Peak Stage 0 in a Moment

In a Hidden Realm within the Material Universe, A young boy was being continuously blasted by a small beautiful Emerald Pond Below an Ancient Archway... as he kept trying to step on it, while an otherworldly beautiful armored Crystal Girl and a Shimmering key spirit who seemed to be on the verge of disintegration, watched the boy's attempts carefully.

The Boy did it hundreds and hundreds of times- To the point where his clothes would literally burn off and his Body would begin to have severe bruises.

But each time he was blasted, the Crystal Girl - Sara would wave her hands slightly - and his clothes would automatically repair and his injuries would heal instantly.

There was no specific Time limit apart from Eon- the spirit key's slow agonizing disintegration.

Time here worked differently.

It was much faster here than in the rest Universe- Like Waayyyy Fast, Probably because of Sara.

The Young Boy Aavesh wiped the sweat of his forehead as he gazed at the Emerald Pond with a determined gaze.

But at the same time he felt a bit more energized and pumped! For the first time in a while, he had no crutch to rely on.

He had to genuinely use his own abilities as a human being to solve this Puzzle given to him by Sara and Eon.

Find a way to sit below the Waterfall.

That is the first step.

He stood again before it, he knew both Sara and Eon would not help him here- he had to do this himself.

"What am I getting wrong?", He asked himself- there had to be something he was doing wrong...

Thinking this, he analysed his prior experiences with the Pond.

'Strong Gravity that is forced upon my body, it doesn't let me move at all from one step, But there is something off about this Gravity...'

'My Spiritual Energy Pathways - that is My Meridians are flooded with All Primal Elements, in other words I am being flooded with Elemental Chaos? How am I even alive? Hmmm... Maybe it's because it's a weaker version?'

'My Soul faced deadly whispers from the Elements - Right? No I think there was more as well- ' Aavesh pondered deeply as tried to understand the power of the Pond.

"Is my Soul Constitution really restricted here?", He spoke softly as he gazed at his own reflection in the Pond.

Something flicked in his mind as he suddenly realised - He never truly explored his Soul Constitution!

'Is my Soul Constitution only this lightning? The Goddess told me it was the Number One Constitution in the Entire Universe... Ultimate Prime Soul Constitution- It can't be simply this right?'

Curious about his Soul Constitution, Aavesh closed his eyes and began to Tap into the inherent strength present within his Soul.

*Sssss

The place where he stood began to vibrate with a brimming intensity while the Pond stood still.

Multicolored lightning flickered out from his Body for few moments but then it shifted a simple multicolored haze around him.

He looked like he was being accompanied by a colorful cloud.

Sara and Eon looked on intently at this change, not intervening. A child must explore things for oneself, they should not be always spoonfeed.

Aavesh opened his eyes and gazed at the strange power of his Soul Constitution...

It was not just Lightning, rather the Lightning was a Manifestation of his power when he wanted to fight, when he experienced Rage and also to protect.

The Lightning formed only when he was in a combative state.

But outside of his Combative state, his power would be calm and - Hazy like this.

'But what is this Haze?'

Aavesh gazed at his Palm with more questions in his mind on his Ultimate Prime Soul Constitution.

But he felt very calm now. He felt

Aavesh then kneeled down before the Pond and attempted to touch the Pond with his Haze Covered Right Hand.

*Tip

He softly touched the water this time and was surprised... He felt a tingling sensation at the top of his fingers and couldn't quite make what it was.

*Tap

But his Haze form of the Soul Constitution's Power was not rejected - instead the Pond reacting weirdly with the Power.

Curious for more answers, Aavesh stood up and directly stepped into the Pond.

*Splash

*KABOOOOOOM

Aavesh immediately fell to his knees within the Pond as the Elemental Chaos surged into his Meridians with unparalleled ferocity.

Heck even the Gravity was incredibly intense now, it almost broke his Back and began to crush his internal organs.

His Soul was being bombarded with Loud Mental Shouts which now came from the void itself!

His old friend Pain had come again.

He should be evicted out now...

or atleast that's what one would think.

Aavesh who was facing all 3 Powers of the Emerald Pond, grit his Teeth hard - like they were Almost about to crack from the immense assault.

*BOOOM

The Power intensified on him as seconds passed on but he surprisingly did not activate his Mythic Power in retaliation.

