Aethan gasped, staring at his hands in horror, unwilling to believe what had just unfolded before his eyes. Never in his 15 years of life had he ever heard of something like this, regardless of the countless stories his mother had told him. He looked over his bed, craning his neck, straining his weak muscles and reddening his pale, white skin to see the dried husk—in a black gown and white apron—that was once a living being. Aethan fell back on his bed, his breath hitching as he came to terms with a hard fact."I… I..killed her," he forced out the words, seemingly trying to calm his raging heart by saying it out loud. He gulped audibly, barely stopping himself from passing out or emptying the contents of his stomach. "What even happened?" Aethan asked, his pupils constricting, and his eyes widening to their limits.Suddenly his eyes glazed over, the look of horror on Gisha's face—before she was drained of all her blood—replaying in his mind over and over again. Aethan lay there

Martha appeared beside Aethan in a flash of light, her skin glowing resplendently like a human-shaped rainbow. She stared at Aethan's wrinkled brows with a smile, then waved her arms. A sphere of light conjured between her hands swiftly, before rolling over Aethan's body and destroying the black matter oozing out of his pores. A black cloud billowed upwards, a relaxed smile appeared on Aethan's face right after, and his eyes fluttered open. He had successfully broken through, and become a First-Circle Sorcerer! A Crimson Core had formed within his lower belly, rotating slowly on its axis as it naturally pulled Aether as he cultivated. When he broke out of his cultivation though, the Core stopped rotating. The Crimson Core was both corporeal and intangible at the same time. It floated in a space that seemingly contained it, yet looked to be too large at the same time. Aethan didn't mind this too much though. He couldn't understand why it was that way, so he saved his brain power

Aethan's eyes glowed with power, his pathways pulsing with energy, and vitality thrumming through his veins. His already muscular body underwent a change as the Typhoon Horse's body shrunk, its Blood Essence being extracted. Horses were known to be powerful beasts, and a magical beast surely had more power in it. Although the Typhoon Horse wasn't physically based—but Elemental—it still had great physical strength and agility. Aethan felt his muscles enlarge and compress repeatedly, becoming firmer and more flexible. The muscle fibers rolled beneath his skin like steel cords, each tendon and ligament becoming sturdier and denser. His dexterity received a large leap in power, and he felt he could maneuver and change direction faster and easier than before. Other than that, though, Aethan could feel it… he could feel the unique swirl of Aether flowing through him. Countless times had he fought Wind Elemental Beasts, and his constant absorption of their Blood Essence was coming to f

Time passed swiftly for Aethan, and in that interval, he was able to seal the cracks in his Core—with the help of his mother—and resume cultivation. He was still a Gaseous State First-Circle Sorcerer, and he needed to reach the peak of that Circle before he reached the Eclipse Sect. Being in the Gaseous State of any Circle meant that you were just beginning the said Circle; being in the Liquid State meant you were halfway into that Circle, and being in the Solid State meant you were at the peak of that Circle, or nearing it. Aethan was a Gaseous State First-Circle Sorcerer, so he was amongst the weakest of the weakest Sorcerers in the world. Cultivation made one strong, but no one believed you had truly started Cultivating until you—at least—reached the Gaseous State of Second-Circle Sorcery. This was because anyone beneath the Second-Circle could be killed as easily as any mortal by anyone in the Second-Circle and above worth their salt. There were rare geniuses, though, who cou

Aethan sheathed his swords smoothly into their scabbards. He wasn't adept enough in Space Magic to be able to summon them from the Space Ring as fast as he could unsheath them, so he kept them there—where they were easily accessible.He had trained in a variety of weapons, and the weapons he resonated with the most were a pair of short swords.He had leaned into daggers for a while, but later realised that he wasn't strongly in tune with it. He then chose a regular sword, but found out that he didn't like it as much either.One problem after another, until he eventually settled with a pair of short swords. He still used daggers from time to time, though, to deal unexpected attacks, but he rarely needed to do so unless he was weaponless—which also, was almost impossible, because his father had ingrained in him a discipline. Never let go of your weapon no matter what. Even if your hands were mashed beyond repair, or you were dazed and even knocked out cold… your weapon was your life.