The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 299: Through the Crack (2)

Chapter 299: Through the Crack (2)

Your body will conduct the chaotic energy into the crystal. Focus on absorbing as much as Time and Space elements as possible.

With those words, the Saint disappeared from his sight. Hex knew it would be pointless to try to search for Him. Instead of wasting time on futile things, he braced himself for the impact to come.

No one, not even Hex, with his superior eyes, could see the Crack, but its existence could be sensed. The turbulent waves, rising hundreds of meters in the air, and the roaring winds flattening the massive trees on the island were the best proof of the chaos ahead.

Hex’s grip on the crystal tightened as he sensed getting closer to the chaos. The Saint taught him how to use the ambient chaos to weaken and perhaps even break the remnant Will, blocking the inheritance inside the crystal.

"I hope my Will doesn’t shatter in the process," Hex whispered as he grinned wryly.

He took a deep breath. He could feel it. They were close.

Any time now.

BAM!

It happened. The island shuddered as it hit the layer. The small hills crumbled and the forests disappeared as the seconds trickled by.

Slowly but surely, the island entered the Crack. Hex felt a thick mucus-like substance drape around his skin as they entered the Crack.

As soon as they entered, his senses tingled and picked up several impulses. He felt the wind brush against him but smelled salty seawater. His stomach churned as if they were going at a speed beyond what his body could bear but looking around it seemed as if they were still adrift.

The more Hex tried to focus on his senses, the more overwhelming they became. His heartbeat remained calm though. That helped him remain calm.

’Think. Just think,’ Hex forced himself to break away from the various senses and focus on finding a way to control it.

’The Saint didn’t warn me about this. Either He forgot or He believed I could manage it.’

He tried again. He focused his mind on one sense and suppressed the others. So far, so good. The first sense he released was his olfactory sense. The smell of meadows and seawater clashed against each other. It took a moment to attune himself to the smell.

Once he could, he tried adding another sense. He picked his ears. But instead of the sound of the waves crashing against the shores or the wind rustling through the grass, his ears rang with the sound of thunder echoing in the distance and the high-pitched wails of something.

’What the –’

The unexpected noises caused him to lose composure, releasing the suppression of his other senses. It was as if a dam was opened. All his senses suffered the assault of several prickles at once.

"Urgh."

It was too much. Hex doubled over and vomited. After draining his stomach, he belched, feeling the acids of his stomach burn his throat. He tried to cool it off by swallowing his saliva. It took a while to recover. With a grimace, he straightened his body.

"That was a waste of time," he said, doing his best to regulate his breathing. But it was difficult. They were inside the Crack. As soon as he relaxed, his senses suffered tremendously. How was he supposed to train if he barely could breathe?

The only way he succeeded in resisting the flood of sensory prickles was by shutting off everything around him.

’Wait. Perhaps that’s the way to do this?’

Hex immediately took a seat on the ground and focussed. This time, instead of sensing outward, he did so inward. Through everything, only his heart remained steady and calm. With each breath, he synched his senses with his heartbeats.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Gradually, he started to lose himself with each beat. Time and Space lost their meaning. He didn’t even sense the silvery light flicker on the back of his hand.

Hex felt like he drifted around. At first, he didn’t sense anything. It was as if there was a void around him. But as the heartbeat strummed in his ears, he realized he could hear the waves crashing against the shores. He also heard the howls of the winds and the breaking of twigs and branches.

He could hear everything around him, concealed inside the beat of his heart.

While he wondered how he could hear, his nose picked up the several smells wafting around him, carried by the wind. The smell of the salty seawater, the smell of vomit, the smell of mud, the smell of odors of the others, every smell came at him. Yet, none overwhelmed him.

One by one, every sense returned. He could see, even with his eyes closed. He could hear, smell, feel, and detect the energy around him. Everything and every bit around him was within reach, yet nothing hurt.

The world around him became pleasant concealed in each breath and heartbeat.

This experience helped him formulate his basic understanding of Space and Time.

’What is Time? Time is nothing but the passing of each heartbeat. Eons could pass by or seconds, but without a heartbeat, both are the same. Space is where the heart beats. From the deepest reaches of the world to the highest peaks of the mountains, if the heart is still, both are equal.’

As soon as these thoughts took root in his mind, he sensed the familiar Space elements pour into him, entering the silvery circle on the back of his hand. But the Space elements didn’t come alone. Accompanying them was something else.

Through the sight granted by his heart, he noticed golden specks swirl down to the back of his hands. They seemed unwilling to leave the silvery sparks. They tried to enter the silvery circle at first. Upon failing, they settled by forming another circle. A thin band of golden light appeared. But unlike the other element circles, this one didn’t appear on its own. It coiled around the silvery circle, intertwining with it.

Amazing.

The sigh came out of nowhere, startling Hex a little. Luckily, the Saint didn’t harbor ill intent toward him. Coupled with the calmness of his heart, he managed to retain his composure.

"What do you mean? Isn’t this what I am supposed to be doing?"

Yes. But I didn’t expect it to go as smoothly as it did. I just wished to push you to your limits and then help you from there on. Who knew you managed to become on with yourself and even better, manage to condense a SpaceTime circle?

Amazing. You are indeed her descendant.

Hearing the Saint praise him like this, pleased him a little. He wished to inquire more about the nature of the SpaceTime circle when the Saint interrupted him though.

Questions can be asked later. I think you should use this time to refine the Will inside the crystal. Who knows, you might create a third circle, huh?

Hex doubted he would manage to reach an understanding so quickly but the Saint was right. He wouldn’t get another opportunity like this to refine the Will quickly.

He opened his hand in which the crystal lay. He had been gripping it all along. The crystal trembled. It seemed the remnant Will inside sensed his intention. Too bad it couldn’t do much about it.

Hex directed the stream of chaotic energy through his body to the crystal. This sounded easy but only an experienced person with mastery over his control over the energy could accomplish something like this.

Marvelous.

The sigh inside his head didn’t surprise him this time. He knew a few could do what he was capable of. And that was what the Saint could observe. While he acted as a conduit, his heart absorbed streams of chaotic energy on its own.

Hex doubted the Saint would notice it. Even though a huge amount of chaotic energy passed through his body, it was but a wisp compared to the amount of chaotic energy contained in the air around them.

Your physical abilities could overshadow the body of a Calamity. Truly exceptional. Only a handful of humans could do something like this. And none are at the Refined Knight.

Ignoring the remarks inside his head, Hex focused on weakening the Will as much as possible. He sensed the layer thinning with each passing heartbeat.

As he continued, the layer warped and turned into a hazy figure. Blurry as it might be, Hex recognized the deceased Monarch’s silhouette. It seemed to roar and beg at the same time. But it didn’t matter. Hex didn’t stop or even pause. He continued to refine.

Ting.

Finally, with a loud sound, the layer, holding him out of the crystal, shattered.

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