The lore of creation talked about how the Origin Sea was a cycle that went all the way from creation to destruction over, and over again. Despite all the cycles of the creation and destruction though, the Origin Sea itself remained eternal. In a sense, Eternity was one of the oldest concepts of the Origin Sea. An illusory concept that all the Wanderers in the world chased after. It was just that few, if any could grasp its essence.

  The concept was so ethereal, that it would be rare for even Mystic Wanderers to know about its existence. The only reason that Alnea even knew about it was because of all the things his master had forced him to learn. But that did not mean that he knew how to approach the concept. Still, with the opportunity of grasping the essence of Eternity right in front of him, he was not ready to give up so easily.

  Eternity… was it? Would chasing after a longer lifespan count? After all, every time Wanderers advanced on their path, they would see their lifespan increase by a huge margin. And if they were talented and diligent enough, they could use this margin to advance on their path once again, thus increasing their lifespan yet again, buying themselves time to walk even further on their paths.

  As far as Alnea knew, some Supreme Wanderers could live for as long as hundreds of thousands of years. Though compared to the measly lifespan of seventy to eighty years of Seeds, even Grand Wanderers, with lifespan of tens of thousands of years, could be considered as eternal existences. But they were not truly Eternal after all. And neither were the Supreme Wanderers. Maybe, if he reached the Origin Rank…

  Those were things to consider later though. When he could stand at the peak of the world of Wanderers. For the moment, Alnea wished to grasp only a trace of Eternity. So, he subdued all his unnecessary thoughts to the bottom of his Heart, before concentrating on the sphere in front of him once again.

  The silvery blue giant kept rotating ceaselessly, as it had been doing so for time immemorial, and would continue doing so for all the time to come. Even when the world outside would get washed away in the endless cycles of the Origin Sea, the sphere would continue spinning, releasing strange waves that he could still not figure out.

  Understandable, given how if he tried to reach out to them, they would just pull him out of the strange space. It looked like the waves had no functions, other than acting as the key to entering and exiting the world of Fortune Spring. Not that he had—

  No. That was not true. The waves… they were much more than just keys. They were also the carrier of the Mysteries spilling over from the Fortune Spring. The Mysteries that acted on the Heart of all those who came in contact with the waves, amplifying the imperfections in their Heart. That was how he had guessed the existence of the Fortune Spring in the first place. To think that he would forget about it as soon as he faced the Fortune Spring…

  Maybe, he was not as resistant to those Mysteries as he had thought he was. Or maybe it was just his Heart that was not up to par. Chasing after Eternity… After a greater lifespan… To think that it would become his obsession… What use was a long life if he did not have people to share it with? What use was greater strength if he did not have people to protect? When did he began chasing after strength just for the sake of becoming stronger?

  He was Alnea Oathkeeper. He lived for the people he took his Oaths for. And if he gained strength, it would also be for the people he took his Oaths for. There was no need to deliberately chase after Eternity. If he could get it, he would get it. If not, no matter how much he tried, all his efforts would be in vain. Rather than chasing after something so ethereal, it was better to focus on something more practical. Like the thoughts protecting his Heart.

  Protect. Guard. Two words that Alnea was very familiar with. No, not words. Concepts. The same concepts that the very first Aspect he tamed was tainted with. Even many of the other Aspects he had tamed over time were tainted with the same concepts. He had never wondered why it was so. As he stood next to the giant silvery blue sphere though, he finally understood the reason for the bias in his Aspect. It was because his Heart itself was biased.

  From the very beginning, all he wanted to do was to protect. To guard. Naturally, the Aspects he tamed would also align with his Heart. It was just that the way they protected was different. Some did so by eliminating his enemies, while the others did it by protecting him from harm. There were even a few deviants who protected him by hiding his Heart. Or his entire body. Regardless, their intentions were the same. To protect. To guard. Just like the second concept of the Oathkeeper Arts.

