Chapter 693: Exuviation Issues
Realizing Arthur wasn’t gonna change his mind, Jamie simply shrugged and turned his attention back to the video wall.
As for McEnda, he still couldn’t understand how Arthur’s goal of becoming a Deity tied into this suicide attempt—correction, the decision to head to the Abyss Labyrinth.
He expressed this verbally and Arthur responded with a sigh.
"That place is dangerous because the things there are powerful, right? That means more EXP for me. I can reach the Deity Realm faster, and I might even try my luck at hitting the top of the Inferior Stage."
McEnda didn’t reply right away. While he could see the logic in Arthur’s reasoning, he still felt it was too dangerous.
"There are plenty of safer places with strong enough beings. No need to toss yourself into that hellhole."
Arthur recognized the genuine concern in McEnda’s voice and was about to respond when his expression twisted, and he began shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"What’s wrong?"
Jamie asked, his attention drawn to Arthur’s sudden discomfort and the boy responded with a frown.
"I didn’t notice it before, but maybe it’s because I’m just 15 levels away from 1000—or maybe it’s because my body’s still adjusting to the levels I got from killing Duskhand—but being close to exuviation is VERY UNCOMFORTABLE."
Jamie and McEnda exchanged glances of understanding at Arthur’s words.
"Ah, yeah, it can get pretty uncomfortable at first," Jamie said with a wry smile, recalling his Transcendent days.
McEnda, on the other hand, rubbed his arms as goosebumps formed and added, "It felt like my energy was squirming under my skin."
His particularly disturbing experience was likely due to his high affinity with Darkness law energy, but it was common for all beings nearing exuviation to endure discomfort.
"It’s like my soul is trying to transform itself without my own volition."
When Arthur expressed how he was feeling in words, Jamie laughed and patted him on the back.
"Yeah, I get it. But there’s a reason it’s called the ’Transcendent’ Realm.
Even though you’re effectively considered a Mortal, you’re really in that in-between stage—caught between Mortality and Higher Existen—wait, what?"
Jamie’s words abruptly cut off mid-sentence as something in Arthur’s explanation struck him as odd. Turning to Arthur with a furrowed brow, he asked.
"Did you just say your soul is trying to transform?"
"Yes, I did."
Hearing Arthur’s affirmative response, even McEnda turned his attention fully to Arthur. He and Jamie exchanged a glance before voicing their thoughts, one after the other.
"Arthur, your soul isn’t supposed to be trying to transform..."
"At your level, it should’ve already finished transforming."
"..."
Arthur was silent.
Jamie, sensing something was amiss, swivelled his chair to face Arthur directly. His tone was more serious when he spoke again.
"I’m guessing you already know that once someone becomes a Higher Existence, their soul gains additional Layers, right?"
Arthur nodded silently. That much was common knowledge to him.
"Good. The reason your soul ’transforms’ when you reach the Superior Stage of Transcendence is because the ’Skeleton’ of that Soul Layer begins forming around your soul.
Think of it like a framework—like bones that flesh grows around. Given your ridiculous speed and how long you’ve been a Transcendent, it should have already finished forming."
Hearing Jamie’s explanation, Arthur stared at him silently. A moment later, he raised a finger and spoke.
"Gimme a second."
Before Jamie could ask ’What for?’, Arthur’s pupils dilated to the extreme and the light in his eyes vanished.
Delving into his Soul Realm, Arthur was greeted by the familiar sight of a star system-like structure.
At the centre was his Soul Core, shining like a star, while his Pseudo-Origin Cores orbited silently.
Focusing on his Soul Core, Arthur noticed two protrusions that looked like poles on the north and south ends of the core.
But there was no sign of the ’Skeleton’ Jamie had mentioned.
For the record, Arthur knew what a Deity Soul looked like, so he knew what to expect.
A moment later, his consciousness returned outward, and he shook his head.
"It doesn’t look much different."
As soon as the words left his mouth, McEnda’s astonished voice rang out.
"Did you just—?!"
He stopped himself mid-sentence, shaking his head as he continued.
"Nahh, I’m not even gonna ask about that."
Deciding to ignore how Arthur so casually accessed his Soul Realm as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world, McEnda redirected his focus to the issue at hand.
"Your soul should have finished transforming by now. So why hasn’t it?"
McEnda’s question was one none of them had the answer to. Arthur had scanned himself thoroughly during his Soul Realm dive, and he was confident there was nothing wrong with him.
When he voiced this conclusion, Jamie nodded with furrowed brows.
"That’s exactly the problem. There’s nothing wrong with you—so why hasn’t your soul transformed yet?"
Jamie had examined Arthur thoroughly after his fight with Vonun in the Infernal Dimension. If there had been an issue, Jamie would have caught it.
But there wasn’t.
Arthur was, without a doubt, 110% fine.
"Unless something is limiting your soul? But it looks fine to me."
Jamie muttered this and Arthur agreed with him.
"I don’t think there’s anything limiting m—Oh!"
Arthur’s sentence cut off abruptly, and the two Deities deliberating his issue turned to him with narrowed eyes, their voices ringing out in unison.
