Shackles Broken

The Glittering Gold Light seemed to slowly swirl in a dance like pattern. Slowly it began to twirl and spin. It seemed to caress his body in a very delicate manner as it seemed to try and cast it's magics upon him. Dime stood there in confusion and... joy as the light twirled around him. He looked at the light and smiled. As the light danced another light began to form. It was pure white in form and seemed to resemble chains that bound his body loosely. The light from my spell seemed to intermingle with the light of the chains and after a few more minutes of dancing the lights seemed to combine forming golden like chains that rattled.

As the chains rattled they seemed to swing back and forth. And slowly they began to unwind from his body. They seemed like a snake dancing around his body in joy. The golden chains seemed to be filled with hope and joy. They slowly floated and danced towards the ceiling and after reaching the top they seemed to warp into the unknown. The strangely peaceful setting was interrupted by a notification from the system.

The system seemed to be trying to put me down by telling me that my magic didn't do it's job but the look on Dime's face was truly.... ecstatic. "YOU CAN CAST 6'TH TIER SPELLS?" He shouted loudly. "WHAT KIND OF MONSTER GENIUS ARE YOU?"

I shrug in confusion at his intense reaction. "The system offered me a bargain and I accepted?! Is that strange?" I ask in confusion.

His heated expression seems to dampen for a second before his eyes become filled with a similar light as before. He looked at me before stating in a strange tone "No it's not strange.... for those that have evolved systems. But for anyone else it would be impossible. What deal exactly did it offer you and what system do you have if you don't mind me asking?"

I looked at him for a few moments while pondering the consequences of telling him. He noticed my thoughtful gaze and slowly began to speak. "I can offer you.... My books on time and space magic for this. It is very useful information and I already have them memorized and copied many times over. Information for information what do you say?"

I nod slowly, mulling it over. "I have a strange system now. It has been evolved. I have the Mind, Soul, and Body system. I myself cannot be certain on it's capabilities but I know that it is very useful. And the deal they offered me was.... a removal of a lot of powers I had from the evolution system for a massive boost in arcane power."

He nods slowly before saying "It's a rare occurrence to see someone who has had the ability to evolve there system... extremely rare."

A thought seemed to dawn on him as he said "You wanted to know what the Path of Practice was correct?"

I nod slowly.

"It is something that is only spoken in legends in the Arch mage's library. It has been said to be the ultimate Path. The ultimate Profession. The ultimate System. It is said that the first humans to touch the stars practiced this... idea. It apparently allows you to accomplish anything.... with enough practice that is." He said seriously.

"I have no clue what it actually entails because all the information on it is very old... and not very well kept to say the least." Dime said simply. He nodded to himself for a second before saying "The information was prohibited by the emperor... I don't know the exact reasons why but to say the least it should be because he is researching it for his own benefit and if you truly are practicing this path then.... he could be very inclined to.... research you."

"I promise you one thing. No matter how strong you think you are now you are no where near the level of the emperor. He is the God Blessed Warrior. He is the only tier 8 of the physical branch on this planet that is known. I have seen his power. It is... incredible. He has killed dozens of tier 6 wizards and a handful of tier 7 warriors. And all for his pursuit of knowledge and power. I know I didn't tell you this but as soon as you reach tier 7 your life span increases by an incredible amount. The emperor for instance has already been alive for around a thousand years from my knowledge." Dime said in a tone of warning. "There is no way you could contest with him. You are a mere ant in his eyes."

I shake my head in anger. "An ant you say? I may not be too strong now but I hold the path that he so desperately wants. The path that let's you reach the stars. I may be weak now.... but I will become stronger. I won't just become a wizard. I will become a Warrior as well. And not only will I be a Warrior but I will master my soul. I will master my body. My mind. And My soul."

I take a deep breath before continuing "Then.... It will not be me you should be warning. But him. From your description he is one of the worst kind of humans in this world. He is at the top of this world. At the pinnacle in his eyes. And because of this he thinks he can trample upon everyone lower than him. All in his pursuits. Whether that be money or power. It doesn't matter. All he sees is opportunities for his own profit."

Dime looks at my face for a moment before nodding. "I cannot say you will succeed but I can hope. He is a tyrant. The immortal emperor. No change unless it sees good to him. I wish you luck."

The room became silent after our discussion. And the only thing to break this silence was a slight popping sound coming from my head. I quickly use soul sense and could easily see that skip was glowing and changing at an alarming rate. After a few moments it calmed down and all that was left was a strange looking green bug. Similar to the previous skip but much more defined with slight lines of white and yellow striping through his body. His leg's seem to be much more defined as well. His arms also changed and gave off the feeling of being like that of a spring.

I nod to myself. Evolution. It's been awhile but he was finally seeing it again. The feeling of evolving was something that was addicting. Growing stronger was addicting. I can understand how the Emperor feels... but I could never forget those below me just because I seek to be stronger. I may now be a serpent but I was once a human. And even though I am now a beast I still won't lose my humanity.