The heavy doors of the gravity room hissed open, venting a rush of cold air. Abraham stepped out, drenched in sweat, his breath coming in shallow bursts. His muscles ached, but pride flared in his chest—he had survived.The master stood at the edge of the platform, robes rippling in the artificial wind. "Good," he said, voice calm as still water. "You're ready for the next step. I will teach you internal energy art."Abraham's exhaustion vanished, replaced by pure joy. He dropped to the floor, folding his legs into the lotus position. This was it—the moment he'd dreamed of. Power beyond human limits. Enlightenment.But instead of sitting across from him, the master turned to a corner of the chamber. His son rolled out a massive steel device, caked with dust and streaked in dark oil. The machine groaned under its own weight, coils flickering with faint blue light.Abraham's smile faltered. "Master… what is that?""Nothing," the master replied with an eerie softness. "Just a tool to purify your body."Something cold knotted in Abraham's stomach. The metallic scent of oil burned his nose. When he instinctively tried to rise, steel clamps burst from the side of the device, locking him down by the wrists and ankles."Wait! Master!" His voice broke into panic.The master pressed a switch. Mana conduits flared to life—pale arcs of energy surged through glass tubes before plunging into Abraham's veins. His vision blurred white. Heat stabbed through every nerve.He screamed, feeling his body convulse as the mana injection drove through him—wild, searing, unstoppable. His heart pounded like a war drum, and somewhere in the haze, he thought bitterly, What kind of Murim is this…?Then came the sound of his own heartbeat drowning everything else out, until even the wind stopped breathing.
