The Glorious Evolution

In an instant, the ultimate surfaced in his mind in this format:

//The Lantern of the Lost Keeper:

The user summons his Aetheric Soul Lantern, causing every devoured soul inside it to manifest as floating green flame wisps... the lantern becomes a spiritual vault, pulling in nearby souls, fragments, and lingering echoes.

Each captured soul is stored as a wisp, ready for the user to use.

He may choose:

Consumption: The user consumes a wisp to strengthen his soul, absorb memories, gain experiences, and... if the soul quality is high... there is a small chance of awakening one of its Aspects by having the soul integrated permanently.

Offering: The user feeds the wisps to the Soulleech Maw, causing it to produce Aetheric Flames that can be wielded through Will.

The lantern grows heavier, brighter, and more spiritually oppressive with every soul it stores, amplifying the user’s presence across the Aetheric and Spirit planes.//

”Now... this is some good stuff,” Ash’Kral said enviously, ”Boy... if I had your fortune or whatever magic voodoo you are doing to my girls, I would have achieved my goal eons ago.”

”I highly doubt it.” Levi grinned as he summoned the Lantern, ”You will find a way to ruin it with your assholeness.”

Ash’Kral wanted to retort, but then he thought about it for a moment... in the end, he shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

In a moment, the lantern came into existence within Levi’s Spiritual Leywell. It looked old and otherworldly, like it had no business being in the hands of a child. It was made out of dark greenish wood and had a thin, light frame.

As Levi held it from the old wooden handle, the lantern kept emitting aetheric light, resembling soft aetheric flames, but not really... it was just an illusion of the lantern burning in aetheric flames. It was making a statement... any soul daring to leave its ethereal glass’ sides without permission would be burnt to death.

As for the glass itself? It wasn’t really glass... more like clear mist shaped into panels. The Lantern was barely thirty centimeters long, and yet, when Levi opened the glass panel to the side, he was left stunned to see an immense expanse within it.

It was like his vision was put in an illusion of seeing a bigger surface than it was in reality.

”Lantern of the Lost Keeper...” Levi murmured, ”Why does this ability feel like it was copied from an actual spectral lantern?”

”Because it does...” Ash’Kral replied, ”Well... it is not exact, but I know that there is a spectral species called the Lantern Wardens in the Unburdened Realm, with the sole job of guiding souls to their final resting area.”

”He is right... the power to hold souls and keep them intact isn’t as simple and accessible as it seems,” The Titan nodded, ”Multiple dormant souls or wisps can never be stored in a single item, artifact, or even inside someone’s Spiritual Leywell... the moment two dormant wisps reside in the same place, they merge and then... collapse.”

”I see... It’s because souls can’t combine into one when each soul was a unique entity on its own.”

Levi raised a brow, realizing that just the ability to hold dormant or awakened souls in one place and they could coexist was an insane addition to his arsenal.

After all, the False Sun might be able to devour souls, but it could never devour them and store them within Levi’s Spiritual Leywell... the moment the process started, it would continue until the soul was fully eaten.

But now... he could finally start collecting souls and storing them in his lantern for later use... like a personal tank for souls instead of energies.

”The Nine Senses Seed must have wanted to give me this ultimate, but it won’t be as versatile without the Soulleech Maw. Now, I can store an infinite ammo of souls to turn into Aetheric Flames and use them whenever I like... It’s so, so good,” Levi smiled in appreciation while gazing at the Nine Senses Seed above him.

Just when Levi thought that the Nine Senses Seed could not top up the Harmonic Spine’s mutation, it pulled something like this... while the Nine Senses Seed also had its own ego, Levi still favored her compared to the other two assholes simply because it always went far and beyond for his rewards.

Most importantly... her mutations and powers didn’t come with a nasty price like the other two.

But he kept his growing favoritism on the low, not wanting to piss off the other two even more... he was already on thin ice from his previous stunt.

”Should I try it with the wisp residing in the Sensebound Pearl?” Levi suddenly suggested.

”Go for it... the treasure is more or less useless to you at your current level,” Ash’Kral said, ”It has served its purpose, and if you store it inside... You will finally have the chance to see glimpses of the wisp’s memories and experiences... though, I doubt it’s of a high quality to let you inherit an aspect of its previous host.”

Levi nodded in agreement.

He had been storing the Sensebound Pearl for a while now, rarely using it after his spiritual prowess was enhanced by devouring the Leviathan’s soul... it was a Grade E artifact, and if it wasn’t for the wisp inside it, he would have long ago handed it over to Jojo or someone else who needed it more than him.

As for finding memories of the wisp to awaken it and then enhance the artifact’s grade? Levi realized that it was way too much work for a result that wasn’t guaranteed to be good.

Hence, he might as well use it to test the lantern, and if he found any leads from the absorbed memories that could increase the value of the pearl in his eyes, he might seek to find the rest of the owner’s wisps to install back in the pearl and awaken him.

No delay, Levi switched back to his body and took out the Sensebound Pearl... then, he summoned the Lantern and brought it close to the Sensebound Pearl.

Almost immediately, the Lantern’s sides evaporated into mist and surrounded the Sensebound Pearl... then, it started extracting the wisp gently. It was like the Lantern didn’t want to use force; it just nudged it, and the Sensebound Pearl responded to its call.

Then, the mist formed back into glass-like walls... but this time, the Lantern’s interior was not empty.

Levi was left dazed at the sight of a small spiritual wisp floating inside, resembling a tiny green flame.

As for the Sensebound Pearl? It remained the same... but Levi could no longer feel any type of life within it. It became a normal, soulless artifact.

”That was quick...” Levi murmured, ”I expected some resistance or fight... is this the authoritative powers of the Lantern over dormant wisps, making them incapable of resisting its call?”

”It’s natural,” Ash’Kral shared calmly, ”The Lantern shares the properties of the Lantern Wardens... no dormant soul or wisp can resist their calls, for they were considered their sole salvation and guidance to the final resting place.”

”Makes sense,” Levi nodded.

Then, he took a deep breath and willed the Lantern to devour the wisp... Levi didn’t know why, but he felt somewhat weirded out by absorbing someone else’s piece of soul... especially when they had not harmed him.

But he also understood that if he didn’t do it, the wisp would remain within the Sensebound Pearl until it landed in the hands of someone who wanted to use it as material for their evolution.

At least, if he did it, he would be able to glimpse at the owner’s memories and have him forever marked in his mind, unforgotten...

”Do not hesitate... true death is being forgotten and erased from history, not the decay of flesh or resting of soul.” The Titan said softly.

”I believe so too...”