Location: Starforge Nexus - Training Facility | Dimensional Fold Space
Time: Subjective Morning, First Day
White circled her like a predator assessing prey.
His movements were fluid despite his massive frame—graceful in the way apex predators were graceful. Efficient. Deadly. Each step placed with absolute precision, weight distributed perfectly, balance never compromised.
Combat veteran, Jayde's tactical mind catalogued. Thousands of hours of experience. Maybe tens of thousands. Possibly immortal or near-immortal given Luminari technology. Knows exactly how to hurt people and has no qualms about doing so.
(He's terrifying,) Jade whimpered.
Yes. Which means we listen. And learn. And survive.
They stood in the training facility's main arena—the central sparring area with reinforced flooring designed to absorb impact. Around them, the space was empty except for weapon racks, training equipment, and the ever-present bioluminescent glow painting everything in soft blues and greens.
"Strip the armor," White commanded.
Jayde blinked. "What?"
"The leather armor. Off. I need to see what I'm working with." His steel-grey eyes narrowed. "Unless you're shy? In which case, too bad. Modesty has no place in my arena."
Jayde hesitated, then began removing the armor. The leather pieces came off easily enough—she'd made them hastily, without proper fasteners. Underneath, her borrowed clothing from the old man's chest: simple shirt and pants, both too large, cinched with rope.
"Those too," White said. "Down to undergarments. I need to assess the baseline."
He's not being creepy, Jayde's Federation experience noted. This is clinical. Like a medical examination. He needs to see muscle development, joint alignment, and skeletal structure.
She stripped down to the basic underclothes—simple wrappings and linen shorts. Stood there in the arena's center, feeling exposed and vulnerable.
White circled again.
His eyes tracked every detail: the visible ribs from malnutrition, the extensive scarring from years of abuse, the poorly healed bones that had set wrong, the stunted growth from developmental deprivation. He noted muscle attachments, postural alignment, the way she favored her left leg slightly, and the tension in her shoulders.
"Terrible," he pronounced finally. "Absolutely terrible. Whoever raised you did everything wrong." He stepped closer, prodding her shoulder with one massive finger. "Malnourished. Underdeveloped. Chronic stress damage. Multiple poorly healed injuries. Your spine has a slight curvature—probably from carrying unbalanced loads during formative years. Your left knee shows old trauma. And your hands—"
He grabbed her right hand, examining it.
"Calluses in the wrong places. You've been doing hard labor, but without proper technique. Wrists are weak. Finger joints show early arthritis from repetitive stress." He released her hand. "You're a disaster."
Thanks. Really feeling the motivation here.
"But," White continued, "you're alive. Which means you're a survivor. And survivors can be forged into something useful." He gestured. "Show me your combat stance. Whatever you know. Don't hold back."
Jayde shifted into position automatically. Federation close-quarters combat stance: feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, weight on the balls of her feet, hands up and ready. Body angled to present the smallest target profile.
White's eyebrows rose.
"Interesting. Not Doha style. Not any cultivation school I recognize." He circled her again. "Military? You move like you've had formal training."
"Federation combat doctrine," Jayde said. "Sixty years of experience."
"Sixty years crammed into that child's body." White prodded her spine, adjusting her posture slightly. "Your mind knows the moves. Your body can't execute them. Watch."
He stepped back. "Perform a spinning back kick. Full power. Target the practice dummy."
Jayde looked at the training dummy—man-sized, padded, mounted on a spring base for impact absorption. Maybe fifteen feet away.
Easy. Basic technique. Pivot on left foot, chamber right leg, snap-release into circular motion, full hip rotation, heel strike at head height.
She moved.
Or tried to.
Her body executed the pivot—that part worked. Muscle memory from Jade's slave years, at least she could turn. The chamber motion started correctly, bringing her right knee up.
Then everything fell apart.
Her balance wavered. The hip rotation stuttered. The kick extended but without proper power, without the whip-crack speed that made the technique dangerous. Her heel barely grazed the dummy's shoulder before her supporting leg buckled, and she crashed to the floor.
Hard.
"There it is," White said, not unkindly. "Your mind issued commands your body can't fulfill. The disconnect will get you killed faster than any enemy." He offered a hand, pulling her upright effortlessly. "Your Federation consciousness expects enhanced strength, superior agility, optimized reflexes. Your current body provides none of that. Until you learn its limits—accept them, adapt to them—you'll keep failing."
He's right. Damn him, but he's right.
"More," White commanded. "Five consecutive forward strikes. Punches. Maximum speed."
Jayde threw the punches.
One-two-three-four-five, rapid-fire combination, the kind of speed that would've been blurred motion in her Federation body.
Here, it was slow. Awkward. Each punch telegraphed, each movement inefficient, power bleeding off through poor form and weak muscles.
"Terrible," White pronounced. "Again. Fifty times."
