Origin Seeker

Although Dream and Sophia were working with Aegis's skills, it didn't take nearly as much of a toll as it did when working with his own skills.

Even when Sophia was writing the entire Nexus skill it didn't take a crazy amount of energy. Although he was tired, he still had around 40% of his energy left afterward. And the reason he was so beat when connecting the skill was because of how he had to cut strings. That wouldn't need to happen this time though.

All Sophia needed to do was edit strings and add some. Both processes were easy, and it only took half an hour for Aegis's skills to be totally revamped.

Once they were, the power of the heart coursed through its new skills, stabilizing them and activating them. The first thing Dream noticed happen was the stealth activation.

Once Aegis's stealth activated, the heart alongside the blood vessels seemed to disappear from the 4th dimension entirely. The only reason Dream knew they hadn't was because he could sense them through the connection. But disregarding that, any outsider wouldn't even notice the heart's existence. Even he could barely sense it.

Other than its stealth, Dream could tell that the manipulation abilities had greatly strengthened as expected. In fact, his recovery immediately sped up. This surprised both Luna and Iris who were still treating him. Not only that, but the flow of power from the heart was totally controlled.

Controlling the heart had been a big problem for a while before Dream had slowly improved his enchantments and soul strength. Once he was strong enough, the power could be blocked naturally. But now with Aegis's upgraded skills, he was able to control the power by himself.

At first, Dream had actually weakened since the power wasn't coursing through him. But after Aegis adjusted a bit, he reapplied the flow of energy and rejuvenated Dream. This was different than simply dumping power into him. Aegis was able to directly supply controlled power to Dream's enchantments and skills, supplementing them, not overloading them.

While Dream's power had decreased, it was much more comfortable for him. He had always felt...full. Too full. But now he wasn't. He felt lighter, more flexible, more accurate. Plus, he could tap into that insane reserve of power whenever he wanted. He was only gaining here. 

In general, Dream's power jumped once more. 

After he properly subordinated and edited Aegis, he did a couple more upgrades. First he upgraded and enchanted Aegis's particle body that covered him like armor with solid mana. This particle body hadn't been changed like with the blood vessels. Those he couldn't mess with, but the particles were the same as always. 

Since they were the same, Dream decided to shrink the particles once more. Though this is when he ran into some problems.

First, Dream's manipulation scale had decreased to the sub-10 nanometer range. In fact, after properly measuring, Sophia had measured the scale to about 1.6 nanometers, and if he improved his skill, that would only decrease. 

This scale was so insanely small that he was now in the domain of messing with individual atoms. This posed certain problems as steel was an alloy between carbon and iron. If he kept getting smaller, he would have to arrange individual clusters of atoms himself, making sure the ratio of iron to carbon was correct and that they formed the lattice correctly. Otherwise, it would decrease the overall strength of the material.

While this wouldn't be a problem if he could truly mess with individual atoms, he unfortunately couldn't right now. At the least, he could control clusters of 5 or 6 atoms. This wasn't enough to solve his ratio problem which would require singular atomic precision.

However, after a bit of thinking, Dream came up with a rather genius idea. 

Instead of doing clusters of ratioed steel, he could do clusters of pure carbon and iron. The carbon content of his steel was about 3% percent, creating what's known as high-carbon steel. While he had actually thought about doing pure carbon particles, the steel Aegis was made of had an extremely high flux and mana concentration. They could create magical bonds better than anything else he had, so he was going to stick with it.

Anyway, Dream decided to make clusters of pure iron and carbon. He would extract the carbon and iron, separate them, form them into nanometer-sized clusters, and then mix the clusters back together. When it came time to bond them in the form of his armor, the pure clusters would bond together in the original ratio, creating a macroscale lattice. 

This would give them the strength of steel while solving the problem he had. So knowing that, he decided to do it.

After resting for a day and getting back to peak strength, Dream took some dense solid mana to act as a microscope. With it, he scoped over all Aegis's particles and did exactly as he planned. 

This process took a few hours, and after a few tests with the final product, they found that it worked exactly as hoped. All they had to do then was do some optimizations on the enchantments, after which Aegis was perfect. Dream even got some level-ups for his particle manipulation, bringing it to level 19.

...........

"When are we going to do our advancement?"

As Dream was admiring Aegis and his power, Iris came over and grumbled, a bit displeased. 

"Uhh, soon."

"How soon? We've spent the past few days making sure you didn't kill yourself. You originally said we would do it yesterday."

"Tomorrow."

"...Really?"

"Yes. Now that I'm as strong as possible and we have the necessary solid mana, we can move forward. The only thing I need to do real quick is enchant the dome for something, after which we'll rest."

"Hehe, yay! So tomorrow for sure?"

"Bright and early."

"Yes! That's a promise, otherwise we'll do it without you. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Haha! Luna! We're doing the advancement tomorrow!"

