Perhaps he should have.
He let out a shaky breath and inspected each seed with care.
Please select one of the following Seeds of Authority.
- Seed of Scorching Flames
- Seed of Undying Verdant Life
- Seed of Shattering Force
- Seed of Unwavering Resolve
- Seed of Spatial Chaos
- Seed of Phoenix's Ruin
- Seed of Ruinous Embodiment
Julius looked over each option and identified which one was which. They weren’t labeled, but he knew in his soul which seed was which. The Seed of Scorching Flames was bright orange-red. It felt like standing next to a campfire on a cold winter night. It warmed his soul, but he also could feel its stinging heat threatening to burn him just as easily as it comforted him.
The Seed of Undying Verdant Life was intriguing. The dark green seed flickered like a beautiful emerald when hit by the light in the window. It felt both simultaneously bright and full of vitality, but also had touches of death and despair.
On the other hand, the Seed of Shattering Force was more one-dimensional. The seed felt oppressive and powerful. Sheer strength and force radiated from its light-blue surface. Julius had a feeling that he got this particular seed because of Cain’s influence.
The names were too close to be coincidental.
The Seed of Unwavering Resolve was by far the most different of all the seeds. Unlike the others, which promised power, he didn’t get that feeling from this seed. The seed was almost colorless and didn’t have any swirling or pulses of power. It felt like a stalwart pillar of calmness and patience. As if nothing could make it bend or lose its composure. Just for this reason alone, he was tempted to take it.
He enjoyed feeling its unwavering will and calmness. But he held back and continued to look at the remaining seeds.
The Seed of Spatial Chaos was a weird one. He didn’t get many feelings when he bent to look closer at it. It was constantly fluctuating, never staying still. It acted just how its name would suggest. A chaotic thing that moved along the whims of space.
However, it was the last two that really caught his attention. It was quite apparent that these two were of a different caliber than the rest. Just the surges of power he felt radiating from their surfaces were drastically different from the other five seeds.
The Seed of Phoenix's Ruin was a deep crimson red, with slight hues of blue and green along its edges. He felt profound waves of life and fire. He already knew why he had been offered this option. His healing skill has long been a staple of his and arguably the reason for his immense combat strength at his tier. It was the sole reason why he was still alive. There had been countless things that would have killed him if not for the overpowered healing skill.
The most recent event was still quite fresh in his mind. It was the closest thing to a true death he had experienced so far. Just for this, he wanted to accept this seed as his choice.
However, along with life and fire, he felt something else. Something very dangerous. He suspected that was the ruin aspect.
To be fair, the next seed didn’t sound very kind either. The Seed of Ruinous Embodiment was by far the most powerful of all the seeds. Its black surface, flickering with blood red, was pulsing with unrestrained power. He was feeling oppressed just by looking at it. The seed was practically salivating as it sat among the other seeds. Julius suspected that if not for certain restrictions, this seed would have consumed the other seeds without hesitation.
Its need for destruction and ruin was so powerful that it was almost blinding. It was also influencing him the longer he stared at it. He could feel his own hunger for power and destruction slowly growing.
He tore his gaze from the seed with an annoyed growl upon realizing that he was slowly reaching out to the seed already. It was an insidious little thing, just like his crown.
He rubbed his chin as he stood back and examined all of his seeds. He wanted to immediately discard the first five options just from the power they exuded. However, he remembered the words of the notification.
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A seed is not a judgement—it is a beginning…
What you plant today defines the direction of your path…
But it is how you live that decides what it ultimately becomes.
It was obvious that just because he chose a powerful seed, it didn’t mean he would become all-powerful. It also meant that just because he chose one of the first five seeds didn’t mean he couldn’t improve them and become stronger than he would have if he had chosen the latter two seeds.
A good fit. That was what mattered the most.
On another unrelated note, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was how many options other people received. He had received seven options, but he suspected he had been offered only the first five because of his concepts. All of them were related in some way to at least one of his concepts. The only concept that was clearly represented was his Concept of Sharpness.
However, he already knew that wasn’t his path. He had seen people going down those paths in recent months. Eren was a good example of one of those people. It was probably included in the Seed of Shattering Force.
