章 19: Master Rank (4)
He pointed at himself. "For me, I've been trying to get a concentration of light orbs so that it's scalding hot, just like a laser." Then, he pointed at Lily. "Whereas you're trying to bring out your 'aura' into your sword so as to enhance it."
Then, he shook his head. "Either way, we've been trying to 'weaponize' our powers into the next stage of lethality and yet, whenever we've nearly succeeded, all of our progress suddenly halts, plops and dies."
"So, the question remains." Arthur smiled. "Why is it that whenever we try to advance into the next realm, we always feel something 'stopping' us, as if someone was throwing a ball of snow at our snow-man right after we'd just finished it?"
The same lightning struck Lily. "Oh my god." She turned to look at Arthur's face, only to be met with a knowing nod. "Our own powers were rejecting us."
"Bingo."
"But that. . .what. . .why?"
Arthur knew he didn't have to answer that the moment he saw something in Lily's eyes change, like from before which meant that her [Divine Wisdom] was currently at work.
And, just like he thought, Lily's eyes glanced down, her fingers cupping her chin as she pondered over what her brother had just said. "But if it's - No, wait. If it's like that then, that means it would go like this, which means the problem was never with our skill level, but actually with our powers on the fundamental level itself."
Lily's eyes glowed in realization, before she squinted her eyes in irritation. "So, basically, our-"
"Yeah," Arthur cut in, shaking his head. "Simply put, our powers, our 'Legends' are saying that we're simply not worthy."
". . ."
". . ."
Lily cursed. "Pieces of shit."
"Exactly," Arthur agreed. "But this also makes it simple for us. We just need to do what we've been doing again, but this time, just near the end, right before our own powers reject us, all we have to do is keep pushing."
"Ugh," Lily groaned. "What a pain in the ass."
"Again, I agree. But remember, this is just a theory and -"
"No, no," Lily said. "I've thought it over with the insight [Divine Wisdom] gave me. You're pretty much spot on which honestly just pisses me off."
Arthur decided not to say anything to rile his little sister up this time. She was already biting her lips in frustration probably because she had just lost a battle of wisdom even though she was literally a god of it.
He also decided to not console her or anything, because that would just piss her off more. Seriously, was this his little sister or a ticking bomb he was living with?
"We've only got a couple of hours left before the world's update is finished," Arthur said, checking the system. "Three Hours to be exact."
"Is that going to be enough?" Lily asked, looking at her brother.
"We don't really have a choice," Arthur said, before his eyes shone in determination. "We're going to have to clutch it."
Lily groaned. "Goddamn it."
***
As the evening sun cast its warm glow through the windows, Arthur and Lily could feel the pressure of time ticking away. Only two more hours remained before the day's end. Despite the exhaustion that clung to their bodies, they pressed on with unwavering determination.
Arthur's body pulsed with the power of his dominion over Light, as he tried his best to fuse his balls of light together and this time, he did so with the focus and intention of forcing his own power to recognize him. He could feel it. He was extremely close to breaking through, perhaps the closest he had been since he started.
In front of him, between his two stretched arms, was a ball of light that was the size of a basketball with the input of nearly 12 orbs of light - nearly 12 because the 12th orb of light was being a little prick and trying to reject his control. Arthur gritted his teeth and flexed his biceps as hard as he could to squeeze the last orb of light into the glaring mini-sun before his eyes.
The big orb of light which he had dubbed 'Mini-Sun', was flashing continuously, enough to cause an epilepsy, not to mention the heat. Arthur was worried about his little sister being affected so he'd told her to go to her room beforehand and to only come out when she broke through.
"Recognize me, goddamnit!" Arthur focused on the task at hand. He could feel the warmth hit the palms of his hands in waves which meant that right now, all he had to do was endure, to win in this battle of attrition.
Sweat dripped down Arthur's face, then down his nose before falling into the 'Mini-Sun' where it evaporated before it could even make contact.
"Fuck!" Arthur cursed under his breath. He had been going on this battle of attrition for the past twenty to thirty minutes now, and he'd be damned if he lost now.
While the 12th ball of light had nearly fused with the semi-perfected 'Mini-Sun', the last few centimeters before they were completely fused felt like miles to Arthur. It felt like Arthur was trying to crack a big rock between his hands as he squeezed all the muscle power he had in his arms which was a big improvement since at the beginning it felt like a diamond. It was a testament to Arthur's growing control over his divine powers.
The orbs flickered and wavered, their unstable nature evident as Arthur fought to stabilize them. Beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks, a testament to his unwavering determination. Many times in the beginning, despite his best efforts, he struggled to stabilize them, and they blinked out of existence, leaving nothing but the dim glow of his own determination.
Arthur took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling with the weight of his perseverance. Unfazed by the many previous setbacks, he refused to let frustration or doubt consume him. The room was once again filled with the brilliance of his creation, but the orbs trembled with an inherent instability. Arthur's brow furrowed in concentration as he meticulously channeled his energy, striving to infuse them with the balance and control he sought. The flickering dance continued, but there was a glimmer of progress, a faint spark of stability amidst the fluctuations.
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