Chapter 116: Training
Rhys needed to show a clear path of growth. In the Qi Resonating Stone trial, he had displayed a pure, non-elemental foundation.
It was a good start, but he couldn’t remain non-elemental forever. The sect elders would be watching him.
They expected him to bond with an element, to choose a path. If he didn’t show any progress, their initial interest would turn into suspicion.
He needed to "awaken" an elemental affinity. And he needed to do it soon.
He thought about his options. With the Omni-Elemental Seed, he had an affinity for every element.
He could choose Fire, Water, or any of the fundamental elements. But that felt... plain.
He needed something that would build on his existing strengths, something that would fit the combat style he had already perfected.
His mind immediately went to the Dark element.
His most powerful skills—Shadowed Dive, Viper’s Kiss, Silent Step—were all based on stealth and assassination.
The Dark element was a natural fit. It was the logical next step.
But simply choosing the ’Shadow’ property again felt like a waste. It was what he already had.
He remembered Seduction’s lessons in the Ashen Dimension. Power wasn’t about picking from a list; it was about creating something new.
A simple Dark element affinity would make him a strong assassin, but it wouldn’t make him special.
The Azure Sky Palace was full of strong disciples.
To stand out, to build a reputation as a prodigy worth investing in, he needed something unique.
He needed a new mutated element. A power so rare and unusual that the elders would be impressed but unable to fully understand or replicate it.
It would add to his mystique, making him a valuable but enigmatic asset.
He also needed a power that could be displayed publicly without revealing his true, terrifying nature.
His Void-Tainted Shadow was a weapon of absolute erasure, a trump card he could never show.
He needed a public face, a new power that was impressive but not so monstrous that it invited a fatal level of scrutiny.
His mind began to work, piecing together a new, audacious plan. He would choose the Dark element as his foundation.
But he would fuse it with its polar opposite.
Light.
It was a paradoxical, almost insane idea. Dark and Light were fundamental opposites.
They consumed each other.
Trying to fuse them was like trying to mix fire and water. But if he could succeed, he would create a power that no one had ever seen before.
The most important part of this plan was deception. His true foundation was the Void, and his primary element was Darkness.
He would create a power that used Darkness as its core but manifested as Light.
He could present himself to the sect as a disciple who had awakened a rare and powerful Light affinity.
It would be the perfect misdirection.
No one would ever suspect that the brilliant, holy power he displayed was born from the deepest shadows.
He sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, his eyes closed. The decision was made.
Now came the execution.
He focused his will, sinking his consciousness into the vast, internal universe of his 108 Ascendent Cores.
He found the two cores he needed.
The first was the core that housed his Dark element affinity. He felt its cool, quiet energy, the feeling of absolute silence and concealment.
The second was the core for the Light element. He felt its warm, vibrant energy, the feeling of pure illumination and revelation.
He carefully drew out a single, thin thread of Dark energy.
In his mind’s eye, it was a wisp of pure blackness, absorbing all light, its property that of Shadow.
He then drew out a single, equally thin thread of Light energy. It was a brilliant, white thread that radiated a gentle warmth, its property that of Illumination.
He brought them together in his mental workspace.
The reaction was immediate and violent. The moment the two threads touched, they tried to annihilate each other.
The Light energy flared, trying to burn the Shadow away. The Shadow energy coiled, trying to swallow the Light, to snuff it out.
A small, chaotic war was happening in his mind.
He remembered Seduction’s lesson:
"You need a bridge."
He had his own will, his perfect control, and his infinite lifespan to fuel the experiment.
He did not try to force them to merge.
That would be like smashing two powerful magnets together. Instead, he began to weave them, to find a harmony between the two opposites, like what he had done with fire and earth.
His first idea was to use the Shadow as a container.
He carefully molded the thread of Dark energy, shaping it into a tiny, hollow sheath, like the skin of a snake.
It was an act of incredible precision, requiring all of his concentration.
Then came the harder part. He began to feed the thread of Light energy into the hollow sheath of Shadow.
It was like trying to pour liquid fire into a balloon made of smoke.
The Light energy struggled, its radiant power pushing against the walls of its dark container, threatening to rupture it at any moment.
He had to control the ratio perfectly. Too much Light, and it would explode.
Too much Shadow, and it would collapse, snuffing out the Light.
He felt the strain. His mind felt like it was being stretched to its breaking point.
He burned through his lifespan, not in a single, large burst, but in a constant, steady stream.
He used the energy to stabilize the volatile reaction, reinforcing the dark energy sheath while simultaneously compressing the light energy within it.
The process took the entire night. The small, glowing crystal in his room was the only witness to his silent, agonizing struggle.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, a physical manifestation of the immense mental effort.
His hands, resting on his knees, trembled slightly.
He had to find the perfect point of balance, the one, single state where the two opposing forces could exist together.
He pictured the concept he wanted to create. A shadow that was not an absence of light, but a vessel for it.
An attack that would appear as a silent, dark blade, but upon impact, would release a devastating, unexpected burst of pure, holy light.
It was the ultimate assassination tool, a power that disguised itself as its own opposite.
Slowly, painstakingly, as the first hints of dawn began to light up the world outside the mountain, he found it.
The two opposing energies stopped fighting. They found a state of equilibrium.
The Shadow contained the Illumination, the darkness acting as a perfect, stable prison for the light.
They were no longer two separate things. They had merged into something new.
[New Mutated Element Created: Twilight Edge]
[Description: A fusion of the Shadow property of Dark and the Illumination property of Light. Allows the user to create constructs of solidified shadow that contain a core of pure, explosive light energy.
On impact, the shadow sheath dissolves, releasing the light in a devastating, unexpected burst.]
Rhys opened his eyes. He was exhausted, but he felt a deep sense of triumph.
He raised his hand, drawing on the new power humming in his core. A small, thin blade of pure blackness formed in his palm.
It was about six inches long, and it looked like it was carved from a piece of solid shadow.
It made no sound and gave off no light.
He flicked his wrist. The small, black blade shot across the room. It flew silently, a wisp of darkness against the grey stone walls.
The moment it touched the far wall of his cavern-room, it did not make a sound of impact.
Instead, there was a brilliant flash of pure, white light and a sharp hiss, like water hitting a hot stone.
When the light faded, there was a small, deep hole in the stone, no bigger than his thumb.
The edges of the hole were glowing faintly with a residual light energy.
It was a perfect, clean puncture.
Rhys smiled. This was his new public face. He would practice controlling this new power.
In a few months, he would "awaken" his new affinity in a public setting. He would present himself as a disciple who had awakened a rare and powerful Light affinity, a "holy" power.
No one would ever suspect that his true foundation was the Void and his primary element was Darkness.
It was the perfect deception.
He heard the sound of a distant bell, its deep tone echoing through the mountain.
It was the morning call, the signal for the new disciples to gather for their first day of instruction.
He stood up.
The exhaustion from the night’s work was a dull ache in his mind, but he felt a new sense of purpose.
He changed his eyes back to a simple brown, smoothed his blue and silver robes, and put on the face of an ordinary disciple.
He unsealed the heavy stone door and stepped out into the bustling corridor of the dormitory.
He saw the other new disciples, their faces full of excitement for their first day.
He followed the crowd towards the lecture halls. The schedule he had read the night before came to his mind.
Class: Introduction to Elemental Principles.Location: Lecture Hall 7.
A small, ironic smile touched his lips.
He, a man who had bonded with every element, who had just created a new law of reality in his own room, was about to attend a class on the basics.