Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 465: Regression

Chapter 465: Regression

Alex’s pneuma charged forward like a mindless zombie, even letting out an incomprehensible sound as it stretched its hands out, seeking to grab him though its end goal was still unknown.

Of course, Alex wasn’t about to find out what would happen should it grab him as he immediately took several steps back while trying to figure out how best to restrain this malicious entity.

The last time, he’d had Nadia’s help as well as a certain amount of Quillion.

In this case, he had neither and so was hard-pressed to find a way out of his current predicament.

It didn’t help that his pneuma grew faster, its desire to get him caused it to exhibit a terrifying level of physical prowess.

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Alex finally stopped running and instead, utilized his Authority in a bid to command it to stop.

It worked but only for a few seconds.

But that was more than enough for him as he immediately rushed forward and grabbed it before attempting to bring it back under control.

It struggled, but he had a good enough grip to keep it in check.

Also, whatever had caused his Pneuma to be fatigued was working to his advantage as it didn’t take long for it to once again come under his control.

As he felt it grow calm, Alex closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of the Night that washed over him.

It was almost reminiscent of when he first embarked on the road of mysticism.

How long had it been anyway?... He couldn’t help but wonder as he once again became one with the darkness.

***

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the Garden, lying on the grass with Adam looking over him with a pitiful gaze.

"Is something wrong?" Alex inquired, still feeling fatigued.

What the hell was that about?

Adam crouched over him before replying. "I warned you, didn’t I?"

Furrowing his brows, Alex inquired. "What are you talking about?"

"I warned you that rushing had its downsides even as it seemed to get you quicker to your goal."

"Can you stop beating around the bush and just get straight to the point?" Alex spat in annoyance.

Adam sighed. "See for yourself."

He rose to his feet and slowly made his way back to his favorite boulder, giving Alex space to sit up only to freeze as he stared at the sight ahead.

"Is that my Wheel?" Alex inquired as he stared at the arched gate ahead, specifically at the tree of Kabbalah depicted at the center.

Starting with Scholar, the Locks of Shepherd, Hero, and even WatchGuard all closed up.

"You have regressed." Adam flatly said as he sat on his boulder, conjuring an apple in his right hand after which he took a big bite.

Alex frowned. "What do you mean regressed?"

"You can’t expect me to answer that, do you?"

Alex made to speak but paused as he shifted his gaze back to the gate.

To think that all his progress had vanished just like that.

"Why is this happening?"

"Why do you think so?" Adam asked back, earning a glare from Alex.

He didn’t seem to care as he took another bite from his apple.

"You had said the way I’d passed the Trial for Scholar was botched."

"Indeed I did."

"What’s going on?"

"Perhaps once you return, you will have a better understanding. However, as of this moment, you are back to your Origin."

"And you would allow it?"

Adam shrugged. "I don’t have a choice. Your speed was admirable but this was bound to happen sooner or later. When you build something on a shaky foundation, it’s bound to crumble."

"Fuck." Alex cursed as he fell back on the grass.

He was angry, incredibly so.

But he couldn’t blame anyone but himself.

In his desire to quickly get the strength needed to complete his quest, he had forgotten an important tenet he followed.

’Slow and Steady wins the race.’

He had neither been slow nor steady, moving at a pace that couldn’t be sustained.

Perhaps it was better that it happened now.

He had no idea what he would have done if perhaps he had gotten to the 7th Lock before he regressed.

Clicking his tongue, he stifled the anger as he decided to focus on how to make up for what had happened.

He took a deep breath as he sat up to address Adam. "So what now?"

"Now, you start again. You reaffirm the Trials you have carried out and hope that it won’t be a botched success this time as well."

Alex went silent, pondering how long it would take for him to complete the Affirmation of all four Trials.

"Are you up for it?" Adam inquired. "It’s rather regretful but I am willing to make concessions to make it easy for you. However, I would ask that you not carry out any further Trials after this."

Silence followed yet again as Alex pondered his options before remarking. "Alright then. Let’s get to it."

"I believe I don’t need to repeat the Trials, right?"

Alex shook his head as he got to his feet. "No, that won’t be necessary."

"Alright then." Adam nodded before remarking. "So choose."

"Hmm?" Alex raised a brow.

"You don’t think that you would be able to utilize all the Abilities you have created so far, right?"

Alex froze as he realized that he had completely overlooked that aspect.

"Is there no way that I can keep them?"

"Unfortunately not," Adam replied. "As it is, your Understanding is too great of a burden for your pneuma. You could keep them but the risk of losing yourself to the Call of Origin would be a certainty once you leave here."

Clicking his tongue, Alex remarked. "Can I get to choose?"

"You can but do it quickly. The reason you are so weak is precisely because you are carrying more than what your pneuma can manage."

"How many Abilities do I get to choose?"

"It should be 4 but considering you have agreed to follow my advice for the first time, then I shall make a concession and allow you to utilize 6."

Running his palm through his hair, Alex took some time running through all his Abilities.

Once he had done so, he grouped them into three categories; offensive, defensive, and support.

Then he moved on to the next step, picking the best two out of each category.

Once done, he remarked. "I’m ready."

"I see." Adam calmly intoned as he took the last bite out of his apple before tossing it aside. "Well then, I’m listening."