The Demon Monarch System

----

While the other groups entered the Umbra Night Institute, Sapphyr stood outside for a little longer. Before entering inside, she contemplated what she would teach them today. If she was to seem as professional as possible, then she needed to have everything in order.

As mentioned before, unlike the rest of the instructors, the experience she possessed with guiding others was lacking. Fortunately, she possessed not just a strong but wise Spirit who was exceptionally skilled in this attribute.

Since she was stuck in a rut, Xezym called out to her, "My Lady, I can help you with today's lesson. I suggest you teach them what makes a Spiritual Cultivator stand out from the rest.

"You mean, I should immediately focus on the Soul Temple?" Sapphyr replied. Due to sound reasoning behind the suggestion, she considered it. As all of her students all possessed rather new Soul Temples, they were impressionable. Typically, one would wait before attempting to do what Xezym was insinuating.

"Yes, there is no reason to beat around the bush. Introduce them to the horrors of cultivating and bonding with a Spirit. The earlier they get this out of the way, the earlier they acclimate to it. Not to mention, the institute is the perfect environment. That orb leaks energy into every area of the Institute," Xezym continued.

Under her continued coercing, Sapphyr finally gave in. With her course of action decided, she called for her group to follow along with her. Once again, she walked them through the steps of entering the Institute, but this time was slightly different.

Since the Institute was fully accessible, every student had to input their own unique code to get inside. Naturally, there were some mistakes, so Sapphyr stood behind and showed them how to maneuver the dial by sensing it with their Soul Temple.

It was both a form of training to test the level of control the student possessed as well as a reminder of what she showed them in class. The more they familiarized themselves with the spiritual world, the more they realized a lot of the inner workings were connected.

Once they were all inside, Sapphyr took them to a vacant teaching room. Although it looked to be a small door, when she opened it, it turned out to be a portal to a spacious area. Similar to the Tethered Shadow Origin Room, it possessed a dark sky, but there were sections on the ground partitioned for everyone.

"Choose a seat at your whim, they're all equal and when you do, you'll notice a change in your surroundings," Sapphyr said while pointing her hand at the floor below.

Immediately, Apollo took a seat at the back. Although he would spectate what was going on, it was more practical if others didn't witness what he cultivated.

"Xezym, you may appear," Sapphyr exclaimed causing his dark figure to rise from her shadow. When he appeared, some of the students became apprehensive. Due to how ghastly his aura was, some were inherently thrown off by it. But, he soon retracted all of it.

"It seems some of you are extremely sensitive to danger, that's good. The keener your sense of danger, the closer you are to contracting your own Spirit. Only once you have developed an absolute Soul Conscience can you do what you must," Xezym said while taking a step forward.

He then began pacing around everyone. Slowly, he examined their current states by sensing the intensity of their fluctuations. "Close, but no one is ready yet, very well. Tell me, you all have learned how to train the Soul Temple, but have you all learned how to expand it? After all, it must be at a certain degree so that it doesn't crumble and cause your mind to be torn asunder."

"Wait, torn asunder? Are you saying that contracting with a Spirit could kill us?" one of the students questioned. The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. Most of the students present were no older than 15. Hence, of course, they held trepidation towards death.

However, Xezym wasn't an individual to sugarcoat information, he kept any warm words to minimal, "Exactly. If you fail to take ample precautions then there is a chance that you may perish. As we have said multiple times before, it isn't a walk in the park to become a Spiritual Cultivator.

"We do what we do to reduce the chances of failing to quell the Terrors. But, there will always be those who rush and fail to perform even the most basic of safety precautions. As a result, they suffer catastrophic damage to the mind. Most of which is irreversible," Xezym stated before stopping in the middle of everyone.

"There are even instances where a deranged mind is formed. That is what happens when a wandering Spirit without a body attempts to take over a human with a weak mind. Before the assimilation process can finish, they go mad. In a way, this is beneficial to us because it alerts us to what is happening. Yet, it is also a terrible thing when you lose a stellar talent," Xezym stated.

"You sound as if you speak from experience," Adeon commented while glancing in Xezym's direction. He then added, "What will you teach us today? I don't know about them, but I understand the dangers already. Teach us how to avoid them."

"You seem just as impatient as someone I know, very well. Today you will learn Expansion and Union," Xezym stated. A moment later, he signaled to Sapphyr.

While walking forward, she held a clear fist-sized crystal in her hand, "As of right now, all of your Soul Temples should look like this, clear and untouched. But, in truth, this is a partially useless Soul Temple. It doesn't contain your identity, nor does it hold the ability to support a being like him," Sapphyr said while pointing at Xezym.

"The first thing you need to do is Expansion," Sapphyr added. As she talked, everyone listened intently. She started to explain how expansion was different from what they learned in the Teaching Hall. It was far more painful. It required them to crack the center of their Soul Temple and fill it with Spiritual Essence to solidify it once again.

Once that happened, the process needed to be completed over and over. Additionally, Spiritual Essence needed to be utilized as a carving knife to hollow out the insides and create ample space. Furthermore, those shavings were not to go to waste.

One was supposed to use those residual pieces to restart the process. The end result was a continuously expanded and refined Soul Temple with minimal wastage. On the other hand, Union was something that benefited the cultivator the most. It was centered around their Soul State Aptitude.

In truth, the Aptitude judged the core of the cultivator's soul. It existed in the center of everyone's mind in the form of a teardrop. Once the Soul Temple was hollow enough, they were to burst the aptitude and allow it to permeate the Soul Temple. 

Based on the affinities one possesses in their latent potential, the temple would assume a certain color. Sapphyr simulated this by pouring her dark spiritual essence into the orb. Slowly, it started to assume a purplish-black color.

When it turned color that was unable to be seen through, she raised it for everyone to see, "This is what you should all aim for. A complete transition of the Soul Temple. It's a tedious process, but it is best if done here. The saturated dark energy will assist you in performing this."

"Not to mention, it will benefit you all in the long run. I wish you all to contract with a worthwhile Spirit. A meager Spirit means a meager future. Now begin," Sapphyr instructed.

Meanwhile, Apollo was confused. He felt as if he had done something similar to this already by refining his Tainted Temple with Hellfire. But, he also knew that something was missing.

'Could it have something to do with the Boundless Ira Mantra? Or, does it have something to do with the fact that Fuhrer mentioned all of my intents much coincide. By that, I think he means my stigmata, Tainted Temple, Infernal Nucleus and Diabolic Heart of Wrath must all want the same thing. They must be aligned.

Silently, Apollo closed his eyes and attempted to continue with the incomplete engraving on his soul temple. Unlike the rest, his Tainted Temple was already saturated by Hellfire. He didn't need to engage in Union like the others.

Furthermore, he had to partake in an Expansion that was far more painful.