Neo, do you know about World Energy?
“…No.”
It’s the energy generated directly by the World Core. We’ve named it mana.
Zeus explained it in simpler terms.
World Energy and the mana used by awakeners were the same yet completely different.
The most eye-catching difference was purity.
If World Energy was the river water at the beginning of the river stream, then mana would be the river water when it’s about to enter the sea.
The start of the river and the end of the river both have water, but the purity difference is completely different.
Now do you know how World Energy is created? Zeus asked.
“Why are you telling me all this?” Neo questioned instead of answering.
I can tell you aren’t going to escape. Then, I will help you get strong enough to fight, Zeus replied.
“…”
World Energy is created when the world awakens its consciousness.
Their consciousness is so strong that it can be used as fuel, as power, Zeus explained.
After the explanation, Zeus added more words.
Since you are going to fight those ‘things’, you need all power you can get.
Devour my corpse and any other coprses of our fellow awakeners-
“No.”
Neo’s answer was direct and it left no room for negotiations.
Zeus’ Intent clone stared at Neo for a few seconds before it shook its head.
The Intent clone disappeared.
It couldn’t sustain its existence anymore, fading into nothingness with a whisper.
Survive, Neo, Zeus’ voice echoed in Neo’s mind as his last words.
Neo took one last look at the place where Zeus’s Intent clone had stood before he turned around and left.
“Crazy bastard. Telling the guy whom he tried to kill to surive.”
‘Thank you.’
His words and thoughts were contradictory.
But there was no one around to notice it, no one to point it out.
After all, he was alone.
Neo moved towards the World Time Spell magic circle.
The air around him was thick with pungent smell.
His thoughts continued to revolve around Zeus’s earlier words.
World Energy was the world’s consciousness.
A world’s consciousness was so powerful that it could be used as fuel. As energy.
“Consciousness…” Neo murmured, his gaze unfocused, lost in thought.
He began filling the World Time Spell’s magic circle with Divine Energy.
His mind kept repeating Zeus’s words, and his eyes shifted, staring at the three pillars that were near Zeus’s corpse’s location.
“The power of Consciousness…”
A single thought dominated Neo’s mind.
“I can use it too.”
Intent.
Every object and action had Intent.
It was a subtle force, undetectable to most, yet always present.
When Neo had first discovered it, he had thought it was a manifestation of thoughts, which was correct, but Intent was more than just that.
If Intent were only thoughts, he wouldn’t be able to sense sounds, visions, and tastes with it.
“Isn’t Intent the power of consciousness?” Neo thought.
He felt he was on the right path, but something was still missing.
He stared at his hand.
His fingers trembled ever so slightly as he concentrated.
When he had realized Intent was more than just thoughts, he had tried to store the techniques inside Intent, just like how thoughts were stored inside it.
It took him decades to be able to do it.
He could now create an Intent Clone thanks to his high mastery in Intent.
“How are Intent and World Energy different?”
According to what Zeus told him and what he knew, both seemed same to him.
Unconsciously, Neo’s focus shifted from transferring Divine Energy into Spell to focusing on his enlightenment.
Enlightenment of Intent.
Neo was on the verge of reaching a new stage that only a few had reached in the history.
He didn’t realize this.
He was focused on comprehending the difference between Intent and World Energy.
“Am I doing something wrong?”
Neo looked around him.
The surrounding space was vast and dim.
He could perceive his surroundings as Intent.
It allowed him to predict his opponent’s move and peek at surface-level thoughts and emotions of others.
“If Intent can do this, can World Energy do this too?”
The answer was obviously no.
World Energy, or mana, was neutral.
It wasn’t colored by elementals or emotions.
This made another thing quite clear to Neo.
“My Intent has thoughts, emotions, colors, sounds, vision, taste, smell. But World Energy has nothing of the sort.”
Neo stared at the Intent around his hand.
Faint wisps of white lines spiraled around his fingers.
He tried to strip the Intent of everything unnecessary.
The first thing to go was emotions, then vision, then taste, color, sound, and finally smell.
Only thoughts were left behind.
Beads of sweat rolled down Neo’s face.
His breathing grew heavier, misting in the chill air.
He didn’t realize, but the atmosphere around him was growing heavier, pressing down upon everything.
The Angel noticed something wrong with him.
The thousands of eyes on the towering stone pillars shifted.
Their gaze abandoned Zeus’ broken corpse to focus on Neo.
The Angel thought it was probably a new trick of his.
He looked like an entertaining toy, which was why the Angel left him—
…?
The Angel froze.
It stared harder, noticing the faint energy signatures pulsing around Neo in alarm and immediately commanded the maggots to attack him.
The sea of monsters surged forward, a tide of writhing, grotesque forms, shrieking with a ferocity unlike anything they had ever shown.
Neo, lost in enlightenment, didn’t realize what was happening in his surroundings.
Still, his body moved.
His instincts, honed from countless battles, flared to life.
He grabbed his sword while his mind remained absorbed in his newfound understanding.
Just then, Zeus’ corpse moved again.
Its jumped between Neo and the approaching maggots.
The corpse turned to look at Neo before facing the coming monsters.
Slowly, it raised its fist, preparing to meet the oncoming horde.
Condensed golden lightning in the form of eastern dragons gathered around his knuckles, crackling with a fierce radiance that illuminated the stormy sky above.
Thunder rumbled, echoing across the desolate battlefield.
He punched.