Aksai’s Mind Palace.
Using the guidance provided by the AetherTech shard, Aksai started shaping the sphere that levitated above him, absorbing all the water he offered via multiple streams.
This was the Aether Shell, the foundation of his future Aether Wisp.
Inside the Mind Palace, the water was the manifestation of the dormant Aether essence his soul had.
The traditional Aether Awakening Ritual would have required Aksai to imbue a part of his Soul Fragment inside the Aether Shell, which would then turn into an Aether Wisp.
Of course, the soul fragmentation process was quite different from what Aksai had received from the old ghost in Dadangar. However, the result was the same for the most part.
The Soul Fragment, after being hatched inside the Aether Shell, would turn into one’s Aether Wisp. this Aether Wisp would be of any type and appearance. It all depended upon the practitioner’s experiences, memories, and a lot of other personal factors.
This was why traditional Aether Wisps across the general populace varied so much in Acarnis. These Wisps were shaped by the very thoughts, fascinations, and aspirations of the individuals after all. As such, they were manifested in the form of diverse Aether Wisps.
However, the new and improved ritual kept the Aether Shell purposefully devoid of his Soul Fragment. Instead, the plan was to use the soul of a beast or a similar entity later on, which would then turn into the Aether Wisp.
It meant that instead of awakening the Aether Wisp based on a person’s memories, experiences and other personal factors, the artificial Aether Wisp would have the characteristics of the beast soul the Aether practitioners choose to tame and summon into their Mind Palace.
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Why would one invite a beast soul instead of awakening the Aether Wisp naturally though? The reason was simple. This approach made it easier for someone not on Acarnis to practice Aether cultivation.
There were some modifications made to the Aether Shell to accommodate a foreign soul. The structure of the Shell was more flexible. The Aether runes etched over it had been modified to accommodate a foreign soul, allowing it to adapt and integrate the essence of a beast soul seamlessly.
This new method meant that Aksai and other practitioners didn’t have to invest as much time and effort in traditional Aether cultivation. They could select a suitable beast soul, convert it into their Aether Wisp, and continue their cultivation with a significant head start.
The New Dawn research unveiled remarkable insights into the nature of souls and their connection to Aether energy. They discovered that souls inherently contained Aether energy, acting as both batteries and Aether energy generators. However, without the path of mind cultivation, the Aether essence within these souls remained dormant.
Most living beings, uninitiated in Aether cultivation, were unable to harness this latent energy laying dormant in their Mind Palace.
The breakthrough was in the realization that by capturing the souls of beasts and turning them into Aether Wisps, practitioners could bypass the stringent requirements of absorbing ambient Aether essence. Instead, they could tap directly into the Aether energies stored within the beast souls.
This allowed for a significant shortcut in the cultivation process. By using these artificial Aether Wisps, practitioners could progress further in their mind cultivation by improving their affinity with the Wisp over time.
However, it was not like the new improved methods didn’t have cons at all.
Aksai carefully molded the Aether Shell, his mind focused on the task at hand. He knew that this new ritual came with several disadvantages.
Firstly, once a practitioner accepts an artificial Aether Wisp, it would become challenging to awaken their natural Aether Wisp. This was a significant trade-off, as natural Aether Wisps were known to grow steadily and harmoniously with the practitioner. Plus, they showed no incompatibility when it came to using the Aether energy stored in one’s Mind Palace.
Secondly, the artificial Aether Wisps were inherently beast-type Wisps. Only beast souls could be tamed by the humans for the most part. It was practically impossible for one to turn another human into an Aether Wisp because of the high intelligence and conflict between the two Mind Palaces.
The souls of beasts could be used as batteries for this method of Aether cultivation. While this provided an immediate boost, it also meant that the practitioner would be relying on a beast’s essence, which might not always align perfectly with their own growth.
Thirdly, the artificial Aether Wisps needed to be changed over time as the practitioner progressed in their mind cultivation path. Unlike natural Aether Wisps, which could grow and evolve with the practitioner, these artificial Wisps had many limitations. It was also hypothesized that they would be relatively less powerful than their natural counterparts.
Beast souls had grades attached to them, reflecting their strength and capabilities in life. As a practitioner advanced in their cultivation, the initial beast soul would become insufficient, necessitating the taming of a higher-ranked beast soul.
This requirement meant that practitioners had to perform the Aether Awakening Ritual anew every time they broke through to a higher Aether cultivation realm and decided to take on a new beast soul as an Aether Wisp. Each time, they would need to start from scratch, raising their affinity with the new beast soul.
This continual cycle of capturing and integrating new beast souls was both a blessing and a curse, providing rapid advancement at the cost of constant adaptation and recalibration.
What did it all mean for Aksai’s Aether cultivation?
As Aksai’s powers increased in the Aether cultivation path, finding suitable beasts with strong souls that could support his higher levels of cultivation would become increasingly difficult. Stronger beast souls were rare, and taming them within the confines of his Mind Palace would be no easy task.
This complexity added a layer of difficulty to the process, making each step forward more challenging than the last.
Moreover, the new method had not been in development or testing for long, which meant there could be hidden risks and disadvantages compared to traditional Aether cultivation.
The uncertainties surrounding these potential pitfalls were something Aksai had to accept.