The Glorious Evolution

'Boy, it's nearly impossible to get on the good side of all three seeds simultaneously... The Sun Seed desires a host with a burning fury for justice and order. The Void Seed is the opposite, desiring nothing but chaos and anarchy. Lastly, the Nine Senses Seed wants a host in tune with their own desires and emotions.'

'Maybe that's why it likes you a lot... it knows you are being true to yourself,' Ash'Kral shook his head, 'But once you try to please the other two by shifting your persona to match them, you will lose its respect.'

'I haven't named it the Three-Body Problem for no reason.' Ash'Kral sneered, 'Just like predicting three stars' gravitational orbit was nothing but a fantasy... You can't unite the three seeds unless you split yourself into three, each with a corresponding persona to resonate with the seeds.'

'...'

Levi remained silent, deep in his thoughts.

He knew that the Three-Body Problem shouldn't have a simple solution... The death of tens of past partners proved that they had tried many solutions, but to no avail.

Just because the Crimson Seed became friendly with him, it didn't mean that Levi had it covered.

Only when the three seeds became friendly and respected him would they listen to his commands, considering him the Alpha.

But he knew now that it was nothing but a fantasy.

The moment he tried to please the Sun or Void Seeds by matching their personas, the Crimson Seed would look down on him for not staying true to his identity.

In simpler terms, he could gain the trust of one seed, or maybe even two seeds by some miracle... But it was nearly impossible to earn the trust of all of them.

"Three-Body Problem... Split myself into three." Levi murmured as he gazed into the kaleidoscopic, beautiful skies, "Is this the only possible solution? If yes, how can it be achieved?"

'First... Your soul has to be strong enough to handle the split.' Ash'Kral shared calmly, 'And it has to be strong before you evolve the second seed to the next rank.'

'Hmmm? Based on your tone, it seems like you have tried it before.' Levi raised a brow in surprise.

'We did... but it didn't work out. The soul needs to be at least compared to a Blazen rank at the infancy stage of evolution.' Ash'Kral sighed, 'This is merely the first condition...'

Levi was left somewhat overwhelmed... Although he was proud of his spiritual prowess, it was not close to what Ash'Kral wanted.

Still... His confidence waned, but not broken.

'Is it possible for me to pull it off?' He asked.

'Hmmm... I don't know, maybe, maybe not... too many conditions need to be met before I can give a fair judgement.'

'I see.'

Levi understood that he had only one chance to tackle the Three-Body Problem.

One attempt... One solution.

It had to be right.

If splitting himself was the sole untested solution, he genuinely planned on giving it some thought, even when it sounded ludicrous.

But that was a problem for his future self... It was time to learn some actual sound-based techniques.

Ash'Kral had already taught Levi how to create techniques when Levi gained some access... That's how he was able to modify his voice or volume.

Although other techniques were different, the method was the same.

He needed to visualize the desired abilities with every little detail about them... the more details provided, the more accurate the end product... However, the details were controlled by the Resonance Access.

For example:

If Levi possessed 1% access, and he envisioned a sound blade, he was allowed a single detail to be communicated.

It could be... making the sound blade three meters long, sharp enough to cut steel, that explodes into a shockwave during contact... or such.

Those were referred to as the Major Components.

In reality, the visualization of a sound blade itself was based on many Fundamental Components, which were a must.

Before Levi could add flashy or powerful details, the ability must have all its Fundamental Components in place.

These were non-negotiable building blocks that defined what the ability was and how it existed in reality.

Let's take the same Sound Blade as an example:

Its Fundamental Components might be:

Source Medium... Sound was generated through vibrating the air.

Containment Shape... Energy was focused into a blade-like form.

Cohesion Method... Resonance maintained the blade's structure and added its deadly cutting edge.

Emission Method... How it was released (swing, throw, stationary).

Without all these, the blade wouldn't manifest at all.

Ash'Kral had told Levi that the minimum required access to start creating some decent sound-based abilities was 5%.

With this level of access, it covered the Fundamental Components of hundreds of sound-based abilities!

Then, he would have five Major Components to be added, making the basic sound blade unique based on his desired visualization.

Levi had 10% access... which meant ten Major Components in total!

Levi sat cross-legged, using the harmony breathing technique to establish resonance. This time, he switched to a different breathing technique that communicated his desires to the Ancestral Crimson Tree.

