Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 125: Focus

He felt the same as he’d felt that day.

As if constantly drunk and loose, his giggles coming out easily and his mind impossibly focused yet incredibly dispersed as well.

He was relaxed, calm and warm, but an edge of paranoia and madness constantly gnawed at the edges of his consciousness.

Most would rapidly collapse under such a feeling.

But Uriel didn’t.

The strange sensation was contrasted by the flame of his runic scar, filling him with desire and willpower to strive, fiery and unstoppable.

To say the two feelings were contrasting one another would perhaps be wrong. It’d be more accurate to say they harmonised.

The Sin, what he assumed to be the source of the woozy and loose feeling he had, made him feel overflowed with joy and warmth, his face flushed as if he were drunk and his mind free of any inhibitions.

On the other hand, his runic scar filled him with a burning flame, a will to pierce the heavens and reach the void to form his own world, his own utopia.

Dancing while drunk, overflowing with euphoria and desire.

That was the only way he could describe his state.

It felt like he was dancing amidst a lively and active crowd, laughter and chants ringing loud, an ensnaring tune of sharp old pianos and cuban tres percussions echoing loudly in his mind, the skies a radiant dark blue and the air fresh and cold.

Radiant stars dotted the dark blue expanse above and life seemed endlessly beautiful, as did the world, a frozen frame of eternal happiness and joy.

Maracas rhythmically shook, bells echoing and he suddenly felt the world was within the palm of his hand, as if worries were nothing but a shackle and all that mattered was the burning flame of euphoria in his heart.

He felt his soul dancing across the flows of the world, fearless and unfettered, his arms flaying through the air, his feet smoothly gliding across the ground in precise choreography and his smile radiant, laughter wild and gaze piercing.

It all happened in his mind yet it felt like the most real thing he’d ever experienced.

The sensation was intoxicating.

He forgot all about the world and basked in the feeling.

...

Uriel slowly opened his eyes, a soft smile already etched across his face.

’This is going to be a problem,’ he thought with a chuckle.

He’d be a fool not to notice this being the first sign of the path he’d chosen to accommodate his sin. If this was only the beginning, hell was soon to come.

He’d managed to control himself today and rein it all under his control, but what about tomorrow? And the day after? And the day after that?

’Things are as they are. I’ll deal with it when the time comes.’

WHOOSH!

Uriel raised a hand, and atmospheric aether gathered around him en masse, the spell sentry flashing to his back and summoning hordes of runes.

He flipped his palm over and the runes linked and assembled to form dozens and hundreds of formations that widened, then seared and etched into the very igneous rock ground of the cave.

In an instant, hundreds of protection spells were set and the cave, once dark and strange, was now lit in its entirety.

Runic seals stood in front of every tunnel dotting the cave, blocking anything from entering or exiting, set alongside detection formations which would alert Uriel of any movement or foreign threat.

’I’ll stay here until I finish at least three of my training targets, if nothing happens by then, I’ll go explore the tunnels.’

He paused for a moment. ’The others should be...alright. I hope so. They’re stronger than me.’

’Yeah, they must be.’

Deciding not to let worry overwhelm him, Uriel stood to his feet and slapped himself awake, his ivory gaze burning with determination.

He’d leave this cave able to defend himself, at the very least.

...

But it’d have to start with the basics.

And the most important of basics in any matter of survival was to understand one’s own limits, weaknesses and strengths.

After his evolution, Uriel had broken many limits and gained a plethora of new shells, but he didn’t know their limits, nor did he know how to properly control that power.

That would change now.

KAH!

A few hundred meters away from the camp, having donned a simple grey tunic set and finally not naked anymore, Uriel stood in front of a formation parallel to him.

It was made of complex golden runes that layered dozens of times, so much so that any individual rune seemed entirely unrecognisable, almost like a squiggle.

It was the most complex formation Uriel had ever come up with, something he found ironic, both because he didn’t have his circles anymore, and thus wasn’t supposed to be able to cast formations in the first place, but also because he’d been wielding magic for such a short amount of time that such a title meant nothing.

What did ’most complex’ mean to a novice? Every step a novice took towards mastery would inevitably end up being the most complex realm they’d ever stepped in.

It reminded Uriel of—

’Focus!’

PAH!

Uriel slapped himself, stopping his spiralling mind and refocusing on the formation in front of him. His jaw tightened, his cheek stinging and his gaze trembling.

It was getting harder for him to stay focused, every thought seemed to lead into a long and complex tangent that branched out countless ways and created an echo of madness in his mind he couldn’t find clarity within.

It felt like his mind truly had no more inhibitions and allowed itself to do what it desired and drift whatever direction it so sought, disregarding his Will and heart.

It was like an—

"Focus, damn it!"

...

>Enchantment: Cry of Maddone {Jade}

~>Details: A cry constantly echoing within the mind, soothing and regal, meant to calm the mind and plunge one into a constant state of cold and divine focus.

•Massively reduces spiritual agony and soul damage dealt.]

—

He instantly activated it.

A loud hum began to echo in his mind and he suddenly felt a wave of relief crash into him, his body relaxing and his lungs shirking to let out a weary sigh.

"..."

He let silence linger for a moment, tranquility settling across him.

As long as he had aether, he’d be able to maintain this state of focus using his tool.

But coming to this conclusion couldn’t help but lead him to a sobering thought. What would happen if he once again fell into a delirious, aether-depleted state?

With the effects of the sin...just how mad would he go?

’Let’s make sure I never find out.’