The merchant leaned back slightly, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he began to recount the tale of the Leviathan.
"It’s best to begin from the start of her tale. It was in the time when the world was freshly molded, in the briefest moment when the chaos of the elemental energies gathered to create the peaks of the mountains and the depths of the seas.
The gods, pushed back in their eternal battle with the abyss, sought to create a sanctuary—a haven for their mortal children and a stronghold to amass their forces. Thus, Nexaria was born, a realm forged from the very essence of their combined elements. From this primordial stew, the Leviathan emerged, a behemoth of unparalleled power and the first native being of Nexaria.
"She is not just any creature but the first of the sea beasts and from which the rest of them emerged in her wake. Her form is a blend of all sea beasts, embodying the fury of the oceans and the wrath of the storms.
Her preferred and chosen image to which the legends tell of those who have witnessed her shade in the mist take form is that of a winged sea serpent, a figure of unparalleled destruction. The Leviathan is the bringer of storms, her very presence causing tempests that can rend the skies and shatter the earth along the coasts.
"As the gods withdrew into their heavenly palace and sat on their thrones, the Leviathan roamed the seas, her might unchecked. She was a terror to all other natives of the waters, her predatory nature driving her to slay anything that dared cross her path. But the gods, seeing the threat she posed to their creations, intervened.
They punished her for her innate evil and destructive behavior, binding her with restrictions to curb her power.
"Despite these divine shackles, the Leviathan has since ascended to the status of a demi-god, her power growing with each passing eon. She yearns to break free of her celestial constraints, to unleash her full fury upon the world once more. Yet, for you boy, this is not the most concerning part, should you choose to use her as your constellation.
"She is still very, very much alive, lurking in the depths of the seas, her hunger for freedom and destruction undiminished. And know this, boy: like the gods, demi-gods too possess the ability to sense those who so much as whisper their name. The Leviathan’s awareness stretches across the whole of Nexaria, and she may not take kindly to those who seek to harness her likeness."
Lassim felt a shiver run down his spine, the weight of the merchant’s recounting of the beasts legend pressing down on his mind.
The thought of such a powerful being noticing him was terrifying, yet there was a spark of fascination within him. He’d met gods already, so how bad could this silly merchant’s tale to make the medallion’s price go up in value be?
The merchant’s voice took on a more somber tone seeing the undiminished yearning in Lassim’s eyes. "To use her as the basis for your constellation is to tempt fate itself. She may take notice of you, and nothing good can come of that. The Leviathan’s wrath is not something you want to invite into your life."
Lassim nodded, his mind racing. He was smitten with the idea of using the Leviathan as his constellation but he still felt he could possibly make a change to the image to not exactly be the Leviathan and everything would be fine.
"Okay. I won’t do it... but I’d still like to buy the medallion and possibly use it as inspiration. Don’t worry, old man, I’ll change it a little so it’s not exactly the same."
The merchant gave a sigh, seeing the determination in Lassim’s eyes. "Very well, it’s your choice. But be cautious, lad."
Lassim handed over a few thousand mid-grade ESS, and Zamthar placed the medallion in his hand. "Thank you, sir," Lassim said, clutching the medallion tightly.
As Lassim walked away, the merchant’s eyes flashed with a golden and violet lightning hue, and he flashed a toothy grin before he and his stall of trinkets and baubles disappeared in a flash.
A passerby suddenly emerged from the alleyway behind where the merchant had set up his stall and glanced around, bewildered. He touched and shook his head in confusion, "Wow, I swear I’ve been walking this way for the last hour. I need to really stop drinking so much... I’m going to be late to work."
Back in his room, Lassim sat down and pulled out the medallion, examining the intricate design.
He reached out to Zaphyrella and Marinelle. "[Ladies, I think I’ve got an idea for the constellation. Take a look at this medallion.]"
Zaphyrella chirped in, "[I approve! It’s got wings!]"
Marinelle added, "[I can feel the raw energy just from the image. But remember what the merchant said… is it really alright for us to use this? You said we can change it a bit, but will that work? What do you think we could even add or change to make it different enough?]"
Lassim considered their suggestions. "[We could start with recreating the image on the medallion. I think we keep the part with Leviathan staring deep into our soul as it just feels intimidating, and we’ll keep it as it rides the tsunami. The storm behind it, shooting endless lightning bolts just have the strong feeling that it could shatter the heavens, so we have to keep that too.]"
Zaphyrella’s voice interrupted, "[Whatever we change, the wings have to stay!]"
Marinelle added thoughtfully, "[It’s almost perfect as is, as you say. But maybe you should change her from the sea serpent to a sea dragon? Would that be enough of a difference?]"
The spirits agreed, and Lassim liked it but there was still just one thing missing.
As he contemplated back on the merchant’s tale, one part in particular kept popping back up into his mind, the part where the beast has been restricted and shackled by the gods.
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"[What if… What if we add her breaking from of some shackles as she emerges on top of the Taunami she is riding, with the storms behind her sending bolts that shatter the remnant pieces of the chains that once bound her? If we add that, there has to be some sort of boost to my power, right?]" Lassim pondered more to himself than anything as he fell in love with this idea.
Mari and Zaphy both instantly felt that it was a strong addition and agreed with him.
He then spent the next several days in deep meditation, visualizing the detailed image of the great Leviathan. He focused on every aspect—the menacing eyes, the stormy background, the lightning, and the shattered shackles.
He only left his room occasionally to get food once every few days, his mind consumed with perfecting the image in his meditation.
A week passed, roughly the same amount of time Lassim had read in the books as the suggested amount of time to be spent on a constellation visualization before advancing to the Spirit Ascension stage, and Lassim finally felt ready.
The mental image of the constellation was still a tad rough, but he felt it was good enough considering it was just a nebulous constellation anyways.
It was time to shatter his soul crystal and finally advance to the next stage. He took a deep breath.
As he sat cross-legged on his jade meditation mat, he closed his eyes and focused inward. The small area in the void of his inner heart world, a pool of liquid mana surrounding his glowing and radiant soul crystal, came into view.
He concentrated on the soul crystal, preparing to shatter it as described in the texts.
He gathered his liquid mana and directed it toward the crystal, visualizing it breaking apart and forming the constellation of the Leviathan.
Ready to begin, his mana moved.
Yet, as he directed his mana and came in contact with the crystal, he encountered unexpected resistance.
The soul crystal was incredibly and ridiculously hard, far more resilient than he had anticipated. The situation almost caused him to lose focus on the mana and almost made it disperse back into the pool.
He tried again, pouring more energy into the effort this time, but the crystal remained intact.
Frustration mounting, Lassim continued his attempts, each one more forceful than the last.
He tried different techniques, varying the flow and intensity of his mana, shaping the mana into various sharp and even blunt weapon shapes, and even into a mimicry of his very own halberd but nothing seemed to work. The soul crystal stood firm, unyielding.
Hours turned into days, and still, Lassim made no progress. His frustration grew with each failed attempt.
He even took the ridiculous idea of using his halberd, resting atop the crystal as usual, to try and shatter it but he felt an immediate repulsion that prevented the action.
He was lost and completely confused by the situation and couldn’t understand why the process wasn’t working. The texts had made it sound so straightforward and that the soul crystal should shatter easily.
Determined not to give up, Lassim decided to seek advice. He had spent nearly five full days on the treated striking of his soul crystal but there was zero progress.
He decided that he would use the one-hour tutor token to request the guidance of an elder, possibly one who specialized in advanced cultivation techniques. Perhaps they could provide the insights he needed to overcome this obstacle.