Samael didn’t hesitate for a single moment.

His entire life, all he’d been able to do was watch.

Watch as his brother carried the heavens, watch as he accumulated more scars than his skin could fit, watch as he shed more tears than his body could produce.

His brother had burned.

He didn’t know Uriel much, but within his gaze, Samael could see that not only had he burned, but he continued to burn, with no end.

He wanted to be like them. Like Uriel and his older brother, he wanted to gain wings and soar across the skies to challenge the heavens.

It didn’t matter if the filth of the earth corrupted him, it didn’t matter if the flames burned him to ash, it didn’t matter if the skies struck him down.

He wanted to fly, and not even the heavens could deny him that right.

His wings would spread to protect the earth, however dark, profane, and burned as it may be, and his back would bear the weight of the skies, however cruel and indifferent to his plight as it may be.

He would fly.

PCHI!

Samael madly grinned, his hand whipping forward to grab the blade in front of him and—

"Haha!"

—behead himself.

’I’ll burn!’

...

After Project Magia, Uriel’s biggest task was to fix his runic scar.

It was a project he’d been working on since even before his past self screwed him over.

It was a project he’d been wanting to execute ever since he inherited the Sin in that accursed cave.

With his recent understanding of Laws, Wills, Spirits, and the world, he found himself making more and more progress every day, so much so that he felt he was a mere step away.

He would soon be free.

Samael had been his first test subject, and it seemed to be a success.

’That’s...good.’

Uriel’s face paled, all his cores nearly empty and his mind deeply consumed by agony, feeling the backlash of resonant dominance for the first time.

’Seems I overdid it.’

It didn’t matter, though. He was happier than anything.

After a couple more trials, he’d be set. And if this method was perfected, once he regained his sparks, he’d be a monster beyond reckoning.

He could finally feel himself getting closer to the shadows of the regressors, and it filled his heart with joy.

’I’ll reach them, one day.’

...

WHOOOSH!

Thick and harsh winds exploded around Samael, his aura rising without end.

The Wolf Spirit that had been accompanying him shattered to nothing, and around him, a sea of beautiful orange flames emerged, as golden as the sun that rose on the horizon.

But alongside those flames, ashen currents of wind danced and swam across the flickering fire.

The sea of fire and ash, of orange gold and silver grey, expanded, encompassing the forest, then the green plains, then Kael, and then far beyond.

It expanded without end.

But it didn’t burn anything. In fact, none seemed able to sense or see it, as if the phenomenon was beyond their perception.

And that was because it was.

[You have Created a Demi-God Path!]

Samael closed his eyes, letting himself feel the changes.

He didn’t even notice as ’someone’ used resonance to pour knowledge about classes, paths, and frames into his mind. He simply assumed it to be a function of the system.

His tunic tore, burned to ash, and in its stead, a radiant armour of gold draped over his frame, contrasted by light robes of silver light, giving him the allure of a divine emperor.

SHAH! SHAH!

His sparks roared to life with joy and desire, and he felt their truths open up to him as smoothly as water across a lake.

’Time...and Space.’

Behind him, yet another Spirit formed, born from weaved runes of time and space and aether currents of thick spatial and temporal aether, currents of emerald and azure.

It was the Spirit of a looming Wolf, one that burned with the creed of persistence rather than hate, one that sought to overcome rather than consume.

’...’

Samael smiled, feeling the power overwhelm him.

[You have forged a Class!]

[You have formed an Evolutionary Spark Frame!]

[You have formed an Origin Evolution Spark Frame!]

His cores shook, and new layers began to form over them, a cascade of changes erupting in all corners of his existence.

He overflowed with so much power he felt invincible.

How many early G-Rankers could boast a Demi-God Path, a class, frames, a path-forged Spirit, a dual core foundation, two ridiculously powerful sparks, and such a potent Element?

Not many. At least, amongst non-Pioneers, it was a rarity beyond the legendary.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Suddenly, the skies darkened.

Thick obsidian clouds gathered above, and torrential rain began to fall, pouring down to drench the land and drown it in the sky’s fury.

The rain was so sudden and violent that the earth shook, and winds exploded into chaotic, howling currents that clashed against one another, echoing alongside the rumbling thunder.

Across the black clouds, arcs of multicoloured lightning danced.

"...?"

Samael felt his evolution grind to a halt and his connection to the world be entirely severed. The change was so abrupt that he took a step back, blood leaking from the corners of his lips.

Shakily, he opened his eyes, feeling power and life rapidly slipping from his frame.

’What the hell is happening?!’

He didn’t know why, but the first thing he did upon opening his eyes was stare up at the furious skies.

He instantly felt it.

Pure, holy, divine, order—majestic—the essence of Heaven’s Will poured into him, and he felt entirely powerless in the face of it.

He lost control over his core and aether, and even his sparks, which he’d only just grasped, were stripped away from him.

His nascent path clashed against Heaven’s Will, and he lost horribly, his Will to soar and ascend shattered by the Sky’s decree.

The skies were sacred, and only its most beloved angels would soar across them.

Heaven ruled, and man obeyed.

’...’

The words echoed deep in Samael’s mind, and his burning orange eyes lost their light, and he—

SHOO!

"Oh my, look at you bullying the weak?"

...

Uriel forcefully replenished his cores in a beat.

He blinked, and a tide of dark aether surged forth to coat Samael, blocking his mind from the chaotic Will that roared and rampaged across the skies.

’That was a close one.’ He looked at the frozen boy with a hint of relief.

Had he been a step too late, the lad would’ve lost everything he’d just helped him gain, and most likely would’ve died.

All of that just from sensing the Sky’s Will.

The World’s Will.

Uriel looked up, staring at the roaring skies. The Will high above was beyond his own, but in comparison to the agony the hounds and his Sin put him through during every waking moment of his existence, it felt hollow.

He continued to observe the skies as more and more lightning gathered above, his resonant inspection flickering to life and reading the scene building around them.

’Tribulation. So that’s what it is.’ He frowned. ’I didn’t get any tribulation when I formed my path...so why does he?’

’Especially when he only has a Demi-God Path.’

Through resonant dominance, Uriel had been able to see Samael’s notifications and had even seen the strange new path tier he’d gained.

But that was irrelevant. The issue remained.

If a God Path didn’t bring about a tribulation, then why did a Demi-God Path?

’Is it a boon of my Pioneer status? Maybe since the Tutorial space is linked to Ithuril, it recognises me as its own as well.’

’It wouldn’t make sense for Ithuril to punish me for becoming stronger.’ He nodded to himself. ’But what’s the tribulation even for?’

His frown deepened.

’What do paths do that enrages the Will of the World so much?’