It was a real tragedy. After the police searched the debris, they found Ryan’s father dead. He had been stabbed in the heart with a knife. His mother’s body was missing, but there were charred remains, which the police assumed was hers. Well, there was a DNA test but the results were of no use, at least to Ryan.

News soon spread far and wide, that the billionaire founder of AVA Technologies had been killed in a robbery gone wrong. His house had been destroyed when falling meteors hit. Along with most of his belongings, his car had been destroyed as well.

Then there was his son. Unknown assailants had stabbed him on the shoulder, but at least he’d been left alive. After searching the debris, the police found a head severed from its body. They failed to find the identity of the body.

The funeral procession was held shortly after the police investigation. The family lawyer came and read the will left by Ryan’s father, at their private property. The will stated that out of the fifteen billion dollar estate, Ryan would only get ten million dollars. His father’s shares in AVA Technologies would be sold and the money donated to charity. His friend was selected on the board as the new company chairperson. Ryan would go and live with his grandparents at his father’s private island. Now that was settled.

Myra spent his time walking around in the woods. His damaged left hand had been repaired, well, partly. The damage was no longer visible. Whenever the sun was up, he’d cultivate. He met some animals, but he couldn’t understand them so he ignored them. He tried to open a spatial transmission vortex but due to the damage done to his circuits, he was unable to do so. Although he had managed to repair part of his circuits, some deeper damage couldn’t be repaired without a technician. Therefore, he gave up on returning to Khami any time soon.

When Ryan returned to the mansion, or rather what was left of it, he was dejected. He had cried himself to sleep many times, but he stopped. It was of no use. Of course, he had once wished his father would die sooner so he could inherit the billions. That wish had been fulfilled, but he didn’t inherit billions, and he was now all alone. It didn’t matter that he could now afford to buy a Ferrari, how was he going to live now? After all, he was fifteen years old. Still in high school.

That was when he made the decision. He would carry out his own investigation. Why was their house robbed? What were the robbers after? His father was a billionaire but no billionaire kept a stash of money in his or her house. There was supposed to be nothing worth stealing there. So why was their house robbed?

Maybe his father’s car? But, it was just a normal Honda Accord, it wasn’t worth much and it was parked in the garage.

He suspected that it might have been a high-class assassination but who hated his father to the extent of sending high-class assassins after him? And then there was his mother. What had happened to her?

Ryan met up with Myra at the mansion a week later. His arm was in an arm-sling, but he was feeling much better, in relative terms of course.

“I think I need some explanations”, he began, sitting down on the remaining step of a staircase. “Which company made you and why?”

Myra looked sideways before answering, “Company?”

“Yes. I know PI Robotics is the company that makes advanced robots but none near as advanced as you.”

“I was made by Doctor John Kovakk.”

A flash of surprise passed through Ryan’s face. “What!! Dr. Kovakk? As in the founder of PI Robotics who went missing thirty years ago?”

“He went missing? He lived there on Khami until five years ago when the settlement he lived in was attacked by the celestial gods.”

“Khami? Where’s that?” asked Ryan.

“Khami is a planet in galaxy 17. Its orbit is higher than that of this one”, replied Myra as he paced back and forth.

“So you’re an alien? And, he was abducted by aliens? That explains a lot. Why are you on earth then?”

“An alien? What is that? An army of celestial gods ambushed me when I was transporting the matrix, and after fighting, I resolved to flee to one of the seven moons orbiting the planet. However, the army general sent an attack that destroyed the moon, sending the fragments along with me on a collision course with this planet.”

“So that’s what caused the meteor shower? What a pain. So now that I have the matrix, what am I supposed to do now?” asked Ryan.

Myra stopped pacing and then looked at Ryan before replying, “As the successor, you need to start cultivating. The celestial gods are invading planets. They began with planet Vars, and moved to Khami. As of this moment, once their invasion of Khami is complete, they should come to invade this planet too. They should be coming after the matrix very soon. We need to find somewhere where you can start cultivating. This planet is nearer to the sun, which means the ki in this planet is very thin. It is more suitable for me for cultivation. As for you, the constitution of almost all humans does not allow them to absorb ki. However, the matrix makes up for that weakness.”

He paused for a brief moment, before continuing, “So we need to go to a secluded area. Since the ki is too thin, cultivating to the first level will take a longer time than if you cultivated on planet Khami. Is there somewhere secluded?”

“Yes of course. I’m going to live with my grandparents on Aloha island. It passes as secluded, since it’s a private island. It should be sufficient. I will be going there tomorrow; right now, I’m staying with my aunt. The problem is how to transport you without people noticing.”

“Do not worry about me, I can fly. By locking my divine sense onto you, I can follow wherever you go, and by using the illusory dream technique, I can make myself invisible so that I cannot be detected.”

“So if I don’t cultivate, the planet is doomed? Also, whether I cultivate or not, I will still be in danger because I have the matrix? What a pain!” sighed Ryan.

