Chapter 9 The Hierarchy of Power
The air in Professor Mirelle's private training chamber hummed with a new, focused intensity. After the Headmaster's decree, every session felt less like a lesson and more like a forging process. Lyon stood in the center of the Null-Sigil Array, a sheen of sweat on his brow, his hand outstretched.
A Void Bolt, no larger than a pebble, hovered above his palm. It was perfectly spherical, its surface a swirl of absolute black and faint gold filaments. The runes of the containment array remained dark. No energy leak.
"Stable. Finally," Professor Mirelle stated, her arms crossed. "But stability is the bare minimum. To understand what you are, Lyon, you must first understand what everyone else is striving to become. You lack context for your own power."
She gestured, and a complex, holographic chart shimmered to life in the air between them. It was a towering pyramid of light, with ten distinct tiers.
"This," she said, her voice taking on the resonant tone of a master lecturer, "is the Universal Energy Hierarchy. The path every mage, warrior, and cultivator on Aetherion walks. Memorize it."
Lyon's eyes scanned the chart, the System in his mind silently recording and cross-referencing the data.
1. Essence Gathering: The foundation. The body learns to draw in ambient Aether, purifying it into personal Essence. It strengthens the flesh, sharpens the senses, and allows for the first rudimentary spells.
"This is where you are now," Mirelle pointed. "Most first-years are between the 3rd and 5th sub-stage. You, thanks to your… origin, possess the raw power of a late-stage gatherer, but the control of a novice."
2. Core Forging: The accumulated Essence is compressed into a solid, revolving core within the dantian. This core becomes a perpetual engine, allowing for sustained combat and the manifestation of elemental affinities.
"This is the goal for most academy graduates. A solidified Core is the mark of a true battle-mage."
3. Soul Tempering: The cultivator's consciousness merges with their core, transforming it into a Soul Core. Spiritual sense expands, allowing one to perceive the world in Aetheric flows and project their will directly.
"Those at this stage can sense lies, communicate telepathically, and begin to grasp the deeper laws of reality. Most senior professors, including myself, reside here."
4. Domain Creation: The user's understanding of a fundamental law becomes so profound they can overwrite local reality, creating a 'Domain' where their will is law. In this space, they are demigods.
"This is a realm of legends and house founders. To create a Domain is to claim a piece of the world as your own. Headmaster Orren possesses a Domain."
5. Origin Ascension: The cultivator sheds their mortal coil, their Soul Core fusing with a sliver of cosmic truth—an Origin. They become a being of pure energy and concept, capable of limited creation and destruction.
Mirelle's gaze was heavy on Lyon. "This stage is mostly theoretical. The 'Origin' you bear in your title refers to this. It is what the Council fears you might become."
6. Aether Lord: A being who has fully mastered an Origin and can command the Aether of a world. They can reshape continents, command the weather of an entire planet, and their mere presence can suppress all lesser cultivators beneath them.
"This is the realm of the true powers in this star sector—the ancient patriarchs and matriarchs who sit on interstellar councils and command fleets. Their influence shapes civilizations."
The hologram faded. The room felt suddenly larger, the path ahead both terrifying and exhilarating.
"There are stages beyond, spoken of in myths," Mirelle said quietly. "But for now, understand this: you, Lyon Kael, carry the seed of a power that aims for the 5th Tier, at minimum. Every faction, every house, every star-faring empire—they all operate on this hierarchy. And you are an anomaly that could disrupt it all."
The weight of the hierarchy settled on Lyon's shoulders. He was at the very bottom, yet his destination was a peak most couldn't even see.
[New Daily Mission: 'Hierarchy Comprehension']
Objective: Achieve 'Essence Gathering - 6th Sub-stage' within 48 hours.
Reward: 'Soul Stabilizer Tincture' (x1), 15 Aether Points.
Penalty: Physical system shock.
The System was relentless, pushing him to climb the very ladder he'd just been shown.
Later, in the library, he found Kaela surrounded by a fortress of books on fundamental energetics. "Trying to catch up to your new 'colleague'?" she asked, not looking up from a diagram of mana channels.
"Trying to understand what I'm stepping on," Lyon replied, taking a seat.
She pushed her glasses up. "Well, according to this, you shouldn't exist. An 'Origin' isn't something you have; it's something you become after a few millennia of cultivation. You started with one. It's… offensive to the natural order." She grinned. "I love it."
Their study session was interrupted by Aria. Her expression was strained. "Ryn's faction is circulating a petition. They claim your unpredictable power makes you a danger to other students and are demanding you be confined to the training chambers outside of class."
The politics were closing in. Lyon looked from Aria, the noble bound by duty, to Kaela, the genius who saw him as a fascinating equation, and finally inward, to the System and the slumbering presence of Lyra.
He was a piece on a grand, cosmic board. But he was a piece that was learning the rules of the game.
"Let them talk," Lyon said, his voice calm. He focused inward, feeling the currents of Essence swirling in his core, inching toward the 6th sub-stage. "I have a ladder to climb."