(AN: I will be fixing some plot holes in this chapter and the next. Thanks for your understanding.)
Flashback - After Defeating the Red Giant Demon and breaking through
Before returning to his family's location...
Runar floated in the void of space, his starlight form glowing brilliantly after consuming all those demon cores and breaking through to the 3333rd stage.
He was about to teleport back when he caught his reflection in a nearby piece of space fracture —polished smooth enough to act as a mirror.
He froze.
Oh no.
The face staring back at him was not seven years old. It was sixteen. Maybe seventeen. Tall, lean, with sharp features that carried an otherworldly beauty from having 184 Laws imprinted on his existence.
His height had increased to nearly 180 cm. His proportions were those of a teenager, not a child.
My parents are going to panic, Runar thought, genuine alarm flooding through him. Again. Just like when I aged from one month to seven years overnight. I can't put them through that twice in the same month.
He remembered the chaos of that first transformation. His mother crying. His father frantically looking for who to call. Elder Thorne being summoned for emergency examination. The days of worry and confusion.
And that had been explained as "physique awakening"—a rare but documented phenomenon.
This? Growing from seven to sixteen in a single day? There was no convenient explanation for that. People would ask questions. Dangerous questions.
I need a solution. Now.
His immediately started problem-solving. Transformation techniques. I've memorized thousands of techniques from the net. There has to be something...
He dove into his memory, sorting through techniques at transcendent speed.
There—Myriad Faces Divine Art (Heaven Grade). A transformation technique that could alter appearance, suppress cultivation aura, even change bone structure and body proportions. Used by spies, infiltrators, and cultivators who needed to hide their identities.
He quickly upgraded it to Myriad Faces Divine Art (Supreme Grade).
It required precise control over flesh, bone, and qi. Most cultivators couldn't master it until Red Giant realm because the body manipulation was so delicate.
But Runar had particle-level qi control and 184 mastered Laws. For him, it was trivial.
He activated the technique.
His starlight form rippled. His height decreased smoothly from 180 cm to 130 cm. His features softened, becoming more childlike. His proportions adjusted—shorter limbs, smaller frame, the build of a seven-year-old.
In five seconds, he looked exactly as he had before entering the Comprehension Space.
Seven years old. Cute. Harmless. Exactly what his parents expected.
Perfect, Runar thought with relief. I'll maintain this form until I need a convenient excuse to "grow." Maybe when I breakthrough to Satellite Orbit realm in front of them, I can pretend the advancement triggered another physique evolution.
That way they won't worry. Won't suspect. Won't attract attention.
He checked the transformation one more time—absolutely flawless. Even his bone structure and muscle density had adjusted. If someone examined him, they'd find a genuine seven-year-old body, not an illusion.
Alright. Now I can return.
He teleported back to his clone's position, merged with it, and no one—except Celestia with her terrifying perception—noticed anything amiss.
Hotel Room - Present Time - Night
Runar lay on his bed, having just finished sorting through his system rewards.
The transformation technique was still active, maintaining his seven-year-old appearance. It required minimal qi to sustain—less than 0.001% of his reserves per day—so he could maintain it indefinitely without strain.
I'll undo it eventually, he decided. When I break through to Satellite Orbit in front of my parents. Make it look like another physique evolution. They'll accept that explanation—it already happened once, so a second time won't be too shocking.
He settled into meditation, planning to consolidate his recent breakthrough and organize his new treasures.
Then he felt it.
A stirring deep in his spiritual sea. Not his cultivation—something else. Something that had been dormant, waiting.
His Void Severance Katana Soul was awakening.
No—wait— Runar's eyes snapped open. It's awakening NOW? But it's supposed to wait until Planetary Core realm!
The original timeline had been clear: weapon souls awakened when the cultivator reached Planetary Core realm because that's when soul strength reached the minimum threshold to handle a bonded weapon spirit.
