Louskas smiled slightly as he looked at his hands, but he was still far from his goal. The closest example is the child sitting next to him.
Now, only one thing remained—awakening his shard. Fortunately, this stage was much easier after forming his core. Its radiant black color already contained a small amount of spiritual energy of the same hue.
The development of a core follows a structured path. It starts as black, then transitions to silver, then white, followed by yellow, then orange, and finally red. When the core reaches the red stage, it completely merges with the body. Advancing in this path wasn't particularly difficult—it could be achieved through training to circulate the Soul Sea, especially with the help of spiritual stones.
But shards… were an entirely different matter.
The First Stage: Awakening, When a certain amount of spiritual energy is infused into the shard, it begins to awaken. However, reaching the second stage requires understanding the shard—no one can fully comprehend it, but one must get as close as possible. How does it function? How is it nourished? What is its nature? Once a sufficient level of understanding is achieved and the shard is nourished with enough energy, it advances to the next stage.
The Second Stage: The Flaw, At this stage, a curse—a flaw—manifests within the individual. This flaw differs from person to person, shaped by their nature and self-awareness. Only by accepting and understanding it can one progress to the third stage.
The Third Stage: Acceptance, As for the fourth stage… it remained a mystery. No one knew how to reach it, nor was there anyone who could explain it. Everything Louskas knew about these stages came from Eldron's teachings.
But undoubtedly, somewhere in this world, there were those who had surpassed these limits.
Each time someone advanced a stage, their core would regress by two levels.
Louskas began channeling spiritual energy into his shard, but it still wasn't enough. This wasn't surprising—after all, his shard was one of the Shards of Oblivion. And that was precisely why he had come here.
He turned his gaze to the lake, grabbed his shirt, and used it as a makeshift scoop. Each time he dipped it into the water, he pulled out a handful of bright silver stones—spiritual stones.
He replenished his Soul Sea and directed the energy into the shard. But it devoured everything without reaction, like an abyss in a deep slumber for millennia.
He spent the entire night repeating the process, but by dawn, nothing had changed. Worse still, he knew that if he stopped now, he might never get another chance to awaken it. This was the greatest challenge of the first stage—the uncertainty of whether all the effort would ever pay off.
He forced himself to continue, closing his eyes, renewing his energy as fast as possible before sending it into the shard again. He continued like this… for three whole days.
By morning, the sun shone on Louskas's dry, exhausted face. His body was barely holding together—his skin cracked, his eyes sunken, his body weak, as if he were at death's door.
"Come on… wake up… damn it…"
But—nothing.
His body weakened even further, his soul itself on the verge of shutting down.
"Damn it… damn it… damn it…!"
He gritted his teeth, his eyes still shut.
For the first time… he began to consider giving up.
He had done everything possible—three days in the same position, no food, no water, no sleep. He had pushed his body and mind beyond their limits.
Maybe… it just wasn't meant for him.
But then… a thought surfaced, and he cursed himself for it.
"To hell with fate. To hell with these thoughts! I will do it—even if it kills me! I will awaken it, even if I end up crippled! I don't care how long it takes—even if eternity itself passes—I won't stop! I am the one who decides! I alone decide!"
He roared these words in his mind, still channeling energy into the shard. He had long surpassed his limits. Now, he was fighting against himself—his doubts, his exhaustion, his weakness.
But which would win?
Sweat poured down his body like a fountain. His breath was ragged. Yet, he refused to stop.
By midday, his body swayed.
He was about to collapse…
And then—he did.
As he fell onto his side, his half-lidded eyes caught a glimpse of the lake.
"I lost… to myself… After all, I'm still weak… Damn it."
Regret burrowed deep inside him.
Only a single drop of spiritual energy remained within him.
At the very least… he would use everything he had.
With the last of his strength, he channeled that one remaining drop into his soul, where his shard rested.
His vision blurred. His consciousness began to fade.
But then—
—Something stirred.
A light radiated from deep within him, growing, expanding, merging into his very being.
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he lay there.
"I did it… I overcame them all."
But then, darkness overtook him, and he lost consciousness.