Eva’s lecture lasted till the sun went down. This has become a constant in their daily life for the past eight years.

After getting to know her deeply, Alaric discovered that she hates reading so much that it physically cringes her, but he couldn’t have that. So he took it upon himself to properly educate her.

A lot has happened during the past few years. Taking advantage of his flaw, Oliveria and Tian made sure he grew immensely powerful. He couldn’t count how many times his bones have been ground to dust and remade with denser material. Unfortunately, he found out the hard way that density doesn’t just appear from nowhere; he needed organic material in the form of nutritious food intake.

This increased his caloric intake by a massive amount; thankfully, his metabolism was constantly evolving to keep up, but surprisingly, he was beaten in the metabolic department by a certain dark elf with white hair.

Yes, Eva was what one might call a foodie. Not just because she loved eating, but because her lineage held a very powerful, profound trait called glutony. This powerful trait allows her to extract every beneficial nutrient from whatever she consumes. This forced him to learn how to cook the best meals, which wasn’t really that difficult considering his talents.

Speaking about talents, he has come to list the obvious ones he has, which include,

Electromagnetic vision: The ability to see various kinds of light in the EM spectrum. This allows him to perceive various kinds of spectra, such as X-ray and infrared vision, as well as various types of waves.

Microscopic vision: This allows him to see items that are normally too small to be seen with the naked eye at normal clarity.

Parallel processing/accelerated processing: With this, his mind can perform multiple calculations and thought processes simultaneously.

Perfect memory and recall

Information and structural analysis: This allows him to gather a fully detailed analysis of his surroundings at all times. He knew every single atom present within his perception, which was very large.

Intuitive learning: This makes it easier to learn new things and to derive more knowledge from them.

Strengthened intuition/ danger perception: It allows him to sense when death is breathing down his neck.

Simulation: This one is peculiar, and the one he used the most, it allows him to generate simulations of any phenomena, including objects, entities, environments, and events, to determine the best course of action to make or even alter the outcome of those phenomena, including martial and alchemic research to run any experiment without needing to physically run it. This was the major factor in his significant growth over the years. Given the knowledge he currently has, he could actively drive more innovation without wasting resources. All it required was his devotion. With intuitive learning, this was perhaps the most powerful combo.

With all these abilities, he has focused on learning in the endless library, and he has become quite the scholar. According to Tian’s assessment, he was the most knowledgeable mortal in existence.

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The room is cleared before anything else. Furniture pushed to the walls, the floor exposed. Whatever surface remains must be clean and level, because the lines drawn on it cannot afford to drift.

The ceremonial circle comes first. It is traced in cinnabar mixed with a binder, drawn slowly and without lifting the instrument used. Inside it, a second ring, and between the two, glyphs at precise intervals, each one corresponding to a specific symbolic principle. The geometry is not decorative. Every angle serves a function, and a deviation of even a few degrees is not a minor error.

Seven candles are placed at calculated positions, not evenly spaced, but positioned according to a logic that accounts for the nature of what is being contacted. Their wax is a specific color. Tonight, black, which corresponds to concealment and the passage between states. They are not lit yet.

At the circle’s center, the offerings. A small brass dish holds dried herbs that produce a particular smell when burned, one associated with the domain of the entity being addressed. Beside it, a written petition on paper that will not survive the ceremony. Beside that, something personal, something that carries the ritualist’s own essence, a drop of blood already dried on a square of cloth.

The pendulum hangs from a fixed point above the circle’s center, suspended by a cord of a specific length, its weight a carved piece of bone.

The candles are lit in order, moving counterclockwise. The room changes when the seventh one catches. Not visibly, not in any way a bystander could identify. Something about the space has been separated from the rest of the building.

The incantation begins in a low voice, in a language older than the world. The words are read from memory, not from paper, because looking down breaks the continuity of focus the ritual requires.

The pendulum begins to move.

No one touched it.

At the center of the circle stood Alaric and his companion, Eva, whose excitement shone in her beautiful orbs. One could tell she has been waiting for this day for a very long time. They wore plain white ritualistic robes.

Tian and Oliveria stood outside, watching them closely. The idea of a life partner was not something that could be done on a whim. If it were easy to accomplish, every cultivator would have one. The resources needed were astronomical, and the probability of failure was 99.9%. No one in their right mind would risk it, but there are exceptions. Blessed individuals have a lot of leeway in the amount of resources needed. Whatever entity this ritual is offered to seems to recognize and favor blessed individuals, requiring less of them to complete it, and so far, its effect has been 100%. This was an important ritual that helps manage the flaws of a blessed, though it’s not true for every blessed.

This method appeared out of nowhere when the first blessed awakened. It was clearly a divine intervention to manage the flaws of the recent generation of chosen individuals.

Without further ado, Tian started as the head ritualist:

"I call upon what was before names were given to things.

I call upon the thread that runs beneath choice, beneath blood, beneath the turning of years.

Two have come to this place of their own will.

Let what is bound here be witnessed.

Let what is witnessed here be permanent.

Let what is permanent here be just."

He shouted while raising both his hands above his head. The air in the room condenses in a manner that would leave one gasping for air. A divine presence descended upon that room.

Feeling this, Tian shifts his attention to the individuals at the center of the circle before asking.

"Do you offer your progress to this bond, knowing that what you gain will cast a shadow on the one in front of you, and what they gain will cast a shadow on you?"

"Do you choose to share your destiny and fate with the one in front of you?"

Do you accept the weight of another’s failure, knowing there will be moments it humbles your own, and moments it carries you further than you could have walked alone?

The questions came in rapid succession, but the individuals in question were not overwhelmed. They met each other’s eyes before replying in unison.

"I do." It echoed in the thick air.

Tian continued his chant.

"What has been spoken cannot be unspoken.

What has been offered cannot be reclaimed.

Progress, failure, destiny, fate. Four threads. One cord.

You will not always walk the same road.

You will not always reach the same summit.

But the road you walk will know the other has walked,

and the summit you reach will carry the other’s weight in its stone.

This is not a blessing. This is not a curse.

This is a fact, and it will outlast both of you.

By the witness of what was before names,

by the record that does not require a keeper.

This bond is made.

This bond holds.

This bond ends only when both end, and even then, not entirely."

It ended. The air was still thick in silence, and no one dared to move. It stayed as such for exactly sixty seconds before the divine presence made its final judgment.

[Approved] It was not said with words but with intent. No word could describe what it felt like, but every individual present understood it.

The air returned to how it used to be, signaling the departure of this mysterious being.

Alaric felt a profound connection slowly form between him and Eva. He closed his eyes as she followed along, feeling the connection grow stronger as time passed. He could feel himself instinctively pushing some of his traits and burdens to her while she did the same.

Something dropped into his perception, a long-desired trait he desired the moment he discovered it in his companion {Glutony}

Eva experienced the same. She felt her perception of the world change massively; everything within a hundred meters became clear to her, and her thoughts grew clearer over time. This would normally be very overwhelming to her,, as her mortal mind was not able to process all the information coming to her; thankfully, she had someone capable enough to share that burden with.

She slowly opened her beautiful eyes, her silver pupil radiating pure ecstasy. " We are finally one."

"Mmm," Alaric responded with a nod.

"It’s almost time for Heavenly Dao’s assessment, we should head out."