“Remember, young one. You must use the ki you seize to touch the eternal plane and draw out a deeper insight into void ki,” Lady Nightclaw explained. “Simply absorbing it won’t be enough. Once it is yours, hold the ki away from you and reach through it for insight as long as you can. It won’t be a comfortable process, but the longer you hold out, the deeper your understanding of void ki will grow and the more advanced your cultivation technique will become.”

Verus nodded in acknowledgment as he stood in the center of the ritual circle. He then sat down, closed his eyes, and crossed his legs so that he was in a meditation position. With his hands cupped on his lap, he disregarded the outside world and focused on his internal ki. He’d been preparing for this for a long time, and now it was time to ascend to the Tempered Realm. Only then would he have caught up to the geniuses among his fellow outer disciples.

The great elder kept talking in a soothing voice. “What is ki? Although ki is drawn forth by many living things on this world, it is ultimately a form of energy from a higher dimension. Many people, even some foolish cultivators, confuse it with natural energy such as heat, but that is ignorance of the highest order. Ki is from the eternal plane, and it is always connected to it, even after being drawn into the physical plane. Thus, all ki has at least some ability to control space and reality. Many high level techniques depend on this function of ki, and so does true tempering.”

As he listened, Verus started cultivating using the new technique he’d put so much effort into creating. Breathing deeply and drawing in ki from his surroundings, he cycled it through his ki channels in very specific patterns before drawing into his core. The human and devotion ki danced across the surface of his core’s outer shell before being absorbed, but the void ki was drawn deeper. It joined the pool of void ki that surrounded the single orb of void essence at the very center of his core. Slowly, that void ki whirled and spun as it began transforming into essence.

Verus’s core was already at the maximum capacity for his Realm, so creating more essence was difficult and unstable. Thus, something else began happening instead. His core began vibrating. Rather than continue trying to produce more essence, Verus focused on intensifying that feeling, and soon the ki within him began resonating with the ki around his body. More and more ki started being drawn to him, gathering around his body like a vortex. Larger and larger the haze of energy grew, until it was like he was deep within a spinning lake of power. It blocked out the world, enveloping him.

That didn’t last. One second the power was spinning around him gently, then the next, it slammed into him with startling force. Despite being ready for it, Verus flinched as he fought to prevent himself from being crushed by the furious power.

Void dominated the hostile ki, and it descend on Verus like a hungry and terrible maw. The energy bit into his skin, twisting and lashing about. He could feel it attempting to undo him, to tear him apart until he was nothing. Even worse, he suddenly couldn’t breath. There was no air. Verus clenched his jaw shut as he struggled to continue his cultivation technique without being able to breathe. It wasn’t easy and it felt wrong. His insides twisted uncomfortably as he cycled. He needed to get this done quickly.

If Verus’s cultivation faltered, the void ki would utterly destroy him. Thus, he desperately focused on trying to claim the cloud of ki as his own.

The ascension to the Foundation Realm was about becoming one with the world to gain the ability to understand and manipulate ki. Next, the ascension to the Tempered Realm was about exerting your will to prove you could withstand the power you were attempting to use. So, that was what Verus did.

Still sitting, Verus frantically fought to show that he was stronger than the ki and wouldn’t be destroyed by it. However, simply repelling it wouldn’t be enough. He had to use his insight into the ki to form a connection with it first. He had to demonstrate that he understood the void.

Thus, as his lungs burned, Verus meditated on the nature of nothing as he reached out to become one with the energy around him. What did he know of the void? It was emptiness and it was hunger. He could hear it. You don’t belong, it seethed hatefully to him. You are made of flesh and not of us. We will destroy you utterly and devour you. The void rejected creation itself, tearing everything apart in an endless effort to bring peace and silence.

Verus understood this instinct. It was his desire too. All his life he’d fought to gain peace. He’d wanted to belong somewhere comfortable, because he’d never been comfortable with himself. The complicated nature of the world and other people scared him, so he’d taken solace in ritual and discipline. His quest for peace and belonging was why he’d tried so hard to become an elder. They had the power to master themselves and the world around them, more than anyone else Verus could imagine. They had respect and a stable role. That’s what power meant to him, peace.

