Damien was still daydreaming about his newest acquisition that he failed to register the question his brother had asked.

  He blinked as he was pulled out of his thoughts, turning slowly to regard Keilan with widening eyes before he turned back to Gray.

  The Minder snorted. [Don't even think about it. Go near a Spirit King and you'll be dead before you could even raise your hand.]

  Damien breathed in. Oddly enough, that warning calmed him more than if it had been revealed that his newest weapon could harm Spirit Kings. That would have been beyond absurd, and he doubted even his closest allies—aside from Keilan—would stand with him if something like that came to light. He'd be a walking gold mine, a treasure trove for both Lords and Kings, all of whom would have zero qualms about sending him on an early departure to the land of the dead if they found out he had such in his possession.

  Keilan shook his head, oddly disappointed, yet not as much as one would have expected given what they'd potentially lost. "That weapon alone makes you overpowered, Dame. Equipment-wise, you now stand on the same pedestal as Solaris and the others."

  Gray glared at Keilan. [I find it offensive that you compare me with those paper-wrought toothpicks your adversaries call weapons.]

  "Mm, my apologies then, great Mr. I'll be sure to give a fuck when I have the chance."

  "Keilan, be nice," Damien said before turning to Gray. "Don't think I've forgotten what you said about you being able to take on an armor form."

  [I hope you do, and if you don't, then I've got the perfect bribe just for you,] it said and then paused, a clear look of confusion on its face. [Did–uhh, did any of you happen to see a small orb, a little larger than me and glowing kind of purple?]

  "You mean this?" Keilan said as a purple glowing orb appeared on his hand.

  Damien and Gray looked at him, and he stared back before shrugging.

  "What? I took it when you fell unconscious. Couldn't let that snake of a desert lord get his hands on it. I've been looking for a way to bring it up but haven't had the chance." He held out the orb to Gray. "What does it do anyway? It doesn't emit any kind of energy that I can detect."

  The orb floated out of his hand, levitating closer to Gray until it came to a stop, floating beside it.

  [This is your ticket to a path to faster progression,] it said, knuckles rapping against the glass like surface. [With this, you wouldn't have as much strain wielding me as you normally should. It'll also reduce the weight on your soul manifold, which will also help nurture your soul faster, get you faster to tribulation than others of your peers.]

  If Damien wasn't shocked before, he definitely was now. It was more than certain that more powerful beings would pay a lifetime's worth for this orb, if the capabilities were as Gray had said. And considering that the people who could come close to affording it were the ones who had lived for a very long time, longer than the expanded lifespan of a Spirit lord, then it was definitely certain that should any word leak of what he had in his possession, Damien was completely toast.

  As great as its advantages were, its disadvantages almost outweighed them. After all, he needed time to grow, and how was he going to accomplish that if the most powerful people in the world were chasing after him?

  The one thing every Essence Wielder, at a point in their lives, searched hungrily for was a way to speed up their progression. Even he wasn't innocent of this. He and his brother had snuck into highly restricted archives, waylaid and stolen information, and even tried their hands at the Red continent, all for knowledge on how to hasten their advancement. Disappointment had awaited them at every turn, until eventually they'd given up.

  The fact that they didn't find any information didn't mean that there wasn't any to be found. Funnily enough, the closest person with information on faster progression was on the continent, but Damien couldn't go to them. After all, it was his mortal enemy.

  The story of how Solaris had risen during the War of Dominion had clued him in that the man had such methods on hand.

  The others, while not hostile, were just as likely to hand over such an edge to him as the sun could say hi.

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  In the end, there was only one realization keeping Damien and every other Spirit lord with such hunger from running crazed for answers; Drawbacks. Unpredictable drawbacks that were not worth the results.

  "That's not possible," Keilan said. "There are always drawbacks."

  [Not when they are constructed by an exquisite craftsman. Look at me, do I look imperfect to you? Surely, one who could create such beauty as I could create something as little as a soul enhancer. Besides, it was made for him. I do not believe a father would willingly bequeath something with drawbacks to his son.]

  Keilan clearly did not buy it. "I don't know who his father is, but I find it hard to believe that one man could create this and not make it public, right? The money one would make if he sold the orb would be beyond imaginable, You'd be a universally rich man!"

  [You done?] Gray said rather than argue back. He turned to Damien, leaving Keilan speechless. [Now, to get back on topic, wh—]

  "What does it do exactly?" Damien interrupted. "All that you've been telling us are warnings, but you haven't pinpointed what this thing was exactly made to do?"

