Chapter 357: 355: Birth of the New Origin Sage

While people were watching the image over Argentum's head transform every once in a while into more complete yet more esoteric forms of the Origin, Argentum was still looking at the silhouette in front of him, continuing to expound his understanding over what the Origin was.

"The Origin is the key to starting life itself, and that's something I've already understood after thinking about it for some time," Argentum muttered to himself as he continued to ponder over the question. "Though, if I look at it from the perspective of the four foundational elements making up the Lesser Origin, I can interpret it as the four working together in a cyclical manner."

"Water nurtures the earth, earth gives birth to plants that would catch on fire with enough heat, fire brings forth strong winds, while condensed winds give birth to water…or something along those lines," he continued as he tried to wrap his head around the concept.

After pondering over these thoughts for a bit more, he could not help but let out a light sigh as he said to himself, "Although it seems like I've understood the element of Origin from its most superficial to its most detailed features…why do I feel like I still haven't scratched the surface of what Origin truly is?"

"Origin brings forth life…Origin has the four elements worked together in a cyclical manner through co-existence…"

As he started to mutter everything that was surfacing in his mind, his thoughts instantly fixated on one word he had mentioned out of the blue. It was at that moment that a barrier barring him from understanding more of the Origin was broken in that instant, giving him new insights to what Origin was.

"Co-existence…Existence…" While Argentum was trying to ponder more over the word he had in mind, the silhouette in front of him was now changing into a different image. What was a spinning ring a while ago was now turning into something else. Something…spherical.

"Existence…the Origin facilitates existence itself." With this sentence in mind, Argentum seemed to have gained a foothold over this new understanding of the Origin as he tried to clear it up even more through talking to himself.

"Although it could be said that existence is the same as life, it doesn't work the same way in reverse. Life relies on multiple things for it to occur, but for existence…"

"…there is only one requirement. And that is to exist."

"For it to be there, is to embody the meaning of existence itself," Argentum continued to mutter as the spherical silhouette in front of him began to take on more detailed features. At some parts of the sphere, there would be dips that went deeper into the core of the sphere, while at others, it would poke out like a sore thumb.

"Even though it is quite far-fetched for me to say this, I am the Origin." Feeling that he had expounded enough over this new understanding of Origin, he was now consolidating his thoughts as the spherical silhouette in front of him was gradually becoming more corporeal.

"I am the Origin. The surroundings around me are the Origin. The people I've interacted with are the Origin. The world my feet steps on is the Origin."

"For the Origin is the reason why everything exists."

Whoosh!

Just as Argentum had concluded his answer to the question given to him, the spherical silhouette had now turned corporeal, taking on various colors as the sight of a small planet filled to the brim with nature and life could be seen hovering in front of him.

With the blue water taking up most of the planet's surface while the green lush lands took up quite a sizable chunk, he could not help but feel that he had seen this somewhere before. After a while, a memory from Aurus had surfaced in Argentum's mind, prompting him to ask himself, "Why is Earth the formed image from my understanding of the Origin?"

He then thought about it for a bit, eventually coming to an answer that the word 'existence' was just too abstract to visualize, forcing the heavens to visualize it in a manner that made it easy for him to understand. In other words, the planet Earth was his visualization of the word 'existence'.

"So…what next?" Argentum asked not long after as the small planet slowly revolved around its axis. Not long after, this small planet then zoomed towards Argentum's forehead, subconsciously making him a step back out of surprise. Unfortunately for him, the speed at which the planet was heading towards his forehead was far faster than him stepping back, which resulted in a collision…or so one would think.

Swoosh!

Without any obstructions, the small planet was absorbed by Argentum's body as it hastily made its way to the orb of energy that had formed quite some time ago, melding with each and every strand of the orb as the feeling it gave off became stronger. Sometime later, he also felt that his connection with the four foundational elements had become stronger than ever before.

After a few more minutes, the small planet and the orb of energy had now become as one, turning into a silver orb which housed the same gray energy that made up Argentum's body, though there was a qualitative difference between the two.

Nevertheless, after the transformation process was over, a notification sound resounded in his mind, prompting Argentum to read the notification he had just received.

Ding!

'You have received the passive skill [Lesser Origin Core].'

Just as he was about to identify the skill he had just received, his surroundings started to change bit by bit, eventually returning him back to a spot near the Origin Statue as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Am I…back?" Argentum muttered to himself as he felt that the experience he had just now was quite surreal. But as he continued to look at his surroundings, he noticed that the people looking at him from afar had their mouths wide open as shock and surprise covered their faces. Not only that, but even awe and reverence could be seen written on their faces.

With that, he could not help but think to himself, 'Did I do something wrong while I was comprehending the Origin?'

Fortunately, his curiosity would be satiated not long after he had opened his eyes as Cardis gradually made his way to where he was while he was beaming with excitement. At the very instant Cardis was in front of Argentum, he instantly sent an energy strand to Argentum, surprising the latter as he asked him.

"Do you realize what you just did?"

"Eh?" Although Argentum wasn't expecting Cardis to initiate a conversation with him through an energy strand, he responded back with a strand of his own, asking, "Did I do something I shouldn't have?"