But Runar's soul had evolved far beyond normal parameters. His consciousness had been refined by 149 years in the Comprehension Space. His soul had been tempered by mastering 184 Laws. His spiritual foundation had been forged through battles and breakthroughs that would break lesser cultivators.
His soul strength wasn't Meteor Forging level anymore. It wasn't even Stellar realm level.
After everything he'd been through, his soul strength approached early Supernova Rebirth realm.
More than strong enough to handle a weapon soul awakening.
The dormant Primordial Grade Void Severance Katana Soul had apparently noticed this and decided: Why wait? The host is ready. Let's wake up.
Runar felt the awakening accelerate. Energy began building in his spiritual sea—not dangerous yet, but growing rapidly.
Shit. If I awaken here, the energy release might damage the hotel. Might hurt people nearby. Weapon soul awakenings release massive spiritual pressure—
He needed a safe place. Immediately.
The Pocket Universe!
"System, open Pocket Universe portal!"
A shimmering gateway appeared in his room—invisible to outside observers, detectable only to him.
Runar dove through it.
Inside the Pocket Universe
The space had changed dramatically after the system upgrade.
Before, the Infinite Qi Realm had been a simple white void filled with dense spiritual energy. Functional but boring.
Now, the Pocket Universe was... magnificent.
It stretched for thousands of kilometers in every direction—a complete world that existed in its own dimensional pocket. There were mountains, forests, oceans, even a sun and moon.
The ambient qi density was absurd—ten millions times denser than even the richest cultivation sites on Telstra. Just breathing here would accelerate cultivation dramatically.
And time flowed at 1:100,000 ratio. One second outside equaled 27.7 hours inside. One day outside equaled 274 years inside.
This is where I'll bring Celestia for training, Runar thought, momentarily distracted despite the urgent situation. She could experience years of practice in a single night's sleep.
But right now, he had more pressing concerns.
He flew to a mountain peak far from any structures—the Pocket Universe had helpfully generated some buildings and facilities during the upgrade—and sat down in meditation.
"Alright," he said aloud. "Let's do this safely."
He released his control over the awakening process and let it proceed naturally.
The energy in his spiritual sea exploded outward instantly free from restriction.
Black-purple flames erupted from Runar's body, spreading for hundreds of meters in every direction. Not real fire—spiritual essence given form, the visualization of a weapon soul claiming its master.
The flames didn't burn. They severed.
Anything they touched was cut at the conceptual level. Space fractured around him, reality itself developing hairline cracks. If this had happened in the real world, the hotel would have been sliced into millions of pieces along with the people inside.
But in the Pocket Universe, the damage was contained. Its dimensional walls held firm.
Runar's consciousness was pulled inward, into his spiritual sea.
There, floating in the center of that infinite space, was a katana.
It was beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.
The blade was crafted from what looked like solidified void—not metal, but the actual emptiness between dimensions given physical form. It absorbed light rather than reflecting it, creating a black so deep it hurt to look at.
The edge shimmered with purple-white energy—space itself compressed into an infinitely thin cutting surface. This wasn't sharpness in the conventional sense. This was an edge that existed in more dimensions than the eye could perceive.
Runes covered every surface of the blade, handle, and guard. Not decorative—functional. Each one represented a fundamental principle of cutting, severance, and division. The runic arrays interlinked in patterns that would take normal cultivators centuries to comprehend.
And at the center of the blade's core, Runar could sense... awareness.
Not quite consciousness. Not yet a full spirit. But something that recognized him. Acknowledged him. Accepted him as its wielder.
The weapon soul spoke—not in words, but in impressions that flooded his mind:
Master. Finally awake. Have waited. You are ready. Bond complete. Shall we cut the heavens?
The communication was simple, almost childlike, despite the weapon's overwhelming power. The soul had been dormant since Runar's physique awakening, silently observing, patiently waiting for the moment it could emerge.
"Yes," Runar said. "We'll cut the heavens together. But first, I need to understand your abilities."