Chapter 981: The Divide Between Heart and Mind

Old Man Seed muttered with fascination in his tone,

"So it is true, when the Supreme Circle is activated it provides one with infinite energy. Meat trick, kind of useless to most people, but with your Soul's power, hehene... you would be a monster. Perhaps you might be the few to kill Will Holders while still under the 9th Supreme Circle, and I am not just talking about those in the fourth dimension. Another mystery solved and the day had just begun."

Old Man Seed's voice was like a whip and Elura gasped as she let go of his face and stepped backward, she did not hide the shock in her eyes or demeanor, Elura pulled herself together and seemed to have come to a conclusion and gestured towards her father,

"Leave us for a while Father, there are things that I must discuss with my son. It is for our ears alone. Mother and son."

Old Man Seed looked at Elura for a while, countless unspoken words passing between both of them before nodding, as he was about to leave he paused and turned his head towards Rowan while addressing Elura,

"Do not take long, he is still going to be tested. Harshly. Now that he has activated four Supreme Circles, there is no more time for delays. I will be placing him in a gauntlet that is fit for someone of his stature. I thought I had already pushed the difficulty to an impossible level, but your son has proven again and again how much we have underestimated him, I will no longer be making that mistake."

"I understand Father, this would not take long and I will be leaving him in your care until he becomes Immortal and he would be given his crown as a Sanctified Scion and shown to all of creation. He would hold your Prime key, and he shall be the true heir of Miracle."

The old man paused and then grinned, "Oh, Elura, the heights of your ambitions. Here I was thinking you were insane, but now... I am getting old."

He walked off into the horizon, a few steps taking him across thousands of miles before he vanished before the glow of the setting sun.

"Sit," Elura smiled, she had somehow created a spot that had been filled with delicate flowers with splendous color and scent, and with the light of the setting sun, this area transformed into a fantastical haven of beauty and tranquility.

She gracefully hovered above them with her legs folded beneath her, her long green robes that were accented with gold and scarlet enhancing her goddess-like beauty and figure that would put most in creation to shame. A great portion of Rowan's beauty came from Elura and with his true appearance revealed, it was easy to spot the similarities between them.

Rowan sighed and sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. His Essence and Aether had nearly been refilled in these few seconds, but Rowan kept his eyes closed for another three hours. Time at their level was both meaningless and also incredibly meaningful, for a billion years could be passed in slumber, yet a battle of epic proportions could be fought in a second.

Rowan sighed and sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. His Essence and Aether had nearly been refilled in these few seconds, but Rowan kept his eyes closed for another three hours. Time at their level was both meaningless and also incredibly meaningful, for a billion years could be passed in slumber, yet a battle of epic proportions could be fought in a second.

Elura did not disturb him, and Rowan did not look at the world using his Spirit Senses but his eyes were powerful enough that whether it was closed or opened, he could still perceive his surroundings with alacrity using his fleshy vision.

His senses which could be likened to sonars burst out of his closed lids, far more vigorously than before, tens of millions of pulses emitting from his closed eyes that scanned and collected every information around him for tens of thousands of miles until it met the barriers of this space.

This entire world was within his gaze and he missed nothing. However, his primary focus was on the woman before him.

The smile had never left Elura's face all this time, and Rowan almost had the urge to scream at this enigmatic woman. He felt an odd twinge of pain in his heart when a part of him that wanted the peace of solace in the arms of his mother was gone, instead what took her place was a being who was perhaps the most dangerous he had ever come across. The woman who had given him the motivation and fortitude to fight against the tyranny of the Third Prince was no longer here, and it hurt in a way he had not yet had the time to truly investigate.

When Rowan was 'done' with replacing his lost energy, he opened his eyes and met Elura's own, he licked his lips, about to speak, but Elura interrupted him, almost as if she was anxious,

"You know I never do anything without a plan. Or perhaps you don't know, but I'm sure you must have suspected. Many things that happened in the universe of your birth were within my control in a sense. I cannot manipulate the domain of Chaos like I want, and that leads to... complications that even I don't understand or control."

This admission of her fallibility seemed to annoy her but she pushed through the brief flash of anger that surfaced in her eyes. Rowan wondered how much of what she was showing was true. Most likely none, he reckoned.

"Certain situations that transpired in my youth have forced me to never leave a door opened for anyone to find a way to harm me or my interest, there could be no chink in my armor in any manner, and that fear and desire for control over my destiny affected my decision when it came time for me to give birth to my heir. Nothing could ever be good enough."

Elura looked uncomfortable and she shifted around, Rowan's face showed no emotion and his alien eyes that were exuding such fantastical lights never left her face, like a snake looking at a mouse, Rowan allowed the alien nature of himself to come through.

He could not help himself, because a part of him wanted to believe Elura's story, that part of him that was in pain, and so he allowed himself to feel everything, opening himself in a manner that he would never do, it was both a plea and a warning.

Elura was on thin ice, whatever was said here would be remembered, and if Elura wished to play games with the few things that could touch his bottom line, he would not be holding back.

After fidgeting for a while Elura met his gaze without flinching,

"I'm sorry my son, sometimes good intentions may result in a cruel outcome. To protect you from the eyes of my enemies and leave you without flaws I took steps that were born from good intentions, and never bothered if the outcome would be cruel, not just to me, but more importantly to you. There is much you don't know about your power and bloodline,"

She chuckled in an almost nervous manner when she mentioned the word, bloodline,

"You should have learned all these and more in the Eld Seed I had arranged for you, but you did not follow my predetermined path. At first, I was angered, you are but a child, with no idea of the vastness of the horizon or the true depths of the deep, you were an arrogant youngling with wings of wax outspread to the skies, showing off your glory, yet not understanding... comprehending, how hot and uncaring the flames of the sun. It will burn you, leaving nothing behind, you did not understand dominion and I gave you no chance to learn the reason for this, and for this failure I am sorry."

She sighed and summoned a long needle and held the sharp point to the middle of her forehead and she began pushing it down,

"It is time I showed you everything."