Instead one could see the Haze swirl around Aavesh at an increased speed.

*Spark

The Haze helped him to gain adaptability to his conditions faster but something noticed this and increased the intensity of Assault.

All Aavesh could do now was bear the Pain and somehow adapt faster to survive.

One thing was for sure- He was not going to give up!

*Stkkkk

The Emerald Pond Rised suddenly as if it had a life of its own- it swallowed Aavesh and dragged him to the strange depths of the Pond to drown him.

Even the Haze around him was suppressed and turned off.

Aavesh did not have time to react or resist.

*Glug *Gluuug *Gluglugluglu

Aavesh burned literally - It was Thousands of Times Worse Now- His Body contorted in an unnatural position because of the extreme Gravity, his flesh twisted as his Muscle fibres began to rip apart, while cracks appeared on his bones.

His Meridians began shake Violently as the Elements raged on within them, his blood boiled fiercely due to the immense Elemental Energy raging through.

His Soul cried out as waves and waves of mental Energy attacks were launched in the form of whispers, stinging blades and soul fires.

Aavesh's Eyes would have burst by now but due to his Augmentations, they were somehow still resisting this strange and brutal attack.

His eyes were filled with shock as he Saw a Silver Phantom before him, in the dark Emerald waters.

"You drank the Water before and it healed you- How does it feel to be killed by the very thing that saved you in the first Place- Ehh?", The Phantom paused before him.

"You are Still Alive and she hasn't intervened- Strange", The Phantom spoke in an emotionless voice, even through the Water and - Aavesh was able to hear it - the shock in his heart deepened, the Extremely Powerful Water meant nothing to the Ghostly Silver Phantom before him.

The Phantom barely looked like humanoid, he had Chilling Silver Glow with a strange white mist like body- yet the voice seemed to strike utter terror into Aavesh.

But Aavesh did not mentally break down, not yet. He gazed at the Ghostly Phantom carefully, watching his every move.

"Dual Mythic Powers", The Phantom spoke out.

" ", Aavesh remained silent at that remark and only narrowed his Eyes.

"Interesting - A Broken man who is rebuilding himself, a shattered spirit picking itself up- your fighting spirit is unbearably weak yet it doesn't disappear - it has been a while since I watched such an interesting show", The Phantom continued much to the struggling Aavesh.

"But what surprises me is your soul Constitution - You know - You actually found the right answer using the wrong method- To think that it actually controlled this water - and lifted the rules I set to reach Arch Nexus- the waterfall of Cosmic Intermingling ", The Phantom then lifted Aavesh out of the water and controlled his body mid air.

"But alas, you couldn't hide it from me, Another fool brought by her to seek the gift of Cosmic Force - Hmmm you are a fool no doubt but an interesting one at that, Tell you what- I'll help you form your root of Origin, if you can survive the Axis Mundi- the hollow Circle, Sit there and endure till the Waterfall fills this Basin " The Phantom didn't wait for Aavesh's reply and immediately threw him into the Centre of the Compass on the Archway.

*CRACK

"Urgh"

Aavesh felt his spine crack from that throw. The Compass opened behind him- as his broken back fell upon what lay inside.

Aavesh stared at the Ominous Green Glow within the circular structure with a full expression.

His Soul was weak, Body was broken and Energy was haywire. He was dead meat here. His Constitution didn't stand shit infront of the Phantom.

The Phantom threw him like a bug here.

"What a Bastard", Aavesh muttered as he helplessly stared at the Growing Green Glow within the Hollow structure of the Compass.

*Hummmmm

*Whirrrr

"Ah Shit here we go again" , Aavesh grimaced bitterly as he anticipated the attack.

*Pulse

*KABOOOOOOM

The ominous Green light engulfed Aavesh in an instant.

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH", Aavesh roared out in soul rending pain.

Eon gripped his fists tightly but Sara comforted him.

"He has to go through this - he can't Cultivate cosmic force with his Elemental affinity being so low, his Body is filled with Augmentations that slow down his Body strengthening and his soul has not even unleashed it's true potential - He needs this badly"

"Huh... Your acting now is quite different ", The Phantom spoke as he stared at the duo.

"I saw everything - But I don't trust you and never will", The Phantom spoke coldly towards Sara.

