The room that had previously been a silent witness to their evasion training slowly began to fade. The solid, indestructible walls dissolved into particles of pure light, merging with the air around them.
Kazien, Alvin, Allen, and Arken remained standing in their places, their breathing beginning to steady, staring in awe as the environment around them transformed. Now, they were no longer inside an enclosed room, but rather sitting suspended in the middle of a boundless dimension that resembled the vast expanse of a galaxy.
Clusters of stars and constellations of light swirled slowly in the distance. That expanse of the void did not feel suffocating; instead, it provided an absolute tranquility that soothed the soul.
"You have successfully sharpened your perception and sensitivity toward the movements of god-level energy." Goddess Nirfelia spoke, her voice drifting to break the silence of the cosmic dimension. The Creator floated slowly toward them, looking at the four youths with an expression that had now turned deeply serious and full of caution. "However, sensitivity alone will not be enough to kill Lunarias. You cannot simply keep dodging on the battlefield later."
Kazien and his three spouses sharpened their hearing, realizing that this next stage of training would be far more crucial.
"In the world where you live, the four of you are anomalies considered to be bringers of disaster." Goddess Nirfelia continued, her eyes then shifting to Kazien's three spouses. "Alvin, Allen, Arken, thanks to the bond of the Eternity Contract, the three of you have been blessed with the ability to master and utilize all the magic elements that exist in the universe; all of them mingle and reside within the core of your respective souls."
"Will possessing all those elements be a problem here, Goddess Nirfelia?" asked Alvin, his eyes narrowing, trying to analyze the direction of the Creator's words.
"Correct, Alvin. That is your greatest obstacle right now." the Goddess answered, nodding slowly. "The second stage of your training is not about launching actual attacks or creating destructive spells outside your bodies. Your current training is... Internal Integration. You must unite and fuse the power of the world's energy, the multi-elemental magic within your bodies, with the pure divine energy you just absorbed from the lake earlier."
Allen furrowed his brow in confusion. "Integrating them inside the body? Hasn't that divine energy been within us since we drank that holy water? We were even able to grow wings."
"That holy water only opened your physical vessels, Allen. It merely resides on the surface of your souls; it has not truly merged with the foundation of your magic." Goddess Nirfelia explained with a warning tone. "The world's energy is something mortal and has its limits, whereas divine energy is absolute. If you leave these two energies separated inside your bodies, and then you force yourselves to use the power of a god in the battle later... your blood vessels and mana cores will clash with each other and explode, destroying your bodies from the inside out."
Hearing that explanation, a cold chill instantly crept down the napes of the four youths. They realized how dangerous their current bodily conditions were. Figuratively speaking, they were carrying time bombs within their own bloodstreams.
"You must make those two energies converge, merging into a new harmony within the cores of your souls." Goddess Nirfelia instructed, before slowly floating backward. "Please, begin. Close your eyes, feel the two energies of different hierarchies within you, and try to slowly integrate them."
Without wasting time, Kazien, Alvin, Allen, and Arken immediately sat cross-legged, hovering in the middle of that galactic space. They closed their eyes, turning their focus inward to the ocean of their own minds.
Within the core of his soul, Kazien could 'see' the representation of his power. On one side, there was a giant vortex that was an amalgamation of all the elements of the world's energy. Their colors blended together, forming an incredibly dense and powerful magic storm.
On the other side, there was an ocean of golden light mixed with silver that was very calm yet intimidating. That was the pure divine energy he had absorbed from the divine realm.
I just need to merge them together. Kazien thought firmly.
Slowly, Kazien channeled and pushed his vortex of worldly elemental magic toward the ocean of divine energy. He tried to mix them.
However, in the next second, an internal catastrophe occurred.
A moment after the particles of worldly energy and divine energy made contact within the circuits of his veins, an extremely violent reaction of rejection erupted.
The divine energy that was previously calm suddenly churned fiercely, deeming the worldly elemental magic as something impure that must be eradicated. At the same time, Kazien's multi-elemental magic vortex also rebelled wildly, unwilling to submit to the pressure of the god's energy.
Bzzt... Craack!
An unimaginable pain exploded inside Kazien's chest. It felt as though millions of searingly hot swords were slicing his blood vessels and tearing his soul's core apart from the inside.
"Ugh... Khaak...!"
Kazien gasped, forcefully opening his eyes. He slumped forward, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood. Cold sweat instantly drenched his entire body.
However, those groans of pain did not only escape from his lips. At almost the exact same time, Alvin, Allen, and Arken also experienced the same thing.
"Argh...!" Alvin gripped his chest tightly. The High Elf grimaced in pain, fresh blood dripping from the corner of his lips.
