Alvin fell into a trance like state after a few minutes of meditation. He felt as though his mind had entered a place unaffected by time. Just as Alvin was basking in the pleasure of being in this state of emptiness, he saw a new world opening before his eyes.
In front of Alvin, a vast galaxy slowly revealed itself with no end in sight. As Alvin looked at his hand, he saw that his body had taken on a soul like form, allowing him to float around this vast galaxy effortlessly.
As Alvin was looking around, he saw a golden glow some distance away. Alvin floated toward the glow curiously. From the memories he had obtained, it was said that when a person first opened their sea of consciousness, it would be only a dark place. So the existence of this golden glow truly puzzled him.
As Alvin got closer to the golden glow, a golden book appeared in front of him. On the front of the book, there were ancient characters carved on top, which were similar to the words Alvin had seen on the walls of the underwater temple.
"Isn't this the golden book I saw in the wall painting? How did it enter my sea of consciousness?" Alvin looked at the book in puzzlement.
Suddenly, the characters written on top of the book changed, and as though written by an invisible hand, new words appeared. This time, the characters were of the Celestian language.
Golden Tome
Fourth Owner: Kaliyan
Race: Naga
As Alvin read the name on the cover of the Golden Tome, a light flashed and the silhouette of a man in elegant clothes like an ancient scholar appeared before him.
He nodded at Alvin, who was staring at him in a daze. "So you are the last inheritor of the Golden Tome. You may call me Kaliyan, and in a way, I can be considered your predecessor."
The man spoke in fluent Celestian to Alvin as though it were his native language.
"Greetings, Senior Kaliyan," Alvin slightly bowed his head and greeted him, as this was the respectful greeting juniors offered to their seniors.
Kaliyan nodded with a smile on his face. "I do not have much time, so I will leave behind a little helper for you. She will help you familiarize yourself with the Golden Tome."
Kaliyan extended his palm forward, and a small white and gold caterpillar appeared in his hand. It had a chubby body with two golden antennae on its head.
"Master..." the caterpillar called out sorrowfully when it saw Kaliyan's face.
"Hey Goldy, do not be sad. Nothing is everlasting. Every life that is once born will eventually perish," Kaliyan chuckled while he tapped Goldy's head affectionately.
"Her name is Goldy. She is my soul companion. Now I am giving her to you. Take good care of her. She will be useful for your journey ahead."
Kaliyan then placed Goldy on Alvin's shoulder with a light smile. "He will be your new master. Behave yourself like a good girl and do not cause any trouble."
Goldy blinked her round eyes, and a golden circle in the shape of a compass flew out of her body and entered Alvin's soul. Suddenly, Alvin felt a strange connection with Goldy, but even before he could experience what this connection really was, Kaliyan interrupted him.
"Fine then, I have completed my duty of finding the next and the last successor of the Golden Tome. It is time for my soul to sleep, like all my companions..." As he was speaking, his body turned into specks of light and gradually disappeared.
Goldy dropped her head sullenly and flew toward the Golden Book from Alvin's shoulder. "Master, touch the Golden Tome," Goldy said to Alvin in her tender voice, which sounded like a little girl.
Alvin nodded stiffly and flew toward the Golden Book, grabbing it in his hand.
"Sizzle"
Suddenly, Alvin felt as though his body was electrocuted, like how he had felt when he touched the underwater painting, and his vision went dark.
In the next second, Alvin woke up from his meditation while panting.
As Alvin was about to enter his sea of consciousness once again to see what had happened, Goldy appeared on Alvin's shoulder. "Do not try to meditate for now. The Golden Tome is synchronizing with your soul. It will damage your soul if you disturb it."
Alvin looked at Goldy in surprise. "You can come out of my sea of consciousness?"
Goldy blinked her eyes, and her mouth arched into a silly smile. "Mm, Goldy is a soul spirit, so Goldy can materialize into the real world through the bloodline soul symbol on Master's neck."
Alvin pointed to himself in confusion. He then walked toward a mirror placed in his room and looked at his neck.
Sure enough, there was a black tattoo of a traditional compass on the left side of his neck. Alvin touched his neck in deep thought. "Is this a bloodline symbol?"
In Celestia, when people awaken their hidden bloodlines, a bloodline spirit is born, and a black tattoo representing their blood spirit appears on their body, similar to the one Alvin had now.
Goldy shook her head. "No, although it appears similar to a bloodline symbol, it is actually a soul symbol."
Alvin nodded, indicating he understood, and sat back on the bed as there were no chairs in the bamboo hut.
"So Goldy, I will tell you all about myself, including my past and present, since we will be companions from now on," Alvin said seriously to Goldy, who was rubbing her head affectionately against Alvin's neck.
Goldy paused for a moment and shook her head. "Goldy can read souls. I already know everything about Master."
Alvin's mouth twitched. "Then teach me some unparalleled art that Kaliyan practiced, so I can become powerful faster."
Goldy still shook her head. "My previous master lived in ancient Earth, and people there practiced soul energy, unlike the mana you guys cultivate here. So it is useless even if I teach you any of those techniques."
Alvin sighed. He picked up Goldy from his shoulder and placed her on his chest as he lay back on the bed. "Then let us just sleep for now. I have to go to the orphanage to see little Le in the evening."
Goldy curled up on Alvin's chest, and both of them fell asleep a moment later.