Bab 1821: A Thousand Steps

Despite how tired Rain was, how badly she needed reprieve, she still sat on the ground and circulated her essence. Her body was absolutely motionless, but her soul was like a raging whirlpool. 

At the heart of the whirlpool, soul essence was being refined into solid form by the crushing pressure. There were plenty of radiant grains there, already, sparkling like gemstones as they spun and collided. Rain could almost hear the melodious ringing, and feel her soul tremble slightly with each clash. 

However, the brilliant gemstones were unable to fuse, yet. There weren't enough of them for that to happen. 

She had to create more. 

But it was such a slow and arduous process... 

Rain was already doing much better than anyone was supposed to. After years of slaying Nightmare Creatures, her essence was especially potent. Her control of it was both forceful and intricate, remarkably precise — at least for someone below the Ascended Rank.