The light swallowed them whole.
Daniel felt weightless, like falling through endless skies. His lightning essence shuddered inside him, expanding and contracting as if it couldn't decide whether to break apart or evolve. Mira's voice echoed somewhere behind him—a whisper drowned in the roar of shifting space.
Then came silence.
When he opened his eyes, they stood beneath a vast, fractured sky. Streams of essence flowed through the air like rivers of light—blue lightning, golden dust, and black mist intertwining in endless spirals. The ground beneath their feet was made of crystal and soil, glowing faintly with runes that pulsed in rhythm with their breaths.
"This…" Mira whispered. "It's not a world. It's a memory."
David knelt, pressing his palm to the luminous floor. "No. It's alive. The entire realm is circulating essence—it's… breathing."
Daniel looked up. Mountains floated in the distance, their peaks wreathed in storm clouds that flashed with ancient power. The air hummed with pressure. Every inhalation filled his body with more energy than he could control.
Lightning crackled across his arms. His aura flickered wildly. "The essence… it's too dense."
Before either Mira or David could respond, the energy around them surged. It flooded into their bodies, bypassing resistance, saturating every vein and cell.
David gritted his teeth, sigils burning across his chest. "It's forcing a breakthrough!"
Mira staggered backward, shadows swirling around her like smoke alive. "Then we don't fight it. Let it shape us!"
Daniel sank to one knee, closing his eyes. The Codex within his soul opened like a book catching fire. Pages of light turned in silence, recording every pulse of essence that entered him. The air grew hot, electric—his lightning roared, no longer tame but primal.
He could hear the whispers of the realm—voices like distant thunder.
> "Child of the Storm… you walk the path of those before."
Lightning erupted from his back, forming wings of pure energy. The earth beneath him cracked, yet no destruction came—only renewal. The grass glowed brighter, the air thickened, and the lightning fused perfectly with the world's rhythm.
[Essence Refinement — 8th Layer Achieved.]
The Codex burned that message across his mind before dimming.
When he opened his eyes again, the world looked different. Every flicker of light had a pulse, every breeze carried emotion. He could see how energy moved between earth and sky—the breathing of creation itself.
Nearby, Mira's transformation was just as fierce. The shadows around her had turned liquid, flowing like ink in water. Her aura wasn't dark anymore—it shimmered, a fusion of twilight and moonlight.
Her eyes opened, gleaming with silver light. "I can see the echoes of energy… the paths people take before they move."
She stood taller, her essence steady and sharp. The air around her trembled, not from power—but control.
[Essence Refinement — 9th Layer Achieved.]
David roared suddenly, both arms outstretched. Golden runes spiraled around him, merging into vast geometric patterns that rotated above his head. His essence flooded the ground, making the entire realm respond with a low hum.
The crystal floor beneath him split open, revealing molten veins of radiant energy that surged upward into his body. His tattoos blazed so brightly they looked carved from the sun itself.
When the light faded, he stood breathing hard, eyes glowing gold.
[Essence Refinement — 9th Layer Achieved.]
For a moment, none of them spoke. The realm around them calmed, as if watching.
Mira looked to Daniel. "You felt it too, didn't you? The voice."
Daniel nodded slowly. "Yeah. It called me… 'Child of the Storm.' Like it knew me."
David glanced toward the floating mountains. "Then maybe this wasn't random. The Guardian led us here for a reason."
Daniel took a slow step forward. With every movement, the runes beneath his feet flared softly, responding to him—as though the world recognized his presence. "The ancient who built this place was a Core Formation master. His legacy's energy lingers. Maybe it's testing who's worthy to inherit it."
Thunder rolled across the fractured sky, low and distant. Bolts of silver lightning danced between the clouds, illuminating ancient symbols that faded as quickly as they appeared.
Mira tilted her head. "Do you see that?"
The runes in the clouds rearranged themselves, forming a spiral sigil that pointed toward the mountains. From that direction, a massive pulse of energy rippled through the realm—pure, raw, and unrestrained.
David smiled faintly. "Looks like we've got our direction."
But Daniel didn't move. He was staring at his hands, lost in the rhythm of his new power. For the first time, his communion with the world wasn't just hearing—it was feeling. He could touch the flow of energy without moving a muscle, sense the slightest shift in the wind's mood, the faintest tremor beneath the surface.
He closed his eyes again. The realm spoke—not in words, but in emotion. Calm. Patience. Expectation.
When he opened them, lightning pulsed in harmony with his heartbeat. "The realm itself… it's guiding us. The ancient one left echoes. If we move in sync with the flow, it'll open the path."
Mira smirked, spinning her daggers idly. "Then let's follow the current."
David nodded, runes forming at his feet as he walked. "If this is the trial of inheritance, then the real test starts now."
The three of them began their ascent toward the distant mountains. The air shimmered with shifting colors—storms of essence twisting above, rivers of molten light running beside them.
With each step, the world reshaped subtly—trees of crystal growing from nowhere, bridges forming underfoot just before they would have fallen. It wasn't a place built for mortals; it was alive, adjusting itself to their rhythm.
Daniel raised his head toward the sky. For a moment, he thought he saw a figure within the storm—tall, cloaked in lightning, watching silently.
Then it vanished.
He didn't mention it to the others.
They walked on, their footsteps echoing through the glowing realm, hearts pounding with awe and anticipation. The storm whispered again, faint and distant, almost reverent.
> "The heirs walk the path once more."
Lightning streaked across the horizon, illuminating their faces. The trial of the Legacy Realm had begun.