am-books Book 7: Chapter 18: Density
Book 7: Chapter 18: Density
Book 7: Chapter 18: Density
Controlling the ethera in his body was no easy feat, but everything leading up to that moment had prepared Elijah for it. That was part of the reason core cultivation became easier when the other aspects of cultivation had already reached that next level. Making those leaps had forced him to understand ethera in a way that, otherwise, never would have been possible.
It had also driven him to develop his willpower. Despite that not being a verifiable or trackable ability, it was one of the primary determinants of success in cultivation. Going through the motions would get a person only so far before sheer pain tolerance and the will to keep going became important.
Even so, when Elijah sank within himself and began the final step required to push his core to the next tier, he found that the task was much more difficult than he ever could have imagined. At first, he felt like he was shoving against a mountain, for all the good it did. As he acclimated to the strain, he saw some progress, but he likened it to the effects of erosion. Sure, the wind couldn’t actually move a mountain on its own. Not all at once, at least. But it could wear it down, one grain of sand at a time, and eons later, the mountain would be gone. Or rendered unrecognizable.
That was Elijah’s task, though the first mechanism of his labor was a familiar one.
The final step of cultivation began much like his previous efforts with cycling. He once again bent his will toward drawing in as much ethera as his core could handle, packing it tightly, then pulling even more in. He endured it stoically, having acclimated himself to that level of strain. Still, he kept pushing himself until he’d far exceeded his previous efforts.
The few hours it had taken for his core to completely heal had done wonders for its malleability, and though he knew he couldn’t get much more out of continued cycling, he took the time to do just that. One cycle after another, he pushed himself to his absolute limits.
Then, on what would become the final cycle, he shoved an unprecedented amount of ethera into his bloated core. It strained against the confines of his spirit, but he continued to push until, at last, he remembered Nerthus’ caution against letting his hubris take over.
But he still kept going.
Not because he didn’t trust his friend. Rather, because he’d chosen to trust himself. He knew he could go further. He knew he could do more. And in the back of his mind, he sensed that if he didn’t, he would one day regret it. However, more than anything else, he recognized that there was no way to reach the top without braving the dangers of overreach.
Pain blossomed within him as he kept going. Tears formed and were washed away by the salty water of the underwater cave, and the ethera all around him swirled with unprecedented power.
Yet, he refused to stop.
Over and over, he continued to reach further. To push harder. He kept going until, at last, he was satisfied that even a single drop more of ethera would cause a massive explosion that would, in turn, rip him to pieces.
And that was just the first step.
He still had one more to go, and it would doubtless prove much more difficult to endure.
Once his core had been saturated, Elijah leveraged his willpower in a different direction. It was a little like flexing a muscle, but instead of that effort being represented on a physical level, it was a spiritual strain. His visualization exercises helped, and he imagined the energy in his core swirling like a typhoon. In a distracted moment, he realized that he’d based it on the persistent, seaborne storm he’d only briefly touched what felt like a lifetime ago. And rightly so – it was a force of nature so powerful that he couldn’t hope to endure its effects. If anything could move the densely packed ethera in his core, it could.
Still, even with the storm raging within him, that nearly solid ball of energy refused to budge. He pushed even harder, fanning the proverbial flames with every ounce of willpower he could muster. If he could have spared even a little of his concentration, he might have screamed with the effort, but as it was, his entire body hung limp and unused. The battle was not a physical one. Rather, it was entirely spiritual.
Thankfully, Elijah’s efforts had prepared him well for such a task. Even in the face of failure – and he did fail to get it moving – he kept going. Part of that came from his previous experiences with cultivation. None of it was easy, and yet, he’d continuously risen to the task. Some of it was the result of his attunement, which helped provide perspective as well as comfort.
However, more than anything else, it came from the fact that he had stared death in the eye, and on multiple occasions, chose to keep going. He had persisted through terminal cancer. He had survived being stranded alone on a deserted island, with no food, water, or shelter. He had been so grievously injured that, even with his healing abilities, he’d been left irreparably scarred. He had been burned and digested, ripped in half and paralyzed.
Still, he had a long way to go. Without hesitation, he repeated the process a third time. That was when his store of willpower began to dip, but Elijah knew he had enough to keep going. So, he continued for a fourth step. Then a fifth. Six. Seventh. On and on he went until he lost count somewhere between fifty and a hundred.
By that point, any willpower he’d possessed had been wholly spent. He was just going on momentum. But he had just enough to clamp down a final time, compressing the results a little more before it finally came to a stop.
For a moment, the world lay still. The water no longer moved, and the ambient ethera was entirely gone. Not a drop remained.
Then, suddenly, Elijah’s core erupted like a miniature sun. He felt like his entire body was on fire, even though he knew it was only the sheer power of the ethera within him. If he’d tried to advance his core before upgrading his Body cultivation, he would have died, then and there.
But as well prepared as he was, he survived.
Even though he tried to hold on to his consciousness for as long as possible, he could not stave off the blackness for more than a couple of seconds.
For a few subjective seconds, he hung suspended in darkness. None of his senses functioned, but he could feel something all around him. Tiny tendrils of ethera, far too minute to fully perceive, enveloped him. They wrapped around him in a dense cocoon before, suddenly, he was yanked back into consciousness.
He fell, his naked body slapping against a familiar set of tiles. When he looked up, he saw another expected sight.
“Kirlissa,” he muttered, studying his patron. She looked the same as always – hair of gold, scales around her eyes and running down her neck, and a beauty so potent that he could scarcely comprehend it – but in addition to those familiar characteristics, he saw a web of ethera extending from her body and stretching as far as he could perceive.
“You have come a long way,” she said, and those threads suddenly disappeared. “Most at your level fail to see those.”
“Am I back in the Empire of Scale?”
“You are, and I suspect you already know what is coming,” she said, extending her hand. He took it, nearly flinching away when their skin touched. A surge of ethera passed into his fingertips, infusing him with an intoxicating degree of power. It was both invigorating and disorienting. It passed after only a moment, and he let her help him to his feet.
“Another vision.”
“If that is what you wish to call it,” the dragon agreed. “In reality, it is a memory made real. Do not dismiss it as inconsequential. The dangers within are valid.”
“I can die?”
“Of course. It would not be effective otherwise. Now, go, my child. Understanding awaits.”
Elijah nodded, and the second he agreed, he once again blacked out. It lasted less than a second, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a landscape that struck him with awe.