He could not command it perfectly. His control was rough at first—too much force turned steps into dangerous lunges, too little caused objects to drift unpredictably—but the foundation was there. For the first time in months, he had added a new element to their arsenal.
More importantly, the way he had gained it was completely different from how Ankit and Solar had grasped basic elements like fire, earth, water, and wind. Those could be felt directly in the environment. But Gravity element had required him to:
- understand how paths curved around masses
- use his internal gravity field as both lens and amplifier
- and then align his Root Essence with that invisible curvature.
Root Clone understood at once that without the existing gravity field generated by the compressed Root Core, he would not have been able to sense this element at all, let alone control it.
Wanting to test a theory, he carefully recreated every step of the experience: the way he had stood, the amount of Essence he had used, the pattern of curves he had visualised. Then he attempted to control space element.
Slowly, something new stirred.
It was not the same as gravity—no downward pull, no weight—but a faint, strange shifting sensation, like the world around him was holding its breath. Distances felt slightly less real; the air between two points seemed thinner.
Root Clone froze, focusing carefully.
This was not a basic element, and it did not behave like one. Fire, water, earth, air, stone, lightning—they all had clear physical analogues. Gravity and this new, wordless sensation did not. They belonged to a different tier.
For fire and water, knowing their temper is enough.
For gravity and space, knowing their temper is useless unless you also know their rules.
He drew a mental line.
- Basic elements: fire, earth, water, air, rock, thunder, and similar forces anyone could feel in nature.
- Higher elements: gravity, space, and whatever else lay beyond, accessible only through deeper understanding of reality and personal domains.
Root Clone did not yet control space, but he had confirmed something critical: the path he had used for gravity—starting from his own domain, then analysing how the world's laws bent around it—could be reused. With enough time, patience, and belief, he would eventually reach out and grasp space as well.
For now, it was enough to know that higher elements were real, distinct, and within their future reach.
Root Clone's research went further than gravity and space.
Reading through countless novels, records, and speculative papers stored in Dark Haven by solar and sacral clone, he found lists of so‑called "conceptual elements": time, life, death, dream, fear, soul, mind, and many more.
These were not like fire or water, which anyone could feel on their skin. They were structures that governed how reality itself behaved—things only hinted at when people talked about reincarnation, nightmares, or killing intent.
Root Clone looked at them, then wrote a single line in his notes:
> "Anything that cannot be touched like flame or stone, and cannot be moved by simple Essence, belongs to the higher elements."
Since none of these could be pushed or pulled the way he bent earth or wind, he grouped them under the same category as gravity and space: higher elements that required understanding of laws and functions, not just nature. But he also knew his limits.
For now, mastering gravity and taking the first real step into space was already more than enough work.
If he scattered his focus onto time, life, death, and the rest, he would end up understanding nothing.
So he made a quiet decision: no new professions, no new flashy techniques. For the foreseeable future, he would devote himself entirely to element‑control methods—tightening his grip on gravity, refining his sensing of distorted paths, and carefully repeating the process that had let him touch the edge of space.
*****
While Root Clone wrestled with unseen forces, life in the fortress followed a simpler, steady rhythm.
Kamal, Neelam, and Sanya all practiced the Mortal Foundation Sutra every day. They knew from Ankit's explanation that six months of honest practice would not turn them into cultivators, but it would make their bodies and minds strong enough to be called geniuses among mortals.
They had no clear idea how "talented" they were right now; they only knew one thing: if the sutra could raise their talent, that was good, and if it could harden their foundations, that was even better.
By the fourth month, the scripture no longer felt strange.
The Nine Mortal Laws had woven themselves into their daily routine. Lifting weights and carrying loads for the Law of Iron Bones, pushing past the burn for Burning Blood, sitting in stillness, eating only seven or eight parts full, facing hot and cold water, letting minor aches heal on their own, holding their tongues, observing everything, and whispering their monthly Heart Vow—it all became as natural as brushing their teeth.
There was pressure, but no suffocating strain; habits had taken over where willpower once did the heavy lifting.
Two more months flowed by.