In the ancient era, when awakened people were very rare and faced many difficulties and limitations, magic was not well developed. More than 90% of essence stones were a complete mystery.
How they worked, what they did—everyone had to figure that out for themselves. In the current era of modern magic, barely anyone knows that something called the "Grant Wish Essence Stone" even exists. But in the ancient era, the Grant Wish Essence Stone was the most sought-after treasure in the world.
Only a few people ever managed to refine it, and no one knew its recipe. It was said that whoever passed down the information about the Grant Wish Essence Stone's recipe would be immediately erased from the world. Although everyone who met that person would still remember them, no one would ever know where they went.
It was said that they became sinners by transferring forbidden knowledge and were thrown out of the world. But no one had a clear idea of what that truly meant.
But what was even rarer and more secret was that there were two ways to refine the Grant Wish Essence Stone. One was to refine it using its recipe, which everyone knew about. The other was to make Lord Shiva come himself to grant whatever wish you desired.
And that could only be done by strengthening one's soul to an incredible level.
Normally, a person could enhance their soul to levels like a Wolfman Soul, a Four-Armed General Soul, or a Warrior Soul. These were levels that normal people could enhance their souls to.
As for evil people, many would devour other people's souls to enhance their own, just like Esdeath, who converted her soul into a Cannibalistic Soul.
But these were only mid-level souls. People who mainly focused on the path of the soul had even more outstanding souls, like a Hundred-Armed Divine General or a Four-Snake-Headed Spectral Soul.
Even though these souls were powerful, they were still not the peak. In essence, souls reflected the self and consciousness itself, bound by karma. This meant that an evil person could not enhance their soul down the path of a good soul, even if they wanted to.
That's why, after this stage, for good and kind people who are merciful, who have done many good deeds and saved many lives, their souls turn golden. A Golden Soul, like a blazing fire.
Ethan's soul was at this level. This was also the real reason he could grow so fast, match the talents of others, and have such a fierce will to never give up.
After that comes the Genesis Soul. At this level, even if one's body perishes, the soul itself is dense enough to touch and feel material things. It gets a spiritual mana circuit and is powerful enough to defeat an S-rank warrior all on its own.
And finally, at the very last, comes the Celestial Soul. This is the final stage of one's soul's limit. This isn't something just anyone can achieve; those who have reached it are in single-digit numbers.
This can't be achieved just by kindness and good deeds alone. It also needs extreme power, knowledge, morality, and principles, as well as having a good philosophy on life.
Because unlike the Golden Soul, which doesn't really affect the body, a person can be very weak even though they have a Golden Soul or a Genesis Soul, where their physical body can be weaker than their astral form.
Once someone achieves this level, they are a cosmic being in themselves, no less than a star constellation, and maybe even stronger than them, both physically and in soul power.
Even nature itself has to bow down to them. Their presence alone is enough to shake the balance of the world, and everyone knows that nature always tries to keep a balance.
So, achieving this stage will automatically attract one of nature's wills—Lord Shiva—to come directly himself and grant you your wish.
But there was a catch. Once one makes the wish, their soul will be reduced to the level of a Genesis Soul and can never be upgraded to the Celestial level again, thus keeping the balance of the world.
Of course, there was also a pathway for soul cultivation for evil people.
Just like the Golden Soul, the soul of a purely evil person is a dark purple. And just like the Genesis Soul, once a person reaches a level where their soul alone could defeat an S-rank warrior, they are called a Spectral Soul. The final form for those on the evil path is the Cosmic Horror.
It is the same level as the Celestial Soul, and achieving it also shifts the balance of the world, giving nature no choice but to make Lord Shiva take action.
And just like people with Celestial Souls, once a Cosmic Horror makes a wish, their soul is reduced to a Spectral Soul, and they can never transcend to that level again.
Although going from a Genesis Soul to a Celestial Soul, or from a Spectral Soul to a Cosmic Horror, felt like it was just one step away, the difference in difficulty was countless times harder than going from a Golden Soul to a Genesis Soul, or from a pure evil soul to a Spectral Soul.
If anyone gained this knowledge, they would think the chances of one Celestial Soul appearing was one in five hundred thousand years, or even less. The person who achieved it would be a one-in-a-billion talent.
