Eventually, Liam completed the first rune of power. About one-tenth of his soul strength was contained in this rune. This meant that he would in total perhaps only manage to create ten or so runes.
Anything less than a hundred for the first layer of the soul was deemed as inferior talent but it didn't matter. This was the start. Once the first layer is formed, Liam would be able to make the layer stronger.
Without losing focus, he quickly started working on the second rune. Time continued to slip by and soon a few hours later, Liam was already on the last rune. He almost had the whole first constellation down pat. Ten years time limit? What a load of bullshit!
With a final push, he managed to form the last rune as well when all the eleven runes suddenly started vibrating strongly. Then without any warning, a crippling pain assaulted him as all the runes of power exploded in his face or rather in his soul space.
Liam shuddered from the pain. Blood trickled down his lips and his face turned ashen. He opened his eyes wide in disbelief. He couldn't understand what had happened. He should have succeeded.
However, he did not dwell too much on the failure. This was only his first try after all. He was definitely going to succeed the second time.
Liam once again dove into deep focus as he started gathering all of his broken and torn apart soul wisps. It was not apparent at first but clearly his soul was a little more damaged now when compared to before. It seemed that failing in the technique had a negative effect which made him weaker each time even if it was by a small amount.
'Isn't that just perfect?' Liam grumbled and continued with the second try. If the technique was not effective, he would have already let go of it but he could clearly feel it. The technique was working. It would work once he had it all in place.
Liam once again started gathering bits and pieces of his soul again right from the scratch. The soul was composed of different layers and he tried to visualize his outer layer particles to be yellowish white in color to make the process easier.
He tugged bits and pieces and again dragged them along a rune of power. Once again, pain assaulted him. With every bit of focus and willpower, he meticulously moved the soul fragments, mindful of the explosive failure from his first attempt.
As he worked, Liam couldn't help but consider the possible reasons for his initial failure. Was it an issue with the alignment of the runes, or perhaps the amount of soul energy he was trying to contain within each rune was too much for his current state?
With these thoughts in mind, he proceeded more cautiously, paying extra attention to the balance and harmony between the runes. He made sure that each rune was equally saturated.
A few more hours passed by and this time his progress was definitely faster than before. He soon weaved together all eleven of the runes. He was so close to finishing the first constellation.
Close but it was not enough. Once again everything exploded.
This time Liam keeled over in pain, unable to withstand the backlash.
With a shaky breath, Liam forced himself to sit up. He wiped the blood from his lips and closed his eyes, not to retreat into despair, but to seek the calm center of his being where his resolve lay unbroken. Naturally, he was going to try again.
Liam barely had any strength left in him anymore but he couldn't stop now. He could feel it. He was so close and yet he was lacking something. He just needed one small push and he would arrive at his destination.
This time Liam could not handle the backlash anymore and was forced to stop his meditation. A small smile played on his lips despite the pain that wrecked his body. This was a good day's work. Tomorrow he would be better.
Liam did not even bother moving to another place. He simply laid back down on the same spot to rest his mind, his soul and his body. Every failed attempt affected every part of him somehow even though he was only practicing a soul technique.
As he tried to shut off his mind, numerous theories about how this could be possible swirled in his mind but he quickly drowned all of them to get some well deserved rest. Just a few hours. That was all he needed.
On his side, Liam could faintly hear Eldrin saying something but he did not care. The elf's complaints could wait for a while. He briefly closed his eyes. A couple of hours passed by when suddenly something tugged him awake.
This damned elf! Liam woke up with a jolt when he felt a bright golden glow enveloping him.
"Hmmm? How is this possible?" Liam did not understand. He hadn't done anything to trigger them getting kicked out of this floor. He was just sleeping for a couple of hours for god's sake. What was happening? Did he miss something else?
His head snapped to turn and look at Eldrin who had a bitter smile on his face. "You don't know, do you?" The elf said.
"I don't know what?" Liam checked and even the token was still in his possession. Seriously, what the heck could have triggered this?
"My Lord, it is time for us to leave the Spire." The elf laughed bitterly.
"Huh? How? Did we die?" Liam hurriedly checked to see if someone had dared to kill him in his sleep. Wasn't this a library of a famous academy run by that monstrous 'founder'? How could it be possible for someone to kill him?
But to his surprise, there was no bloodshed or signs of any fight. The elf was also rather calm, albeit a little annoyed. The elf then explained. "My Lord, you spent all the remaining days sitting on the same spot and meditating!"