CHAPTER 89: YIN AND YANG.

Night came faster than Nero had expected.

"How much longer until we reach Liedenstorm?" He couldn’t help but ask.

Garrick chuckled as they settled into a temporary campsite,

"Just a few more hours. We are on the outskirts of the forest. That’s why we haven’t been running into as many Abominations as before."

Nero huffed.

As the night settled in, the members of the party slowly shifted into their own individual spaces.

Left to himself, Nero quietly dove into his subconscious space.

In the nothingness void, he called out.

"Oracle... What is the true nature of the Black Body Transformation?"

{Now that the Heretic has acquired more than a hundred Seals of Sin, he is finally privy to the full information of the Black Body Transformation}.

Nero grimaced. However, seeing as there was nothing he could do about it, he sighed,

"Go ahead. I’m listening."

He dropped to the... nothingness and crossed his legs as he settled into a sitting position,

There was a brief pause. Then the Divine Oracle began;

{The nature of the corrupted Ein Sof is one of a conceived duality— something the pure, unchanged Ein Sof fundamentally lacks...}

{Good and evil. Black and White. Light and Dark. Hot and Cold. Yin and Yang}.

Nero raised a brow, "Yin and Yang..."

{Yin and Yang is the final interpretation of duality in all its possible variations and conflicting concepts blending into a union of harmony. It is the nature of light existing within darkness, and darkness in light}.

{The first stage of the Heretic’s Black Body Transformation separates his physical form to the Yin form and the Yang form...}

{The Yin form is the form closer to the Heretic’s initial nature. It is soft, and passive. However, it is also light and in a twisted sense, pure}.

{The Yang form is the form that tends towards the direction of the Divine Ideal. Or as the Heretic likes to call it, the Abomination. The Yang Abomination is hard, powerful and ferocious. But it is also dark and twisted}.

{In the Yin form, the Heretic’s strength, stamina, and defensive capabilities are lowered. However, his dexterity, agility, control and perception are significantly improved. This form also has minimal physical mutations}.

{In the Yang form, the Heretic’s agility, dexterity, control and perception are lowered. However, his strength, stamina, defensive capabilities, and output are significantly higher. The Yang Form progresses along the path of increasing physical mutations, twisting and changing the Heretic until he becomes the Divine Ideal}.

{The Yin form requires Ein Sof to maintain, because it is a form of suppression. Once the Heretic has sufficient Ein Sof reserves and adequate control, he will be able to seamlessly shift between both forms}.

Nero listened to the Oracle’s words silently.

After it was done, he had to take a few more seconds to process what he had just heard.

"My guess was right then. Ein Sof, or at least, the corrupted Ein Sof exists as two streams..." He muttered to himself.

The Yang was hot and burning. But it was also darkness and evil in the form of his abominable form.

The Yin form was his more natural physique. However, he figured that the more powerful the Black Body Transformation because, the more perfect and austere he would become, almost to the point of being considered inhuman.

He had seen his complexion and face on the Silver Blade the other day. That had told him all he needed to know.

Not only was he fairer than he had originally been, he had also turned much more handsome. Devilishly so...

Almost like he was a completely different person. While his features were still preserved, they had been overemphasized greatly.

His eyes were much darker. Like the dark river of the night sky.

His face was angular and yet, that only seemed to make his features softer and a bit more feminine, painting quite the stunning image.

It was no wonder Obed and everyone else had not believed him when he told his story of how he had made his way from the edge of the Empire, all the way to Liedenstorm.

Damn, even his skin was glossy and pristine.

He let out a defeated sigh just at the thought of it all.

In the end, it was his reality, so he had to make due.

And while he was not as strong as he was in his Yang form, his Yin form was still quite formidable. He was much stronger that an average human, and significantly faster. Also, his control over his weapons like the Silver Blade and Gungnir was far greater as well.

So in reality, he was barely losing any combat potential.

Nero closed his eyes and rose out of his subconscious, back into the real world.

His eyelids slowly fluttered open.

He looked around. No one seemed to have noticed anything.

He huffed in relief then made himself more comfortable as he tried to get some rest.

The day has been long, but finally, his long line journey was coming to an end.

He truly was curious to see what was waiting ahead of him.

He had never been to one of the infamous walled cities before, despite having heard about them all his life.

According to the stories, these lands were filled with surplus. With acres of land that produced bountiful harvests. The stories were brought to Gor, usually on the lips of the traveling merchants.

Nero now realized, that this was just the way of the merchants speaking with the serpent’s tongue in holes of selling their wares for higher prices to the less informed locals.

From what he could tell, those fables and tales were no more than wishful thinking.

The story Geor had told him, combined with the dire straits of these Hunters that were forced to put their bodies and their souls on the line in hopes of a better life was all the convincing he needed.

Liedenstorm was bound to be quite the experience, he reckoned.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He instinctually jerked his head up.

And then, his nose was assaulted by a burst of wonderful fragrance.