MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Darkness.

Once again, Valyr was in darkness.

If he thought about the number of times he had been plunged into a world of pure darkness, Valyr felt like it would surpass the number of fingers he had on both hands.

Nevertheless, just like every other time he had been plunged into pure darkness, the sight before him soon took on a bit of color.

Whoosh!

Being an opportunity to expound upon his understanding of Shadow Energy, Valyr soon noticed that the void in front of him was soon being filled with the dense Shadow Energy he had come to know in the past.

From the dark star that gave birth to the Shadow Energy he comprehended, to the mana that infiltrated the world and fused with the Shadow Energy that already existed, all of his prior comprehension of Shadow Energy flashed before his very eyes.

Within a couple of minutes, a slightly more colorful world appeared before the young man, the darkness of the Shadow Energy and the faint blue tint of the mana mingling with one another.

For quite some time, these two colors dominated the world in front of Valyr, appearing as a smattering of black and blue that covered the entire place.

However, at some point, something unexpected had occurred near the center of void.

Fwoosh!

Making sure to not miss even a single bit of detail, Valyr witnessed how the Shadow Energy and mana at the center seemed to have fused into an even deeper level.

What was previously black and blue intertwined together had now transformed into a dark blue color, faintly emanating the feeling of boundlessness of mana, as well as the destruction brought about by Shadow Energy.

Of course, with it acting as an impetus, the Shadow Energy and mana in its surrounding area began to transform as well.

Within seconds, a great portion of the Shadow Energy and mana in the area transformed into the dark blue energy that dominated the center of the void.

Then, by the time a few minutes had passed, the entirety of the void was filled with the dark blue energy.

At this point, Valyr began to notice the slight nuances that differentiated the dark blue energy from the Shadow Energy and mana he knew of.

After all, unlike the dark blue energy before him, the fusion of Shadow Energy and mana he had come across in the past appeared more like braiding the two energies at best.

In other words, the two energies could still be differentiated in that form, while the dark blue energy allowed the two energies to act as one.

Though, just as Valyr wondered whether this was where his opportunity to expound on Shadow Energy would end, the static scene before him began to change once more.

Whoosh!

Similar to what had happened to the Shadow Energy in the past when he first began to comprehend the intricacies of Shadow Energy, the dark blue energy dominating the void began to coalesce towards the center.

With that, it did not take long for the outer regions to become sparse with dark blue energy, while the center was filled to the brim with the stuff.

Watching this happen before him, Valyr wondered whether the dark blue energy would take on a similar path to the Shadow Energy in the past, condensing into a star that generated its own energy.

In reality, the dark blue energy did take on a somewhat similar path at first, condensing enough of itself to a certain point that allowed it to become a star.

However, rather than generate its own energy like the star of Shadow Energy in the past, the dark blue energy instead began to flicker between the two colors that allowed itself to appear in the first place.

"…" Witnessing the star flash between the colors in silence, Valyr began to feel like he was on the precipice of understanding something new about Shadow Energy, yet was still lacking that small something to fully understand it.

Fortunately, the opportunity had appeared before him not long as the star began to generate energy.

However, unlike the dark star of the past, this star instead generated two types of energies he had known very well by this point.

Shadow Energy and mana.

"This…" At this point, Valyr's eyes widened in understanding as he began to take everything before him in great detail.

While doing so, the gears in his mind began to turn at great speeds, the thoughts in his mind regarding Shadow Energy swiftly forming connections with every passing second.

'If my understanding of everything is correct… both Shadow Energy and mana originate from a higher form of energy.'

'In other words, it could be said that Shadow Energy and mana are two sides of the same coin…'

As he came to this conclusion, the thoughts in his mind began to merge at an even faster pace, the gears in his mind continuing to turn madly as he began to come up with more ideas.

Eventually, at the moment he closed his eyes, Valyr felt as if all of the thoughts he had finally fell into place.

Whoosh!

In response to the change that went through his mind, an otherworldly yet familiar feeling began to envelop the young man's body, causing a faint smirk to appear on the young man's face.

After all, this feeling was a sign that his connection with the world had become stronger.

Ding!

In response to that sound echoing in his mind, Valyr opened his eyes, only to find out that he had returned to the insides of the Chambers of Enlightenment.

Looking around for a bit as he composed himself, the young man soon brought up his notification screen, only to briefly beam a smile as he read through the notification he had received.

[Your understanding of Shadow Energy has reached a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow another portion of its nigh-infinite power.]

[Your Intent Seed of Shadow Energy has ascended to the Second Stage.]

"Only two stages remain before I have control over a full Intent," said the young man, satisfied with the results of the opportunity he had been given.

But of course, there were still more waiting for him.

"You have used up your first opportunity to expound upon the intricacies of the Intent Seed of Shadow Energy. You have two opportunities remaining," said a monotonous voice within the building.

"Where would you like to use your two remaining opportunities?"

"I would like to use one of my opportunities…" Though he found it a shame that he couldn't use his three opportunities on the same Intent Seed, Valyr decided to make the most of what he had been given.

"On the Intent Seed of Forging."