There was something very horrific about the act of ripping yourself open, and Rowan's ghastly appearance only made it more surreal.
This was an act that could not be comprehended by a mortal's mind, but for Rowan, it was just a normal action in order to gain the advantage he wanted.
Rowan's ruthlessness has become part of his innate nature.
The creature receiving this boon almost went mad with joy as it chittered loudly, and Rowan groaned as he fell on one knee.
This body was powerful, but its recovery prowess was stifled by him and so, the pain he was feeling from a wound that was this massive was billions of times more severe than a mortal could ever comprehend, even a god might go mad if they received such a wound.
Rowan understood that if he wanted power, he would have to pay the price, and the pain was a simple and cheap price for him to pay.
He had given up more than seventy percent of his body and his size had reduced to a hundred thousand miles, when he succeeded for the first time, a single Berserker Clone survived the destruction and rapidly changed its shape to a purple dust and began floating towards one of the planets in the distance.
Eighty percent of his body was gone, and he succeeded again, now it was four Berserker Clones escaped the destruction… At ninety-two percent, another seven Berserker Clones escaped and this pattern continued until he exhausted all the energy he had swallowed.
He had succeeded in releasing thirty-five Berserker Clones inside the Body of this creature and Rowan's brilliant eyes dimmed, his body began to shrivel and he turned to stone, from all outward appearance, he had lost all signs of life.
The Creature remained for a little moment luxuriating in the feeling of consuming such potent energy. It had channeled this energy deep inside itself, and Rowan was unaware that an entire galaxy was growing inside its body and new and powerful lifeforms were blooming inside its body.
It looked at the broken body of Rowan and it chittered both in satisfaction and irritation before it turned and vanished.
A short while later, the broken form of Rowan exploded and a new body emerged from the massive debris of his previous self.
His massive skull which was frozen into stone was surprisingly in a single piece and it began to float away, each of the holes in his eyes was larger than the stars. This was a treasure, but Rowan did not want any remnants of Chaos power near him, so he let it go.
Rowan looked in the direction the creature escaped towards and a feeling of urgency began to grow in his heart, not wasting any moment deliberating on where this feeling was coming from, he took a step forward towards his Spirit Matrix Gate, he was now six hundred miles tall, and this was now his true size.
Rowan had benefited a lot from this encounter, even if he had let go of a greater portion of this power, like a bodybuilder who was once on steroids, even after he stopped using it, there were still tangible benefits brought to his physique.
That one step he took crossed countless miles, entering the Spirit Matrix Gate, the region he found himself in was filled with a white flame, and when he looked around him, the surroundings slowly transformed with his presence.
He found himself standing on a floor that seemed to be made of transparent crystals filled with white flames that extended for millions of miles.
The flames were not hot or cold but a mixture of both. It possessed properties that he found hard to describe, as it would simultaneously freeze whilst it was still burning.
For a Mage awakening their Spirit Matrix was similar to bringing something ethereal that could only be touched with their perception to reality. Their Spirit Matrix which was nonexistent before would then be located somewhere in their brain.
For Rowan, this process was the opposite. His Spirit Matrix appeared in reality and now it was going to be transforming into something ethereal.
No wonder this was supposed to be the peak technique among Mages.
The Spirit Matrix was the source of a Mage's strength, it was also their greatest weakness. Before a Mage could become an Archmage, no matter how much they augmented their fleshy bodies, they were still not as powerful as those of a Demon or even a Dominator.
Their Spirit Matrix, which was more important than their heart or their brain to a Mage could be physically located inside their skull. Rowan had experimented with the bodies of Mages brought back to him by his Angels and he had easily discovered the location of their Spirit Matrix.
Yet his Spirit Matrix would not be located in his flesh but inside his Mental Space. A Mage would be a thousand times more dangerous, and they could easily push their techniques to great heights not limited by the frailties of their flesh.
With the knowledge he comprehended from Andar, Rowan knew that every Mage had to go through a very important step when they wanted to become an Archmage, they would merge their bodies with their Spirit Matrix, destroying their one great weakness.
The fact that their Spirit Matrix physically existed inside their bodies made this process very difficult.
Although Rowan did not really care if his Spirit Matrix could be physically located in his flesh, for unlike a Mage he could heal from any injury inflicted on him.
Even if his Spirit Mateix was destroyed, as long as it was rooted in his flesh, paired with the undying nature of his Ouroboros body that seemed to be related to Time Manipulation itself, he would be fine.
In fact, Rowan would have preferred if this Aspect was rooted in his flesh, because he wondered if it would have the chance to shine when it was placed inside his Mental Space, after all, the home of a Nascent Primordial bloodline was sacred.
Using instinct as the owner of this Spirit Matrix, he called it to him, and like a tide returning to the ocean this world of white flame shrank and entered into his Mental Space.
