I drew in a slow, steady breath, forcing the rush of thoughts in my mind to settle.
"Wait," I said at last, breaking the silence. "Then why do I have an energy core formed in my head?"
Elder Thryssa didn't answer right away.
She studied me for a long moment, her gaze calm yet deeply contemplative, as though she were sifting through memories, theories, and possibilities that even she couldn't fully grasp. The room felt unnaturally still as she weighed her thoughts.
Finally, she exhaled and shook her head, slowly and deliberately.
"I don't know," she said, her voice honest and unguarded.
"You… don't know?" I repeated, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Elder Thryssa met my gaze without the slightest hesitation. There was no uncertainty in her expression, but only calm honesty. "No," she said. "I have never seen a case like yours before."
After a brief pause, she continued, her eyes narrowing slightly as if recalling what she had sensed earlier. "But your energy core looks… different."
My brows drew together at once. "Different?"
"Yes," she said. "Normally, when a cultivator forms an energy core, it appears yellow in color. As it is refined over time, it gradually turns golden. That is the natural progression."
Her gaze sharpened slightly, the air in the room seeming to grow heavier with her next words.
"But yours... is not like that."
I leaned forward without realizing it, my pulse quickening as I listened.
"What I sensed within your head was black," she continued slowly, choosing each word with care, "with tiny white dots scattered inside it. And it is far smaller than a normal energy core should be."
A quiet chill ran through me.
I nodded slowly. The description matched what I had felt and glimpsed in those fleeting moments of focus.
"I'm not even completely certain that it is an energy core," she added after a moment. "But if I had to make a guess… that is the closest explanation I can give."
That hesitation is so rare from her. She always spoke with certainty. To hear doubt in her voice made the situation feel far more mysterious.
I hesitated, then asked the question that had been clawing at my thoughts since the moment she mentioned it.
"Even if we assume it is an energy core," I said carefully, "why would it form in my head first?"
She didn't answer right away. Finally, she exhaled and shook her head once more.
"I have no idea."
Silence stretched between us.
My thoughts spiraled inward, tumbling over one another without order. If this wasn't normal… if it wasn't even confirmed to be an energy core… then what, exactly, was forming inside my head? Why there of all places? The questions piled up, each one more unsettling than the last.
Elder Thryssa seemed to sense the shift in my thoughts. She looked at me for a moment longer, then spoke again, her voice softer this time, deliberately steady, meant to calm rather than instruct.
"Arthur, don't dwell on it too much for now," she said gently. "Some answers refuse to surface until the right moment arrives. When that time comes, I believe you will understand this on your own."
I nodded slowly in response. Her words were meant to reassure me, and on some level they did, but the uncertainty still pressed heavily against my chest, an unshaped weight that refused to fade.
As I rose to take my leave, her voice stopped me once more.
"Continue cultivating exactly as you have been," she said calmly. "Pay close attention to the tiny dot in your forehead. Whether it is truly an energy core or something else entirely… time will reveal the answer." She paused, her gaze thoughtful. "And while you cultivate, try to discover what your awakened ability might be."
"…Ability," I murmured under my breath, the word lingering with unfamiliar weight.
I bowed slightly, sincerity clear in the gesture. "Thank you for all your help, Elder."
She returned the bow with a gentle smile and a small nod.
Charlie and I stepped out of her home and walked away in silence.
We walked back toward our home at an unhurried pace, the village alive with its usual activity around us. Voices carried between houses, firewood crackled, and people moved about their routines as they always did... but despite the familiar bustle, everything felt heavier somehow. The paths were the same, the sights unchanged, yet each step seemed to give my thoughts more space to drift and deepen.
After a while, the noise around us faded into the background, and the weight of my thoughts grew too loud to ignore.
"Charlie…" I said quietly. "What do you think about all this?"
He didn't respond right away. I could tell he was thinking carefully, choosing his words with the same care he applied to everything else. At last, he spoke.
