The world noticed.
At first, it was subtle, a stillness that swept across the land like the moment before a storm breaks.
The air fell silent. The few lifeforms there were stopped their chittering. The wind held its breath.
And then, it began.
The air thickened, humming with pressure and anticipation.
It shimmered, like heat rising from sun-scorched sand, but colder, sharper.
Every particle seemed to vibrate, tuned now to a new frequency.
A singular bolt of lightning crackled soundlessly in the sky, and wind spun in place, directionless, seeking command.
Then came the change in reality itself.
It was as though the world's fabric had been tugged, pulled taut, and then twisted.
Space seemed to bend around Kyle, the source of the pulse, light warped, colors bled into each other, and shadows trembled without movement.
Time itself stuttered, blinking forward and backward in the span of a heartbeat.
And at the center of it all, something new was born.
Not divine. Not monstrous.
Just… other.
A force that did not belong, yet now was.
The world watched. And it remembered.
Dark clouds gathered above the red skies.
And then, as if weeping, in a silent wail, rain started pouring down, and the shimmering lights dispersed.
Kyle opened his eyes, and seeing the scene around him, he wondered, 'Is this a manifestation of my power?'
The light rain pattered steadily on the jagged stones as Kyle stood there quietly. He felt oddly at peace with the rain pouring down on him, drenching his clothes.
His eyes slowly regained their light blue color, but they were now silvering at the edges.
His hair, which was usually a dark black color, gained a silver sheen, mostly to the strands on the surface of his head; the strands underneath mostly kept their black color, or the silver hue was just covered.
Even though he would not be able to see the change in his appearance without taking a look in the mirror, Kael could feel the changes in his body.
He could immediately feel that there was something different about his body. It felt sturdier, stronger, and his perception of the world felt different.
If before, looking at these raindrops and all he could see was a blur of falling water, now, it was as if he was staring at the raindrops falling in slow motion.
Every raindrop seemed to whisper to him as it hit the ground in a Pat! Pat! sound, it was like looking at fragments of something bigger, a whole piece that had dissolved into droplets.
Maybe that is why he felt at peace, because he was looking at the world from a different perspective.
The world around lay hushed, the only sound was the falling rain, the ground was drenched in a red-gray palette, pierced only by the erratic flickers of storm-lit shapes overhead.
Kyle pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the steady pulse beneath his ribs, "My core is now synced to the rhythm of my heart."
Meanwhile...
Nuna stared at Kyle, her mouth agape, as she watched the incredible scene unfolding before her.
She had seen many things in her time as a cultivator, witnessed countless displays of power and Qi manipulation from stronger beings.
But nothing like this.
'It's like he has a unique body constitution. Nothing else can explain something like this.' The only one who would know for sure is Kyle himself, or someone with internal sight.
The way the very fabric of reality seemed to warp and twist around him, the shimmering distortion of space and time, the silent lightning crackling overhead like a tribulation waiting to happen, except no tribulation came.
It was like the heavens were acknowledging him... It was both terrifying and mesmerizing.
As a foundation establishment expert, Nuna understood some of the intricacies of Qi, the life force that flowed through all living things.
She herself was even more sensitive to Qi than most core formation experts. But what she was witnessing now went beyond mere Qi manipulation.
This was something else entirely. Something primordial, ancient, and untamed. A raw, primal force that defied categorization or explanation.
And yet, despite the chaos swirling around him, Kyle stood there calmly, almost peacefully, as if he belonged amidst the raging storm. As if he were one with it.
Nuna felt a strange mixture of emotions - awe, excitement, confusion, and something akin to reverence.
This was a turning point, a pivotal moment that would undoubtedly shape the future course of their journey.
And he stood at the center of it all—her man.
She smiled.
Kyle was still lost in his own little world. He could still feel the effects of the breakthrough in his body.
It was like an overdose of adrenaline pumping through his body.
He exhaled casually, and the world responded.
The rain recoiled, pulling away in taut rivulets, vertical, like curtains drawn aside. And then the clouds receded, the downpour vanishing in a second.
A ring of dry ground circled him, kind of like a domain of his control, where even moisture dared not intrude.
"Wow, I can get drunk in this power, if I'm not careful, this feeling, it's intoxicating."
Standing there, Kyle understood two things clearly: first, this power was more than something foreign; it was now an extension of himself, like a fifth limb added to his body.
"Perfecting my control will probably take time, but I have always been very patient in all that I do. I will dedicate myself to mastering this new power I have gained."
He stepped forward toward Nuna, and the ground beneath him rippled like water. Each footfall shaped reality, furrowing indents in the soil. He focused, his heart pounding with exhilarating force.
Kyle frowned, visibly annoyed by the effect his power seemed to have on the environment.
You would think that causing this much change in the external environment would be a sign of the kind of raw strength contained in his body, but he knew better: " A clear lack of control." He muttered, "I need to at least tone it down, or contain it."
Closing his eyes, Kyle calmed his raging heart and, visually, reached out to his core and dantians.
He imagined the energy leaking into his body from the core, meridians, and dantians. No, he felt it, and then, using his willpower, he compressed it back into the core, and dantians and imagined putting a lid on it.
Next, he calmly let the energy slowly filter out in a stream from the core to the meridians, to the dantians, to every corner of his body, using his understanding of anatomy, kind of like replicating the flow of blood in his veins.
He immediately felt the change in his body; it was no longer overflowing with power; instead, it felt controlled, regulated, and restrained, under his control.
And in response, Kyle smiled, or rather, his face loosened from its tense stillness to something truer, something unmoored.
"Much better, "Kyle nodded, clearly satisfied with the results. He was sure his method was far from perfect, but it worked well for what he wanted to achieve.
Now that he had things under control, he looked at the immediate changes to his person.
His skin took on a healthy, pale, radiant glow, and his bones seemed to have been compressed and reinforced.
He felt like his body was heavier and steadier because of that, and what that meant for his fighting style, he would have to find out.
The Qi within him became purer, clearer, and his dantian and meridian networks underwent a profound rebirth, expanding and strengthening at an unprecedented rate.
"You've done it, Kyle," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You have successfully broken through to a realm very few would ever dream of. You're now more powerful than I ever imagined possible. And, you look a bit different."
Kyle smiled. "Do I look more charming is the question?"
Nuna chuckled. "You will have to see for yourself. So, how do you feel?"
"Yes, this is the breakthrough I have been chasing. But I will admit, I am not exactly happy with all the changes." He spoke, frowning.
"What in particular?"
He began to explain how his bones felt like they had added to his weight. And she understood immediately.
Kyle's fighting style relied heavily on fast and efficient strikes. And that was mostly thanks to how his body was built before.
Lean and muscular. A perfect physique for his sword art. So these changes did not feel exactly welcome.
Nuna frowned as well. She took a moment to think about it, and the she spoke.
"Maybe you feel heavier, but you are also sturdier and stronger; your muscles could make up for the extra weight with extra strength. You won't be sure unless you actually try it out in an actual battle."
She also explained her thought process.
Kyle nodded. She was right. Maybe it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
But that brought on the question of whether this would keep happening every time he had a breakthrough?
That would be a problem.