""Spill it.""
Arthur chuckled at their synchronized demand.
Jamie’s words about something possibly limiting his soul reminded him of something that might be the problem.
"So...my mum kinda used a True Name Seal on me..."
Years ago, back when Arthur struggled with having far more energy than his body could handle, Cattleya had used a True Name Seal to lock away 50% of it.
Later, Arthur discovered the reason for his excessive energy. Apparently, he was supposed to be born at a Higher Existence Realm rather than the Master Realm he started with.
Even though his actual realm didn’t match his potential, his energy levels remained extraordinarily high.
Naturally, the one responsible for this unusual situation—Lucifer—ended up receiving several well-deserved smacks to the head from Cattleya.
As for how Lucifer caused this mess, let’s just say that moving the Hell Universe from its original position wasn’t without its side effects.
Since then, the True Name Seal had done its job, and Arthur had nearly forgotten about it.
Remembering it now also reminded him that his current energy levels were only half of what they were supposed to be.
When Arthur mentioned the Seal, Jamie frowned.
"That Seal’s going to be a problem. From what I know, it’s impossible to exuviate while it’s in place."
"Why?" Arthur asked.
"Don’t forget that when you exuviate and become a Higher Existence, your True Name changes—it gets longer, to be exact.
If your True Name is sealed, you can’t add anything to it until the Seal is removed.
Just like you can’t put something in a box till you open the box."
Jamie sighed as he explained, then posed the most pressing question.
"Why do you even have a True Name Seal? And how didn’t I notice it when I scanned your soul in Taemia?"
McEnda turned to Arthur as well, his gaze full of curiosity and Arthur scratched his head with an awkward expression as he responded.
"It’s kind of a long story..."
He recounted the events of the Nemo Galaxy Auction, where he’d been hit with Soul Poison. By the time he finished, even Xagthor and Malorum, who initially hadn’t been paying attention, were now giving him incredulous looks.
"...do you have a death wish?" Malorum asked, voicing the question on everyone’s minds.
"I most definitely do NOT."
Though Arthur denied it, Malorum didn’t seem convinced.
"I’m of the idea that you do."
Shaking his head with a resigned sigh, Malorum turned back to the video wall. Meanwhile, Jamie continued analysing the True Name Seal matter.
"Hmmm... your mother must have quite a high Sealing Law Authority to pull that off so easily. But it’s a problem.
The ascension laws that govern exuviation see your soul as ’Incomplete’ because of the Seal. To these laws, you’re essentially in the same state as someone with a damaged soul.
A damaged soul obviously can’t exuviate, and that’s how it’s treating you."
Jamie’s frown deepened as he pondered the situation, muttering quietly to himself.
"As the one who placed the Seal, your mother is the only one who can legally remove it. But that means you’d have to go back to Hell before you can become a Deity, and that’s not the goal here...
Wasn’t there a way to handle this? It can’t be brute-forced like those levelling walls."
Jamie scratched his head, his expression darkening as he pressed his hand to his temple.
"Give me some time, I need to sort through some information. My memories are all scrambled these days."
Rising to his feet, Jamie prepared to leave, and seeing this, Arthur stood as well.
"Send me back to Aramis before you go."
Jamie gave a silent nod and conjured two Cosmic gates—one leading to Militopolis, the other near the centre of the Orithyia Galaxy.
Arthur and Jamie stepped through the gates, and as they closed, Malorum turned his gaze to McEnda and Xagthor beside him.
"You two heard that, right?"
""Loud and Clear.""
They both responded in unison, their gazes shifting from the video wall to each other.
As for Malorum’s question, it was naturally about Jamie’s statement: "My memories are all scrambled these days."
Arthur didn’t understand the implications of that statement, but the three Deities present did.
To explain, one must first recall that the ’Jamie’ in the Valmone Universe was not his true body, nor was it his full power.
He had created an Astral body and sent it across Space-Time, from ANOTHER Multiverse, into Valmone. It was a much longer journey than Arthur’s trip from Hell via the Cosmic Teleporter.
It should also be noted that Jamie’s presence in Valmone was impulsive. A whim.
He hadn’t prepared a proper vessel. Instead, he had formed his Astral Projection into a physical body using Cosmic Energy.
This Vessel, Avatar, Projection Body—whatever it was called—could NOT operate indefinitely.
Currently, it has been functioning for over 3,000 years.
The fact that Jamie had mentioned his memories scrambling ’these days’ indicated that the Vessel was nearing its expiration.
"This is troublesome."
McEnda frowned as he spoke, and Xagthor nodded in agreement. Jamie’s presence was a significant deterrent for other races and Intergalactic Empires wanting a piece of Gozon’s immense power.
Losing him would be a massive blow.
But these Demon Kings weren’t fools who put all their eggs in one basket.
"We’ve always had a contingency for the scenario where Jamie left, but it seems we need to start executing it now."
Malorum’s words were met with nods from the others. Without hesitation, the three of them stood up and left the chamber, leaving the video wall showing the final defences of the Aramisians crumbling.
