Since he returned to the clan…
one thing had not changed.
Mystery.
He was not given a title.
He was not tied to a family name.
No blood records were opened for him.
Only…
"Ares."
A bare name.
As if his very roots had been placed behind a closed door.
When he once asked Elder Farin, he did not receive a refusal…
but a short sentence that ended the question before it began:
"Some knowledge is not granted…
until the one who carries it is able to bear its weight."
He did not ask again.
Not out of fear.
But because he understood.
In this place…
even truth has a level of strength.
Despite that, he was given the freedom to move within the first level of the clan.
The first… level only.
Sometimes he stood on the high balconies, looking at the mountain chains upon which the clan was built, and at the structures that disappeared into the clouds.
How many levels were there?
Ten?
A hundred?
Or was the word "levels" itself just a simplification of something more complex?
But what occupied him more than curiosity…
was an old feeling that began to beat inside him again.
Excitement.
That feeling he thought he had buried in a previous life… among wars and ashes.
This world does not know a quick ending.
Here…
people may live for centuries.
They may witness the fall of eras… and the birth of others.
As for the paths of power?
They seemed like roads stretching without a horizon.
He wondered silently:
"I wonder… where do the ends of these roads stand?
And do they even end at all?"
Inside his mind, he said calmly:
"System, have you developed the natural energy control technique yet?"
System: [The current information and the system's understanding of energy are still insufficient.]
Ares fell silent for a moment, then continued:
"Alright. Do you have any ideas about which path I should follow?"
System: [Based on the current information, the most stable path appears to be the Path of Immortal Ascension, as it is the natural training path in this world.
However, it is also necessary for the host to follow the Elemental Path.
As for the Celestial Body Path, the current information about it is unclear.
The final conclusion will be made after observing how these paths function and which is currently most suitable for the host.]
Ares smiled faintly.
"Then let us see them with my own eyes."
He paused, then added inwardly:
"Since my body is ready… there is no point in waiting."
The clan office.
The road leading to it alone was enough to make the word "office" feel like an insult.
It was not a building…
but a miniature city.
Slender towers pierced the sky, suspended bridges connected the structures, and courtyards were filled with fighters, messengers, and servants moving with measured speed.
Everything here worked… without noise.
At the main gate stood three guards.
They did not deliberately release their auras…
yet the energy leaking from them made the air heavier.
They looked at Ares.
Then looked away.
No surprise.
No respect.
Just a quick evaluation… then indifference.
As if his presence did not deserve more than half a second of attention.
He entered without stopping.
After some time wandering, a different building caught his attention.
Larger.
Heavier in presence.
Two words were written on its gate:
Paths of Power
Four guards stood before it.
They did not move…
but the feeling coming from them was like an invisible wall.
Ares stepped forward.
Before he could cross—
One of them said coldly:
"Come back when you turn seven."
It was not an order.
Just a fact spoken without emotion.
Ares opened his mouth to speak…
But the space beside him suddenly rippled.
And Elder Farin appeared.
No light.
No sound.
He was simply… there.
The guards bowed immediately.
Farin only looked at Ares.
A brief look…
yet it felt as if he were flipping through his pages one by one.
Then he murmured:
"So… you have approached the threshold this quickly?"
He did not wait for an answer.
He added in a calm tone, heavier than a warning:
"An early beginning does not mean progress.
The training path is long…
and one misstep may mean a fall without a bottom."
He then turned to the guards.
"Let him pass."
They froze for a fraction of a second.
But no one objected.
Farin took out a dark tablet, its engravings moving slowly as if alive.
He placed his finger on it.
"Name: Ares.
Authorization: permitted to move freely within the first level."
The engravings lit up… then dimmed.
The elder raised his eyes one last time toward the child.
And only in that moment…
Ares felt that his existence was being weighed.
Not as a child.
But as a possibility.
Then—
Farin vanished.
As if he had never been there at all.
Ares stood before the gate.
Massive.
Silent.
And heavy enough to make him feel that what lay beyond it…
would not be just the beginning of training.
But the beginning of transformation.
The gravity core inside him rotated slowly…
as if responding to something not yet born.
He reached his hand toward the door.
And the moment his fingertips touched it—
The system said:
[Warning: there is an abnormal distortion in space.]
[The spatial field inside is constantly changing.]
Silence.
Then it added:
[Analysis in progress… space is stable… the matter is similar to the technique of spatial curvature.]
Ares' hand paused for a fraction of a second.
Then he pushed the door.