Contrary to what one might believe, the Gods of Talruy were never mortals. Or, at least, there were no records of it anywhere. The very existence of the word "Ascendant" stemmed from a core, universal belief: that at the end of this power system lay the ability to become a God. The entire path was an ascension toward godhood.
This path of godhood was heavily dependent on the soul. And their growth made them more like mages—their bodies often remained a relative weakness, but their command over elemental abilities could become God-like. This was the general knowledge of ascendants.
The exceptions were the rare individuals who possessed an Elemental Body or a Soul Body. An Elemental Body was a passive engine of power; it continuously absorbed elemental energy, making the user physically stronger with age and practice. Alan, with his Lightning Elemental Body, was on such a path. Soul Bodies, however, were different; they granted unusual abilities, some dangerously active, others profoundly passive, like Kaelen's "Void," which enhanced his mind rather than his combat prowess.
The Ascendants were ranked from 1 to 10.
Rank 1: The Initiate State. It was called a state because Ascendants here were merely aware of elemental energy. They could perceive its nature but could not manipulate it. Their entire focus was on the Saturation of their soul with this energy and the delicate, dangerous process of compressing it to form a Soul Thread. Every soul had a maximum number of threads it could handle. To go beyond that limit was to invite soul-shattering death—a grim lesson learned by over-aspiring geniuses throughout history. This was the only rank with publicly detailed information.
Ethan was now a part of this system. Sansa, true to her efficient nature, had already taken him and Alan to the Technique Hall. It wasn't a hall of books, but a cavernous space dominated by a single, giant stele that towered four times his height. The sheer pressure radiating from it was immense—a weight that pressed not on the body, but directly on the soul. For Ethan, with his unnaturally sensitive soul, the suppression was brutal. It drove him to his knees twice, the world swimming in a haze of spiritual pressure.
But each time, he gritted his teeth and stood back up. He would not be defeated by a stone. On his third attempt, he managed to lurch forward and slap his palm against the cool, unyielding surface.
In that moment, a torrent of information flooded his mind directly from the stele. It was a Supreme Rank breathing technique, and with the knowledge came a perfect understanding. It felt less like learning and more like a skill being directly imprinted onto his consciousness.
Now, sitting in the quiet of his room, he performed the technique. His body moved through the prescribed steps with an unnerving, innate precision, as if he had been practicing it for years. "Pretty neat way of learning a technique if you ask me," he mused.
For the first few minutes, it felt like a simple guided meditation. Then, as his mind settled into a deeper calm, something shifted. The rate at which he drew ambient elemental energy into his soul didn't just increase; it multiplied. The sudden surge was so pronounced that it shocked him out of his trance.
His eyes snapped open. He lifted his hand, staring at it, flexing his fingers. "I don't feel different or stronger," he muttered. There was no rush of power, no visible change. "It's just as they say. The Initiate rank is mainly for meditation."
He let out a long, slow sigh, the initial excitement fading into the grim reality of the grind ahead. The Supreme Rank technique was clearly a monumental advantage, a high-performance engine for soul saturation. But the process itself was invisible, internal, and painstakingly slow.
"Sigh.... It's going to be boring around here for a while." He closed his eyes again, steeling himself for the long, quiet, and utterly essential work of building his foundation.
Ethan sat there for about an hour, the initial thrill of the Supreme Rank technique having faded into the mundane reality of cultivation. He finally stood up with a frustrated sigh. "Hmnnn, no matter how long I spend on this, there's no hope of reaching full saturation anytime soon." The process was efficient, but the sheer volume of energy required was staggering. He wondered, not for the first time, how individuals with lesser-rank techniques ever managed to advance. The gap between potential and actual power was a chasm.
Sansa should be here anytime soon, he thought. So for now, I'll wait.
At that moment, a knock echoed from his door. Ethan blinked, his sense of time thrown into disarray. "I'm sure I only spent a few minutes or an hour at most since I came into my room... or did I lose myself while performing that technique?" The trance-like state induced by the breathing technique was deeper than he'd anticipated.
Walking to the door, he opened it to find Alan standing there, a familiar look of restless energy on his face.
"Hey, Ethan. Is it just me, or is the technique might not have been worth all the effort Sansa put into exaggerating about it?" Alan complained, stepping inside without an invitation.
Ethan, who was momentarily shocked to see him, simply said, "Oh.. It's you." Then he registered Alan's expression. "Why the hell do you look so disappointed, though?..."
Alan's eyes lit up with mischief. "Or don't tell me you already have a thing for Sansa? I really do admire your taste, but you'll have to wait a couple of years before you can confess to a beauty like that..."
He continued talking as he walked past Ethan and plopped down on the bed, completely ignoring the way Ethan's face began to twitch.
"You... this bas... aren't you 14?" Ethan asked, an exasperated look on his face. As old as his mind was, the one thing his previous life had offered zero experience with was women, making it an immediate soft spot under attack.
"So?..." Alan drew the word out, his grin widening. "Wait, don't tell me you never had a girlfriend before? Even... as... a... noble?" He looked at Ethan as if he'd just discovered the most fascinating secret.
"I'm not going to talk about this..." Ethan said, putting on the straightest face he could muster, but it seemed less effective against a teasing teenager.
"Come on!" Alan laughed, clearly enjoying himself.
"We're both brothers at this point, right? Stuck with the same scary master, hiding from the same people... I can give you pointers!" Seeing the normally unflappable Ethan flustered was a victory in itself, a reminder that the "monster" was, in some ways, just as human as he was.
"Anyway," Ethan said, forcefully steering the conversation back to safer, more critical ground, the relief evident in his voice. "I'm glad you came. We need to talk. Seriously. Before Sansa gets here."
The playful glint in Alan's eyes faded, replaced by a look of sober understanding. He nodded, sitting up straighter on the bed. "Alright. What's on your mind?"