before gathering around the enormous eye in a more orderly arrangement.

“What resides within your soul—meaning me—is not the entirety of the Golden Scriptures, human. If it were, you wouldn’t have enough consciousness left to think in the first place.”

Ravian did not particularly appreciate hearing that, but he continued listening.

“I am one of countless fragments of their consciousness. Each fragment carries a portion of the record’s knowledge, traces of the ages it has witnessed, and connections your insignificant soul could never withstand. What I possess is not everything the Scriptures know, but it exceeds what you or anyone you know could gather in a lifetime.”

Ravian’s gaze shifted slightly.

He already knew that his opponent was no ordinary existence, but this information offered a more plausible explanation for the nature of the possession.

If what had entered his soul was merely a fragment of a greater consciousness, then the power he was confronting was not the full might of the Golden Scriptures. It was only the portion that had managed to reach him through his reading of the inscriptions.