Upon entering his spiritual sea, the first thing that he saw was his monolith-like soul.
Gazing up on his soul, he began to reminisce.
Ever since he first came into this realm nine years ago, his soul has always been in this form.
The only thing that's changed in this place since then was the color of the expansive sea and the size of the monolith.
When he first came, the crystalline soul was appropriately one meter in height and a half width for each side.
Now throughout the years of hard cultivation, it's grown a little over 5 meters tall and two and 2.5 meters wide on each side.
Ultimate making it be able to hold 125x more than the average soul..
*Whuummmmphhh*
With a thought, the floating crystal began turning, displaying to Lucien his abilities section.
In this section, it displayed two abilities: Passage and Veil of the unwritten…
These two abilities that are displayed were there, carved on the crystal before he gained access to his spiritual realm and he could only surmise that they were abilities he gained journeying to this world.
The most simplest to understand—
Ability name: Passage
Type: Active
Description: A divine-tier ability that lets the user tear through the veil of reality and travel to other worlds. Normally, the user can only enter worlds that are equal to or weaker than themselves in fundamental strength.
Note, However, there is a small chance of being transported to a stronger world.
The reason this ability was the simplest is due to his current situation.
He knows that the possibility of being in his former world was immediately sniffed out the moment he became aware of the existence of demons as there were no records or mention of them in his previous life.
One could make the argument of it being erased or the Japanese government and the demon slayer corp suppressing it due to the populace here being kept in the dark until they have an unfortunate encounter.
But with the amount of people having their families killed and eaten would at least make it a folklore of some kind but there was none nor the Ubuyashiki family.
And this skill legitimizes the idea that he is in another world and the idea of traveling to other worlds seems enticing.
Though he holds off on that due to the possibility of going to a stronger world and getting put down.
Imagine going to a world and getting killed…
"Khhttt!" Just the thought alone made one shiver.
Not a good feeling…
So yea, a relatively straight forward skill undead… But… the same couldn't be said for the other skill.
Name: Veil of the unwritten.
Type: Passive
Description: The user exists outside the threads of destiny. Prophecies, fate-binding powers, and divinations fail to reveal their presence—their figure is absent from visions.
No force that manipulates destiny can directly alter, predict, or control them…
Lucien frowned, staring at the description as if trying to squeeze more meaning out of the words.
Outside the threads of destiny… unseen by prophecies… untouchable by fate.
He scratched the back of his head.
Honestly, it sounded impressive, maybe even scary—but what did it actually mean?
"Okay, so… I can't be predicted," he muttered to himself. "Or… controlled? That's basically what it's saying."
He paced a little, tapping his fingers against the crystal.
"But does that mean I can be… anything? Like, if I wanted to be a demon king, or a hero, or… I don't know… a wandering legend that nobody can stop?"
He smirked at the thought.
It was tempting. The idea that he could just decide his role in the world without anyone—or anything—dictating it.
No fate trying to slap him back into some pre-written path, no prophecy trying to tell him how things would end.
But then reality hit him. "Wait… I'm still me," he said, rolling his eyes.
"I mean, I don't magically become strong or get cool powers just because destiny can't touch me. I still have to do all the work myself."
He leaned back, floating lazily in the middle of his spiritual sea.
"So it's not like an instant cheat code. It's more… like freedom, I guess. Freedom to screw up, too. Neat." He chuckled dryly.
"Or freedom to actually succeed. That's… actually kind of terrifying."
Lucien considered testing it, maybe trying to poke at the edges of what it meant, but shook his head.
"Nah. That's not something I can figure out in one afternoon. I'll just… keep it in mind for later. If nothing else, it sounds like it'll make life interesting."
For now, he decided, there were other things to focus on—like training, getting stronger, and figuring out how to make this Passage ability work without landing himself in a world where he'd get absolutely destroyed.
He floated back up toward the surface of his spiritual sea, eyes scanning the horizon. "One step at a time," he murmured.
"This skill can wait. Let's worry about the stuff I actually understand first."
And with that, Lucien pushed the thoughts about being untouchable aside, at least for now, turning his attention to the things he could see, touch, and—most importantly—improve…
His soul.
Soul cultivation is the art of increasing the soul capacity and increasing its quality by compression.
It is not much different from chi cultivation.
But unlike chi cultivation which increases strength and resistances to certain powers, strengthening the soul also brings numerous benefits.
These can range from, stronger willpower, a more resilient mind which will not break down from increased longevity, resistance to mind and soul attack and more effective soul offensive abilities.
Chi users also benefit by having a stronger soul because if one does not have a strong enough will to manipulate chi then he/she would risk exploding upon trying.
To increase the soul capacity, one must empty their mind and try feeling for the spiritual energy outside the body before imagining it flowing inside the spiritual sea before entering the soul.
This intern enlarges the soul, making it more denser and resilient that can store and manifest more power.
Though the lack of spiritual energy in this world makes this process time consuming.
If there is one thing Lucien has noticed in this world is that there are surprisingly a lot of spirits wandering the woods and towns.
These spirits seem to have unfinished business and are wandering the earth.
He has interacted with them numerous times and learned most of them were killed by demons and they are worried for their families.
Demons are truly disgusting and unsightly beings.
***
After an unknown amount of time has passed. Lucien began shifting from his meditation and returned to the material world.
"Hm…?"
After returning he immediately realized the sun had gone down.
He pushed himself up from his seated position under the waterfall, letting the rushing water cascade off his shoulders.
The icy torrent had done its job, invigorating his body and clearing his mind.
With a flick of his chi, the remaining water lifted off his skin, evaporating into the air before it could drip onto the rocks.
His long hair, still damp, floated slightly as if stirred by an unseen wind.
Another motion of his hands guided his crop top into place with telekinesis.
It hovered briefly, twisting and folding neatly before settling perfectly onto his torso.
No wringing or tugging needed.
He paused for a moment, letting the cool evening breeze dry the rest of his body, chi humming faintly along his veins.
The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, leaving the forest bathed in twilight.
Time to head back.
Lucien followed the familiar path to the Butterfly Mansion, using his chi to lift small branches out of his way and balance over uneven stones.
The mansion's silhouette grew closer with every step, and the faint sounds of dinner preparations reached him — Aoi's voice, likely scolding the three little girls for their mischief, carried on the wind.
Perfect. Just in time.
He quickened his pace, letting the flow of his chi carry him lightly over the last stretch of forest.
Soon he would be back among familiar faces, a warm meal waiting, and perhaps a moment of peace after a long day spent meditating and cultivating his soul.
Chapter 5 end