Myra remained silent. He turned and headed for the forest, leaving Ryan sitting alone on the step.

The next day Ryan went to the airport, where the private jet had been waiting for him. His aunt kissed him on the forehead as she bid him farewell. He got on the jet and they took off, while Myra flew behind the plane, invisible and undetectable.

********

At the heart of Megapolis is a bar called ‘The Pinktail’. In this bar, the patrons were enjoying themselves like there was no tomorrow. There would be occasional brawls here and there but all was well. There was an office hidden in the bar, and in this office, a beautiful woman was sitting behind a desk. She appeared to be writing down something, with extreme focus.

Two men wearing black, tight fitting clothes interrupted the woman, as one of them said, “Evening boss. We have returned.”

The woman took a glance at the two men before continuing what she was doing. After she finished writing, she closed the file she was writing in. “What happened?”

“The assassination was a success but there was a slight problem. A meteor crashed on the house, killing Ed and Kara. The odd thing is that Zira’s head was found separated from his body. Even the police could not figure out who had killed him. But boss, pardon me asking, was killing that guy really necessary?” asked one man who was taller than the other.

“I see. That was unexpected. Of course, it was necessary. He had discovered my identity, and we all know the number one rule of the Sky Haven organization. I hope you let my son live”, she said looking a bit dejected.

“He lived, but most importantly, how are you going to explain this situation to the elders of the organization?” asked the taller man.

“That is my problem to worry about. Right now, make sure to monitor the police. Don’t let them get anywhere with their investigation. I’m supposed to be dead, let it remain like that. You may go”, she instructed.

The men left as swiftly as they came, leaving the woman staring into space. One could only guess what she was thinking about.

***************

Ryan arrived at Aloha airport, and his grandparents were waiting for him with their battered up pick-up truck. He was settled in quickly, and he refused to be enrolled in any of the local schools. He used most of his time jogging around their farm. Myra of course, was the source that told him to run around, preparing his body for cultivation.

One day, as he was sitting at a secluded area away from the farm, trying to meditate, the matrix opened again. Rogarth Secretwater appeared again, with his flowing white hair and his distinct robe.

“I am ready to start cultivating now”, started Ryan.

“That is great. Now, humans are not capable of cultivating on their own. Their bodies are not suitable for cultivation since their meridians are blocked. However, the matrix can help you by passing celestial ki through the blocked meridians. This helps in clearing them”, began Rogarth. He paused to make sure Ryan was paying attention, before continuing, “There are three higher realms of cultivation. The first realm is called the Mortal realm and is divided into 7 stages. The second realm is called the Immortal realm and divided into 3 stages. The last stage is called the Ascended realm, for now we will not talk about it.”

Ryan scratched his head for a moment, while his face looked puzzled.

Rogarth sighed, before saying, “For you to start cultivating, you need to start at the Mortal realm which is divided into Tempered Body, Dragon strength, Altering pulse, Tempered Marrow, Ki gathering, Core formation and finally Blue Soul formation. The first four levels, tempered body, dragon strength, altering pulse and tempered marrow focus on training the body. The next two focus on channeling and using ki. The last focuses on training the soul. Any questions before we begin?”

“What is the difference between each level?” asked Ryan.

“Tempered body is a level where the body will be as tough as divine iron. Normal weapons will not be able to scratch that body unless they are strengthened by ki. Dragon strength is a level where the body can lift an object ten times its own weight. Altering pulse helps in blood circulation, such that the body will have an improved heartbeat. Tempered marrow help the body in recovering faster from injuries that are not fatal.

Ki gathering, as the name suggests, is a level where the body will be gathering ki from the surrounding and storing it in the dantian. From this stage, the cultivator can use ki attacks. In core formation, the ki that is gathered is formed into a core in the dantian. After forming the blue soul, the cultivator can use illusion attacks and can also place soul seals that controls weaker people’s minds.”

Ryan was surprised by what he had heard. He could become invulnerable to bullets, he could control people’s minds and he could get away with it. Was there anything more fantastic than this?

Rogarth seemed to be reading what Ryan was thinking. He sighed before saying, “Unfortunately, it is very difficult to cultivate to a level above altering pulse on this planet. You will have to relocate to another planet if you want to go above this level. The reason is because this planet is closer to the sun, so the ki is…”

“Yes, I’ve heard. The ki is very thin so absorbing it; it will take more time to breakthrough. So which planet can I go to and how?” interrupted Ryan, with a question.

“Once Myra has recovered, he can take you to planet Khami. It will be better to cultivate from there. There are rare herbs for alchemy that will help in tempering your marrow. Now, I will be teaching various cultivation manuals to you. At the first level, tempered body, I will teach you a fist combat technique called the Dancing Dragon fist”, replied Rogarth.

In order to train his body to the extreme, under Rogarth’s instructions, he would rise up before the sun was up and run around the farm. After running, he would sit under a waterfall, while wearing nothing.