The wind at the top was subdued tonight.
Vaen was seated cross-legged in his usual position before the narrow cliff face of his cave, eyes half-closed. His breathing was sluggish, steady, as the feeble waves of a forsaken tide. Tenebris Energy within… it churned.
The cave was chillier than it should be, the shadows blacker than they had any reason to be. Outside, no insects sang, no wind blew across the entrance. The world itself seemed to hold its breath at what was to be.
This was it.
Months spent refining crude Tenebris Energy. Days spent restraining the raging torrent of Tenebris Energy beneath his skin. All movements of energy carefully in tandem with the Tenebris Energy Path. Even when the old man did not even know what Tenebris was, the abilities still helped him along with his transformation.
"First stability, then power."
What Mortis had taught him.
And that lesson had been more valuable than any scroll of ancient lore.
Tonight, Vaen felt it. The moment. That strange, dream-like moment when the world around him came to a stop, and his body began to shed its current form. He was a broken husk, waiting to crack open.
"Let's begin," he whispered in his heart.
The Luminous Heart of him blazed with Tenebris energy. Dark energy whirled like a black sun within his dantian. Filaments of cleansed Tenebris Energy. Each sharp and unyielding, wrapped around it, forming a matrix that began to glow dark purple.
His body trembled. Not from weakness, but from pressure.
The Luminous Heart burned brighter, darker. His meridians expanded, quivering as the Tenebris Energy flowed through his body. Muscles screamed. Skin burned. Bones creaked.
Then,
Crack!
A cloud of darkness erupted from him.
His body slammed back, wind knocked from his chest. The cave shook for a moment. Loose rocks cascaded from the ceiling.
He didn't move. Not for minutes. He simply lay there, panting. Gazing at a thin thread of smoky, dark violet steam rising from his skin.
But when he did finally sit up…
He was more powerful.
Everything seemed more defined.
More attuned.
More… correct.
He chuckled curtly, swiping the blood on his nose away. "So this is what it's like… Rank 2. Obsidian Flow."
The title fits now. The energy inside him didn't just ripple. It flowed, deep and thick as molten obsidian. No longer uncontrolled. It was a current he could manage.
The shadows around him slumped a little, as if they were also acknowledging the shift.
He rose, sword ready, and swung it once.
A ribbon of black light cut across the air, curving like a serpent.
"Not bad," he panted.
Not bad at all.
And then….
The phoenix and dragon jade softly glowed from within his robes. Something came before his eyes.
---
[SYSTEM WINDOW]
Name: Vaen of Dravidian
Affiliation: Captain, Special Corp, Eastern Field Army, Dark Unification Army || Low Ranking Member, House of Dravidian
Cultivation Technique: Tenebris Energy Path
Cultivation Rank: Rank 2 – Obsidian Flow
Energy Reserve: Low ( Purified Rank 2)
Energy Mastery: Neophyte (Mid)
Skills:
– Void Absorption
– Shadow Veil
– Tenebris Reinforcement
– Phantom Fang Slash (Slash of Nightfall: First Form)
Weapon: Tenebris-Infused Sword (Enhanced)
Merit Points: 195
[Store] | [Message] | [Mission]
---
Vaen stared at the screen, a tired grin forming on his lips.
"Mid Neophyte, huh? Guess I'm finally getting somewhere."
He closed the window and walked to the edge of the cliff. Below him, mist rose over the sleeping desert.
The following day, the old man would probably make him meditate for 16 hours again.
But tonight? He was going to enjoy this small slice of progress.
The shadows danced gently about him, as if they said: Welcome to Obsidian Flow.