Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Overwhelming joy filled Ruwen, and he tried to look up, but the light blinded him.

“Oh, sorry,” Overlord said. “She takes some getting used to. Is this better?”

The light remained, but the intensity decreased drastically. Ruwen cautiously raised his head and found Overlord in his red Overseer armor standing in front of Uruziel, blocking most of her light. Uruziel, the mental shard of Uru that Ruwen had protected inside his mind, caused him constant damage from the Unworthy Vessel debuff, but it allowed him to save her life.

A glowing white hand from behind Overlord slapped his shoulder, the sound like a thud against the armor. “I do not ‘take some getting used to,’” Uruziel said.

Overlord removed his helmet, smiling at Uruziel’s attack. The goddess peeked out from behind Overlord and waved. “Hi.”

Ruwen grinned, thrilled to see them both.

When Ruwen had landed in the Infernal Realm’s trap, Uruziel had worried Lalquinrial might sense her if she remained in Ruwen’s mind, and she fled. Overlord had followed her, hoping to bring her back, and Ruwen had not seen them since. He had worried that escaping the Infernal Realm using the Sixth Rune might have killed them both, or destroyed their identities, but now they both stood before him, to all appearances, healthy.

Uruziel blazed with white soul power. Ruwen had learned transitioning from Gem to Divine remade your body and converted it from one of Spirit to one of soul. When the day came for him to unlock his soul, he would radiate his own white light.

Ruwen tried to step toward them but again found his feet anchored in place by a pool of shadow.

Overlord strode forward and slowed as he neared Ruwen. With a gauntleted hand, Overlord reached up and touched the space inches from Ruwen’s face. “There is a barrier between us.”

From behind Overlord Uruziel spoke. “It’s the boundary between Ruwen’s inner and outer self.”

“Just to set the record straight,” Overlord said. “She didn’t think we’d ever scale the mountain you’d made.”

A loud thud came from behind Overlord, and he stumbled forward a step from Uruziel’s slap to his back.

“Can’t you keep anything to yourself?” Uruziel scolded. She peeked around Overlord. “You were really out of balance, though.”

“I know,” Ruwen said. “I just figured that out.”

Ruwen looked down at his shadow and saw that it didn’t point at Uruziel like he’d thought. Her light only revealed what had already existed, and the shadow pointed not at the goddess, but from the direction she’d come. It pointed into the darkness, past the sea of people in front of him. It pointed at his hidden soul.

More pieces of the seventh trial fell into place. Ruwen’s internal shadow crossed the barrier separating his outer self from his inner, just like his physical shadow crossed the Material and Shadow Realms. He guessed that Shadow Grandmasters used this overlap to move from shadow to shadow in the Material Realm. That was a practical application born from the relationship the Founders had witnessed here.

Just like a physical shadow in the Material Realm, Ruwen possessed an internal shadow. In the outer world, his shadow moved away from the light, but here, his inner shadow stretched toward the source of his internal light, even though is lay smothered under layers of Ascendancy and tattoo magic.

Ruwen had learned six important lessons, each a step forward in his understanding of the mysteries the Bamboo Viper Steps contained.

And just like Ruwen’s shadow pointing toward the light, instead of away, he grasped the practical portion of the seventh trial. He finally understood what he needed to do.

When Dusk had asked what the most important step was, Ruwen had rightfully answered enlightenment.

How did one go about enlightenment? It started with knowledge, meditation, and an inward focus.

Ruwen had also learned that his shadow crossed the boundaries between the Material and Shadow Realms, and they could be controlled.

Ruwen closed his eyes and heard Dusk’s question again. “What is the most important step?”

Ruwen opened his eyes, focused on his shadow, and answered out loud. “The step toward yourself.”

The shadow stretching from Ruwen’s feet moved. It shrunk toward him, and to his shock, stood.

The shadow appeared roughly human with bulky arms and legs, and it remained connected to Ruwen by a short black line that wrapped around his feet. The lighter areas inside the shadow caused by his pathways and Meridians were clearer now, along with millions of tiny grey motes that floated like stars throughout the shadow’s body. The drifting points of light gave the shadow depth, and maybe from some odd aspect of Uruziel’s light or the nature of this place, the body with its stars seemed to extend forever.

Ruwen nodded at his shadow, and it nodded back.

Overlord and Uruziel had moved back and now stood next to Sivart.

“I’ve neglected you,” Ruwen said to his shadow. “You have stood here alone and in the dark your entire existence. I promise you, someday soon, I will change that.”

Ruwen turned to look at his distant, invisible soul. The vast group of people in front of him absorbed and radiated Uruziel’s light, creating a soft glow. Where the crowd ended, though, a deep darkness began.

It pained Ruwen to admit it but Sift had once again been right. Sift had told Ruwen he contained everything he needed to succeed within himself already.

Addressing the shadow again, Ruwen spoke softly while keeping his focus on the horizon. “I’ve taken six steps to reach this place. Only one remains.”

As Ruwen studied the silent darkness, he didn’t consider climbing a cliff, or reaching Overlord, or crossing an invisible barrier.

The feelings of sadness, disappointment, and fear Ruwen’s imprisoned soul created no longer made sense, and he let the emotions go. He had lost the desire to smash the shell with mental fists, or break it, or hunt endlessly for weaknesses.

Instead of running away from what Ruwen considered a failure, he accepted his soul’s trapped state, and for the first time, viewed it without hostility or anger.

“What is the most important Step?” Ruwen asked quietly.

“The step inward,” Ruwen answered his own question. “A step toward yourself. This step.”

Ruwen concentrated completely on himself, his thoughts free from any burdens, responsibilities, or obligations, and willed himself toward his soul.

The shadow beside Ruwen stepped forward, taking the seventh step.

And Ruwen followed.