The desire to use his granted access and tap into the visualization process... With 10% access, the moment Levi was allowed in, he felt his sense of visualization slightly freer.

Before... at 4% and lower, it made him feel like he was swimming in a thick fog of the unknown. His mind visualized the desired ability, but it never translated to an actual ability since it was missing the Fundamental Components.

But now? He was astonished to see that the moment he envisioned creating sound blades... he was given tens of options and variations right before his eyes.

It was like the tree was asking him if this was the ability he desired to create.

'Ash'Kral said to limit the number of options, I have to be exact in my visualization.'

Levi went silent for a few moments... then, he lifted his arm into the skies and swung it downward!

Whoosh!

Almost instantly, a sound blade manifested from the tip of his finger to his shoulder, rushing at the speed of sound into the colorful void!

Then, he opened his mouth and released a thunderous roar that sent a powerful shockwave. Not done yet, Levi extended his palm forward and released a vibrating ring of sound that exploded into high-pitched frequency once touched.

The possibilities were endless!

"This... This is amazing... It's not hard at all, and I can create many options of the same ability as long as I change some of the Major Components." Levi exclaimed in disbelief, knowing that none of this was normal.

The known Solarity system didn't give its users such freedom... Visualization was still needed, but once a technique was visualized and created, the user couldn't use any of its variations.

It was like the Shadowlife Seed treated the techniques like innate abilities... Rigid and serving their purpose of creation.

This wouldn't be an issue if the Shadowlife Seed hadn't placed a limit on the number of techniques mastered based on the Tier of Nightcrawler or Daywalker's rank.

That's why even Tier 4 or Tier 5 Nightcrawlers possessed at most a hundred abilities in their arsenal.

In the case of Levi, his lone limitation was the Access percentage.

"Ash'Kral was right... Resonance system clears Solarity by leagues." Levi's grin widened... his mind was full of techniques he would like to test before his second game.

Although those techniques wouldn't be as perfect or potent as Ash'Kral's... Levi didn't care.

They were his own and would serve as a start to create his Battle Arts!

***

A Boundless week later...

Levi was seen standing near a gushing waterfall... its mist dotting his solemn face. He was wearing a black piece of cloth around his eyes, which hid his scorched marks perfectly.

Levi had decided to forsake sunglasses amidst his training in Ash'Kral's little island after noticing that it was harder and harder to keep them on his face.

The stronger and faster he had gotten, the easier for them to break apart or get thrown away... Thus, he moved on to this piece of cloth, which hid his scorched marks, and also tightened his mixed black/grey hair in one place, changing his style quite a bit.

Right now... he was waiting in front of a rippling portal leading to the map for the Sandstorm Surge Death Game.

Similar to the last one, it was shaped as a door frame, reflecting a shadowy word:

Ready?

When Levi emerged from Ash'Kral's little island, he found that many of his close ones had left him messages... Some were checking on him, but most had a single theme.

The Blood Hunters had found the treasury, and he was requested to return to the Training Center right away.

Fortunately, Levi already told them that he would be unreachable... His Neuralens disconnected.

Although this was frowned upon, Levi didn't care... He needed the training in the Boundless Expanse.

He already understood why they were pressing him to come back quickly... Lord Idriss had come across the Formula pages Levi had left behind, and, as expected, intended to present them to the Super Team.

Levi put those thoughts behind him for now and stepped into the portal after taking a deep breath.

The moment he went inside, Levi was assaulted by a potent wave of heat, feeling like he was thrown into a furnace.

Yet, Levi made sure to show no discomfort or any reaction.

Once he was on the other side, he was no longer Levi... But, Three Body Problem.

Scanning his surroundings, he relied on the Harmonic Spine to weave a world of frequencies before his eyes. It revealed three things: endless sand, a hovering platform of white marble, and fewer than fifty Rifters scattered across it.

The Endless Dune Sea had earned its name. Though the Harmonic Spine could not extend beyond thirty meters, even that range was enough to make him feel submerged in molten gold.

The desert was mostly dunes of varying sizes, with the highest reaching up to hundreds of meters... Some were angled low, and some resembled tsunamis of sand frozen in time.

If one wanted to look over the horizon, heat waves cast an illusion of the dunes moving briefly, making the entire desert resemble a raging, unforgivable sea.

"The Celestial... He is here."