Mystical Alchemist

Then that means, I am in my soul am I not?

Altair stumbled upon an enigmatic revelation. He was in his soul.

I see, there should be no other possibilities right? It wouldn't make sense for me to be warped into a completely different realm for an awakening... from what I know, it only is the case when a being is going to be undergoing an ascension. An awakening, no matter how different is still stemmed from one idea after all, connecting the soul to the forces of nature, allowing the body, mind and soul to finally be intertwined and come into full fruition.

Indeed, an awakening have different methods to be able to conduct, though differing from race to race, culture to culture, the idea remains the same, it is to unseal the soul and allowing for a unity of the body, mind and soul. When the procedure is finished, these aspects then are altered to fit the characteristics, nature and capabilities of the awakened, in other words, one cannot choose the blessing that they'll be bestowed with. Though however, numerous empires have been known to conduct the awakening of their knights, soldiers and the members of the royalties themselves to tailor into whatever they desire to be. Since the experience of the person before undergoing awakening is an extremely pivotal factor that is extremely significant when receiving the proper blessing, supreme factions use this to their advantage and pull some strings to produce high quality awakened, as for how they do it though, it remains a mystery.

One's blessing can also be tied to their heritage, the predecessors of highly powerful beings are most likely to inherit their strength and a blessing that closely resembles that of their powerful ancestors, meaning that strong families of Magi for example will give way to predecessors that are very powerful Magi as well. That is why most powerful individuals in this world are royalties, because these people have the most refined array of blessings, and thus, procreating with people that are in the same or even higher caliber will produce offspring that far surpasses their parents due to the meticulously tailored and combined powerful aspects.

There's also one key deciding factor when it comes to unveiling one's blessing, and that is fate. Everyone is tied to fate, and not everyone is destined to become figures that can display ludicrous feats of strength and valor, if that were the case, everyone would have been given the opportunity to receive their own blessings to achieve that. In reality, fate is cruel, everyone's fate at the end of it all is to cease to exist, it's just that others are destined for greatness, and some to an atrocity of an existence, and that is just the painful truth, not everyone is fated to be blessed, but everyone is fated to die one day. Fate is a chain that keeps mortals intact. However, in extremely rare occasions there are individuals that display such reluctance to be tied to fate, breaking themselves free from the destiny that they were given, ultimately having to face fate itself as a price.

The painful truth however, is that you can try escaping fate, but you can never outrun nor hide from it, it will only be a matter of time before it catches back up to you and return you to its firm grip once more, and not everyone is willing to pay that sanction, that is why most mortals are dictated by that very same force, afraid to face the grave consequences of giving an effort of breaking free from it.

Altair does not know what he should be doing still, but at least he finally have an idea as to where he is right now, which means that it's only a matter of time before he figures out what to do.

Most humans are fated to be unable to awaken, so does that mean that I have to struggle against fate inside my own soul? Is that what it is? To be able to unseal my soul, I have to be able to break free from the chains of an absolute force? Sounds impossible isn't it? But then again, aren't there humans that were able to achieve that? Which means that, it isn't impossible, just close to it, but even so, how did they do it? Did they undergo the same trial as I am right now? Surely not right? Maybe they are fated and underwent the natural way, my awakening is prompted by an otherworldly entity for crying out loud! There is no way that they underwent a similar trial, I will be the first one to do so, if I even make it out alive.

While it is true that most humans aren't fated to be awakened, the ones that are does not necessarily mean they broke free from fate's grasp, it just means that they are a phenomenon to behold. Altair don't have any idea if he was fated to be an awakened to begin with or not, he was never sure, but he did made sure to not hope that he will be.

Regardless, he doesn't have to know if he is or not, what matters is how he will be able to escape the predicament that he is in, he has to solve the puzzle without directions. The question is, how should he first go about with it?

This place is supposed to be my soul, and yet I do not feel like I exert any form of authority in it.

Altair thought

That's only natural, I did not know that it's even possible to dwell within the depths of my soul after all, but I should at least have some semblance of control over it right? 

As Altair followed through in his thoughts, the whole place started to rumble, shifting ever so slowly, the whole place groaned, dusts settled in the air, and sediments of rocks dropped to the ground.

Altair held tight to the wall beside him, still firmly gripping the lightless torch in his other hand.

There, it's moving again, what is even causing this sudden shift?

The movement remained for quite a while, a moment later however the rumblings and motion ceased.

Altair whose feet is planted on the ground, started to feel stinging in his eyes, to his surprise the torch started to light up again.

Well shit, doesn't that mean that that monster is somewhere near again? Really? Give me a break at least.

Frustrated, Altair simply wagged the torch from left to right to see where he was currently, but the expansive darkness really made the torch's light seemed feeble and insignificant, the light emanating from it thoroughly consumed by the maws of its eternal embrace.

It's merely a flicker of light, of course it couldn't drive away the darkness that's consuming this cursed place.

Lost, and with nothing to do, Altair tried waving the torch around again, to see where its flames start to burn brighter as a means of tracking the wandering beast of the dark, it's a rather rudimentary approach, but with limited means of tracking the monster down, something is always better than nothing.

It seems like he is somewhere behind me again

Without any choice, Altair moved forward trying to trace the wall's direction and at the same time seeing if there are any changes in the murals that are etched on the walls, or see if the walls that are connected towards it will lead to a bigger and more complete picture.

Be not afraid. Be not afraid.

He is constantly reminding himself.

As Altair continued his journey, the light's intensity differed here and there, and one thing's clear, the monster is tailing behind him and is closing in on him. He was wary of this and is extremely meticulous on the steps that he was constantly taking, while taking in the details of the wall that seemed to span towards infinity in front of him. For now, there are no substantial discovery on the walls, but Altair still kept everything he saw in mind even if it hurts having it in his head on top of the many unanswered questions and raw doubts about the situation.

Altair continued, continued and continued, until he finally stumbled upon something on the walls. Strange writings similar to the ones he noticed earlier obscured by the collected dusts, it was very hard to spot, but Altair was very keen on the details that the seemingly infinite wall has as he continued his walk, and because most of the time it doesn't have anything on it, his sharp eyes managed to spot it. Dusting off the dirt from the wall until the symbols become more apparent.

He took his time in reading the engraved words, still shocked by the fact that he could even understand it, but then again, it is his soul, surely he should be at least familiar with it even for a little, after a while he then whispered under his breath.

They forsake you because you are you. You are hated by fate. You were born to inherit the stars, never lose your light. You fear, but they are more afraid. Be consumed, without being lost. 

After those words were quietly uttered, the walls started to fissure, and the world is drowned in a world-shattering quake.