Leon laced up his running shoes and stepped outside.
It had been weeks since he'd gone for a proper run. Too busy building Sophia, setting up the data center, moving into the new house. His mind needed a break. Sophia was operational. The hybrid system worked. He'd hit a major milestone.
Time to clear his head.
The morning air was cool. His enhanced senses picked up everything—birds in the trees, dew on the grass, someone making coffee three houses down. He started jogging, keeping the cultivation breathing pattern automatic. In through the nose, hold, out through the mouth, pause. The rhythm was second nature now.
Evolyx flowed into him with each breath. Sparse, but steady.
He picked up speed, settling into a comfortable pace. The route from his new house was unfamiliar. Different neighborhoods, different streets. Everything fresh.
After the first mile, Leon noticed something interesting. His muscles were absorbing more Evolyx than usual. The physical exertion created space in his cells—like they were opening up, hungry for energy. Exercise and cultivation together worked better than cultivation alone.
He filed that observation away. Sophia would want the data when they optimized the manual.
The neighborhood changed as he ran. Older houses, tall trees, quieter streets. Leon let his mind wander, enjoying the movement, the clarity that came from just running without thinking about quantum computers or AI or gene locks.
Then he felt it.
Energy. Not the ambient Evolyx floating in the air or the one passively imbedded into humans and nature. This was concentrated. Moving. Someone else was circulating energy through their body.
Leon slowed, scanning the street. There—across the road, jogging toward him. A woman, maybe late twenties. Athletic build, moving with the confidence of someone who trained regularly. Dark hair pulled back, focused expression.
But what caught his attention was the energy. He could see it flowing through her body, cycling through her body with each breath. The pattern was good, better than his own. Real cultivation.
She wasn't at the breakthrough yet. Close, though. Maybe days away. Her energy hadnt saturated for the first gene lock
Their eyes met.
She stumbled mid-stride. Recovered quickly, but her expression shifted—shock, recognition. She could sense something about him too.
Leon stopped running. So did she.
They stood on opposite sides of the street, staring at each other. Cars passed between them.
"I didn't think there were others!" The words came out before Leon could stop them.
The woman's posture shifted—defensive, guarded. "Who are you?"
Leon raised his hands, palms out. "I'm Leon. And you're like me. I can see the energy flowing through you."
Her eyes widened. "You can see it?"
"You're close to breaking through. Maybe a few days from the first gene lock."
"Gene lock?" She relaxed slightly. "Is that what it's called?"
"That's what I call it." Leon looked both ways and crossed the street. Slowly. Non-threatening. "Are you cultivating? Following some kind of breathing technique?"
"If that means I found an old book in my father's things and tried what it described, then yes." She studied him, clearly trying to decide if he was dangerous. "Where did you learn?"
"I broke through by accident. During a life or death situation."
Her eyebrows shot up. "That's possible?"
A car honked at them. They were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking the path.
"This isn't a good place to talk," Leon said. "Could we go somewhere private? I think we can help each other."
She hesitated. Her eyes flicked to the people walking past, then back to Leon.
"I understand if you don't trust me," he added. "But meeting another cultivator... I thought I was the only one."
She watched him for a long moment. Reading his face, his body language. Whatever she saw must have satisfied her because her stance softened.
"My dojo is two blocks from here. We can talk there."
"Thank you." Leon extended his hand. "I'm Leon Cole."
She shook it. Firm grip. "Lydia Hart. My father owned Hart Martial Arts Academy."
They walked together. The energy around them responded—Leon's rougher but stronger. Lydia's more refined but still growing. Two people who'd stumbled onto something humanity had forgotten.
"So," Lydia said after a block of silence. "Gene locks. Cultivation. You broke through during an accident?"
"Construction collapse. I was dying, found a breathing pattern that kept me conscious. Something broke open inside me." Leon glanced at her. "How long have you been practicing?"
"Six months. Found the book while cleaning out my father's office after he died. Thought it was interesting, gave it a try. Started noticing changes after a few weeks."
"What kind of changes?"
"Stamina mostly. Better focus. I can see energy now—little specks of light in the air. Thought I was going crazy until it became consistent."
"Well I call it Evolyx. The energy that flows through everything. It's what we're absorbing and circulating."
Lydia looked at him sideways. "You seem to know a lot about this. More than a book would teach."
"I've been researching. Trying to understand what happened to me." Leon decided to be honest. "I have some theories, but your book might have answers I don't. The breakthrough gave me abilities, but not knowledge. I've been figuring it out as I go."
They turned a corner. A building came into view—traditional architecture, wooden sign reading "Hart Martial Arts Academy."
"This is it," Lydia said. She pulled out keys and unlocked the front door. "Come on. We should talk properly."
Leon followed her inside. The dojo smelled like wood polish and old training mats. Weapons hung on the walls—practice swords, staffs, nunchaku. Photos showed students in various poses, and an older man who must have been Lydia's father teaching classes.
"He taught traditional martial arts," Lydia said, noticing Leon looking at the photos. "Died two years ago. Heart attack. I inherited the place, kept it running."
"I'm sorry."
"Thanks." She gestured to a small office in the back. "The book's in here. Let me grab it."
Leon waited while she pulled a dusty book from a locked drawer. Leather cover, handwritten pages. She handed it to him carefully.
"It's old. Really old. Some of the pages are damaged, but most of it's readable."
Leon opened it. The first page had a title:
The First Gate - Foundations of Cultivation
His perfect memory absorbed every word, every diagram. Breathing techniques similar to what he'd discovered but more refined. Instructions for forming ring halos. Descriptions of the first gene lock's ten stages. Theory about energy circulation.
"This is incredible," Leon said after reading for ten minutes. "This is real cultivation knowledge. Systematic. Organized."
"So it's legitimate? I've been doing it right?"
"You've been doing it right. But this is incomplete. It only covers the first gene lock." Leon looked up at her. "There are nine total."
"How do you know?"
"I felt it when I broke through. Like information downloaded directly into my mind. Nine locks, nine realms. This book has the foundation, but we'd need to figure out the rest."
Lydia sat on the edge of her desk. "We?"
"I have resources. Technology. Knowledge across multiple fields. But I'm missing this—" he tapped the book "—systematic cultivation instruction. Together, we could reconstruct the entire system."
She crossed her arms. "Why would you help me?"
"Because you're the only other cultivator I've found. Because this knowledge shouldn't be lost. And because if humanity had this once and lost it, we should get it back." Leon met her eyes. "Also, you're about to break through, and I'd feel terrible if something went wrong because you didn't have proper guidance."
Lydia laughed. It surprised both of them. "That's the worst pitch I've ever heard."
"Sorry. I'm better with computers than people."
"At least you're honest." She stood up. "Alright. I want to know more about what's going to happen when I break through. And I want to see what you can do that I can't yet."
"Deal. Can I keep this book? Or at least photograph it?"
"Keep it. Make copies. Whatever you need." Lydia grabbed a water bottle from her desk. "But Leon? When you figure out the complete system, you teach me properly. All nine locks."
"I promise."
She smiled. "Good. Now show me what happens after the breakthrough. What can you actually do?"
Leon thought about his strength, his speed, his perfect memory. About seeing inside his own body and sensing Evolyx in the air.
"How much time do you have?"
"I've got all morning."
"Then let's start with the basics."