A day later, in the center of the town Lorea.

A youth with black hair and a worn face, looking tough, gathered there. He was a hulking 2 meters tall, standing upright like a tree. His eyes were almost see-through grey. If one looked closely, they would be able to see blood through his eyes. His skin had a slight sheen to it, and his muscles strong, looking like a chiseled piece of rock.

"Aizen!!" a girl said, before walking up to him and slamming a fist into the ground.

"Riza, you're late!" Aizen said, then also proceeded to slam his fist in the ground, upsetting some gravel on the street. People glanced over at Aizen, who had created a small tremor.

"I'm not late, you're just early! Rey, however, seems like he will be late..." Riza replied.

"Ah, as he usually is..." Aizen said in a distasteful voice, obviously annoyed. "He isn't even a cultivator, I don't know why he would be inviting us"

"Aren't you two somewhat close??" Riza questioned.

"Well yes, as a person he is cool, and while I can respect most aspects of him except for his tardiness, outside of that, he has no right to join us" Aizen stated.

This was a world where the strong thrived and the weak were dismissed and typically despised. Not many people would think about befriending a frail person because they tend to die quickly. Another reason was that those who didn't cultivate couldn't increase their lifespan at all.

"Sheesh, well, you'd be wrong about Rey not comprehending a law. In fact, he just reached the Adept stage 1 in the law he is cultivating!" Riza exclaimed proudly. She enjoyed the fact the Rey wasn't a cultivator at first. Riza always felt pressured to uphold her pride and could never relax around any other cultivators due to that. Having Rey as a friend was a breath of fresh air. No doubt that their friendship would only increase with time as they hunted together.

"Th-Th-This...is impossible! He was in a coma for 2 years and had never hunted a creature before to even cultivate a law, much less breakthrough into the Adept stage! Even though I am dual cultivating the air and metal laws, I am still only a Novice stage 12! How did he achieve that so fast? Wh-What law is he comprehending?" Aizen exclaimed in bewilderment. He then thought about it more. "Ah, Haha! You're joking! But of course!"

"Guess you'll just have to see with your own eyes then...If he ever arrives..." Riza said, even her becoming a little impatient.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Crap Crap Crap!" Rey cursed himself as he hurried to grab some money and sprinted out of the house and went towards the market square. Rey flew past houses and various families as he reached the market to purchase rations of food and water, bandages, etcetera. He reached the market within 5 minutes after using his stronger and fit body. The market was many different stands with people all shouting and advertising their merchandise.

"Come and get the best assortment of grains you can find! Best tasting in the whole town!"

"Receive comprehension! If you drink this liquid, you'll be able to cultivate so easily!"

"Buy our Ryden guilds armor! Stronger than a Cerberus' bones and made from top-tiered materials!"

Rey heard various propaganda being shouted, especially about that liquid silver metal substance. He even heard about others drinking it to become immortal, but they died a couple of days later instead. Rey disregarded the rest of the shops and ran over to his usual shops to get his materials. He would go here for his parents whenever they were going out to hunt. He then started to feel a sense of pride and completeness, like he had finally come full circle and was now going to hunt. He mentally thanked Hibari for the mental torture that increased his soul's growth enough to overcome the biological restrictions of his bloodline.

"Hello, Arius!" Rey said before proceeding to send a fist towards the ground. "Could I quickly get 60 days' worth of rations? Also, I need some gauze and medicinal herbs, please, and quickly!" Rey hurriedly said while giving him 40 silver coins.

"Ah, Rey!" Arius said before doing the same, "Hold your horses, these old bones aren't working as well these days." Arius said as he turned around. "Mylo come and get Rey his usual!" Arius said in a somewhat raspy, yet calm voice.

Arius was an old man by now. Apparently, he was a big shot cultivator in the light law and the darkness law, but he suddenly decided not to pursue cultivation any longer. Whenever people asked him why he would only smile in response.

"Thanks, Ol' Ari!" Rey said right before he heard a voice in his head.

'The one who sees is blind indeed!' Hibari resounded with the voice of a madman within Rey's mind.

