I floated through the starry skies, pulled by an invisible force I did not comprehend. Nor did I want to. The distant stars twinkled in the tranquil astral sea, a stark contrast to the upheaval in my heart.

Was that man really my brother from another life? Were these dreams even related to my previous life at all, or simply scattered accounts of other people? The emotions in my heart suggested there was more to it than I liked to admit. If he really was my brother, what had happened between us to make us fight for our lives? And what of Mother?

The emotions from the encounter had barely subsided when an anchor seemed to pull me down somewhere. I could no more resist the pull than I could deal with the unbridled emotions. It stopped once my form landed on a staircase that led nowhere.

Starry darkness swept everywhere except for the massive staircase built of precious jade.

WELCOME.

A voice far more primal pressed upon my very soul. It took a moment for my addled mind to grasp, but it was not quite a voice. It was similar to how the Spell communicated, but the consciousness that pressed upon me was damnably ancient and burdensome to my psyche.

STEP FORWARD.

As though entranced by the voice, my legs moved of their own accord. A little weight pressed down on me as soon as I took the first step. Brilliant green light radiated from the jade stone, but otherwise, there was nothing more mystical about it. Well, the green jade seemed like a great crafting material. The staircase itself felt like a palatial monument on its own, imprinted with various unfamiliar scripts.

I traced my fingers over it, trying to get a better feel of the mythical apparatus of the path. It did not help.

A part of me—a studious, scholarly part—wanted to sit down right there and study them, decipher their secrets, and see if I could replicate them. However, another part of me, the more rational and clever part, told me I could not linger here. The pressure on me was rising steadily. It was not uncomfortable yet, but for how long it would stay that way, I did not know.

There was definitely an opportunity here, but it was not in deciphering these enigmatic texts.

As though prompted by my thinking, the opportunity presented itself. An ethereal green thread sprung forth out of the jade and passed into my essence seed. I blinked involuntarily, concentrating on the thread.

Soon recognition came. Unlike the elusive formation, my Arcane attributes had no difficulty interpreting it.

The thread showed a path forward. A path to Noble Class. This one, in particular, majored in arcane elements, fire to be specific. A rather simple path, to be honest, though that did not necessarily mean it was weak. The greatest benefit it allowed was evolving my Arcane Affinity to Greater Fire Affinity, which would not only strengthen my fire spells, but even diminish the essence burn greatly. Even my fire runes would benefit from it.

Unfortunately, it lacked the versatility for me to walk this path.

My gaze drifted to the next unlit step. I did not hesitate to step forward.

Frankly, I had expected the Spell to describe each thread and what it entailed, but everything was left entirely to me.

The second step doubled the pressure on me, but my attention was on the illumined tread from where four green threads flew to join the lonely thread of fire path.

Each of them held an element of their own. Wind, earth, water, and kinetic force. Similar to the first path, their merits were simplistic. Treading on one of them might not disable me from shaping other elements, but it would surely impede them.

Having no interest in leaving out the elements I spent hundreds of hours training, I pushed on to the third step.

Here lay the dual elemental paths. Fire and wind. Water and wind. Earth and Fire. Kinetic force and fire, and various other combinations.

A doubtful man might have pondered on these paths, perhaps even given in to one of these paths. After all, it was not easy to train many elements. But there was no shred of doubt in my mind as I carried on.

The fourth step added another element to the path, along with doubling the pressure.

The sensible thing to do was to climb on.

Upon the fifth step, doubt finally crawled up in my mind, because there was one path here which combined all the elements. It even merged both Arcane Acuity and Affinity into one greater attribute. Here, I would not only lose none of their expertise, but the greater attribute would even double the effect.

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Certainly, it was the most enticing path so far.

But there were still steps forward. It would be foolish to choose without learning about all the options on the table.

There were finally paths that majored in runes and craftsmanship in the sixth step. There were even a couple that added expertise to the elemental paths. It was from here the climb became excruciatingly agonising. The toll it took to climb this far became visibly evident in my posture as I had to hunch forward to the next step.

My feet wobbled as soon as I landed on the seventh step, and the threads clinging to my body from the very first steps only made it harder.

Balancing myself, I evened my breathing even though I was sure I was not in this jade path in my physical body. I was simply a prisoner of habit. With deliberate action, I channelled power through my veins and exerted a counter-force to maintain steady footing.

Proceeding on, I interpreted the newer paths. There were fewer of them, adding various physical mastery. There was one that merged Alacrity and Body Coordination into Combat Reflexes, one fused Alacrity and Agility to Enhanced Flow, some even gifted new Advanced attributes like Enhanced Physicality, Higher Endurance, Perception and everything.