Iris transformed into a fox and hopped back to the couch where Luna was, excitedly pouncing all over her. Dream just chuckled and turned to the dome. 

"*sigh* Last precaution. Let's get it done."

Looking at the dome, Dream went over his last plan. Though before he went inside, he suddenly turned his head to the left curiously.

About 300 meters away was a lone man, unknown in nature, and incomprehensible in appearance. The two looked at each other, neither acknowledging the other. Then, after who knows how long, the man turned and disappeared as if he never existed in the first place. Dream also turned back to the dome, walking inside and preparing for his last precaution.

..........

.....

That night, Luna and Iris were so excited that Dream had to directly put them to sleep using his cognitive manipulation skill. Stuff like that was easy, especially when they didn't resist. 

Either way, the next day the three woke up refreshed. All of them were as powerful and ready as they could be. So after calling over the parents, they finally decided to start the process. 

As of now, Dream and the family were outside the metal dome he built. He was facing them, his face serious.

"Alright you two, we're going to carry out the advancement in the dome. It'll provide protection and an extremely dense mana environment. We've also got the solid mana in there. Other than that, there's nothing else to prepare. We just have to take it as it comes. Old Man."

"Yes?"

"I hate to, but I'm gonna ask you to stay outside. I don't know how your mana will affect the surroundings."

"I'm fine with that. Selene will be with me too. You just need to take care of them."

"Of course. Then if there's nothing more, let's enter. Aegis."

"My lord."

"You know what to do."

"Of course."

After assenting, Aegis walked out from within Dream and manifested in front of everyone. When he did, the family could see the heart and the thousands upon thousands of red blood vessels that comprised him. 

After he stepped out, Aegis went over and merged into the dome itself. The dome suddenly roiled off huge waves of mana before calming itself and directing the power inward. 

"Dream..."

"Aegis will help us with any stabilization within the dome. You'll be able to tap into him with a mana channel should you need to. Sophia and I will also be there to help."

"...*sigh* You're too paranoid."

"Maybe. You guys are a special case though. Never know what could happen. Now, let's go."

Saying so, Dream walked into the dome. The girls turned and gave their parents a hug before also walking in.

...........

Meanwhile, in another realm, on another world, a woman was walking through a garden. 

This garden was special. In it, all the flowers, trees, grass, and bushes were blue with frigid coldness. Even the soil shone with a silvery light as it fluctuated with shocking power. 

The world was bright, not with the light of the sun, but with the shine of the moon. Multiple moons in fact. 6 moons rested in the sky in a circle, and all of them radiated a soft light that nourished the garden below. 

In the center of the garden was a pond. It wasn't a big pond, but not small either. It seemed like an oasis of sorts, and this was true considering the pond was the source of power for the surrounding exotic plants. Even the moons in the sky seemed inferior to its splendor, and they shone most of their light upon the pond as if to highlight its grand existence. 

The woman who was walking through the garden was carefully tending to the plants around her as if they were her children. Sometimes she would rejuvenate a withering leaf, or nourish the soil with a bit of water from the pond. Because of her care the entire garden was bursting with life. So much so that they seemed alive. 

Gras would bend towards her as she walked, flowers would bloom in her presence, even trees would step aside and bow should she come walking through. It was a grand and holy sight that made one wonder if she were a goddess. 

Right now, the woman was knelt down, tending to an ice rose whose petal was slightly withered. Her features were veiled by moonlight, but it only made her seem more beautiful. 

Suddenly though, the woman's head lifted. From under the veil, her eyes opened. They radiated such might and light that the moons couldn't match up to it. 

"A daughter... Advancing outside the realms. Luna... She is worthy of a blessing."

Smiling, the woman stood up. When she did, the 6 moons shone with unprecedented brightness as they encompassed her in light. The next moment, she disappeared from the garden. 

..........

In another realm, in an unknowable dimension of space, a being was drifting.

This being didn't have a definite form. It was dark, however. Darker than even the empty, lightless space around it.

It radiated chaotic energy that would kill anything that got near. Energy that would devour everything that approached. Energy that would eat entire worlds. It wouldn't be inappropriate to liken this being to a black hole.

Out of this darkness though, two eyes suddenly opened. When they did, the previously unidentifiable being took on form. It was a man clad totally in black garments, a black mask, with black hair and black skin. Everything about him was black as if he radiated darkness from himself.

"A daughter. In the outer cosmos. Annihilation? She's a good candidate."

Saying words not unlike the woman's, the being suddenly warped in on himself. In mere moments, he disappeared, and the space around him seemed to get a little brighter.

...........

"Hmm... Luna, is it?"

Up in the space outside of Dream's factory, that woman who disappeared from the moonlit garden reappeared. Nobody could sense her presence, and nothing could hide from her eyes. She looked down at the three people inside the dome. More specifically, at the woman with white hair.

