Plan for Harmonization

176. Plan for Harmonization

Aisha Patani sat quietly at the table, yet her entire being radiated sharpness—a living embodiment of why she was known as Cascadia's sharpeat blade.

I casually averted my gaze, reached for the small whiskey bottle, and broke its seal.

I took a sip of the medicinal alcohol.

It's fine to boast to your buddies—it won't cost you anything anyway...

But if she were truly confident in defeating every enemy, why would she have changed into this lehenga choli?

This was the burden of too many expectations. In Cascadia, where everyone saw her as their beacon of hope, she felt like she was suspended over flames. Each admiring gaze only stoked the fire higher.

I remained silent, offering no comfort. Though we were colleagues and she had helped me considerably, we weren't close enough for heart-to-heart conversations. If she needed practical help, I would assist, but emotional intimacy was beyond our relationship.

Besides, unlike others in Cascadia, I trusted only the sword in my hand.

A heavy silence descended upon the room.

… …

Aisha stared at the young man's face, her luminous eyes flickering with emotion.

After a moment, the sharp aura surrounding her gradually dissipated.

Like an angel descending from a painting into the mortal world, her otherworldly coldness gave way to something more human.

In front of others, she always maintained a posture of perfect control, but John Kane could always see through to her true emotions.

Aisha raised the whiskey bottle and drained it completely. The amber liquor trickled from the corner of her lips down her fair neck, dampening her clothes.

She closed her eyes, her thick eyelashes trembling slightly: "The bull vampire is about to break through. It makes me anxious."

She didn't need him to respond—she simply wanted someone to listen, and this young man, equally comfortable with silence, was the perfect audience.

"But wearing this dress makes all my years of training feel like a mockery."

"I will kill it." Aisha Patani's eyes flickered open, her dark gaze no longer artificially fierce but instead radiating an eerie calm—beneath which lurked unmistakable murderous intent.

It might have been an illusion, but a faint cracking sound suddenly rippled through the silent room. Or perhaps it was more of an energy fluctuation than an actual sound.

I set down the bottle and glanced over silently: "..."

Martial arts training was a very serious endeavor that demanded a lot of time to advance in the realm. Yet here she was, casually achieving breakthroughs with just a few spoken words.

"Thank you," Aisha Patani murmured, her murderous aura melting away as she turned soft eyes toward the young man.

This breakthrough brought her one step closer to becoming the Ward of Nature.

"You're welcome, you could have achieved the same by placing a wooden stake here." I said casually.

To my surprise, Aisha Patani shook her head seriously: "It's not the same."

For the first time, she experienced being outmatched by someone in the very talent she had always prided herself on. The realization truly stirred something within her.

Moreover, his nonchalant attitude, as if he didn't care about anything, also made Aisha envious.

That was what brought her back to this courtyard tonight.

"You must already be at the fully crystallized stage by now. With your intelligence, you could cross the three barriers far more quickly than I ever could." Aisha sighed softly.

The path to becoming a Ward of Nature consists of four stages: planting the Seed of Hope, nurturing it into the Embryo of Harmony, growing it into Infant of Love, and—after integrating one's consciousness with the infant—shattering the core completely.

"How long does it take for someone less gifted?" A sense of foreboding crept over me.

"You don't have to worry about this." Aisha Patani softly persuaded. Every martial artist was more or less nervous when they first entered the Crystal Realm. He probably doesn't know how amazing his talent and comprehension are.

"I'm asking for someone else." I withdrew my gaze.

"Not gifted..." Aisha Patani hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "For example, take General Grant. He planted the Seed of Faith at age two hundred and began harmonizing, yet he didn't break through the second barrier until his visit to Crown Mountain. And this was despite following the Path of Redeemer, having an entire city's faith behind him, and lacking no resources whatsoever."

Clearly, Skyler Grant represented the most extreme example she could provide.

He had chosen the Path of Redemption—a much simpler path than the Path of Nature.

But after more than six hundred years, his Redeemed Spirit still hadn't awakened, and he could only barely use some of its abilities.

I glanced down at my black armor. What a coincidence. It was quite remarkable that the city of Vancouver had two H.A.R.M. generals of ordinary talent.

But fortunately, with the vast lifespan of vampires, hundreds of years wasn't too daunting.

After learning the Cosmic Devouring Crystallization, I had a good understanding of the Harmonizion process.

The purpose of the Harmonization process for the Path of Nature is to plant and grow the Seed of Hope using your chosen resource. What you sow is what you reap—the seed and embryo will harmonize with the resource you choose, and take on its character.

There were only three difficulties.

First was having sufficient resources. For instance, harmonizing with flesh and blood required finding and consuming rare foods and elixirs, then channeling their power from the bloodstream into the crystal core. This process was not only painfully slow but also demanded vast quantities of rare ingredients.

However, I had already devised a solution to this problem.

I planned to harmonize with vampiric power, which I already had a means of obtaining, and there was plenty available in this vampire-infested world. Thanks to the *Vampire Devouring External Crystal'*s voracious devouring ability, I could instantly store vampiric essence in my body without having to assimilate and refine it myself. Instead, I could feed it directly to the core—effectively skipping a step.

The second difficulty lay in condensing these accumulated materials into a Seed of Hope, and the third involved integrating one's consciousness into the Infant of Love.

These two challenges likely explained General Grant's slow progress.

Yet for me, these challenges could be overcome using vampires' lifespans. My only limitation was the current shortage of vampire cores.

After obtaining the treasured weapon, it was time to return to Cascadia.

… …

Suddenly, a figure burst into the courtyard.

Arnold Stark entered the house and saw the two people sitting opposite each other beside the table in the courtyard.

His expression shifted to one of bewilderment and frustration. "You guys..."

No wonder he couldn't find them. So in the end, he was the only one who went to the banquet.

Arnold didn't blame them—he just felt their relationship seemed to have grown more serious.

He stepped aside, revealing a delicate young man wearing a dark green suit behind him.

Boris Prince approached the center of the courtyard and cast a glance at the pair, then at the empty bottle on the table.

In my black armor and her floral dress, Aisha and I sat in wordless quietude, creating an atmosphere of perfect harmony.

"General Patani," Boris Prince broke the silence.

Aisha Patani turned to face him.

Though she had no intention of further involvement with the Princes, she felt obligated to address her broken promise. Rising calmly, she gave a slight nod and said, "I've had someone explain the situation to Mrs. Prince. Urgent matters in Cascadia require my attention, and I cannot spare focus for other things. Please convey my sincere apologies to Mrs. Prince for my rudeness."

She had only agreed to come and give him some advice on martial arts, not to participate in social gatherings.

However, after yesterday's meeting, it became evident that Mrs. Prince had ulterior motives beyond martial arts training, giving her no reason to remain.