"Darius, I'm not even mad anymore. I'm not. Just… please… for the love of God, I beg you—from the bottom of whatever the hell counts as a heart for me—figure this out."

Darius keeps his gaze straight and just shrugs. "What do you want me to do? I don't get it. Simple as that."

"The fuck you mean, you don't get it? Six fucking days. Six. Damn. Days! Even Arjun—who I swear to God has the IQ of a rock with a dent in it—managed to reach the First Pillar State, and we haven't? You're a split mind of a fucking PhD student! What happened? Did all that brainpower just vanish the moment you got a sword? Was intelligence not part of the package when you loaded in? Because I'm seriously starting to believe that if I cracked open your neural system, I'd just hear elevator music and maybe, maybe find a single, underpaid hamster running on a rusty-ass wheel."

I chuckle, leaning back in my chair on the other side of the table. I won't lie—seeing this side of Houston and Darius is weirdly entertaining. But I know I'm only here in the VR because Houston is absolutely desperate.

And I kind of get it.

It's been six days since we took down the seventh boss. By now, the stage is mostly water, with only a 20-kilometer radius of land around the stairs remaining. Creatures and bosses have stopped respawning, and our fresh water reserves are running low… so we should be leaving any time now.

Still, the extra time has been useful.

Most of us have been fully focused on the new guides—some on one path, others, like me, on both.

The rest have been sharing the knowledge with their squads, though not as seamlessly as The Tower did when it dumped it straight into our brains. After all, we can only pass along visuals, diagrams, and descriptions. But Chiara—being Chiara—managed to compress the information for the first steps of both paths into something structured enough for the others to actually use as guidance, with Ayu's help for the Body Path. They've also started calling them Body State and Pillar State, with each step labeled First State, Second State, and so on.

And progress has been great… for them.

Chiara reached the First Pillar State in just a couple of hours. An absolute freak, but not unexpected. The real surprise, however, came from Ayu. Less than 18 hours after we obtained the knowledge, she stepped into the First Body State. For reference, Imani—the second to reach it—took two days. I took two and a half, though mostly because my attention was divided between the two paths.

So yeah… somehow, Ayu is ridiculously talented at it. And that's great, really. I see her smiling as she makes insane progress every day. Her face is brighter than before, even though I know how painful training in the Body Path is.

As for the others—besides Chiara completely ignoring Body Path and Ayu ditching Pillar Path—we have Lukas, who's also focused entirely on the Pillar, and Imani, who's committed only to the body. Arjun, Wang and I, however, took the difficult route: both paths at once.

And now, I find myself wondering if that was the right call…

"I mean, this is just… ridiculous. Chiara is already halfway to the Second Pillar State, and we haven't even touched the first? I… I don't even know what to say. How can The Tower be so cruel to us, and how can Darius be so damn fucking dumb?"

Houston's frustration stems from the fact that while the Body Path is solely my responsibility—I alone must comprehend and train my body—the Pillar Path is different. Since all three of us are linked to the Pillar, we have to synchronize and align our understanding of it to advance to the next state. Which, of course, is a headache.

For reference, Houston grasped the underlying mechanics in a little over a day. I took close to three. And yet, after six, Darius still hasn't managed to do so, bottlenecking our progress.

"Houston, I don't think we're going to solve anything like this."

"Oh, please, enlighten me. What can we do?"

I sigh and turn to Darius. "What do you think is limiting your progress? The concept of the Pillar itself? The diagram connecting our minds to it? Have you tried trial and error? Chiara mentioned that even if we can't achieve perfect synch, reaching resonance, slight deviations should still work—it'll just take more time. So, what do you feel? Do you sense it moving toward that sweet spot, or—"

"I feel nothing at all."

"Creators of The Tower… please have mercy on this poor soul and release him from his shackles."

I shake my head at Houston's commentary, my gaze fixed on Darius, who has remained composed since the start.

"So you can't seem to grasp the concept… Does it clash with your swordsmanship somehow?"

"Perhaps. I find the concept of the Pillar too abstract. I see no substance behind it, and no matter how many words or diagrams you use to describe it, it still feels off, unclear—like tapping into something you don't really understand and just hoping it works.

You call the Pillar a mass of energy that behaves like matter, yet at the same time, it isn't there, and yet it is. What is that supposed to mean? I see no core, no fundamental principles in this so-called comprehension. If we can't grasp its core, then how can we attempt to master it?"

I fall silent. I don't know what to say.

Darius' words run deeper than I expected, and I hadn't considered it from that perspective.

The truth was, the Pillar Path—at least as far as the First State was concerned—didn't delve into the core of the Pillar but rather a basic approach to it. Contrary to our earlier assumptions, the Pillar wasn't an organ or a piece of brain tissue hidden inside our heads. In reality, there was nothing there. At least, nothing material.

Instead, it was a mass of energy that behaved like an organ—essentially the nucleus of the brain itself. To advance in the First State, we didn't need to dissect its nature. We simply had to sync with it, aligning our minds to specific frequencies and wave amplitudes that mapped our neural pathways to the Pillar, creating a stronger link.

To do that, we had to understand our own minds first. Comparing ourselves to others was pointless—we were all different. Comprehension had to come from within.

And yet, everything Darius said was true.

Was this really comprehension? Did I truly understand the Pillar? Could I resonate with it?

"No substance… no core…" I murmured, mostly to myself. But as the words echoed in my head, a sudden, crazy idea struck me.