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  Coming from the world of Attuners, the Oathkeeper Arts had nine volumes in total, the first of which, Alnea had mastered long ago. Not in essence, of course. Just in form. Still, even just in form, the Slaughtering Origin Volume of the Oathkeeper Arts was already comparable to some of the better High and Top Grade Martial Styles. The second volume then, was bound to be even better. It was just that, no matter how he tried, he had never been able to truly understand the concept of the second volume. That was until he understood his Heart.

  Guarding Origin Volume, the second of the nine volumes of the Oathkeeper Arts, did not ask him to guard the Origin. Or the people around him. It only asked him to guard his Heart. Just as the Slaughtering Origin Volume did not ask him to slaughter the Origin, or the world. It only asked him to slaughter the hesitations in his Heart.

  Accordingly, the essence of the Harmonising Origin Volume should also be harmonising with his Heart, while Origin Transformation Volume should be meant for transforming his Heart. Then came the Origin Decay Volume, Origin Revitalisation Volume, Volume of the Origin of Cause and Effect, Origin Oath Volume, and finally, the Origin Volume.

  The deeper one went into the Oathkeeper Arts, the more complicated it became. So much so, that Alnea could not even begin to understand what the latter volumes signified. Maybe, if he tried hard enough, he could come up with a few explanations as to what the essence of those volumes was, but there was no need. It was not yet time for him to delve into the secrets of the Oathkeeper Arts. What he had figured out was already enough to keep him busy for a long time to come.

  Although he had the memories and experiences of his namesake to help him in his quest, according to his estimations, mastering just the Guarding Origin Volume was going to take more than a year or two, not to mention the even harder Harmonising Origin Volume, which even his namesake had failed to master. If his understanding of the Arts was correct, then just getting started with the third volume would need him to temper his Heart to Clarity.

  Besides, no matter how advanced, or strong the Oathkeeper Arts was, in the end, it was still someone else’s creation. Maybe it could help in the earlier stages, when he still did not have an Aspect Ocean. After he would have his very own core though, the help that the Oathkeeper Arts could give him would be limited. If he wished to stand at the apex on the path of Warriors, he would have to create his own Martial Style.

  It was just that creating Martial Styles was not so easy. In the long history of the world of Wanderers, countless people had failed to create their Martial Styles, and most of those who succeeded, did not make much progress. Although Alnea was confident of himself, he still decided to use the essence of the Oathkeeper Arts as nourishment for his Martial Style. Be it Slaughtering, or Guarding, he was not going to let go of anything.

  Slaughtering, he already understood a little. After going through hundreds, if not thousands of life and death experiences, Alnea found that his Martial Styles would flow much more smoothly whenever he felt the breath of Death. The same was true with the subtlety of his moves, and the strength he could display. Every time he felt the breath of death, he would see an all round increase in his abilities, even if only temporary.

  At first, he thought that the increase was just because of the breath of death. After all, who would not burst with all their potential when their lives were threatened? When he resonated with his Oaths though, he noticed that even when he did not feel the breath of death, his performance was still beyond his usual limits. And his experiments in the Lost City had only further proven his thoughts.

  Feeling the breath of death, the threat to his life, did not directly raise his abilities. They just filled it his Heart with a desire to live. A desire so overpowering, that it could override all his other thoughts and distractions. And that was what the Slaughtering of the Slaughtering Origin Volume was all about. Slaughtering the hesitations in his Heart.

  Guarding of the Guarding Origin Volume though… It was not just about Guarding his Heart from all the external influences, but also about guarding it from himself. From the blade of Slaughter resting in his Heart. Without a Heart that could Guard itself, indulging in Slaughter would only end in him assimilating into the concept of Slaughter. Like the time when he had lost control when fighting Cecilia nearly two years ago.

  However, without the blade of Slaughter, he could not Guard anything either. Only when he had strength, could he Protect the people he loved. That was the truth of the world. An Eternal concept that held true no matter which world he lived in. Even within the Origin Sea, only the strong could survive, and keep forging ahead on their path, while the weak would only be assimilated into its Infinity.