1314 Wonderful Synergy
Varian didn't expect this day to arrive. Especially after learning bits of Isadora's past, he thought it'd be impossible for someone like her to do something as intimate as Synergy.
They were just holding hands now. Nothing more, nothing less. But Synergy was a process that'd touch the soul.
Isadora agreed despite that.
Perhaps there were two reasons for this.
Firstly, without doing this, they had no chance of coming out alive. They'd be dead.
Secondly, and this was largely an assumption from his side. Whether she admitted it or not, Isadora hoped to have normal relationships.
She wanted to let go of that bitterness in her.
The fact that she's actively interacting with them, growing her bond with Sia and Enigma, not acting hostile with Varian and Sarah despite their frictions…perhaps all this was the manifestation of that inner desire.
But with her traumatic experience, she couldn't overcome it herself.
She'd need an external push. Someone had to help. And the proud Isadora wouldn't ask for help in such matters.
'Isadora…'
Instead of just holding her hand ike she initially did, Varian interlocked their fingers together and held her tight.
Just like he'd do with Sarah, Sia and Enigma.
Isadora knew this too, so she tried to pull her hand out.
"Shh, this has the best results," He whispered.
Perhaps she believed his words. Perhaps she did not. But she didn't struggle anymore.
The Synergy began.
The world in front of them disappeared and darkness consumed everything. In that darkness, the worlds of their souls slowly surfaced.
Varian's world—a sky—was brimming brightly with seven stars—the seven divine paths. But instead of the paths' colors, his world was in the colors of black and white.
To his right came Sarah's world, an ocean, glowing with three different colors.
To the left was Isadora's world—mountains, trees, wild animals, huts…it was a primitive world.
There were three bright altars in the land, their brightness completely outshining Varian's and Sarah's worlds.
Those were her three paths. And there was also faint patterns that'd form occassionally.
Patterns that showed more specialty than even the altars.
…The incomplete steps to divinity.
As the three worlds connected, Varian's mind went blank for a moment.
Then, it was bombarded by an ocean of knowledge, insights and experiences.
It was difficult to bear. Like trying to fit it an ocean inside a river, it overflowed and started drowning everything.
After reaching the peak of rank 9, even her normal insights about paths other than her own were extremely precious and helpful.
So, all of his paths were constantly rising.
The XP meter was on full swing and Varian could feel himself growing stronger in real time.
It's a feeling he never felt so vividly.
This was the greatest improvement in strength in the shortest time he had ever seen.
It was so much that Varian even began to doubt if this was all just an illusion.
"Ouch!"
It wasn't until the pouring insights started to flood everything and pain his mental world did appreciate that it's the reality.
He swiftly expanded the bridge with Sarah and controlled his connection with Isadora.
An equilibrium was established.
Insights flowed from Isadora to Varian to Sarah and back.
Sarah's insights into time path helped him analyze the gravity insights of Isadora.
[Space Rank 5 —>>
Time Rank 5 —>>]
Sarah's insights into light and energy—much simpler to understand given they're only of rank 7—helped build the bridge to more complex insights into darkness and matter.
[Energy Rank 5 —>>
Matter Rank 5 —>>]
Isadora had already finished the Binder path and reached Anima. Since it was a soul connection, things were easier than otherwise.
[Binder Rank 5 —>>]
Finally, the Adept and Assimilator paths.
Sarah walked the paths of Mystic —> Forcender —> Life Spirit.
These paths helped him indirectly but weren't of direct help.
But Isadora, who fought extensively in Genesis Empire—faced every path on the Sage Avenue and had plenty of insight and experience regarding these paths.
So, Varian gained.
[Adept Rank 5 —>>
Assimilator Rank 5 —>> ]
As he learned more and more, his capacity to learn more increased. A virtuous cycle was formed.
Varian's aura in the cave began to spiked. His powers began to mix and seperate, forming a larger and larger disturbance.
Meanwhile, Isadora realized that she too had benefits from a Synergy.
Varian's soul world had the power of slivers. As someone who stood at the peak of rank 9, she could gain a lot of insights from these slivers—even though any divine ranker would still call that pathetic.
Still, thanks to the slivers, Isadora's darkness path began to improve.
Another pleasant surprise, she was able to have glimpses into the Sarah's legacy.
It wasn't a lot because Varian couldn't process everything to transmit it to her but it helped improve her gravity and anima paths.
On the other hand, Sarah also benefitted more than she was expecting.
Varian's insights derived from Isadora were also accessible to her. Her power also began to climb.
Time began to slip by and the Synergy grew more and more harmonious.
At some point, the process continued by itself while Varian started getting glimpses into Isadora's life.
He felt the loneliness of the little girl who sat by herself on a cliff and watched the sunset with her, all while wishing just for someone to talk to.
He fought the deadly matches in the tournament alongside the teen girl, often crying to sleep in many nights as the injuries hurt.
He loved the mother alongside her. He practiced early from the morning and late into night, every day, just to see her smile.
He stared crying when he was forced to confront the people she didn't want to fight. When her mother finally backstabbed, Varian's heart broke and tears silently dripped down his cheeks.
It was only a glimpse into her sadness, but it hurt so much that he didn't know how a person could suffer such emotions.
A cold hand wiped his tears and said, her voice from real world ringing in the mental world that now reduced to only Varian's.
"Come help when you're done. I…I'm counting on you."