'...What? What do you mean Hibari?' Rey thought while being thoroughly freaked out.

'Those who desire...will falsely believe in their own lies...HAHAHA, the prisoner will be free indeed!!' Hibari raged in an even more deranged voice full of fury. 'Corinth cannot hold back this highness any longer it seems!'

"Just a minute longer Rey," Arius stated.

'Who are you? Where is Hibari?' Rey thought in a worried voice. He knew by now that he wasn't taking to Hibari, but that didn't change the problem.

'I AM SOMA!! THE TRUE AND ONLY IN THE UNIVERSE!!! NOW THAT I AM FREE...' Rey's hand started to move uncontrollably towards his daggers. 'I SHALL HAVE SOME FUN, HAHAHA-' Soma started to laugh before abruptly stopping.

'...AHHHH!! NO!! I WON'T BE SENT BACK! THIS PRISON WON'T HOLD ME, I'LL BE BACK!! DON'T GET COMFORTABLE IN THAT BODY OF YOURS!!! IT WILL SOON BE MINE, HAHAHAHA!!!' Soma screamed out towards Rey.

Rey quickly got control of his body back before and put his dagger back in its sheath. 'Soma? Who was that? What happened to Hibari? Take over my body? No way! I've got too much to live for and not enough to die for!' Thoughts ran ablaze through Rey's mind as he was thinking.

"Hr-r-yr-itm-ey!" Rey heard someone talking vaguely as he quickly refocused.

"Ah, sorry! What did you say?" Rey said.

"I said, here are your items Rey." Ari said "Geez, youngsters these days, paying no respect... Didn't you say you were in a hurry?"

"Right!" Rey quickly grabbed the supplies and acted as if he put them into his pack, but in reality, he put it into his storage ring. "Thanks, Ol' Ari!" Rey said before sprinting off towards the center of town.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What's taking him so long??" Aizen said, getting more impatient. 'The wait is killing me! Rey! Get over here so I can see what law you've cultivated!!' He thought.

"Hmm," Riza pondered before saying, "Maybe he forgot? That is, after all, a possibilit- Ah there he is!" She said helplessly.

"Hmph, about time!" Aizen said as Rey was nearing closer to them.

"Hey, guys! Sorry I am late!" Rey said before once again, throwing a punch into the ground.

Bop!

"Oh? Looks like you have improved, your knuckles aren't even damaged at all compared to the last times where you were bleeding" Aizen commented while being intrigued. "So! What law did you comprehend? Metal? Ice? Fire? Light? Hehe, maybe the darkness law?"

"I'll tell you later...There are too many people around here" Rey said. He then proceeded to transfer items back into his pack while handing Aizen and Riza their grain rations and water. "Here, I got these from Ol' Ari"

"Alright," Riza said while putting the items into her own pack. "Let's go hunt! To the vibrant forest, it seems."

The Vibrant forest, 120 km away from Lorea, was a green-tiered (uncommon level) creature-infested forest. The trees and bushes here were always green and lush, even during the death season, thus giving it its name. They started their 4-day hike towards the forest.

'Ahhh, I think it happened again' Hibari said, in a slow and incoherent voice. 'I don't know what is causing these blackouts, but man do I feel exhausted!'

"I think I do..." Rey said.

"What?" Riza said, not knowing what he meant.

"Nothing! Just thinking, haha" Rey quickly said. Too close, forgot that he's only in my head.

'Hibari...Who is Soma?' Rey said, emphasizing each word.

Shua!

'How do you know that name?!?! It couldn't be! You mean...but...how is that possible??' Hibari started to go all over the place, sounding furious and worried at the same time. 'If this is true...then I am sorry for dragging you along with this...'

'What do you mean??' Rey was getting nervous by now too.

'My name, it used to be Soma. When I was out and about one day on a private mission for our Space God, I let down my guard and a soul attack reached me. Due to my strong will, it did not kill me. My soul was, however, damaged, broken, and split. The Space God and another friendly race combined their powers of space and soul to seal that section of my soul. This seal normally draws space energy from the user's body, but you didn't have any space energy within your body. These 12 years with my soul connected to yours probably unsealed him.' Hibari lamented.