Since the Pillar is pure energy—and energy has no fixed shape or form—then why not…

"Okay. I have an idea. What if… Darius simply visualizes the Pillar as a sword?"

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"What?! The Pillar… like a sword?" Houston blurts out, eyes wide.

"I mean, why not? The Pillar is a shapeless mass of energy—it can be treated as anything. Right now, I imagine it as this round sphere of energy, but that's no more true than it being the shape of a rock. So, why not visualize it as a sword?"

"And what would that change?" Darius asks calmly.

"Well, perhaps it would be easier for you if you viewed it that way."

"But is a sword shapeless?" Darius counters.

I fall silent, staring at him. Is it? Well, of course not. A sword has a form, a purpose—its edges, its weight, its balance all define what it is.

But is Darius' question more philosophical? Can a sword be shapeless in some abstract way?

I exhale slowly, rolling the thought over in my mind.

"A sword has a shape," I say eventually. "A blade, a point, a hilt. It's meant to cut, to stab, to strike. It has to have form, otherwise, it wouldn't be a sword."

Darius tilts his head. "Then why suggest the Pillar could be one?"

I hesitate. "Because form is just perception. If I believe the Pillar is a sword, then to me, it is a sword."

"And if you believe it's a sphere?"

I frown. "Then it's a sphere."

"And if you believe it's nothing?"

I hesitate. "Then… it's nothing."

Darius doesn't stop. "Then what are you shaping?"

I pause. "The way I use it."

"And if it has no shape, how do you use it?"

"I…" I stop.

"Is a sword a sword if it never cuts?"

I narrow my eyes. "It still can cut."

"But if it never does, if it is never drawn, never wielded—what is it?"

I open my mouth, then shut it.

"A possibility?" I try.

"Then what makes it different from a rock?"

"It was meant to cut."

Darius is relentless. "By whom?"

"By its maker."

"And the Pillar? Who made it?"

I pause again.

He presses. "Is it a sword? A sphere? A rock? Or is it just something waiting to be used?"

Something clicks in my mind, but I can't put words to it yet.

Darius waits. Then, softer—almost imperceptibly:

"What is it waiting for?"

I swallow.

"…Me?"

Darius smiles. "For you to do what?"

"For me to use it."

"And if it is a sword?"

"To wield it."

Darius leans back. "Interesting. So the Pillar is a sword for you to wield. I think I can try that."

Huh?

I snap out of my train of thought, unsure how my idea of treating the Pillar as a sword turned into a full-on philosophical debate about its meaning. But… did it work? Can Darius actually use this to solve his issue?

"So… you're going to try comprehending the Pillar using that approach?" I ask, still unsure if I'm following his reasoning.

"Yes. Your idea makes sense, and I think I can get a lead from there. But… there's one part that might be a problem."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Even if I visualize the Pillar as a sword and wield it… how do I wield it?" His voice remains calm, but there's an edge of curiosity. "Houston mentioned before that it must be linked to our neural map. How?"

Well, I know how… I already did my part. But I did it the standard way.

If it's a sword… how do you link it? The means have to be the same, but the way we visualize those means doesn't necessarily have to be. Just like before—when I used a purely scientific approach to waves, all numbers and calculations. And yet, now, I rely on a feel for it. Both are the same at their core. Both stack waves, making them constructively interfere, yet they are so different in practice.

So how… how do I visualize a sword connecting to the nodes of the neural pathways?

And not just that—how do I see frequency? How do I feel amplitude?

How do I turn resonance into something a sword can reach?

I let the question settle, turning it over in my mind.

Frequency. Amplitude. Resonance. These concepts exist in physics, in sound, in light—in waves in general. But… how do I make a sword—wait…

My grip tightens slightly.

Unless…

Swordsmanship.

Every strike has a rhythm—a frequency. The repetition of motion, the pacing of a sequence, the intervals between attacks. A slow, measured strike has one frequency, a flurry of rapid blows another.

Amplitude.

There are short, precise cuts and wide, sweeping arcs. The range of motion, the distance covered in a strike—that is amplitude. A small flick of the wrist versus a full-body slash. The size of the movement affects the force, the reach, the impact.

And resonance?

Resonance is when the sequence flows. When each movement feeds into the next. When a strike, a feint, a parry, a follow-up—everything links together seamlessly. The perfect rhythm, the perfect cycle, where every motion connects to the last and sets up the next.

The perfect form of a technique, repeated and refined until it becomes second nature.

If the Pillar is a sword, then the link—it's swordsmanship.

A series of movements, flowing together, from one neural node to the next, refined over and over until they carve out the most efficient path—the path that connects everything in perfect harmony.

Resonance.

My heart pounds as realization takes hold.

Not a static connection. Not forced into numbers or mapped pathways through trial, error, and complex simulations.

No.

I just… wield it.

The Pillar is the sword. The nodes are the targets.

And swordsmanship is the path.

I exhale.

"Swordsmanship," I mutter, my heart still racing from the realization, everything suddenly clicking into place like it was meant to be that way.

Darius grins. "Okay. I'll try it."

He responds, but my mind stays locked on that singular thought. Is it truly feasible? Could I really visualize the Pillar as a sword?

"Well, it looks like Ayu is heading your way. I guess that's it for the VR session. I, uh… I'll go over this with Darius and see if it works," Houston suddenly interrupts my train of thought, snapping me out of it.

Ayu?

"Alright. See you later."

And I disconnect.

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