She threw fifty punches.
Her arms screamed by number thirty. Burned by number forty. Number fifty hit the dummy with all the force of a child slapping a pillow.
"Endurance: pathetic," White noted clinically. "Now run. Perimeter of the arena. As fast as you can. Until you collapse."
Jayde ran.
The arena was maybe seventy feet on each side—call it three hundred feet around the perimeter. She made it six laps before her legs gave out. Six laps. Less than a quarter mile.
In the Federation, she could sprint for five miles without breaking a sweat.
This body is a prison. Weak. Limited. Broken.
"Forty-two seconds before collapse," White announced. "That's your baseline. Remember it. Because tomorrow, you'll do better. And the day after, better still. Or you'll die trying."
(I can't do this,) Jade whimpered. (It hurts. Everything hurts.)
Pain is temporary. Weakness is—
"Weakness is permanent unless you fix it," White said, apparently reading her expression. "Get up."
Jayde struggled to her feet.
"Now," White said, his expression shifting to something almost eager, "let's talk about the Divine Eightfold Lock. Because understanding what was done to you is critical to undoing it."
He gestured, and another crystal interface manifested—this one showing diagrams. Anatomical representations of the human body, with the Crucible Core highlighted in the lower abdomen.
"Cultivation basics," White began, in the tone of someone delivering a lecture they'd given a thousand times. "The Crucible Core is located here—" He pointed at the diagram. "—below the navel, behind the intestines, in a dimensional pocket that exists slightly sideways to physical reality. It's where Ember Qi is stored and processed. Where essence is refined. Where power accumulates."
The diagram rotated, showing energy pathways.
"Meridians connect the core to the rest of your body. They're like circuits—or veins, if you prefer the biological metaphor. Ember Qi flows from the core through the meridians to the limbs, organs, and brain. That flow is what enables cultivation techniques, physical enhancement, and magical weaving."
The diagram zoomed in on the core itself.
And showed eight layers. Eight distinct barriers, each glowing with different colors: red, blue, green, grey, silver, white, gold, black.
"The Divine Eightfold Lock," White said, "is eight separate seals stacked concentrically around your core. Like nested boxes. Each seal corresponds to one of the eight essences. Each layer must be opened individually to grant access to that essence's power."
Inferno—red layer—outermost.
Torrent—blue layer—second.
Verdant—green layer—third.
Terracore—grey layer—fourth.
Metallurge—silver layer—fifth.
Galebreath—white layer—sixth.
Radiance—gold layer—seventh.
Voidshadow—black layer—innermost, directly against the core itself.
"Why this order?" Jayde asked.
"Difficulty and danger," White explained. "Inferno is most straightforward to unlock—it requires physical foundation and basic pain tolerance. Each subsequent layer demands more: greater strength, deeper understanding, harder trials. Voidshadow, the innermost layer, is the most difficult and dangerous. Many who attempt it die or worse—corruption, madness, soul fragmentation."
Eight trials. Eight power-ups. Eight opportunities to fail catastrophically.
"The lock was designed," White continued, "during the era when gods walked this universe. Back when cultivation wasn't just about power—it was about worthiness. Each layer tests not just strength but character. Inferno tests courage and pain tolerance. Torrent tests emotional control. Verdant tests patience and growth mindset. And so on."
"Who placed this on me?" Jayde asked. "And why?"
"The 'who' is someone with access to lost knowledge," White said. "Possibly a temple elder, possibly a hidden sect master, possibly someone with divine-era artifacts. The 'why' is more interesting." He met her eyes. "The Divine Eightfold Lock isn't a curse. It's a chrysalis."
Silence.
"Whoever sealed you," White said softly, "wasn't trying to cripple you. They were trying to create something unprecedented. Someone who could master all eight essences, not just one or two. Someone who would be forced to build a perfect foundation before accessing any power. Someone who, when fully unlocked, would be—"
"Stronger than any normal cultivator," Jayde finished.
"Exponentially stronger. Each essence amplifies the others. Most cultivators have an affinity for one, maybe two essences. You'll have eight. All unlocked through trials that ensure you earn every ounce of power. No shortcuts. No borrowed strength. Just pure, forged capability."
That's... actually impressive. Evil, but impressive.
"However," White said, his expression darkening, "there's a catch. A significant one."
Of course there is.
"If you die before unlocking all eight layers, the seal becomes permanent. Your soul—both your current soul and whatever reincarnation you might have—will carry the lock forward. Forever. Locked away from cultivation across infinite lifetimes."
(That's horrible!)
"That's insurance," White corrected. "To ensure whoever received the seal took it seriously. To guarantee they'd fight tooth and nail to unlock every layer before death claimed them. It's brutal, yes. But effective."
"So I have to unlock all eight," Jayde said slowly, "or be trapped forever."
