The morning sun slowly rose above the Celestial Advanced Academy.
Its golden light washed over the crystal towers, training grounds, and countless ancient halls. Yet, despite the peaceful dawn, the academy had never been so restless.
Yesterday...
A single battle had shaken the pride of the Twelve Kingdoms.
The name Staryo echoed throughout every corridor.
Some called him a genius.
Some called him a monster.
Others whispered that destiny itself had chosen him.
None of them knew the truth.
Inside the Medical Pavilion, silence ruled.
Staryo stood beside the open window, watching the distant mountains hidden beneath drifting clouds.
His breathing was calm.
His heartbeat steady.
Yet his thoughts refused to settle.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Not even a scar remained.
Yesterday, his body had been pushed beyond its limit.
His bones had shattered.
His meridians had ruptured.
His internal organs had suffered severe damage.
Any ordinary cultivator would have remained unconscious for months.
Yet...
He had recovered within days.
Not because his body healed.
Because it had reconstructed itself.
His fingers slowly closed into a fist.
"...CART."
The quiet whisper disappeared into the morning breeze.
His expression remained unchanged.
He already understood what CART was.
At least...
The part he had been allowed to understand.
It was not merely a technique.
Nor was it an ordinary cultivation art.
It was a path that annihilated its own user before rebuilding every fragment of existence.
Body.
Soul.
Mind.
Bones.
Meridians.
Everything.
Each reconstruction forged a stronger existence.
But every reconstruction demanded a price.
A price measured not in spiritual energy...
Nor lifespan...
But in pain.
A pain beyond words.
A pain that multiplied every single time CART was used.
Staryo unconsciously tightened his fist.
"I cannot rely on it..."
"Not unless there is no other choice."
That was the promise he had made to himself.
Power gained through CART was absolute.
Its cost was equally absolute.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
"May I come in?"
Aru's gentle voice came from outside.
"Come in."
The door opened quietly.
She entered carrying breakfast and several medicinal herbs.
The moment she saw Staryo standing, relief appeared across her face.
"So the academy's greatest patient has decided to ignore every healer again."
A faint smile appeared on Staryo's face.
"I was never good at resting."
"I noticed."
She placed the tray on the nearby table.
"You frightened everyone yesterday."
"The Headmaster barely left this building."
"The Elders argued throughout the night."
"And the healers still don't understand how you recovered."
"They said..."
She paused.
"...your body didn't heal."
"It rebuilt itself."
Staryo remained silent.
There was nothing he could say.
He himself could not fully explain CART.
Not yet.
Even after learning about it, countless mysteries still surrounded the technique.
The room fell quiet.
Outside, birds sang peacefully.
Inside...
Something stirred deep within Staryo's soul.
Thump.
A strange heartbeat echoed through his consciousness.
Not his own.
Older.
Far older.
He slowly looked toward the window.
"...Again?"
The heartbeat came once more.
Thump.
Golden light shimmered within his pupils.
Without circulating spiritual energy...
Without activating any technique...
The Cosmic Eye awakened.
Galaxies rotated within its depths.
Ancient golden symbols unfolded before him.
〈Cosmic Eye Codex〉
〈Realm Breakthrough Stabilized〉
〈Fifth Awakening Confirmed〉
The final line appeared more slowly than the others.
〈Sealed Memory Fragment Resonance... Successful〉
Staryo's eyes narrowed.
"A memory..."
Before another thought could form—
The world dissolved into white.
Not through CART.
Not through any known technique.
It was as though his consciousness alone had crossed into a forgotten corner of existence.
Silence.
Endless white.
No sky.
No earth.
Only distant echoes.
Then...
A single voice.
Soft.
Warm.
Filled with indescribable sorrow.
"...You still remember how to endure the pain..."
"...but you have forgotten why you endured it."
The words struck his heart like lightning.
Before he could answer, countless fragments flashed before his eyes.
An endless army kneeling.
A colossal formation stretching beyond galaxies.
Silver eyes filled with tears.
A lone figure walking toward infinite darkness without hesitation.
Then...
Everything vanished.
The white world shattered.
Staryo's consciousness returned instantly.
He staggered backward.
Aru caught him before he fell.
"Staryo!"
He looked at her in silence.
His breathing remained steady.
But his heart had begun beating faster.
He remembered only fragments.
No names.
No explanations.
Only one certainty remained.
Those memories...
Belonged to him.
And somewhere beyond the reach of the academy...
Something ancient had realized that the first seal upon Staryo's forgotten past had begun to weaken.