With that in mind, he started to parse out the seeds from what he thought were the good ones and the bad.
The first one to go was the Seed of Scorching Flames. It wasn’t necessarily a bad option, but he wanted something with a little more flexibility. He liked fire, but he had two other affinities to consider.
He also shoved the Seed of Undying Verdant Life to the side. He could feel that this had some serious potential, but he had a feeling that it was influenced too much by Tezuko Willow. The undying part sounded like it would lead him down the road of necromancy or death more than he felt comfortable doing.
He was tempted to keep the Seed of Shattering Force because it felt like it was the seed with one of the highest combat potentials. One couldn’t forget that Cain was called the Lord of the Shattered Throne for a good reason. However, he wasn’t like Cain and wasn’t going to follow the same path.
He kept the Seed of Unwavering Resolve for the time being, though. He felt that of all the first five seeds, this was the one that suited him the best. He could feel it in his soul.
He also got rid of the Seed of Spatial Chaos. It hurt him to do so, if only because the name sounded so cool, but he knew right away upon looking at it that it wasn’t for him. That wasn’t the path he wanted to go down.
That left the last two seeds. The two that seemed like the most “enticing” options. The Seed of Phoenix's Ruin was quite an interesting option. He had almost everything he was looking for. It combined his life and fire affinities in a way he doubted any other seed could. He also liked that it included the ruin aspect. While his ruinous aura had proven dangerous, it had also proven to be very powerful and, more importantly, useful.
The Seed of Ruinous Embodiment continued to exude extremely powerful waves of energy. The main issue he had with it was its name. He didn’t particularly enjoy the ‘Embodiment’ aspect of it. It made it sound like it was something that would lock him down the path of ruin. He had been constantly reminded by several powerful people that it was a real worry for his path.
Freya and Cain were worried about it. Cassandra had mentioned her worry about his crown’s influence. Even Kaelther and the other spirits of the secret realm expressed their own concerns.
What if I can control it, though? Just because they don’t think I am capable of it doesn’t mean I won’t be. I have proven that I could do the improbable on multiple occasions. What is different about this time around?
It also didn’t help that he already knew just how strong ruin-aspected things were. His aura had received an enormous surge of power when it was integrated. His flames received similar advancements. He could tell that the ruinous aspect of it was of a higher grade than the one he was offered for the Seed of Phoenix’s Ruin, but it also didn’t have the variety that the other seeds promised.
He knew in his gut that if he chose this option, he would obtain an immediate boost to his overall strength. But he also knew there would be a cost to this strength.
The question was whether or not he was willing to pay it.
Ultimately, he resolved within himself that he wasn’t going to select the Seed of Ruinous Embodiment. It pained him, but he also wanted to prove that he didn’t need it. He wanted something that spoke to him on a personal level. Not just something that was strong. He didn’t associate himself with ruin; rather, he enjoyed using its power as a supplement.
That left two options. And both were hard to choose from. He was confident that if he chose the Seed of Unwavering Resolve, he would continue to grow without limits. He wouldn’t stop, and he would never give up. The calmness and silent confidence he got from the seed told him as much. That alone was almost tempting enough for him to choose it. Furthermore, he was concerned about the changes his body would undergo after this.
This seed might be helpful.
But he also really liked Phoenix’s Ruin. It was not only something he deeply associated with, but also something he aspired to become. He saw Freya and how she was.
He didn’t want to copy her path. But she had essentially admitted to Julius that her Authority had strong ties to her Ice Phoenix abilities. She was scary, but she could also protect and heal.
He stood there for a long while, contemplating his choices. It wasn’t until the room started shaking erratically that he knew that he needed to make his decision. So with as much confidence as he could manage, he chose the seed that he would plant within his soul.
Congratulations. You have selected the Seed of Phoenix's Ruin
With the acquisition of your Seed of Authority, Body Evolution will now commence.
Julius wasn’t even given a chance to prepare. Before he knew it, he collapsed in agony. The entirety of his body was on fire. It was like someone was peeling his nerve endings apart with a rusted spoon.
But he couldn’t help but let out a raspy chuckle. That was because, for the first time in what seemed like forever, he was able to wiggle his actual toes.
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