It would never be his though. Not truly. Verus understood this now, and he sensed this understanding reflected in the nature of the void. As he could never totally shed his grief and guilt over Warin’s death, the void would never erase all matter. The endless heavens were infinite. Creation had already been born, and you could never go back.

The void was a paradox. It was peace and it was silence, but it was also an endless hunger that would never be quenched. It was pain, terrible pain.

Reaching out, Verus used his newfound understanding to seize control of the seething energy around him. It stilled, halting its assault on him because it no longer saw him as alien and out of place. He was of it now. He understood.

This allowed Verus to take a much-needed breath, but it wasn’t enough. His core wanted to drink the gathered energy, but he held it at bay. He was like a man dying of thirst staring at a well, but the great elder’s instructions had been very clear. He needed more. To get the power he craved, he would have to undergo a true tempering, which meant using the ki around him to increase his connection to the eternal plane.

He could feel it already. Deep within his core lay the path. Every cultivator was connected to the eternal, especially during an ascension, when they were transforming themselves using its power. It was a connection Verus recognized now thanks to his trip through the mirror, and he hungered for what lay on the other side. More power. He knew it was there and he craved it. What was before him wouldn’t be enough.

Reaching deep within himself, Verus imposed the resonance within his core upon the cloud of ki around him. It vibrated in response, deepening with new insight that empowered it. This made it harder to control, but Verus pressed on. He would not be denied.

All physical feeling slipped away from Verus, only to be replaced by a floating sensation. Unsurprised, he opened his eyes to see a familiar scene. It was the endless grey expanse he’d encountered at the end of his trip into the eternal plane. Here void ki reigned. It was a place of empty nothing and incredible silence that seemed to go on forever, like a remnant of a time before creation. The only thing that existed was the invisible energy known as void ki, and even that was more of a possibility of something to come than an active force. Nothing could only be defined in contrast. Lacking anything to react with, the void ki lay inert, barely existing.

Or at least, that had been the case. As Verus’s presence intruded into the eternal plane, the void ki awoke. The energy resonated with his core, becoming a seething chorus that filled Verus’s mind. Void ki began to swirl around him, full of insight and intent, like it had back in the physical world. The young disciple welcomed it as he reached for the knowledge it offered into the nature of the void. Soon, it became too much for him though. Each new glimpse of insight caused him pain and the gathered ki began to rebel against him. He had to fight to hold on to it. How much was enough? Should he stop and be happy with what he had. No! That was the mistake he’d made before, and it had cost him dearly. Instead, Verus steeled himself and cast his senses out to encompass as much ki as possible.

This was how he became aware that he wasn’t alone. Something swam in the currents of ki, an invisible watcher without true form. Like the ki from which it had been born, it had long lain dormant, incomplete. Now, thanks to Verus’s presence, it lived. The young disciple didn’t sense any hostile intent, only curiosity. In fact, he had felt this presence here before, during his last visit. It had to be a spirit, a native of the eternal plane.

The spirit grew stronger and more defined as it basked in Verus’s being. Then, it reached for him, offering its insights in return for his offering. Verus accepted. The spirit was a creature of the void and it had great knowledge of the ki from which it had been born.

Enlightenment dawned on Verus, and the way his ki cycled through his body began to change. He now realized how flawed his crude attempts to use void ki had been. Even the way he’d been creating essence had been deeply wrong. Here in the eternal void, and with the spirit’s help, he could do so much better.

With new direction, void ki rushed through Verus’s body, swirling around the sphere of void essence at the center of his core. This ki sang with insight and intent as it began transforming the essence, imbuing it with its own enlightenment. The sphere darkened to a deep black, then it cracked apart and fell in on itself, becoming nothing again, one with the eternal void around it. Paradox. A painful absence longing to be filled, a dedication to purity, and a restful final peace that would one day come. Promise. Purpose.

Slowly, Verus’s consciousness returned to his body. Around him, the ritual chamber seethed with void ki as his body finished his ascension to the Tempered Realm.

