Chapter 354: Comprehending the Origin (1/2)

Eventually, those who wanted to bet on Argentum as to whether he would be able to comprehend anything beyond the Cycle or not had finished, allowing both Tristan and Cardis to look at a massive pile of Mana Stones that would normally last even a Rank 9 Animate like Cardis for hundreds of years.

Seeing that no one was willing to bet anymore, Cardis looked at everyone surrounding them and asked once more, ”Anyone else willing to bet?”

With no one responding to his question, Cardis lightly nodded to himself as he said, ”Alright, then. Since's no one's willing to bet anymore, let us now close the betting station and see whether my friend here can achieve an understanding of the Origin beyond the Cycle or not.”

Swish!

With the simple snap of his fingers, a rift appeared under the massive pile of Mana Stones, which had been formed by Cardis in order to make sure that the stones weren't pocketed by anyone else. Of course, Tristan could not help but frown after seeing Cardis do something like that, but since even Torvas was involved in this betting session, he decided to restrain himself as he thought that he would eventually get the last laugh.

As for Argentum, seeing the massive pile of Mana Stones disappear into thin air through a rift, he went ahead and looked at Cardis, asking, ”So…what next?”

With a light yet apologetic smile, Cardis replied, ”We're going to head to the Origin Statue, the place where everyone comprehends their own meaning of the Origin…”

”…as well as the place where everyone forms their own Origin Core.”

After that, Cardis started heading towards a certain direction, prompting Argentum to follow behind him. Of course, since they had bet on Argentum, the others also followed him, including Tristan.

While making their way to the Origin Statue, Argentum could not help but think about the final statement Cardis told him, sending the latter a strand of his energy as he sent a message through it.

”What's an Origin Core?” he asked, to which Cardis responded to an energy strand of his own, ”It's basically a part of ourselves that allows us to wield the element of Origin, may it be Lesser Origin or its more complex variants.”

”Without it, we would only have know-how to wield the element of Origin, but not the ability to wield Origin itself,” he continued. ”Not only that, but it also allows us to obtain a deeper understanding of the Origin as time passes, allowing us to reach levels of understanding such as the three on the innermost pedestals back in the plaza.”

”Naturally, it goes without saying that once you understand more of the Origin, the more powerful the element of Origin becomes in your hands,” he said, ending his response, leaving Argentum in a pondering state for himself. Although Cardis had a feeling that Argentum still had a lot of questions regarding the Origin Core and even the element of Origin as a whole, he knew that it was better for him to learn it firsthand rather than have it spoon-fed to him.

Eventually, the crowd had arrived at a part of the Origin Pantheon that was somewhat far away from the plaza, located near the north-northeast region. Once the crowd had arrived, those who were in the area could not help but look at them with curious gazes, with some even having frowns on their faces as they did not like to be disturbed.

Nevertheless, the Origin Statue was a public area available to all those who had comprehend the element of Origin, so they couldn't complain that much. At most, they could just let out scoffs with a hint of anger and head to a quieter place around the Origin Statue.

As for Argentum, after arriving at the area, he could not help but have his sense of vision fixate towards the massive white statue in front of him. Although he was not sure how tall it really was, he was certain that it spanned about a few kilometers in height, taking into consideration how the tip of the statue was quite close to touching the clouds.

As for its size, it was truly a sight to behold, needing about a thousand people to hold hands around it to even barely get an idea as to how wide it was at its diameter. Of course, the thing that made Argentum fixate on the statue the most was its appearance.

Though it may not seem like it due to how the robe the person was draped in had covered most of its body structure, the person's dainty arm reaching towards the skies, as well as the finely-chiseled face that perfectly captured the essence of longing had instantly made Argentum that this statue was portraying a young woman at her more tender years.

”Is this the Origin Statue?” Argentum could not help but ask Cardis beside him, who instantly responded with a nod, ”Yep. The one and only.”

Soon after replying to Argentum's question, he then went towards those who were sitting cross-legged around the statue with their eyes closed, and shouted, much to Argentum's surprise.

”Make way! Make way! We have a newcomer here undergoing his first comprehension! If you don't make way, then don't come begging for mercy when I use violence on you!”

After hearing Cardis's words resound throughout the area, those who were sitting cross-legged all this time instantly opened their eyes as they hastily stood up, knowing very well that they were given the same level of treatment when they first came to the Origin Statue to comprehend the Origin.

Seeing how these people, where some even looked at him and the crowd with frowns and slightly furious gazes, move out of the way without hesitation through words alone, left Argentum at a loss for words as he asked Cardis through another strand of energy, ”Does this always happen when there's a newcomer?”

”You betcha,” Cardis replied, not even minding the fact that he was not using an energy strand to reply. Eventually, no one was left sitting cross-legged around the Origin Statue, with all of them standing around the perimeter in order to watch the show that was going to happen soon.

Naturally, that show was Argentum trying to comprehend the Origin for the first time.

”Alright. I've cleared up the area for you. Get as close to the Origin Statue as possible before sitting cross-legged and closing your eyes. After that, allow your understanding of the element of Origin, however weak it may be, to resonate with the Origin Statue and everything will happen naturally from there,” Cardis looked at Argentum and said.