Discordant Note: Crescendo | TBATE

Chapter 255: Willbearer

Thank you to my beta reader and editor, GlassThreads!

Toren Daen

I sat atop the ever-still waters of my soul, my legs crossed and my breathing steady. As ever, the void was silent and beckoning, while the even heat of Aurora's soul on my back gave me purpose in what I needed to do.

"I do wonder what you shall perceive during this test of yours," my bond said, sitting in a mirrored position across from me. "Though I was Willbearer of the Asclepius for many an age, we asura do not know the true intricacies of what a Beast Will is, nor the effects it has on the deeper essence."

The flame-shrouded bird of my Phoenix Will sat nestled on my shoulder, the sentience within sensing my upcoming plan. After all, I was about to enmesh with it on perhaps a deeper level than any user ever had.

I did not truly need to breathe where I sat in my soul. Already, I knew the form I bore was like a shadow cast on a wall. This 'body' was like an image of me drawn on a page as opposed to the true vastness of my soul beneath me.

But my thoughts and flow of perception were still that of something beyond. I restricted myself to a degree to this piece of two-dimensional paper, but my thoughts were far, far more pure than anything in the outer world. A true flow of concepts and emotions and intent I did not understand.

But still, feigning the need for breath and life enhanced the calming effects of this soulspace.

"Our Phoenix Will has been the avenue of greatest growth for me," I said absently as I prepared myself. "And if I understand how I absorb this insight and what goes into my assimilation on a more fundamental level, I might be able to improve the process. Or improve my understanding of the soul."

Aurora smiled kindly across from me. "I'll be here to help, however you need me."

The Asclepius Will trilled on my shoulder in agreement, before hopping off and sitting casually on the surface of my soul. Beyond anything else, the intent of the Will was to be passed down and honed. To help its users grow.

And so I took one step forward and allowed myself to be engulfed in fire. At my command, the Phoenix Will became indistinct–a formless mass of orange and yellow–before it sank beneath the waters.

The change was immediate. I felt the rising tide of insight as my soul meshed with the expanse of the Will. Wherever I looked, I saw fire growing beneath the surface of my ever-still soul as I engaged my Acquire Phase. The water did not boil or churn, the concepts and ideas that made me me still whole despite the roaring energy deep below.

I stood, feeling the warmth of Aurora's soul grow hotter. Though her shade stood before me, I opted to turn, gazing at the impossible star of her soul as it turned the void into a wonderful sky.

But it was closer now. The heat increased from a pleasant spring breeze to the bare discomfort of a hot summer day. The waters of my soul glowed with light, the burning fires of insight radiating from my Sea and making the colors refract and change in strange ways as Aurora's soul drifted closer over our bond.

My mother's shade stood beside me, staring up at her soul. "I see," she said slowly, watching the interplay of our souls as the sheer presence of her vast power influenced the pulse of the Phoenix Will as the waters of my soul bled light. "This is how you perceive my effect on our Will. But this is nothing new, yet."

I nodded slowly as I looked down at my reflection in the impossibly flat sea. I thought I could feel a bit of it–part of my essence stretching ever-so-slightly from the growth of kindled fire deep in my soul.

"The Acquire Phase is the barest fraction of this power, though," I said, my voice calm. "It is like dipping my toes in the water. But if I want to really understand, I need to take the plunge."