Following the disappearance of Xesnasio's revenant and Kieran's Trial Completion increasing to 84%, the outline of the Fourth Syllable of Eni within his Mystic Gate solidified further, further assimilating with the hidden concept of the character.
"An excellent fabrication required that I uphold my stoic outlook, neither becoming servile nor overbearing," Kieran said, watching as the remaining motes of the earlier clash vanished.
While looking at the disappearing marvel, Kieran blinked, glancing down at the two small Mystic Ciphers rotating around his hand in a counterclockwise direction.
"So the Mystic Ciphers can be wielded this way. If that's the case, what would happen if I could continue to change or implement new syllables? How many variations of the ciphers could I make?" Kieran questioned, slowly releasing the ciphers around his hand.
A second later, he looked within.
"I can understand why the fourth syllable's essence is so overwhelming to learn. It's difficult to understand when one should remain unrelenting without becoming violent," Kieran muttered, praising the complexity and lesson embedded with the Fourth Syllable of Eni.
Once he finished looking within his Mystic Gate, Kieran returned his attention to the Immaterial Plane, primarily the frequently transposed Veiled Arcadia Gate. Many small distortions occurred on the path leading to the gate's general location.
These small distortions felt familiar to Kieran because it was something he had recently faced off against—Inspirited Wykin Revenants. Although they had yet to take on a proper form, Kieran had become accustomed to their distinctive energy signature.
It was a mix of an ancient feeling interspersed with a sort of non-living sensation.
After sensing these looming Inspirited Wykin Revenants, Kieran prepared himself by triggering his Mystic Gate's restorative properties. Before moving, he replenished the reserves of mystic energy exhausted in his clash against Xenasio's revenant.
"As I mentioned before, I'll be foolish not to prepare for strange obstacles. The relatively low completion of fabrication is a sign that I've yet to accomplish all that I must know," Kieran stated, speaking to and reassuring himself.
A few seconds after he finished replenishing his Mystic Gate, Kieran coalesced a Mystic Cipher around each of his hands.
The left hand bore the Mystic Cipher responsible for improving the effects of his ocular abilities while the right hand held the Mystic Cipher that he recently learned.
Unleashing them simultaneously naturally augmented Kieran's consumption of mystic energy, but based on the number of Inspirited Wykin Revenants he discerned, he wouldn't be able to prevail without taking the necessary precautions.
'It feels somewhat different from before. Are these revenants tasked with teaching me another syllable or… do they possess some other purpose?' Kieran wondered.
As he could only confirm his suspicions by taking a step forward and experimenting, that's what he did. Once he confirmed that his grasp of the two Mystic Ciphers was solid thanks to his Mystic Gate's higher maturation, Kieran sprinted toward the Veiled Arcadia Gate.
Roughly two minutes into sprinting, Kieran met his first obstacle. Two Inspirited Wykin Revenants manifested simultaneously, one appearing at his front and the other on his left side.
However, Kieran noticed something bizarre the moment they manifested, leading Kieran to enlarge the cipher 0n his left hand and look through it.
'Oh? The nature of the trial has changed once more. This isn't the fifth syllable at all,' Kieran thought.
After peering into the secrets of his current situation, Kieran found that the Inspirited Wykin Revenant wielded the first syllable at varying levels.
One felt dangerous but the other one felt unusual, each posing a substantial threat.
'The one barring my path ahead is unusual as their first syllable continues to feed off of the oasis' fuel even after releasing it. If I had to put it in words, it feels like the symbol has become dominant,' Kieran mused to himself.
The bizarre feeling's source wasn't difficult to discern, but it was challenging to dissect because it revealed a mastery of the first syllable that began manifesting outward phenomena.
Nevertheless, Kieran didn't shy from the challenge. While moving forward, closing in on the Inspirited Wykin Revenant before him, Kieran conjured the first syllable with his right hand, which led to it possessing an abnormal yet incomplete presence.
The incomplete sensation didn't stem from its structure because Kieran's fabrication of the character was solid. The incomplete presence stemmed from the first syllable adopting some of the fourth.
As the first syllable was fragmented yet present within the fourth, there was a subtle connection that allowed for the transference of principles to a certain extent.
So, whereas the revenant's incoming bizarre character possessed a strange dominance to it, Kieran's coalesced character possessed a distinct persistence.
Bang!
The symbols collided, but Kieran didn't await the outcome before forming another first syllable and launching it to his left. It was an extremely close call because targeting the lead revenant allowed the less menacing fabrication to draw near Kieran's body.