Elder Caligo stood in the doorway to the ritual chamber, behind his master. Both of them had retreated before the rising tide of void ki. The strange power now filled the entire ritual chamber, like a still pool of terrible silence. It was invisible to the naked eye, but its presence couldn’t be ignored. Of course, neither of the watching elders were threatened by such low levels of ki, but they didn’t want to interfere in the ascension.

There was a surprised look on the pale unkept man’s face as he studied the scene before him. “Is that a domain?”

“Yes,” the ancient woman that was his master answered. “The whelp is using the ki around him to draw not only his own consciousness into the eternal, but also the surrounding space itself.”

“That’s not an ability someone at the Tempered Realm should have.”

“It is certainly a surprise. What an odd young man you’ve brought to my door. I sense he has hidden depths that have yet to be revealed. You will have to watch him carefully, I think.”

“But I still don’t understand how the domain is being created.”

“Hmmm, unsurprising. You’ve never been one for studying anything that didn’t excite you. I suspect the domain is a sign not only of the incredible depth of his enlightenment and will, but also a function of void ki itself. As a form of negative ki, it naturally seeks to draw its opposite in and either seal or destroy it. It’s just that in this case, that opposite is matter itself. Thus, a crude domain is born as he pulls everything around him into the eternal plane.”

Elder Caligo nodded in understanding and the two of them continued to watch Verus ascend without comment for several more minutes. Both of them had never seen anything quite like it. The young disciple’s core burned brightly in their spiritual sight as it sucked in massive amounts of the strange void ki. The energy flashed with alien insight, whispering incomprehensible truths about its nature. Neither knew what to make of it.

With a thoughtful frown on his face, Elder Caligo studied Verus’s unmoving form. He wanted to take a drink from his flask but restrained himself since he knew his master wouldn’t approve. He didn’t care what his peers thought, but none of them could get him sent on a crusade.

The young temple ward that had guilted his way into Caligo’s life was an odd little cultivator. In most ways, he was an incredibly stereotypical temple ward, from his bald crown to his deferential attitude. It was obvious that his master was correct about the lad having hidden depths though. Elder Caligo had looked into the young ward. Not only was his attunement mysterious, but he also frequently displayed great skill at ki manipulation. He could use fairly advanced techniques after only a bit of practice. Most of his peers who used similar techniques were family scions who’d practicing them long before arriving at the sect. This ability also showed itself when it came to absorbing ki. Most cultivators had obvious limits, but Verus could absorb external ki with startling speed. He was either a true genius, or something else was going on. It was possible, but extremely unlikely, that the young ward’s soul had somehow…

“You follow sect politics, is that old bastard Fortex sponsoring anyone at the moment?” his master suddenly asked.

Elder Caligo’s smirked subtly. “I thought you didn’t care about such things.”

It wasn’t like he cared much for politics, but he wasn’t a complete recluse like his master. He couldn’t afford to be.

“Answer the question, boy!”

The gloomy man sighed. “Yes, I believe he’s supporting a descendant of his that he hopes will distinguish himself and his family in the upcoming tournament.”

“Is that so…” the old woman mused as a malicious smile appeared on her face. “That fool is far too concerned with family and bloodlines. Such things matter little in the end. You never know where talent will pop up, and all but the most powerful bloodlines only provide cultivators with a head start, which can lead them straight to a dead end. Will conquers even blood, and real power must be seized, not given.”

Suddenly, an odd twist of ki within Verus’s body caught Elder Caligo’s eye. It looked like some of the human ki in his body had revolted and shifted as something else mingled with it.

The man’s eyes went wide in alarm. “Master! Is that…”

“Yes!” the ancient woman hissed back in a distressed tone. She was already gliding toward where Verus was meditating. Wisps of darkness escaped her billowing dress as a pair of insubstantial black arms appeared from her back. One of the shadowy hands held a long needle while the other was clutching a small pot.

“We must stop this right away!” her disciple replied.

“Do not worry. I will contain the aberration,” Lady Nightclaw replied as her shadowy spectral hands reached for Verus.