Clenching my teeth, I pressed forward. The eighth step almost sent me backwards. The flow of essence became more erratic as I fell to my knees. I sat hunched forward. Darkness lingered at the edge of my sight, only the threads illuminating my unwilling form.

This is it.

The eighth step seemed to be the very limit of my capacity. One more, and my body might not survive. My soul might be torn apart by the sheer force.

Well, eight was the sanctified number, was it not? Octagonal formation, eight threads, eight aether-roots to advance. It made sense that I had to stop at the eighth step, for beyond it was only for those who had achieved noble class. But then I remembered the ninth aether-root I had formed, the one that had catalysed it all. Could there be a step beyond?

Before I tried anything foolish, I put my attention on the newer paths. Along with all the merits of the previous ones, the paths of the eighth step awarded auric enhancement on top of them.

Shuffling through them all, I found a path that was everything I could hope for. It did not attenuate my arcane abilities, but emboldened my physical attributes, enhanced my aura, and most significantly, inspired the novelty of invention. A scholar of Invention.

There was an alternative to this path, where instead of the novelty of creation, it focused on combat. Everything about it reeked of maximising battle efficiency, be it spell casting, physical combat, or aura mastery.

Of course, it could not take away my creativity, the way I think, but I still leaned more towards the other path. It had the perfect balance of combat and creativity without discounting my natural affinity.

Now the question is, as my eyes drew towards the darkness ahead, should I tread the path, or move forward?

Well, it doesn't hurt to try.

Mustering my strength, I stood straighter and advanced with everything.

I was wrong. It did hurt to try.

It was as if a mountain was on my back, crushing and tearing my muscles and bones. I told myself it was all an illusion, that my physical body was on the top of the chapel. What I was feeling here was false, merely delusion...

Surprisingly, it was helpful, though the crushing force on my soul was similarly very real as well.

My essence eluded my grasp, surging erratically. The threads—the path to noble class—clinging to my core were ripped away one by one under the duress. The fragile elemental strings were first to be shredded into nothing, followed by the more elite paths.

My heart clenched, but before panic could take hold, my right foot landed somewhere solid.

A green burst of light blazed beneath my feet, almost covering me completely, tearing apart the flimsy threads.

I can step back, right?

If that doubt remained in my mind for even a fraction of a second longer, perhaps I would have been thrown off the jade path completely. Thankfully, I saw a slight green line threading out to enter me.

At first, it was too convoluted, but once it settled, I understood.

No more threads joined it, as there was no need to. Because this path showed all the way forward and even backwards. It displayed what a Shaper's way should be.

A shaper can be anything they wish, Mum's words rang in my mind.

And there was also an option for Gift Transfiguration.

None of the paths had a merit that could be compared to Gift Transfiguration. None of the noble paths should, for something like this was nigh impossible before Fabled Class.

My finger traced over the single thread. Without waiting ceremoniously, I pulled it inwardly into my essence seed.

Now, let's forge my Noble Class.

...

[Honour acclaimed!]

[Wunderkind (Noble) had evolved into Prime Seed (Prestigious)]

My eyes fluttered open, blearily watching the slight waves on the surface of the golden dome. The shrieks of the abominations had not diminished in the time I was away.

I ignored all the chaos around me to sit calmly.

[Prime Seed (Prestigious): You have crossed a step beyond the conventional path. +20% to all aspects. +20% to all attributes. Auric Enhancement.]

A storm brewed within my essence seed. It had swallowed all the essence threads, its form growing more substantial, ablaze in a smouldering green light.

The nine aether roots had banded together to form an advanced Aether roots, the braids unrecognisable in the luminescence.

The transformation was not instantaneous, but it hardly took more than a few minutes. Nine higher essence threads sprung out from the prime seed and spread throughout my body. They branch out, each of them once again splitting into eight elementary threads, forging new channels, firmer and more symmetrical than before.

[Alacrity (Elementary) and Body Coordination (Elementary) have merged into Uncommon Reflexes (Advanced)]

[Arcane Affinity (Advanced) and Arcane Acuity (Advanced) have merged into a singular attribute: Arcane (Greater)]

[Attribute gained! Adaptive Physicality (Greater)]

[Transfiguration of Fractal Soul is complete.]

[You have gained the boon of Rune Imprint.]

[You have taken a large stride into Noble Class.]

[May your path lead to prosperity, Wayfarer.]

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