Core Alignment
A haunting hush filled the chamber, thick enough to feel.
Time itself seemed to hold its breath. Charlemagne Ziglar sat cross-legged in his late mother's secret sanctum. The Aetheric Crystal Core of the Dual Ascendant was cradled in his lap. Its gentle, cool pulse against his skin was a silent echo of the cosmic power within.
For eight hours, he stayed perfectly still. His breath settled into a steady rhythm: inhale, hold, exhale, repeating over and over, keeping him grounded in patience.
He guided fresh Qi through his healing meridians, coaxing energy from his wounded dantian. The crystal answered with a subtle warmth, steady and reassuring.
[SIGMA: Biofeedback within acceptable parameters. Core resonance is steady. 31% of Qi-Mana has been harmonized. For optimal fusion outcome, maintain a meditative state.]
Though his eyes were shut, his inner vision blazed with life.
The crystal glowed brighter beneath his touch. Violet flames danced with onyx smoke and white-gold lightning, weaving together. Mana, once unruly, now moved in harmony with the crystal. It was no longer at odds with his depleted Qi.
His nerves still ached, but now it was the ache of healing, not torment.
As if bones were knitting themselves whole.
As if fragile glass was reforged into steel.
As if death itself faded with every breath he drew.
[SIGMA (measured, technical): Core Infusion progress confirmed. Elemental compatibility stabilizing. Fire: 41%, Lightning: 38%, Earth: 26%, Darkness: 47%. Secondary Affinities remain inaccessible.]
His body calmed, the trembling gone, though sweat still clung to his skin. Without noticing, he sat up straighter, feeling steadier, stronger, and completely focused.
His thoughts, once scattered, now gathered in focus.
He steadied himself, senses sharpened by focus.
He was no longer Charles Vale, the ruthless corporate warlord, nor the shattered Charlemagne Ziglar who had endured his family's icy halls. Only faint echoes of his father lingered now.
He flexed his fingers, closing them around the core as it floated, weightless, above his palm.
He murmured, "I'm not just a guest in this world anymore."
[SIGMA: You have progressed from a useless porcelain aristocrat to a marginally less useless novice cultivator. If more encouraging commentary is preferred, update my personality module.]
Charles snorted.
[Since soul fusion, your sarcasm output has gone up by 18%.]
"Yours has grown like a cockroach in the middle of a nuclear winter."
[Touché.]
He rose up, and this time his joints cracked with pleasure. His muscles were getting stronger again. The core returned to its reinforced crystal pouch, now tied to his soul. He could feel it in his mind, like an engine waiting to start.
The Gauntlet Trial
Within the case, the gauntlet slumbered, silent and still.
The gauntlet was made of dragonhide with obsidian in it. There were whirling lines on its surface that stood for fire, lightning, earth, and darkness. It seemed like it had been made in the center of a fading star, hidden in the dark.
Charles grabbed it.
As soon as his fingertips contacted the leather, the gauntlet woke up.
A wave of heat shot up his arm, making him feel better instead of burning. The obsidian shone as elemental energy flowed through its carved veins.
Then it said something.
Not in words. In feeling.
Strength. In there. Waiting. Listening for him.
He put it on his right hand.
And then, when an invisible lock unlocked, something clicked.
Elemental energy flowed through the gauntlet's channels, causing Charles's arm to twitch. He made a fist, and fire leapt up in response.
A flash of purple fire spread across the surface of the gauntlet.
He blinked, surprised by what he saw.
"Flame of violet? That isn't normal elemental fire.
Then, finally, the dark.
He hesitated. Then channeled.
Shadow clung to his fingers, spreading like ink in water while a cold shiver swept through his arm.
He moved, and the shadow trailed him, a half-second behind, leaving a ghostly afterimage. [SIGMA (precise, explanatory): Technique acquired: Shadow Strike Level 1. User creates a temporal shadow to disrupt the enemy's reaction time. Reduces light defense, confuses reactive senses.]
Charles let out a sharp breath, sweat beading on his brow as he gazed in awe.
This was no mere tool.
This was a test, his mother's legacy now evolving at its first stage: the Ashen Hand.
Like his mother's legacy, the gauntlet was meant to change and grow. The Ashen Hand was only the beginning. As he moved through the Foundation Realm, he and the gauntlet would change at the same time.
The study chamber vibrated faintly. Its infrastructure included a Grade 3 Defensive Array, which prevented structural damage from anything with a Tier 4 explosive force or lower. Training approved. To minimize artifact interference, combat simulation room usage is recommended.
[SIGMA: Detected hidden passageway behind the study shelf. Open passage?]
Charles raised a brow.
[SIGMA: Trigger detected. Mechanism: third shelf, seventh book—The Embersteel Campaign Chronicles. Pull the book spine halfway. Proceed?]
He followed SIGMA's instructions, reaching for the old leather-bound tome. As he pulled it halfway, a soft click sounded.
The bookshelf moved to the side, revealing a spiral stone staircase that was lit by pale glyphs carved into the walls.