"I'm not certain, young master," he admitted. "But I believe Elder Thryssa is right. For now, you should continue cultivating exactly as you have been. Observe the changes, especially in your forehead. If that truly is an energy core, it'll react to your refined nature energy."
"…Hmm," I murmured, letting his words settle.
By the time we reached home, the weight in my chest hadn't disappeared, but it had dulled enough to breathe around. I told Charlie that I wanted to go for a walk, and he nodded without question, trusting me as always.
A moment later, I stepped back outside alone, the cool air meeting my face as my thoughts drifted once more toward the unanswered questions waiting inside my mind.
I wandered through the village without any real direction, my feet moving on their own while my thoughts circled endlessly around a single question.
Is it really an energy core?
No matter how many times I turned it over in my mind, the answer refused to take shape. The calm morning air did little to ease the restlessness gnawing at me. Gradually, the familiar sounds of the village grew faint, replaced by the soft rustle of leaves and the distant creak of branches.
I hadn't meant to stray so far, but before I realized it, I found myself in a quieter corner of the village, where trees grew close together and the ground lay mostly undisturbed. There were no people here, no paths worn smooth by constant use, just stillness, shade, and the steady rhythm of my own breathing as my thoughts continued to churn.
Lost in thought, I barely registered where my feet were taking me, my awareness dulled by the storm of questions circling in my mind.
Then—
Something moved above.
A shadow fell, and before I could react, a figure dropped down from the trees and landed lightly in front of me, feet touching the ground without so much as a sound.
My heart lurched.
Instinct surged ahead of reason. In a single, practiced motion, I drew my sword, steel whispering free of its sheath as I slid into a guarded stance. My breath came sharp and fast, muscles tensing, every sense snapping to attention as I fixed my gaze on the sudden intruder, ready to strike if I had to.
The figure straightened, the tension in his posture easing as he raised his hands slightly.
"Skra-I, Sham."
I froze for a heartbeat, then recognition hit.
It was him. The barbarian who had once faced me in a duel.
The tight coil in my chest loosened all at once. I let out the breath I'd been holding, lowered my sword, and slid it back into its sheath with a quiet click. My shoulders relaxed as the surge of adrenaline faded.
"Sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I didn't see you."
Sham's lips curved into a faint, easy smile. "Skra-not problem."
He tilted his head slightly, studying me with that calm, unreadable gaze of his.
"Skra-where going?"
"Just… roaming around," I replied, gesturing vaguely, as if that explained the aimless knot of thoughts in my head.
He watched me for another second, then gave a short nod. "Skra-start cultivation?"
The question caught me off guard. I hadn't expected him to ask something so specific. I paused, then nodded slowly. "Yes."
"Skra-ability?" he asked, wasting no time.
I shook my head, a faint frustration creeping into my voice. "I still haven't figured out what my ability is."
Then, almost before I could stop myself, the question slipped out.
"Sham… did you form an energy core?"
He blinked, clearly surprised by the sudden turn of the conversation, but after a brief pause, he nodded. "Yes."
"If you don't mind," I said, choosing my words carefully, "where did your energy core form? And… what color is it?"
Sham studied me for a long moment, as if weighing whether the question itself carried some deeper meaning. Then he lifted a finger and pointed to his lower abdomen.
"Skra-here," he said simply. "Yellow."
I nodded slowly, the answer settling heavily in my mind. "I see… thank you."
He frowned faintly, studying my face. "Skra-what happen?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, shaking my head. The word came out a little too fast.
Sham watched me for another second, then simply nodded. He didn't push or question it further, accepting my answer as it was.
I turned away and took a step, ready to leave.
Then I stopped.
"Sham," I asked slowly, "did you… awaken your ability?"
He looked at me, and a slow, knowing smile curved across his face.
Without a single word, his feet lifted from the ground.
Just like that.
There was no flash of light, no violent surge of power... only a quiet defiance of gravity. He rose a few inches into the air, his body perfectly balanced, unmoving, as if the earth itself had gently released its hold on him.
My breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened as a jolt of shock ran through me.
He was floating.