Chapter 27 – Echo of the Catalyst
The red E5 core pulsed with power in Auther's palm, radiating heat that wasn't physical but spiritual — like a forge burning directly inside his bloodstream.
He sat cross-legged in a moss-covered crater deep within the Bone Garden, the creature's remains still steaming beside him. Vines swayed gently in the mana-choked breeze, and a halo of multicolored light filtered through the twisted canopy above.
His breathing was steady.
Starwave Breathing activated.
The mana stirred.
Like a sleeping beast roused by hunger, the core's energy began to unravel.
It didn't come gently.
It surged.
Auther's spine straightened, his eyes snapped open, and a sharp crack rang out from within his chest as his internal mana circuits strained under the flow. Heavenvein Refinement kicked in automatically, redirecting the pressure, dispersing it like lightning through a rod.
The ground trembled.
Sweat beaded down his face.
His skin prickled.
Veins shimmered beneath the surface with golden-blue light, and his core — the center of his being — groaned as it expanded, mutated, and began evolving into a higher form.
The air itself thickened.
A storm gathered around his soul.
Then — silence.
A second later, the system chimed.
---
[Advancement Achieved: E3 → E4]
[Status: Mana Core Transformation Complete]
[Lifeform Grade: Enhanced]
[Lifespan Extended: +45 years]
---
Auther gasped and fell forward, catching himself on trembling arms.
The change wasn't just internal. He could feel it in his muscles, his perception — even the texture of his skin.
Stronger. Faster. Sharper.
It wasn't just more power — it was a new version of himself.
E4.
He stood slowly.
A nearby pool reflected his face.
His silver-white hair was a little longer, his irises faintly glowing with deep cyan. His skin bore a faint shine, like a layer of energy floated just beneath the surface.
"I'm not the same," he muttered.
A grin curled his lips.
And yet, despite all the evolution, his ability — Skill Creation — remained unchanged.
Not stronger. Not awakened by some divine force.
Still just… his.
He liked that.
There was no prophecy, no chosen-one nonsense, no mysterious voice whispering in his sleep.
His power wasn't borrowed.
It was his. As natural as breathing.
Just like others were born with telekinesis, shadow manipulation, beast-taming, or elemental bending… he was born with the ability to shape reality through words and will.
It was enough.
And with every point he earned, he carved his own future.
---
[Current SP: 24]
---
Still not enough for high-tier ideas, but enough to experiment.
He thought again of that absurdly priced Skill Point Generation skill from before.
> "Generates 1 SP every 7 days."
Cost: 89 SP.
Way too far out of reach… but it lingered in the back of his mind.
One day, he'd make it.
Maybe even better.
He dusted himself off and returned to the trail heading toward the far side of the Bone Garden, where ruins from the old world were rumored to lie — and perhaps treasure that hadn't been looted or swallowed by time.
After thirty minutes of navigating the undergrowth, he reached it: a collapsed observatory built into the side of a cliff.
Half the dome was missing. The exposed structure groaned under its own weight, vines climbing over steel like skeletal fingers.
He moved cautiously, blade drawn.
Inside, the walls were covered in murals — faded but preserved under protective enchantments.
One depicted the stars, constellations spiraling around a massive crystal floating above a planet.
Another showed humanoid figures gazing into the void, their hands outstretched toward the crystal — their bodies dissolving into particles.
Then a third mural.
This one made Auther stop cold.
It showed a single figure, shrouded in light, walking through the crystal — disappearing from one side and reappearing on the other.
His heart pounded.
A line of runic script beneath it translated automatically via the system:
> [Relic of Creation – The Astral Shard: Gateway to Origin and Elsewhere]
Auther exhaled slowly.
"A relic… that can send someone between worlds?"
It hit him all at once.
This was it.
The reason he was here.
Not a god. Not a curse. Not fate.
A relic — ancient, unbound, and powerful enough to distort space and time.
No one had sent him.
He had walked through it.
Somehow. Accidentally. Perhaps at the moment of death… or something stranger.
It wasn't destiny.
It was coincidence.
A chance interaction with a piece of creation's history.
Auther found himself laughing quietly.
"So much for some cosmic story."
No weight of fate.
No divine mission.
Just a boy who stumbled into a bigger world.
And somehow, that made it better.
He wasn't a chosen hero.
He was a survivor.
A builder.
A creator.
He moved deeper into the observatory and found a sealed vault door. Its enchantments had faded, but the locking mechanisms were still partially functional. He summoned a thin blade of mana and carefully cut through the junction.
The chamber hissed open.
Inside was darkness… and a faint blue glow.
At the center sat a pedestal — and atop it, a book sealed in crystal.
Auther approached, heartbeat rising.
The system buzzed faintly.
---
[Artifact Detected: Remnant Codex – Starborn Pathway (Rank: EX)]
[Status: Bound Knowledge Structure]
[Requirement to Unlock: E9+]
---
EX rank.
He didn't even need to ask what that meant.
A skillbook beyond SSS. A treasure worth more than cities.
A Pathway skill — likely one that formed the basis for an entire cultivation or combat system.
But he wasn't strong enough to access it yet.
Still, he placed his palm on the crystal. It lit up, registering him.
A line of text appeared:
> "Mark accepted. Codex bound. Return when you've become more than you are."
He closed his eyes, burned the location into memory, and stepped back.
Even if others found this place, the relic wouldn't respond to them now.
It was his.
Sealed until he reached E5 or higher.
He sheathed his blade and turned back toward the forest.
Power was waiting.
And he was ready to seize it.
Step by step.
One breath at a time.
One fight after another.
The world wasn't fair.
But it was open.
And Auther Finn would rise through it — not because someone had handed him strength… but because he created it with his own hands.