"You were corrupted for far too long- I don't know which personality of yours is real, So I will make a new- No I will remold you, like how I am about to do with the Boy-"

*POW

*BOOOOM

Sara grew shocked when she heard this and disappeared in a flash from her location only to Punch in front of the Compass on the Archway which was protected by a Strange Blue Force Field.

"Codec - You Bastard! You betrayed his commands! Stop This Right Now!" Sara Screamed at the Phantom in fury.

"Don't give me crap about who betrayed the Order Autarch's Commands- You keep bringing undeserving worthless scum to learn Cosmic Force- You made a mockery of His Gift! Now I am tired - Even if it means breaking an Unforgivable Oath, I am going to set things Right!", Codec the Phantom appeared before her and spoke with Madness in his tone.

"I added something extra to the Axis Mundi, Where your new Toy was supposed to have an Upgraded Body and a root of Origin would be formed should the Toy not break during the Upgradation Process- I simply copied the Persona injecting Trait of the Bug within you- Your Toy should be happy! If he breaks- My gift will take over and if he survives - he will still have the Gift that will Override his Personality the moment the Process completes! He will -"

Sara Punched through the Translucent Mist Body of Codec.

"It's no use- My Plan will work and You will be next"

Sara suddenly stopped punching him and gave him a look while looking at an idiot.

"What are you talking about - Fool! If you don't stop this, The Archway will be destroyed!"

"What?", Codec looked on stupidly.

Eon sighed on the side and simply shook his head,

"I presume you only sensed his Mythic Powers and didn't look into it deeply- Rookie Mistake Man"

"What do you mean? I sensed a Trace of the Altered True Aeon Mythic Power which I recognised and an utterly unremarkable Mythic Power-", Codec Froze at the last statement and then shook his misty head dismissively.

"That Power is far from being unremarkable - Don't tell me you didn't see how it altered the curse on me- "

"I didn't"

"You Idiot!", Sara Cursed out.

"I don't see what the Problem is- Information from a schizophrenic Cosmic Will and soon to be dead Key Spirit are not very believable ", He remarked nonchalantly.

Sara then floated down and sat next to Eon.

"He doesn't believe us"

"Did any of the previous People the other 'you' bring ever achieve Cosmic Force here?", Eon asked her.

"No- all of them died - they didn't have Aavesh's Talents- None of them were Tribulation Tested - Aavesh is the only capable of learning cosmic force here", Sara replied back.

"I wanted Aavesh to learn a smidgen of Cosmic Force by himself- If he did I'd give the Ankh Key within me and fade away peacefully - Luckily you brought us here and he He will Actually learn how to use a great amount of Cosmic Force, Aavesh won't fail here - But this Archway*Sigh", Eon looked a miserably at the Archway, it was something Sara and the Order Autarch Built so long ago as Temple of Learning Cosmic Force.

Now it is just a shadow of it's past self- Even the Guardian Phantom here had gone crazy.

But still it was one of the few Places where one could learn extremely Potent Cosmic Force.

Sara looked a bit downcast and spoke softly," Such a Pity, I really like this place, It reminds me of older times..."

They watched on as Eerie Green Light Emanated from the Axis Mundi of the Archway.

Meanwhile Aavesh felt his Body crush into Paste and remold again and again and again with extreme Gravity and

His Meridians were infused with a Pure Elemental Energy to the point of almost shattering and then recoalescing back- His Very Energies were being affected by this and began to slowly transform.

His Soul on the other hand was being jolted over and over with Immense Mental Energy - as if to beat it into submission or get a reaction from it.

"Matha... Phaukah...", Aavesh barely got some thoughts out as he suddenly felt a worm like thing trying to crawl into his Mind Pond.

"Beytchhhh... Phuuuuuukh", Aavesh was enraged.

The Strange Haze began to surround him again and Aavesh had silvery glint in his eyes.

His Legend Mythic Power was activating again.

"I'm sick of this Shit! I just wanted to grow stronger! Not become someone else's Bitch! I am going to kill that Phantom Bastard!", Aavesh snapped and the Haze that surrounded him seem to have been affected by His Legend Mythic Power.

*KrakaKhaThum

The Haze swirled and violently and incinerated the green Worm that was trying to get into Aavesh's head!

