In order to become a magus, one first needed to form their foundation and become a rank 9 acolyte. This rank was considered the peak of the mortal stage, and reached the so-called saint realm - the transition phase one had to go through to step into the illustrious magus stage.
Afterwards, one had to strengthen their foundation by successfully erecting the nine pillars in their spirit core. When all the pillars had formed and one reached the peak of rank 9 acolyte, that's when one's spirit core was ready to become the dwelling for the soul - becoming a magus.
It was only when one successfully combined their soul with their spirit core would the core turn into what was known as Spirit Soul. This entity was what defines whether someone was a magus or not and the source of magus' immortality.
Immortality was what made a magus powerful and, at the same time, a necessity to have. After all, the endeavor to reach the subsequent realms would only become harder. This was where the hundreds and thousands of years of life expectancy could come in handy.
Currently, Emery was sitting in front of a white-haired middle-aged man. Duke Syre, someone who had become a grand magus - a realm most magus dreamed of becoming, but would never attain in their entire lives. If there was someone who could tell what the solution for his problem was, this man might be the one.
However, at this time, there was only silence between them. This scene naturally made the two siblings sitting at the back anxious.
The silence was the result of one question that Emery hesitated to answer.
"How did you manage to form the dark core?
This question would need Emery to reveal his deep secret to the Duke, about the existence of Killagragah and Khaos. Considering how a notable figure with similar status - Grand Magus Zenonia - was willing to go as far as kidnapping him for the secret, Emery really needed to think matter deeply. Otherwise, the consequences could be something he couldn't afford to bear.
A minute passed and Emery was still contemplating. Seeing this, Duke Syre let out a sigh and said, "If you are not willing to tell me the truth, I can not help you. Helping you without knowing where the root of the problem lies will only have unforeseen consequences, which could kill you at worst."
Silva's face changed when she heard this. She quickly leaned forward and whispered to Emery, "Just tell him, Emery. You can trust him."
The expression on Emery's face turned complicated. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but he feared another round of troubles would appear in his already troubled life.
In the end, Emery gritted his teeth and decided to just take the plunge. The worst scenario that could happen was that Duke Syre's reaction would also be the same as that of Grand Magus Zenonia, coveting his secret. If that really happened, perhaps the Duke could even solve the dilemma of Zenonia for him.
Of course, another factor - the main reason, even - that pushed Emery to do this was the assurance from someone who has done so much for him. He decided to trust Silva's judgment.
"It's a Primordial Wisp. A solitary one, is what helped me create my dark core"
The moment Emery finished his words, the calm Duke clearly became a bit startled. As if he didn't expect such an answer.
In order to avoid any misunderstanding, Emery told the man about Gaia's existence as well, the story of how his dark core got blocked and how Gaia helped him by creating another core which led to his second core, the nature core.
The startled look on Duke Syre's face had turned to one of unsettled by the time Emery finished recounting his story.
"Two dorman Primordial Wisps on one planet... One even in a solitary state. A lower realm at that…" The facial expression the man currently had truly pictured how many emotions he truly felt.
Duke Syre proceeded to comment that such a thing would lead a disaster to his world, any lower realm world. Emery nodded in response and was about to mention the Nephilims, but the man quickly stopped him, as he didn't want to know anything about it.
"I had enough trouble in the matter with the wolves," said Duke Syre calmly. "Enough to occupy me the next one hundred years." He added while giving a little smile to Silva.
"Come on, uncle!" Silva said pitifully. "Please tell me you have a way to fix him."
Duke Syre didn't say anything and closed his eyes. All of a sudden, Emery felt as if deepest darkness appeared from behind the duke's body. Even though he knew it was the manifestation of the other party's aura, he couldn't help but be intimidated due to how real it felt.
The darkness swiftly formed into a smoke-like substance and shot into Emery's body. In an instant, Emery felt an intense sensation as if hundreds of bugs were crawling and exploring his insides. To be exact the dark core within him. He quickly closed his eyes and concentrated his focus to endure the sensation.
After a few minutes of suffering, Duke Syre finally retracted his aura from Emery's body. Realizing the unpleasant sensation had subsided, Emery opened his eyes, just as the Duke opened his eyes too and saw the man sigh.
"Unfortunately, I can't."
Emery took a deep breath and so did Silva who was now wearing a downcast expression.
Duke Syre then proceeded to explain to Emery why those who knew his situation would immediately become hopeless of his chance becoming a magus.
It required a pure spirit core for the soul to successfully reside in. Normally the elements or any other essence would stay out of the spirit core, however as Emery successfully merged the essence of darkness at this particular one was Khaos, he pretty much made it almost impossible to merge the soul within.
To make matters worse, Emery also had two cores within, which would only decrease his chance of success.
The duke told him that being a magus was not just about reaching the peak of cultivation, but there was also a fortune involved, there were many cases where talented acolytes failed to form their spirit soul and ended up remaining saints for the rest of their life.
Just now, the duke tried to get rid of the Khaos' power, but he ultimately found he couldn't do it without breaking his core. The energy of the Primordial Wisp was already incorporated too deep within that, even if he could, he needed a powerful figure with a high understanding of nature laws to help him get rid of the other tainted core.
The Duke's words brought much clarity but also a burden to his heart.
Seeing Emery's expression, the Duke said "However", which brought a breeze of hope to him.
The grand magus explained that many cases with tainted spirit cores occurred due to accidents, be it an unexpected accident in training or being hit by a certain law without control of one's body.
"While yours, it was there by intent. The Wisps are intelligent beings, and from the looks of it, they are planning something for you. So, your best chance to become a magus is through them or through another similar entity"
By the end of the explanation, Emery did get to know more about his condition. However, the reality was he just did a loop and returned back to square one with no other solutions except through Khaos and Gaia.
At the end of the day, Emery left Duke Syre's place with complicated feelings. Fortunately, his jumbled heart was soon distracted when Silva received a piece of good news.
"Emery, your gene booster is ready!"