--
It started as the usual, with Jormund's consciousness arriving at the vast, empty darkness.
He felt the usual weightlessness he felt whenever he arrived here, and he had grown familiar with this place, even learning how to arrive here at will. And just like the first ti after learning of what he should do here, Jormund searched for the spark Cedric spoke of. But unlike the first few tis, Jormund isn't searching as frantically anymore.
Having grown accustod to failure made him feel numb. He stopped worrying and hurrying for no reason. Yet even after all these failures, his faith that the Director wouldn't lie to them didn't falter. Mostly because he doesn't really have any reason to lie to them, moreover, Jormund didn't think that Cedric had any other ulterior motive for holding them back.
But just as he was about to call it a day and add it to the tally of failures, an unexpected change struck him.
It was faint, but he saw it...
There's no way he'd be mistaken since he had grown extrely familiar with the darkness around this place. Even though the difference was so minuscule, it stuck out, especially in a place like this.
Noticing this, Jormund's heart leapt to his throat. Driving his consciousness, he inched closer to that tiny thing, being very careful in his approach, lest it run away from him.
Once he had gotten really close to it. He had his consciousness reach out to it, forming a connection.
As soon as it did, Jormund's consciousness blurred. Then, all of a sudden, he watched as his life passed by before his eyes. It's like he relived every single mont that happened to him since he had developed consciousness.
It was bizarre. He was aware that it's happening, yet he's powerless to stop it. He was even forced to relive the most embarrassing monts of his life, and he couldn't even cringe as he watched it.
When all of it was over, though, Jormund found himself back where he was. But this ti, hovering on top of his palm, was a bright white orb.
'So this is the spark,' Jormund thought to himself.
Yes, indeed. This was the spark that the director talked about. It started out as a white dot and had unknowingly grown into a glowing white orb like this. If the mory replay has sothing to do with its growth, Jormund wouldn't know now; all that's important to him right now is that he finally reached this step.
But before his consciousness left this place, the bright white orb hovering on his palms moved first. It fused itself to his consciousness, causing him to blank out for a mont again.
A wave of information assaulted his mind, details pertaining to the nature of the Primordial Chaos and its relationship with the void. Jormund just gained sufficient knowledge and abilities to now wield the mysterious and elusive might of the Primordial Chaos, which was the ultimate goal of this project.
At the sa ti, this was also a form of acknowledgnt from the realm. An indication that he's one of the two people (for now) that can actually harness the might of the Primordial Chaos without any consequences so long as he acts within his limits.
When Jormund's consciousness returned to his body and he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but release a breath of turbid air. Now, he finally understood why this project was too important to the Border Patrol Guardians.
He already had a clue since coming here. However, the impact wasn't as huge because it was still unknown whether he was qualified back then. Now, though? He gets it. He really does.
Evolvers that stepped into the Ancient Chaos Path are the ones that could truly pose a threat to the Void. Moreover, the path of Ancient Chaos carries imnse potential, one that surpasses the orthodox path to life evolution so far.
Even though there were no physical changes in him. Jormund felt that he's a completely different person from who he was a few hours ago. It's like his mind and ntality existed in a completely different plane of existence compared to the rest. The feeling was the sa as what he felt from the director, which ant that this too was part of the changes brought to him by this project.
A strong wave of confidence stirred in his chest. The gloom and depression completely disappeared from him. Knowing that he had succeeded in this step, nothing was barring his path forward anymore.
Finally, after thousands of years, he had seen a way out of his predicant. To say that this project saved him would be an understatent. He couldn't even care less about the risks that he had to sign off on before participating since the results turned out great.
Looking at his surroundings, a touch of fondness appeared in his three pairs of eyes.
It was ti for him to leave this temporary ho of his. He felt quite reluctant because he had grown to love this environnt because of how peaceful it was, but nevertheless, he had to move on.
'It's fine; I'm sure that after my breakthrough, creating a similar environnt shouldn't be too difficult for .'
After making peace with this, Jormund slithered out of the forest to exit this world.
On his way out, the other participants noticed him, which isn't exactly new; this place was only so big, after all. But due to their unspoken level of camaraderie after suffering the tornt of this project, they have gained so level of understanding of each other.
Seeing Jormund in this state imdiately made them realize that he has changed sohow. Which was strange since he doesn't look different, but the aura he's exuding shifted into a completely different one.
The perceptive ones had a wild guess. But unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to confirm it soon because they couldn't stop Jormund from leaving.
Jormund noticed this too, but he didn't stop to explain. He doesn't owe them anything. And after experiencing the fusion with the spark, he understood why Cedric was being cryptic.
Discovering the spark on their own was more beneficial than having sobody guide them to it. Who was Jormund to interfere with this? That's why he decided to leave them to their own devices.
Besides, he had other matters to attend to. And unless he actually makes his breakthrough, his heart won't be at peace.
**
Cedric was discussing matters with a few of the Paragons and the Chancellors when he noticed a familiar aura approaching them.
With a brief scan of his surroundings, his eyes lit up, and a pleased smile crept up to his face, things that the people around him noticed.
Knock! Knock!
"Co in," Cedric said before anybody replied.
Then, Jormund appeared before them, wearing a semi-nervous and stiff expression, which Cedric found amusing.
"Please pardon my intrusion, Director. I hope I didn't disturb you that much."
"You didn't, don't worry." Cedric waved his hand. "Congratulations, by the way. I am happy to see another one of my kind."
Jormund vibrated slightly at this praise.
"Don't be too anxious. Go get so proper rest, and clear your mind of any distractions. Three days from now, we will facilitate your breakthrough."
"Understood, Director."
"Mn. You're excused."
Jormund gave everybody in the room a curt bow before slithering away. Once he's out of the hearing range, the rest finally reacted.
"Damn! That was quick! There are results already? No, actually, success in the first batch!? Damn!" One of the Paragons looked excited.
Silas, whose eyes also shined when he noticed the vague similarities between Cedric and Jormund's aura, patted the forr's back.
"Well done, Child. This is the best news we've had in the past couple of months."
"I'm undeserving of your praise, Chancellor," Cedric replied humbly. "I wasn't the one who worked hard; I just provided them so clues and tools. The rest was up to them."
As he said this, Cedric didn't forget to notify the Wise Dragon Chancellor as well. He's sure that the old dragon would be imnsely pleased upon learning this and, without a doubt, would appear to witness another breakthrough of the next Ancient Chaos Path practitioner.
"Since there's a first one, there will eventually be a second. Besides, none of them could've done this without you, so you are just as deserving of praise as they are." Silas smiled. "Still, this is amazing. Just having one reach this point was already worth all the investnts made to this project."
"That's right. Having another one of you will greatly elevate our chances against the Void."
Cedric didn't allow any of their words to get to his head. He had to remain calm because this was just the beginning. It's still unknown whether others will succeed or not. It'd be bad to celebrate now only to realize that Jormund will be the only one in this batch to succeed.
One thing's for sure, though. Having known that one of his test subjects achieved what they wanted, whatever they were talking about before his appearance had been completely tossed aside.
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