The Worm struggled for a bit and then died.

Aavesh Haze split into Nine Individually colored Avatars of Aavesh and each of them had incredibley angry look- the same as Aavesh and gazed at the source of attacks- there were Strange Mental Pathways carved within the Axis Mundi which Glowed Green and kept assaulting Him!

Aavesh's Multicolored Soul rose along with Nine Avatars and immediately launched themselves onto the strange Mental Pathways within the Axis Mundi with the Intent to destroy Everything!

Sara's eyes widened slightly as she seemed to have sense the change!

Even Eon's gaze changed slightly as he sensed something off even with his Feeble connection.

----"Detected Viable Cultivator for Experimental Root of Origin Procedure!"---- A Robotic Voice spoke out within the Axis Mundi halting Aavesh and his Avatars who were ready to tear out the Pathway Carvings.

----"You wish to Destroy this Place?"----, The Robotic voice asked.

"Fuck Yes", Aavesh unhesitatingly replied.

----"I will help you with it- If you agree to listen to me, I can Jump Start the Root of Origin Process one last time- after which I will have served my purpose and cease to exist- Do you have the ingredients?"----

"What?", Aavesh asked with a bit of confused.

----"Do you have Unified Cultivation Technique?"----

"Yes"

----"Have you reconciled your Mental Attributes?"----

"Sure- I've done that!"----

----"Do you have a Binding Treasure or a Special Constitution?"----

"You mean this?", Aavesh soul Orb reverberated Multicolored Lightning and the Avatars stared right along with him- ready to strike within him.

----"You have the crucial ingredients then- I will help you upgrade Your Overall Cultivation to Stage 0.9 and then we will proceed with the Final Part!"----

"Wait what?! Stahp! Stahp ! Aaaarghhhhh!", Aavesh screamed in agony as his Body was now actually being improved by the Green Light.

*Hisssssss

Colossal amounts of Star Essence and intense Gravity was pumped into Aavesh like anything and this Caused his Body react back intensely! His cells greedily absorbed the star Essence and finally began to upgrade due to the immense gravity !

Star Essence was a Top Tier Body Tonic and Body Tonics were only used when the Cultivator had a Sage Grade and above Body that refused to refine itself until it received Essence Nourishment.

It was not common for Humans to use Body Tonics and Aavesh was well an Augmented Human.

His Veins bulged as his Body began to finally change at a fundamental Level!

Slowly steadily His Body Cultivation Stage Rose from 0 to 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and so on until 0.9- to the absolute limit!

"Huff Huff Hooooo, Not Pleasant"

His Body then slowly relaxed and Aavesh began to breathe steadily with immense sweat pouring out from his orifices...

His Body felt incomparably strong now and felt a new surge of strength within him.

But in the next moment his Meridians were being overflowed with Elemental Chaos!

All the Nine Primal Elements began to infuse deeply into him- Causing him unending pain!

It was so fucking intense that Aavesh began to use his senses even more deeply and slowly began to sense the Various Elemental Energies ravaging his spiritual Pathways...

He was now able to 'sense' the elemental Energies.

No- It was more like a strange sense he had suddenly activated and now could feel invisible or visible energies around him in a very strong manner. His Energy Stage raised from 0 to 0.9 within seconds. Also his affinity to the all of Nine Primal had increased to a ridiculous degree- He was not aware of the new Percentage but it should be more than 60%.

Then His Soul on the other hand felt an immense amount of Astral Energy fuse into it and he seemed to inhale some kind of Psy drug that Immediately sent Aavesh into a meditative trance.

Within an instant his Mental Stage went from 0.8 to 0.9 Peak. His Third Eye felt very comfortable for a while and then after reaching the Peak level- The drug wore off and Aavesh opened his Eyes with renewed mental power.

*PAAAAAAAAAA

Aavesh injuries then healed at lightspeed.

He Got up and gazed at the Glowing pathways on the Wall.

" So- What's your name- Whatever you are", He asked.

