"Hahaha, it's been a long time since I enjoyed a battle of this level."
"You have my acknowledgment, Ashen. You deserve to be my rival."
Ashen stood with difficulty, trying to recover from his wounds.
"What was that skill you used? I didn't feel a trace of energy in it, yet it was completely destructive."
"Hahaha, you want to know, Ashen? This is one of the greatest secrets of our world."
"But you… such a worthy opponent. How can someone this strong be so ignorant of many things?"
"Surely, someone of your strength must belong to a great clan, or one of the ten supreme families."
Ashen: "I don't know what you're talking about, but I don't belong to any of them."
Raizen: "Then, tell me—what was the highest level reached by the strongest person in your clan?"
Ashen, proudly: "From what I know, the strongest in our history reached the sixth realm."
Raizen, shocked: "Impossible! How can such a weak clan produce someone like you?"
Ashen: "Hah? What do you mean? Isn't reaching the rank of Blood Ancestor considered strong?"
Raizen: "The Blood Ancestor is indeed powerful on an individual level. But for an entire clan, if in all of history they only had one person at that rank, then the clan is truly weak."
"No wonder you're so ignorant. You must be a talent from some remote region."
"Alright… out of respect for your strength and for the fun of this fight, I'll reveal some secrets. But listen carefully, because these are very great secrets."
"This technique I used is not actually a technique. It is something much deeper. It is something from outside this world. After all, our world is a forbidden world. Despite being extremely powerful compared to others of the same level, being a forbidden world means it is bound by many restrictions."
Ashen: "Hah? What is a forbidden world?"
Raizen: "Wait, don't rush. I'll explain step by step."
"First, let's finish what we were talking about. What I just used is called Intent. It is the personal understanding and power of a certain path. This was my Spear Intent. The power of Intents does not originally exist in our world. To obtain it here, you either have to be a genius with monstrous comprehension, or gain extremely rare opportunities. As for me, I fall into the first case."
"And you, Ashen… I don't know if it's coincidence or talent, but you've started to touch a little of the world of Intents too."
Ashen: "Hah? What do you mean?"
Raizen: "That last transformation you went through—it contained traces of an Intent. I think it's the Savage Intent. To release such savagery and change like that, it could only be the Savage Intent. I don't know how you began to comprehend it when you're only at the first realm. Normally, people in our world only get a chance to touch Intents when they reach the beginning of the ninth realm."
Ashen, shocked: "The ninth realm? Isn't that just a legend?"
Raizen: "It might be a legend in your hometown, but in truth, many cultivators in our world have reached that level. Do you remember the throne you used to escape from the forest? That was one of the techniques of cultivators at that realm."
"But even being at that level does not mean you understand Intents. You must also be a genius with strong comprehension."
Ashen: "If it's that hard, then how did you understand it? And if the requirements are so strict, why is its power only at that level?"
Raizen laughed: "I am a special case, Ashen. You could call me a genius among geniuses. I also gained some opportunities. And as for the power of Intents—it is truly immense. What I showed you so far was only about 10% of its true power. My soul is too weak to display the full strength of even the first level of Spear Intent."
Ashen: "The first level? You mean there are other levels too?"
Raizen: "Yes. Technically, there should be 9 levels of Intent. Each one is a qualitative leap, even greater than the difference between cultivation realms. My advice, Ashen, is to try to understand the first level of an Intent before advancing to your next stage of cultivation. Your strength and comprehension will increase, and it will make Intents easier to grasp later. Also, your soul will grow stronger. Of course, saying this is much easier than doing it. But since you've already touched a bit of it, you must have relied on something. As long as you keep depending on that, you will eventually grasp it—though it will take a lot of time."
Ashen: "And why do you assume I didn't comprehend it by myself?"
Raizen: "That's impossible. There are only two options: either you relied on something, or you are a reincarnator. But your soul is too weak, and your tactics are outdated. It's impossible for you to be reincarnated."
Ashen: "Reincarnation? Isn't that just a myth?"
Raizen: "This world is far bigger and stranger than you imagine, Ashen. Reincarnation, possession, even the predecessors and the returners… they all exist here."
Ashen: "Hah? Who are the predecessors and the returners?"
Raizen: "Damn it… I shouldn't have said that. A disaster will come."
Ashen: "What do you mean?"
Gloooob gloooob gloooob…
Destructive auras from outside time and space—no, from outside history itself—struck the area.
Ashen felt death and annihilation cover him. A crack opened in the void, and from it emerged terrifying creatures the size of mountains. They looked like Krakens, but far worse.
Their upper bodies were filled with countless overlapping eyes, while their lower parts were gray tentacles that radiated pure extinction.
Raizen: "Damn it! How could I forget? These $#% creatures… I should never have told him that!"
"Damn it, Ashen! You must seal your memory, or you'll be erased from existence!"
Ashen: "Seal my memory? How? And what are these creatures? What is happening here?"
Raizen: "Damn! I forgot—there are secrets that must never be known! Anyone unworthy of them is erased. And I don't have any spell to seal your memory. Damn it, how could I forget such a thing?! Now both of us will be erased—you, for being unworthy, and me, for being the cause. Damn it! I worked so hard to get this body, and now it's gone because of one mistake!"
Suddenly, from outside this world, two enormous invisible eyes gazed down. They seemed to hold past, present, and future within them. They watched in silence, and the entire world fell still.
The wind stopped. The place stopped. Life stopped. Even time itself stopped.
Ashen, without knowing how, was lifted into the air before those gigantic eyes. Then, a ray of light covered him. It seemed as if a page of history had been erased from his mind.
Then—
Everything returned to normal. Time flowed again, wind blew, and life resumed.
The eyes vanished, and so did the mysterious creatures.
Ashen: "Hah? What were we talking about?"
Raizen: "What? Where did they go? What just happened? Don't you remember anything, Ashen?"
Ashen: "Hah? What are you talking about? Who disappeared? Have you gone mad, Raizen?"
Raizen: "It seems your depths are much greater than I thought, Ashen. Much deeper than I ever imagined."