CHAPTER 12

I opened my eyes—more rocks. But this time, I could feel it: I was no longer in my consciousness, I was back in my body.

I could feel my new strength, and above all, I could see the ather—whether in the rocks, in the air, or on me, it was everywhere.

I decided to explore the fifteenth floor. It was more or less like what I saw in my consciousness, except there was only one path—one way deeper into the floor, or back up once I was done. I looked for my bag… assuming the ones who tried to kill me had left me one.

By some luck, there was a bag—with just a bit of food and water. Enough to survive a week, at most.

At the bottom of the bag was a letter, signed by Canou Gérard. In the letter, he wrote:

"TONY MORGA, I enjoyed all your fights, but you had to go up against my daughter Alice. You beat her fair and square, that's true—but at the end, you took the chance to injure her, and that I cannot forgive. If you're reading this, I hope you suffer before you die."

"AAAAH AAAAH AAAAH..." I placed a hand on my head. "They're all insane about their families… First, they drug me, then try to kill me—why? Just because his daughter lost a fight? I had every reason to beat her down to the end—if I hadn't, she would've gotten back up. The first person I'll kill is you, Canou Gérard."

I went back into the depths of the fifteenth floor and started cultivating.

Two weeks later, I reached the second rank of the human stage.

It wasn't very hard—the wall to break through was nearly crumbling already. I spent an hour stabilizing my body.

I was stronger. My speed and strength kept growing. My intelligence too—but not enough to feel like I'd become someone else entirely.

For now, my goal was to learn the Affinity Map, absorb ather, and activate the ather within me.

Even so, it took me two whole weeks to break a wall that was barely holding up.

I began with absorbing ather.

On the fifteenth floor, ather was in its purest form on Earth.

Seeing this, I was sure that on other planets, it existed in even greater quantities.

I started absorbing colors, just as CANICIA had told me.

My mind was pulled into a vision. I saw two people: one boy on the ground, being bullied by another.

A voice whispered in my ear:

"What does the boy on the ground feel?"

Looking at his face, I said,

"He looks scared… he's crying. But it's a lie—I can feel it. He has bad intentions. The one standing is just angry. I'd say he's pushing the other one out of frustration."

"Good, good," the voice replied. "The boy on the ground has always caused trouble for the other—since elementary school. He pushes people to the edge until they snap, then makes them look like the bad guy.

For finding the truth, I'll tell you a secret. To activate the ather within you, fill your whole body with it until it feels like you're going to explode. Then, concentrate it in a part of your body that's not already full. You'll see what happens. Then hit something—the ather must be expelled through your physical body. You can't use it to break the wall otherwise," the voice said.

Three months later, I had absorbed the fire affinity.

I still needed more time to master it completely.

Out of resources, I thought I'd die of hunger and thirst—but who would have thought that absorbing ather also nourished me? My food problem was solved.

It was time to activate the ather inside me.

Moments later, I was full—so full it felt like I'd explode any minute.

I focused to find the one area in my body that wasn't filled—and I found it: just below my stomach. I directed the ather I had absorbed into that area.

I waited, sensing what was about to happen.

Then suddenly, from nowhere, a black orb emerged.

I could feel it—it hadn't been created by the ather. It had always been inside me. Even after becoming a cultivator, I couldn't see it until now.

The orb began to change color—shifting from black to white, then gold.

It emitted unbearable heat inside my body. I held back from vomiting, but I screamed—the pain was excruciating.

Inside the orb, the black, white, and gold began spinning around each other, until they stopped.

Black was at the top. White and gold settled on the sides.

The colors split the orb into three sections.

The moment the colors stabilized, I knew: it was time to release the ather I had absorbed.

I concentrated the ather into my arm and struck the rock wall in front of me.

Since reaching Rank Two, I had only managed to slightly scratch the wall—just a few cracks. But this time—

The moment my hand hit the wall, a loud boom echoed through the entire underground cavern.

Others on the upper floors were shaken—the whole place trembled.

The wall in front of me, hard as steel, was completely vaporized.

I had literally created a new path.

The ather from the shattered rocks entered my body and began circling the orb inside me.

Ather wasn't just a natural energy used to awaken.

It could also serve as an amplifier.

No wonder people on Earth were stuck at Rank Six.

Other cultivators couldn't even see ather—they could only feel it.

But without seeing it, they couldn't absorb it.

What I mean is, once I reach Rank Five, I'll have a real chance against Canou Gérard.

But he's not my true enemy.

My future enemies are the Rank Eight and Nine cultivators who will come to Earth.

Remembering the threat to come, I sat down again—and resumed cultivating.