But there was a time, in ancient times, when there were three people at the level of Celestial Soul in a single era. The same era as the goddess Seraphine.
---
In a big field, cows were eating grass. Many children were playing far away. The surroundings were very quiet; the only sound was the gentle whisper of the wind.
There was a big tree in the field. Below the shadow of the tree, a man with neat black hair, pointed ears, dark skin, and a well-built body was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
He was a dark elf. He had a great jawline and very handsome facial features. The darkness of his skin only enhanced his beauty further; even the principal Elara would fail to compare to him.
Right now, he was cultivating to increase his strength, both physically and and soul-wise. Many constellations with few followers also did this to enhance their own power.
But then, out of nowhere, the reality in front of him cracked. A big crack appeared in the air, and then it opened, showing a dark and bluish endless energy between the cracks. From the cracks, a cosmic being came out.
It was none other than Lord Shiva.
"Rama, open your eyes!" he said. Although there was a more-than-15-foot-tall being standing there, the people in the surroundings didn't notice him at all and continued with their daily affairs.
Rama opened his blue eyes, which were deep like the ocean, and smiled at Shiva. "Came to grant me a wish? But you know I don't need it, and you already know why!" he spoke calmly.
Actually, Rama was an avatar of one of nature's primordial wills, Vishnu.
Just like Shiva's work was to destroy, Vishnu's work was to preserve, to guard, and to keep balance. Thus, he took avatars several times for many purposes.
So in a certain sense, there was no difference between him and Vishnu, only their power level was different. The main reason for his avatar was to keep powerful beasts in check and give intelligent beings a stable foundation to grow.
Although Rama looked like a man in his early thirties, he was several hundred years older than even the goddess Seraphine.
In this era, where monsters were only fantasy, beasts were the real problem. While humans and other intelligent species were weak, beasts had a natural advantage and were causing havoc everywhere.
There were not many safe places to live. Beast tides came almost every year.
But in his life, Rama subdued countless beasts all over the world and made it a much safer world to live in. Not to forget, he saved countless lives, improved the conditions of many places, and did so much more.
He had indeed fulfilled the role given to him by Vishnu. He had no desire for any wish or anything at all.
But Shiva sighed. "I know. But you achieved this stage, so I have no other choice. You need to make a wish!"
"Is that so?" Rama thought for a few seconds and said, "I think there's someone else who's even more worthy for this than me. He is called Buddha."
Shiva nodded lightly. "I know that. Once you make your wish, I have to go to him too!"
Rama then rubbed his chin. "Hmm... Then how about this? Whatever Buddha's wish is, it'll be my wish too!"
"Okay!" Shiva agreed and decided to leave.
---
Shiva went to Buddha. Buddha had blonde hair and green eyes and a peaceful face, with white skin. Right now, he was dressed in an orange robe like a priest, having just finished giving his teachings.
After his teachings, he donated many things to the poor people and was going towards his small, simple home. Although he could have had many things, he never desired luxury.
But then, Lord Shiva made his appearance. Buddha immediately fell to his knees and bowed down to him.
"I greet the cosmic god of the three realms!" he said sincerely.
Although this was the first time he had met Shiva, his knowledge was as vast and grand as the ocean. He immediately realized who this being in front of him was.
"Tell me your wish. Unless it's immortality or something at that level, I will grant it!" Shiva said in his authoritative voice.
"A wish? Haha, I taught others to be happy with whatever they have. How could I have a wish?" Buddha chuckled to himself.
"Not for you, maybe for the world!" Shiva said.
"Hmm... Enticing indeed. I could end world hunger or make everyone rich. But I know this will eventually lead to even greater problems. I would eventually become the greatest sinner of the world!" Buddha immediately realized that these kinds of wishes only had bad endings.
He fell into a very peculiar position. By refusing this great cosmic being in front of him, he was afraid it might anger him.
But then he suddenly got an idea.
"I think there's someone else who's more worthy for this than me. His name is Yeshua. Although half of the world calls him the spawn of an evil god, the rest who truly know him call him Jesus Christ!"
"Just go to him. Whatever his wish is will also be my wish!"