"Correct. Which is why we start immediately. Why we don't waste time. Why I'm going to push you until you break, then rebuild you stronger, then break you again." White smiled—that predatory expression that promised pain. "Because your life literally depends on getting stronger."
"When can we unlock the first layer?"
"Not yet," White said firmly. "Isha could do it now—he has the knowledge and power. But your body would reject the sudden influx of Ember Qi. Your meridians would rupture. Your organs would cook from internal heat. You'd survive maybe three days before dying in agony."
Wonderful imagery. Really selling the dream here.
"We need six to eight weeks," White continued. "Six weeks minimum, eight weeks to be safe. Every day, we train. Every session, we push your limits. Every night, you recover in medicinal baths that repair the damage and strengthen your foundation. Slowly. Carefully. Building the infrastructure necessary to handle power without destroying yourself."
"What exactly happens during these training sessions?"
White's smile widened.
"Everything. Endurance training until you collapse. Strength training until your muscles tear. Flexibility training until joints scream. Combat drills until the technique becomes reflex. Mental conditioning until your will is iron. Pain tolerance exercises until you can function through agony that would break normal people."
He stepped closer, looming over her.
"I'm going to hurt you. Every single day. More than you've ever hurt before. More than the slave pits. More than the Xi Corporation training camps. More than anything you've experienced in either lifetime." His grey eyes bored into hers. "And you're going to thank me for it. Because every day you survive my training is a day closer to unlocking your power. Every session you endure is another step toward freedom."
Federation training was brutal. But at least it had some limitations—it couldn't permanently damage valuable assets. This...
"No limits?" Jayde asked quietly.
"None. Except death. I'll push you to the brink—the very edge of what your body can tolerate—but never over. The medicinal baths will heal you. The time dilation gives us extra hours for recovery. And your dual consciousness means you have twice the mental fortitude of normal contractors."
White gestured to the far wall, where Jayde noticed—for the first time—a large basin. Maybe ten feet across, three feet deep, carved from stone and filled with dark liquid that steamed gently.
"That's where you'll spend every evening," White said. "The medicinal bath. Contains extracts from hundreds of herbs—red blossom lotus, ember moss, dragon grass, and dozens of others. Plus blood essence from spirit beasts: shadowbeasts, taurussoos, fire-tailed stallions, anything with strong Ember Qi."
"Blood essence?"
"The spiritual power contained in beast blood. Carefully extracted, properly preserved, mixed with herbs to create a healing solution more effective than any pill or potion." White's expression turned serious. "The bath serves three purposes. First, healing—repairs muscle tears, bone microfractures, tendon damage, anything we break during training. Second, strengthening—each session slightly improves your physical foundation, builds density into bones, and enhances muscle fiber. Third, adaptation—teaches your body to handle Ember Qi exposure in controlled doses, preparing meridians for eventual cultivation."
(That doesn't sound so bad,) Jade ventured hopefully.
"The bath," White said flatly, "hurts worse than the training. The herbs burn. The blood essence feels like fire in your veins. Your body fights the changes, resists the improvement. You'll scream the first few times."
Of course. Why would anything be easy?
"But," White continued, "the more drained you are from training—the more damaged, the more exhausted, the more broken—the more effectively the bath works. Your body becomes desperate for resources, hungry for anything that aids recovery. So it absorbs the medicinal properties more completely. Heals faster. Grows stronger."
He smiled that predatory smile again.
"Which is why I push you to absolute collapse. Why I drain you completely. Why I break you down as thoroughly as possible before each bath session. Because maximum damage equals maximum healing. Maximum healing equals maximum foundation improvement. Maximum improvement equals faster path to unlocking your seal."
The logic is sound. Brutal, but sound.
"Six to eight weeks of this," Jayde said. "Every day."
"Every day. No breaks. No mercy. No exceptions." White's eyes gleamed. "Six days inside the Nexus equals one day in Doha, thanks to time dilation. So, forty-two to fifty-six training days will pass in seven to nine external days. Your clan hunters won't even reach the mid ring before you've completed foundation training."
"And after eight weeks?"
"After eight weeks, your body will be ready. Isha will unseal the first layer—Inferno. You'll gain access to fire essence, basic cultivation techniques, and the ability to begin actively strengthening yourself through Ember Qi instead of just physical training." White's expression grew serious. "That's when the real journey begins. When you stop being a Voidforge pretending to cultivate and become an actual cultivator. When you take your first real step on the path to power."
Jayde stood there, processing everything.
Eight weeks of torture. Daily sessions of being broken and rebuilt. Pain beyond anything she'd experienced. All to prepare for unlocking a seal that would grant her access to power she didn't understand, through systems she barely comprehended, in a world that wanted her dead.
No choice. Stay weak, die hunted. Get strong, maybe survive.
"When do we start?" she asked.
White's smile could've cut glass.
"Right now."