"What the hell is this..." Allen groaned, his body trembling violently. He felt his internal organs being forcibly churned by two giant, warring forces.
"Huby..." Arken suppressed his groans, his breathing ragged as a burning pain spread to every nerve in his body.
The four youths, who possessed absolute mastery over all elements, now had to bear a risk equivalent to their talents. Because they possessed all the elements of magic, the conflict of rejection between the worldly energy and the divine energy within their bodies became many times more chaotic, massive, and destructive than if they could only use one or two elements.
"Stop forcing it if you do not wish to be destroyed!" Goddess Nirfelia reprimanded, her voice echoing with full authority around them. "Do you not understand? Godly energy is absoluteness, whereas your elemental magic is the freedom of nature. If you force them to dominate each other or merely blend like water and wine, they will destroy their container... which is your own bodies!"
Kazien wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. He regulated his chaotic breathing, trying to ease the turmoil within his soul's core. This internal pain was far more excruciating than the brutal physical blows they had received in the first stage.
Forcing them to fuse is a mistake. Kazien thought, his brain quickly beginning to analyze the failure. Every worldly element has its own distinct properties. If I directly smash that entire amalgamation of elements against the divine power, it is tantamount to triggering an explosion within my own veins.
The youth looked at his three spouses who were still enduring the pain.
I must not conquer, and I must not be conquered. Kazien thought again, closing his eyes once more. He took a deep breath, casting aside all the physical pain that was undermining his concentration. They are two different entities. I must not mix them, but rather I must build a balanced order.
Within the ocean of his mind, Kazien separated his multi-elemental magic storm from the divine energy once again. This time, he did not try to make the two collide.
Slowly and very carefully, Kazien broke his storm of worldly elements down into specific, separated threads of mana. A red thread for fire, blue for water, green for wind, and so on. He arranged those threads of elemental magic so that they flowed in an orderly, circular fashion, much like the orbits of planets revolving around a center.
After the paths of his worldly elements were neatly arranged, only then did Kazien begin to draw in the divine energy. However, he did not splash it over them. Kazien channeled that godly energy into the central point, making it a calm and solid core of gravity.
Gradually, he let the threads of his worldly elements revolve around that divine core. Once the two energies were in harmony and did not feel threatened by one another, Kazien began to embroider them. He knitted the threads of worldly energy and the threads of divine energy side-by-side, weaving them into all the circuits of his veins like complementary strands of DNA.
In that very instant, the pain tormenting his internal organs faded. In its place, an incredibly peaceful, utterly pure, and boundless warmth began to flow through all of his blood vessels.
From the outside, Kazien's body began to radiate an entirely new aura. Golden and silver light now merged with the colorful luminescence of all the worldly magic elements. His aura did not explode wildly, but pulsed steadily like the heart of a newly born universe.
Kazien did not keep the absolute understanding he had achieved to himself. He conveyed the method and visualization of that energy order directly to his three spouses.
"Alvin, Allen, Arken... do not force the energies to collide." Kazien said very gently. "Separate your elements, make the divine energy the center, and then slowly weave them together within the circuits of your veins."
Receiving direct guidance from their husband, the three youths instantly realized what they had to do. They immediately corrected their methods.
Alvin, Allen, and Arken began to calm, stabilize, and control their worldly magic elements just as Kazien had done.
In less than an hour later, the bodies of Alvin, Allen, and Arken began to radiate an aura of harmony exactly identical to Kazien's. The pain inside their bodies had completely vanished, replaced by an explosion of absolute power they had never felt before in their entire lives.
Their worldly magic element circuits had fully integrated with the divine energy. The cores of their souls were now no longer merely the soul cores of humans or ordinary immortals, but rather energy cores on par with divine entities. They had successfully implanted the ultimate weapon to kill a god within their own bloodstreams.
Watching the internal integration process proceed so perfectly, Goddess Nirfelia let out a long sigh and smiled very broadly. Feelings of relief and pride swelled in her heart, both as a Creator and as a mother.
"Incredible..." Goddess Nirfelia praised, her voice flowing with admiration. "The four of you have successfully found the point of absolute balance of all the natural elements and divine energy without destroying your bodies. Truly a very perfect integration."
Kazien, Alvin, Allen, and Arken stood up. They exchanged glances and cast meaningful smiles at one another. They could feel boundless power pulsing within their chests.
The Goddess landed gracefully before them.
"You have successfully mastered external perception, and you have also successfully integrated the divine energy from within your bodies." Goddess Nirfelia said, her eyes radiating a seriousness that welcomed a new chapter. "Your primary foundation is now very solidly built."