If he was any slower, he would have undoubtedly suffered direct damage.
Despite his sudden release, Kieran overcame the left revenant's fabrication, inevitably absorbing its energy, but the lead revenant's first syllable emerged triumphant. However, though triumphant, the structure had become exceedingly feeble.
〈System: Your «Rooted Mystic Tether» has suffered minimal damage. [Stability: 48.49%]〉
'Hm, approximately 1.5% for losing that exchange, that isn't too bad. But while it isn't bad, I can't ignore the fact that the last part of the trial is truthfully the most difficult,' Kieran thought.
The change in the trial was like moving from a theoretical to a practical exam. The path where he was cemented and incapable of dodging was the theoretical aspect.
Though there were high stakes, he was given time to digest what he learned and apply it to his understanding of the syllables.
In contrast, this rush to the Veiled Arcadia Gate didn't allow any time for him to stop and comprehend the incoming character.
"A battle of understanding," Kieran voiced, stating the premise behind this last challenge. Even though he failed to overcome the lead revenant directly before him, it still disappeared, which left Kieran to question something.
'Is it a single-release type battle?'
A single-release type battle was one where every battle was decided by one action, there was no repeat. The outcome, whatever it may be, could not be changed in this style of evaluation.
Thus, even though Kieran's syllable wasn't triumphant, he gained progress toward his Fabrication portion of the trial evaluation.
As Kieran neared the moving Veiled Arcadia Gate, the frequency of the Inspirited Wykins Revenants as if they intended to destroy his chance at succeeding. However, Kieran found it strange that they only wielded the first to third syllable and did so in absurd variations.
Part of Kieran desired to learn at least one more syllable or learn how his fourth syllable compared to the renditions of other Wykins. So when the revenants continued to fire the lower level syllables, he felt somewhat let down.
'Although passing the trial takes precedence, it doesn't mean I don't welcome a challenge to the bitter end. That's where most growth occurs. Normal people would be frightened by an increase at the end but those who desire strength—true strength, grasped within adversity—understand the fulfillment in the struggle.'
After learning that revenants unleashed varying for the first three syllables, Kieran's tether rarely lost additional stability. Instead, Kieran's casting speed of the character showed great improvement.
The more repetitions he performed, the more second nature the actions became, soon reaching a point where conjuring the three syllables required little concentration. Eventually, Kieran realized why the revenants solely unleashed those characters.
'The first three characters could be considered the foundations of the Archaic Syllabary of Eni. If I don't refine my basics, how could I ever hope to excel in this path?' Kieran inwardly thought.
But a few seconds after having this thought, the appearance of the revenants suddenly changed, as did their presence. The change alerted Kieran and reminded him of Xenasio's arrival with a minute difference.
Some of the revenants felt more well-rounded but not as sagacious as Xenasio, which begged the question—were these revenants also lamented Mystic Guardians? Albeit of a different standard.
Unlike before, these revenants were aligned so that their presence resembled an equally spaced triangle, appearing as a pyramid spread across the ground. There was only one existence directly before Kieran, but he counted at least nine in the final row.
'The final obstacle, which is notably where the greatest challenge lies.'
As Kieran walked up at a moderate pace, the revenant conjured a character that resembled an equilateral triangle. However, the triangle was split in the middle and this occurred numerous times until Kieran sensed that every portion was split.
For some reason, Kieran found that he instantly understood the concept of this character. 'All parts are equal and must be shown equal attention. Together, these parts are one. Thereby creating the truth that one is all and all is one. This character is undoubtedly one centered around equality and impartiality.'
〈System: You have comprehended the «Fifth Syllable of Eni»'s root essence. Your «Mystic Gate» has matured further. [Maturation: 60%]〉
Kieran understood the need to be impartial and fair as favoritism led to seeds of enmity. In Kieran's perspective, one should only present a universal opportunity and then absolve themselves of involvement.
Whoever failed to benefit from the opportunity could blame nothing but their inability or lack of affinity with the encounter.
In a way, the fifth syllable was a dogma in itself, and it was also why the Wykins rarely found themselves embroiled in conflict after understanding it.
Despite having comprehended the fifth syllable, Kieran didn't conjure it. Instead, he unleashed the fourth syllable to shatter the opposing side's fabrication with a profound reasoning.
〈System: Your «Fabrication» progress has reached 95%.〉