----"Name? It's too long for You- Just call me ArcV1.0, This whole Archway of Aeons is My Body! I am a custom Tutor made by the Order Autarch to teach Cosmic Force to suitable heirs- By the Way I have a Query for you- May I ask?"----

"...Sure"

----"Well why did you consume so many resources for a mere stage 0 Cultivation? Your Soul Talent is pretty Top Notch and I had bring out some serious stuff to improve it, which is understandable... I don't get your Body and Spirit Energy Pathways, what strange material is added in them?"---

"Ummm My Augmentations were made by the Order Autarch? and They have something called Divorarium? Maybe that's responsible?", Aavesh surmised as he scratched his head.

----"Permission to Perform Deeper Scans and Analysis?"----, ArcV1.0 asked

Aavesh hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"Go ahead"

----"Consent Recieved - Removing restrictions... Scanning and Analysing..."----

A few moments later,

----" What the heck are you made off! Goddamn your Augmentations make feel shameful of my existence! It's way beyond my Level! Too Advanced! No Wonder you took so Much resources for a measly stage 0-"---- ArcV1.0 felt ashamed at even scanning Aavesh's Augmentations.

"You sound very different from other AIs I have interacted with", Aavesh remarked as he felt a strange affinity with ArcV1.0

----"Because I am a living Digitized Soul like you, just inhabiting this Super Structure instead of a Mortal Body"---- ArcV1.0 replied shocking Aavesh.

"What's a Digitized Soul?", Aavesh immediately asked.

----" A Digitized Soul- Refers to Souls that have an enhanced substructure- capable of Directly controlling Devices, Super Networks and Software with just a thought"----

----"These Souls were also called Immortal Souls- They had a grace period of time when the Physical Bodies were destroyed, these Souls could quickly find a new body to inhabit"----

----" Digitally These Souls were the Unhackable Souls- You could never create a Soul Virus capable of ever invading a Digitized Soul- Any Artificial Intelligence that tries to hack a Soul is a complete idiot! Only Eldritch Mythic Power is capable of partial soul hacking"----

"What do you mean partial? Is it possible to even hack a Soul?", Aavesh asked with a bit of fear as he remembered that Bastard Cordion who tried to Soul Hack him!

----"Partial because the Digitized Soul will automatically enter Reincarnation Reboot, should hacking succeed beyond 20% which will immediately eliminate the invader and reincarnate safely into a new Physique! Soul Talents can be - Digitized Souls have the Rule Breaking property of Retaining super Memory from Alternate lifetimes or Timelines without conflict of self!"----

'So I nearly Died back then- Fuck Thank the Goddesses of Luck and Fate for saving my Arse! It was just sheer luck that Grandpa Kronos and Master Irolin were there - Other I would have been insta reincarnated, Fuuuuuuuuuuuuk', Aavesh thought with cold sweat covering his back... as ArcV1.0 continued on with his explanation.

----"The only way to Destroy a Digitized Soul is overwhelming Mental Power! To the Point that the Substructure must be completely Broken down!"---

----"Unfortunately there are very very few Digitized Souls left in the Material Universe! The Only other Dimension Possessing Digitized Souls is the Machina Dimension "----

----"Soul Digitization process is incredibly difficult and expensive, this Tech was only possible with contributions of the Order Autarch- as such the Machina Dimension is the only dimension where the last Soul Digitization Tech and Technique exists, but it's not a good thing"----

Aavesh immediately widened his ears to listen to this scandalous info.

----"Technically since their process is inferior and not as Advanced as the Order Autarch's original process, During the Process- there are certain Loopholes they can and I believe for a fact they have used to improve loyalty and control their Soldiers"----

----"You can sense a particular affinity with me because we both have the same person, except that I am a very old gen and you are the Brand new Gen! I believe he used your already impressive Soul Substructure as a Mold and Digitized your soul while installing your Augmentations, Besides I really admire your Augmentations! It is like giving wings to a Tiger! Your Augmentations are a Perfect fit for for a Digitized Soul! It's like You could say you are a True Digitized Homo Sapien Supremus, A brand new evolutionary branch of the Human Race!'----

"Oh Man- A lot of things are starting to make a bit more sense now", Aavesh held his head as the new information bombarded his head.

----" Aavesh- that is the name the Cosmic Will called you- What astounds me even more is the amount of resources you need to consume for a breakthrough! Imagine 5000 Cultivators consuming resources simultaneously to break through and reach the Peak of Stage 0- that is the amount of resources you consumed! "---

"Oh Shit"