  Gray looked at them both for a moment before answering. [Wasn't it obvious the first time? It increases the soul strength.]

  Everything was now coming together. "By increasing the soul strength, it removes the strain that affects the soul when you accumulate too much power too quickly, entirely bypassing the stalling effect."

  Gray nodded. [Yes, as within so without; a stronger soul, a revitalized body. With this, you wouldn't need to go through hell to find the right materials to aid your tribulation. Also, I don't think you actually need the former effect; I can perceive your soul, and it hasn't stalled, not even close, I might add.]

  "But he would," Damien nodded at Keilan. "He's pushed himself to Spirit lord in such short years that I'm sure he's going to need to hold off on advancing for a long while. We're already seeing the signs."

  That was the problem with progressing too fast, there was always a drawback. Damien and Keilan had done it as a necessity to free themselves from the whims of the powerful who either see them dead or put in chains. They hadn't given their souls time to rest, pushing it from one realm to the other, and now it had accumulated into the stalling effect.

  Essence-wielding was a journey that began with the soul, and the body as conduit. The body was always fortified anytime the soul advanced, considering it was a physical manifestation of the soul's power. Since the actual power to wield essence resided in the soul, it also dictated how fast one got to advance before the stalling effect kicked in.

  Everybody would need to slow down at some point; it was a world-known law, as he'd learned. The soul could only take a certain amount of energy too quickly before it needed to slow down to digest.

  That was why, after rushing to Spirit quickly, they knew Keilan was reaching his limits; he'd already noticed. Damien, on the other hand, didn't even feel any sort of thing that he could qualify as a strain on his soul. He could continue advancing, but he'd restrained himself just in case.

  Gray narrowed his eyes. [I know what you're about to s—]

  "I want to give the orb to Keilan," he said before Gray could finish, which made the little grey man visibly grimace.

  "Damien," Keilan started.

  "Why do you sound so surprised?" he interrupted. "Did you think I was going to leave you behind?"

  "It's not that. Damien, this thing is too important for you to just hand over to me," his brother said with obvious reluctance. "From what the little thing has said, I take it that there's a bigger plan at work here, which would require you to rise quickly. Giving this to me might disrupt that plan, and I don't want to be the reason you slow down."

  Damien looked at him for a moment, the boyish face with blond hair and ocean-blue eyes. The closest friend he'd had since he woke up in the jungle. They'd both faced tragedies together and had grown from them. Keilan had always been the only person who could rein in his impulsiveness, who could hold Damien back when he was going too far. He'd never leave him behind.

  "I'd rather slow down my advancement than leave you behind. To be honest, it would hurt me, but I'd do it for you. We've been through a lot together and I'm not ready to leave you behind. We're brothers," he said, averting his face so they wouldn't see the raw emotion leaking through it.

  Everybody was quiet for a while, and Damien was grateful for it because it gave him and Keilan the time to compose themselves, while Gray simply floated there, looking from one man to another.

  Keilan smiled, his eyes a little bit red. "We're brothers," he repeated.

  Damien nodded. "And I'm not about to leave my brother behind. We're going to climb heights of power together, and you more than deserve to stand beside me through it all," he said, to which Keilan immediately hugged him fiercely.

  "I love you, Dame."

  "I love you too," Damien replied.

  When they were done, they turned to Gray.

  [I'd support this whole brotherly love thingy if Keilan wasn't about to orchestrate my demise.]

  Damien rolled his eyes and Keilan snorted.

  "I want to give him the orb," he repeated.

  [You do know that you won't push as fast as you should if you don't use that orb? That's a recipe for destruction.]

  "Danger forces innovation. I'll find something else."

  [Ugh, hope... So disgusting.] He sighed. [I can't force you, but are you willing to go through with this decision, for him?]

  Damien was steadfast. "Yes."

  Gray sighed, [You're so so confusing. Alright, get ready,] he said, levitating the orb closer to Keilan's chest, who looked on with confusion and growing suspicion.

  "Why can't Damien do this? I want him to do this? Get away from me."

  Gray snorted. [Stay still, scaredy cat.]

  The orb reached Keilan, and rather than what Damien had expected, it sank into his body like it was made of liquid, which made Keilan visibly shiver.

  His brother froze for an instant after it did, and then collapsed into unconsciousness.

  Gray looked up at Damien innocently, shrugging.

  [Oops, forgot to mention that.]