Kyrian slowly opened his eyes.
First ca the sensation of his body, heavy, motionless, yet different.
Very different.
Then ca the sound.
The constant roar of the magma, which had once filled the entire do with its deafening voice, now seed distant.
Muffled.
As though he were hearing the volcano through a thick wall.
The oppressive heat that had once filled every inch of the chamber, making his skin burn and his lungs ache, no longer felt suffocating.
On the contrary.
It was pleasant.
Familiar.
Like returning ho after many years away.
Like rediscovering a warmth long forgotten, yet one that had always been a part of who he was.
Kyrian blinked several tis, his eyes adjusting to the do’s crimson light.
Then he noticed sothing strange.
His vision had changed.
Instinctively, he raised a hand before his face.
The reflection produced by the altar’s gleaming surface, polished by centuries of heat and energy, allowed him to see his own eyes.
They were no longer gray.
The Gray Fla Eyes, those that had appeared when he absorbed the intent of that unique fla, had vanished completely.
They seed to have been assimilated.
Now, his irises possessed a deep orange coloration, similar to the core of an ancient fla, not the ordinary orange of burning wood, but the intense orange of molten magma, of heat capable of lting stone and shaping mountains.
And at the center of each eye...
A small red fla danced slowly.
It seed alive.
It seed to possess a will of its own.
Kyrian remained motionless for several seconds.
Feeling.
Observing.
Processing.
And then he realized.
His connection to fire had changed.
No.
This was not rely a connection.
It was not the superficial control he had once possessed when he manipulated fire Qi through his eyes.
This was understanding.
The fire around him seed different.
Clearer.
Simpler.
More familiar.
As though an invisible fog had been removed from his mind, a fog he had never known existed, yet one that had limited his perception from the very first mont he touched fire Qi.
Concepts that once required effort to comprehend now felt natural.
Instinctive.
Like breathing.
Like walking.
Like opening his eyes.
The way heat spread.
The way flas danced.
The hidden pattern behind the seemingly chaotic movent of magma.
Everything made sense.
His understanding of the Path of Fire had surpassed every other path he knew.
Ice, which had once been his superior elent, now felt distant, sothing he still controlled but no longer possessed the sa affinity with.
Lightning.
Sword.
Blood.
None of them ca remotely close to the level of comprehension he felt now.
But then...
Kyrian noticed sothing even more important.
Sothing that made him freeze for a mont, his eyes widening slightly.
It was a strange sensation.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible at first.
Yet impossible to ignore.
He could feel Qi.
Not see it.
Not observe it through his eyes, that ability he had always possessed, which allowed him to visualize the flow of spiritual energy.
Not absorb it through his Innate Talent, that anomaly that allowed him to do the impossible, breaking the rules that stated mortals could not cultivate.
He could feel Qi.
Qi was everywhere.
In the air.
In the stones.
In the magma.
Inside the Fire Spirit itself.
It was like an invisible mist filling the world, not visible to the eye but tangible to perception.
Kyrian could feel its texture.
Its density.
Its temperature.
Millions of invisible particles filled the world around him.
And he could sense them clearly.
As though he had always been capable of doing so.
As though it were natural.
Kyrian’s eyes widened.
"This..."
His voice ca out low.
Disbelieving.
Almost a whisper.
For his entire life, such a thing had been impossible.
Mortals could not sense Qi.
It was a fundantal truth of the cultivation world, as basic as water being wet and fire burning.
It did not matter how much they trained.
It did not matter how much talent they possessed.
It did not matter how desperately they wished for it.
It was an absolute barrier.
An immutable truth.
And now...
It was gone.
Kyrian slowly stood up.
As though every joint, every muscle, every tendon had been lubricated and realigned.
His body responded instantly.
Light.
Agile.
Powerful.
He had never felt like this before.
It was as though every muscle had been recreated, no longer fragile, no longer limited by the mortality that had always accompanied him.
As though every fiber had been bathed in energy, strengthened by sothing that had not existed before.
As though every bone had been forged anew.
Kyrian clenched his hand.
He felt absurd strength surge through his arm, far greater than anything he had possessed previously.
The heat of the chamber no longer affected him.
He realized it consciously now.
His skin did not burn.
His lungs did not ache.
Sweat no longer flowed.
Even the magma below no longer seed threatening.
His body appeared naturally suited to that environnt.
Like a creature born from the volcano itself.
It was at that mont that the Fire Spirit was finally able to see inside him again.
The barrier created by Kyrian’s eyes, that strange white energy that had blocked all spiritual perception, had vanished.
Its spiritual sense imdiately penetrated Kyrian’s body, scanning every inch, every organ, every newly ford ridian.
Then...
The Spirit froze.
Its expression changed.
First ca surprise, a slight raising of its flaming brows.
Then shock.
Its eyes widened.
The flas within its body trembled.
Then ca complete disbelief.
Its mouth opened, but no words erged.
"Incredible..."
Its voice echoed through the do, hoarse, almost a whisper.
Kyrian turned toward it.
"What?"
The Spirit continued observing his body.
Analyzing.
Confirming what it saw.
As though searching for so mistake.
So detail that could explain what it was witnessing.
Sothing that would prove its perception was failing.
But there was none.
Finally, it spoke.
"Your body..."
A pause.
"For the first ti since I t you..."
"It is truly connected to the Heavenly Will."
Kyrian stood motionless.
The Spirit continued.
"Before, your body was a void."
"But not anymore."
"The Heavenly Bone created a connection."
The Spirit’s flaming eyes narrowed.
"No."
"It wasn’t only the Bone."
"Those eyes, the white eyes that appeared during the implantation, played a role as well."
"The two of them changed you."
Kyrian remained silent.
Watching.
Listening.
Trying to understand.
The Spirit continued its analysis, its voice calr now, more thoughtful.
"Your ridians."
"You have ridians now."
User Comments
0 comments from readers