"...She reminds me of myself from so long ago... This blessing should serve her well. Maybe we'll meet in the futu-"

As she spoke, she was suddenly interrupted by a dark force not far from her. About a mile away, a spiraling void opened up, curving the light around it and spitting out a being clad in black garments. 

"Mm, there really is a daughter here. Wait... I blessed her father with a lesser blessing a few years ago. Interesting. And that other woman, can I assume that's why you're here, Moon Goddess?"

The black being casually turned to the woman not far from him with his black eyes. She similarly looked at him, though she wasn't as casual and shivered a bit with fear and apprehension. 

"Yes, I'm here for one of my daughters."

"Those two are both daughters. Looks like they're twins. An amazing miracle. They should've destroyed each other at birth."

"Indeed. I only plan to give her my blessing."

"As do I. But we can't both give blessings to them. They're directly opposed, and if we-"

{You don't need to worry about that.}

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the heads of the two. Their eyes went wide.

"Solomon!"

{Hello, void god. And hello, moon goddess.}

"Solomon."

The moon goddess curtsied a bit towards a certain direction in space. The void god also turned and looked at the same area, though with less subservience and more malice.

"What are you doing here, Solomon."

{Just overseeing this advancement. Thank you two for coming by the way.}

"Of course you knew. Are you going to prevent me from giving a blessing?"

{No. But I will prevent you from doing it yourself. As for the moon goddess, she will give her blessing alongside a friend of mine.}

"...Who is this friend?"

"That'll be me."

Along with that voice, another person appeared. It was a woman. She was dressed in white robes and had bright golden hair. On her head was a helmet, and she carried a shield and spear.

"Athena?! You... No, that can't happen! We can't both give a blessing. Those girls are connected, and if they directly oppose each other, they'll kill each other. Solomon, I wish to give that girl a blessing. Are you going to oppose me?!"

The void god lashed out a bit after seeing Athena appear. He already wasn't happy about the situation.

{Hmph. Void god, you cannot stop me even if I did.}

"Are you sure about that? There's nothing I can't eat. There's nothing I can't destroy!"

{Void god, you are only a major god. I'll say it again, you cannot oppose me. The only one who can oppose me is the Deamon Sultan, and you are not it!}

"..."

{Besides, I don't plan to stop you. I only wish you to apply the blessing through me. They will both receive a blessing.}

"...You and your plans. You have your entire faction, why must you make a big deal out of these two?"

{They have relations with a specialist.}

"...That boy? He's a specialist?"

{Yes. A Seeker.}

"So you're training another one... But how will that keep those two from dying?"

{He will find a way.}

"Are you serious? There's no way he can handle that. Nobody can."

{You don't need to worry about that. Now, give me the power of your blessings! I don't wish to be here forever.}

"Actually Solomon, I have a better idea."

Athena suddenly spoke before they gave the blessings.

{What is it?}

"My blessing won't be compatible with this one. She's not a virgin, and her beliefs don't match up with mine."

{Hmm... She wishes to protect. She's a healer, a guardian.}

As Solomon spoke, the pressure on the three others increased. He was observing, and to observe more thoroughly, he needed to increase his presence, something that increased his pressure.

{I see. You are right. Leave a partial blessing, and summon Apollo.}

"Very well."

Nodding, Athena put out her hand. Out of it came a small globe of light that swirled with two different essences. After that she disappeared, and not long after, Apollo appeared.

"Solomon! I knew you would call me!"

With a loud, mighty voice came a man clad in robes. He shone with bright light that resembled the sun, and around his shoulders slithered a large python. He was athletic and his beauty seemed to surpass that of even the moon goddess.

Despite the grand entrance though, the void god just sneered. The moon goddess also looked on, not with any derision, but not with any awe or respect either.

{Apollo, leave a blessing.}

"For that girl right? Athena was right, she isn't very compatible with her. I'll bless her desire to heal, to fight, and her love of music!"

Saying these things, Apollo put out his hand, out of which came a globe of light that swirled with 3 essences. It was similar to Athena's.

After that, Apollo took his leave.

{Void god, Moon goddess.}

"...I warned you. Don't be surprised when they kill each other."

Shaking his head, the void god put out his hand. Out of it came a black orb that sucked in the very light around it. Space also seemed to corrode, symbolic of the essence of the blessing.

Not saying anything, the moon goddess did the same. Hers was a white orb that swirled with a silver and blue essence.

After this, the two disappeared back to where they came from, leaving the 4 blessings in the air.

{...The greeks are minor, the moon goddess is a partial major. Together they should balance with the void god, a full major. Now it's up to him. He's got the alignment, so it's possible. Either surpass this trial, or die trying. I've never attempted this with such weak beings from the cosmos before. Hopefully, I won't be disappointed.}