There was a secret training room waiting for him at the bottom.
There were runic arrays on the walls of the room, including barrier glyphs, energy dampeners, and elemental regulators. It looked like a small coliseum carved out of the ground under the East Wing. His mother had made it for him to train for personal combat.
He stepped in.
The Blade That Hungers for Power
The training chamber shimmered with residual heat, violet flames flickering across the stone floor where Charles had completed his final strike. He exhaled slowly, his breath catching in the charged air. Fatigue weighed on his shoulders and arms after hours spent channeling power through the Gauntlet of the Ashen Hand.
Yet his gaze locked onto the pedestal at the far end of the chamber.
There, wrapped in a cocoon of obsidian light, stood the third and final relic his mother had left him:
The Infernal Eclipse Blade.
Its aura filled the room, subtle but clearly very old. The pedestal was full of power, and black runes swirled like liquid shadow over its surface. Charles walked up slowly, taking his time with each step. SIGMA's voice echoed clearly within three meters.
[SIGMA: Artifact status: Legendary class. Lock active. Unlock condition: Cultivator must reach Core Realm Tier 1. Current: Foundation Realm Rank 2. Unlocking not permitted.]
He stopped.
So close. And yet, so far away.
The surface of the blade pulsed, and molten violet flickered along its edge like a flame. It took in light instead of bouncing it back. The weapon looked more like condensed void than forged steel, and it was surrounded by chaotic energy like flickering fire, crackling lightning, and dormant earth. Charles reached out his hand almost without thinking.
The blade didn't reject him.
But it didn't welcome him either.
It waited, patient and inscrutable.
[SIGMA Analysis: Weapon: Infernal Eclipse Blade.
Type: Legendary.
The original material is Celestial Voidstone Core, which has been improved with fused elemental runes.
Fire (Violet Flame), Dark, Lightning, and Earth are among the things this person likes.
State of the Spirit: Dormant.
The main condition for binding is that the Core Realm must advance. Secondary features will stay hidden until soul resonance is reached.
Overview: The Infernal Eclipse Blade is more than just a weapon. It is a tool for growing things. A crucible. The user can improve their elemental affinity by training with this blade, which resonates directly with their spirit. When it is unlocked, it will connect with the cultivator's soul and act as both a weapon and an amplifier.]
Charles frowned, deep in thought.
It was a key—
A door. A test.
He reached out again, not to pick up the knife, but to feel the air around it. The pressure was real, like storm clouds gathering. His gauntlet shook slightly, as if it knew what was inside the weapon.
He said, "Not yet, huh?" "Then I'll make you wait." "Just a little bit longer."
[Note: The weapon is locked, but the first tests for synchronization can start. SIGMA suggests that meditation with the blade's aura can help with basic elemental harmonization.
Charles sat with his legs crossed and the gauntlet on his lap. He took a deep breath and focused on the swirling essence around the blade instead of the blade itself.
First came the dark part.
Shadows moved toward him, and ink-like tendrils brushed the edge of his aura. They weren't too much for him; his Shadow Strike training had prepared him for this.
Then came the fire.
Hot. Wild. Ravenous.
This was no ordinary fire, but Violet Flame—the soul-burning essence he now carried in his gauntlet. It hovered at the edge of his mind, demanding attention. Charles welcomed it, letting the heat blend with his breath.
Lightning surged next.
Electric thoughts and reflexes surged through him, flashes of vision firing like bolts through his nerves. His heart skipped, then steadied as his aura briefly spiked before stabilizing.
And finally, Earth.
The earth element grounded him, solid and unwavering. It did not burn or sting; it simply was. In that stillness, Charles found his anchor.
He sat like that, thinking for almost an hour.
He let the elemental resonance sink deep into his core.
[Update on Progress:
Elemental Affinity Strengthening: +9% Dark, +7% Fire, +6% Lightning, +8% Earth
Blade Synchronization: 14% compatibility reached (only in passive state)
Feedback on cultivation: The aura stabilization is getting better. At the current rate, the Core Realm should move forward in six to eight weeks.]
The glow of the blade had changed when he opened his eyes. It was subtle to anyone else, but clear to him.
It had seen him.
Not accepted.
Not yet, not fully.
But noticed.
[SIGMA: Cultivation suggestion — continue alternating gauntlet physical training with elemental meditative cycles near the Infernal Eclipse Blade. Projected Core Realm breakthrough will allow full synchronization.]
Charles stood, brushing ash from his knees. He offered the blade a final glance and bowed his head.
"Soon," he whispered. "You and I will dance in fire." He turned away, firelight trailing from his gauntlet like a comet's tail.
There were scrolls to read, tomes to study, and elemental paths yet to explore.
To unlock the weapon's true power, he would have to earn it.
With sweat.
With fire.
With blood.
And he would, no matter the cost.
Was it the White Lion's curse that drove him?
It would become the North's greatest weapon—his legacy forged in fire and shadow.