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"Far from it," Cardis said in response before telling Argentum to stand up, which the latter did. After that, Cardis went ahead and slapped Argentum on the back before loudly cackling as he shouted, "Everyone! Did you see that?"

"My friend right here has just made history! After 3257 years, we have now peered closer into the true essence of the Origin, thanks to Argentum right here!" he continued to talk, leaving Argentum at a loss for words as to how he should act.

It was then that he realized that he had not done anything wrong at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Rather than doing something bad, he had instead pioneered a path that gave everyone a better understanding of the element of Origin, even if they didn't understand what it meant right now.

"Let us cheer for the new Origin Sage!" Cardis yelled soon after, to which the people around them instantly shouted in response, "Cheers to the Origin Sage! Cheers to the Origin Sage!"

At this point, Argentum could not help but scratch his head from the amount of attention he was getting. Was understanding the Origin to a higher level that big of a deal?

Even though he couldn't care less as to why that was the case, he went ahead and asked Cardis, "What's an Origin Sage?"

"That's a title given to someone that has understood the Origin the greatest. Previously, the Origin Sage was Torvas. But from now on, with your greater understanding of the Origin, the Origin Sage is now you."

"I see…" At this point, the attention he was getting from becoming the Origin Sage was too much for him to handle, prompting him to look at the people cheering for him and asking, "Could you please not cheer for me? I can't really handle that much attention."

Surprisingly, like obedient servants, the people surrounding them all went silent at once, leaving Argentum once more at a loss for words. Nevertheless, he was quite satisfied that his words weren't left unnoticed.

After that, he looked at Cardis and asked in a slightly joking manner, "So…how about that bet?"

"Ah, yes! The bet!" With Cardis also being entranced by the feat Argentum had done, it was only thanks to his reminder that Cardis recalled the bet. Without hesitation, he looked at the group of people that came along with them and said, "To those that bet that my friend here would be able to comprehend the Origin beyond the Cycle…"

"It's now time to obtain your reward!"

In an instant, around 70% of the people that came along with them madly dashed towards where Cardis and Argentum was, afraid that they wouldn't get their prize. Fortunately, Cardis acted quickly and efficiently in handing out the rewards, using the Transcendent Stones given to him by Torvas to fill in the gap of the remaining prize money.

As for those who bet against him, although they were slightly saddened by the fact that they lost quite a decent sum of their Mana Stones, their bets weren't really considered a lot to them, so they didn't feel that much pain from it…except for Tristan.

With an ashen expression, he looked at the people that were receiving 10 times the amount they initially bet, recalling that he had basically lost three quarters of his whole assets. Just as he was about to turn around and leave due to the shame he was feeling, he then heard a few words come out of Cardis's mouth, prompting him to come closer, though with his head dropped down.

"As for those who bet against my friend here, come here and receive your reward as well!"

"Eh?!"

"What?!"

"Seriously?!"

Naturally, those who bet against Argentum comprehending something beyond the Cycle felt that it was weird that Cardis would give them double their initial bet. But after hearing Cardis's next words, they could not help but laugh in response as they thanked him profusely.

"Don't ask me why I'm doing this, I'm just in a good mood!"

And so, those who bet in favor and against Argentum had won quite a sizable amount of Mana Stones, with Tristan even changing his impression of Cardis after the Mana Stones he had bet had doubled in value. As for those that were at the Origin Statue and were not part of the bet, some of them could only look on with envy in their eyes.

After asking the people that came with him to go do their own things, Argentum then asked Cardis for the two of them to head back to the plaza, though at a slower pace. Unsurprisingly, Cardis agreed to his request as he recalled that he had brought Argentum to places at breakneck speeds, not giving him a chance to really get a feel for the place.

While he was walking leisurely beside Cardis, Argentum went ahead and asked some of the questions that lingered in his mind after undergoing through that comprehension process.

"How long did I sit under the Origin Statue?" Argentum asked, to which Cardis responded nonchalantly, "Oh, not much time at all. You probably sat there motionless for about a week or so?"

"A week?!" Not expecting such a long time to have passed while he was under the Origin Statue, Argentum was prepared to use all of his movement speed skills to head back to the Flame Spirit Inheritance as fast as possible. Fortunately, Cardis realized this and said with a light chuckle, "Just before you start dashing back, take note that a week here is equivalent to like a day or so in the outside world. Also, you're one of the fastest ones to finish comprehending the Origin, with most people taking months or even years to comprehend the Origin."

Hearing that, Argentum instantly calmed himself down as there was still six days until Aurus was forced to leave the Flame Spirit Inheritance. Then again, that one week deadline was just for him to feel a bit of pressure. Only if he knew that this one week deadline was actually too lenient for him.

With that question now answered, he then answered the question that lingered at the back of his head for quite some time now. Imitating the sound of a light cough to attract Cardis's attention, he then asked him, "Speaking of which, do you know where I could attempt the Origin Trials?"

At first, Cardis looked at Argentum as if he was an idiot. But after some time, he understood where he was coming from, prompting him to say with another chuckle, "Yeah, I know where you could attempt them."

"In fact, you did just that," he continued, making Argentum silent for a bit as he eventually realized what Cardis trying to say. In the end, he could only utter out…

"I see…"

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