'Is there a way to seal him again? Can I use my space energy to replenish the seal on him again?' Rey asked.

'No, the amount of space energy you have is not even a drop compared to the sea of space energy they used to seal my soul. Even if you use your space energy, you'd only be able to delay the breaking of the seal by a day or two.' Hibari said. 'We have to be careful though, due to the nature of that soul attack, the other side of me (Soma) went crazy and delusional. Whatever he is planning, it can't be good...'

'About that...he pretty much said that he is going to take my body, but that is impossible right?' Rey hesitantly said.

'Hmm...It is possible, but there are other ways to counter-act this too. Your body is most compatible with your soul, and putting another soul in control of your body can be dangerous, for him and for you. Since you only have 50% of the space king bloodline, he won't be very compatible, but I doubt that will stop him.'

'So how can I stop this??' Rey said.

'There are two ways that would work: 1) Absorb Space and Time bloodlines and naturally increase your strength enough to hold him back with your own energy, but if you fail to get stronger, he probably will take over your body. 2) Go through soul temperament and either have your will strengthened, or you might break instead of being strengthened.' Hibari said, 'So far, Soma won't know about the hidden space energy of the Space God, so don't worry about him being able to use that. I will preference though, that if you choose to go through soul temperament, not only will it be extremely painful, but this version of me will die once we start that. Both pieces of my soul will combine again, and Soma and I will be one. In the event of that happening, I'll release full control over the space energy, storage ring, and information regarding everything that I know.'

'Hey, Don't joke like that! You can't die, I...' Rey was speechless and taken aback.

'My primary mission was to empower you and help you live. That is my purpose, so don't be thinking my sacrifice is for you! It's for our entire race.' Hibari clarified.

'Okay...Anyway. I'll attempt to absorb bloodlines for the time being. If I don't have to go through...' He shuddered for a moment, '...soul temperament, then I won't.' Rey was still having nightmares about that event to this day. 'I'll kill my way to the top, I'll upgrade my soul's willpower and strength! Find the nearest space or time bloodlines Hibari, and let the onslaught start! I will save you!' Rey started with an unsatiated fire within himself.

'Hehe, this kid though,' Hibari lamented 'If only this kid had been able to hear me from the start, maybe things might not have come to this...' Hibari thought to himself (Rey wasn't able to hear), as he now felt a desire to live, to continue onward, even as a soul who lost his body. '...I suppose I have lived long enough, all good things must come to an end, but...I don't wish to die!' Hibari cried out. To be at death's door was frightening, but as Hibari thought about all the things he had done, the joys and memories he created with his squad, the good he imparted into the world, and the people he protected, this feeling started to dissipate. 'Rey, I'm putting my trust in you to save both of us from him!!'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Four days later, in the vibrant forest:

"How much further until he meet this so-called grand creature? You also still have yet to show me what law you've cultivated!" Aizen said, with his anticipation rising.

"Uhmm...A little further...Yes! About another 8 minutes" Rey unsurely said. He was going off of Hibari's predictions, which was a relatively good method to find space and time affinity creatures. "Regarding my law, the only way to fully believe is to see" He said. Rey only had a limited amount of space energy and wanted to save every portion of it.

About another 20 minutes later, they came to a small hill where the creature was positioned, within its nest. It was a blue and red bird that had the wingspan of a meter. Aizen and Riza merely thought it was a bird born of fire and water due to its colors, but only Rey and Hibari knew its exact nature. It had a third affinity, which was a mid-grade affinity space law.

"Here is the plan, I will be rotating from support to attack depending on what the creature does, Aizen will be in front since you have the strongest body, and Riza will be in the back, casting protection spells or kiting the enemy into unfavorable positions. Sounds good?" Rey asked.

"That is a good plan. I am, however, shocked that you came up with it. You've been acting a little weird this whole trip...What's going on Rey?" Aizen pushed.

"Aizen, he just woke up from a coma a month ago, of course, so it's normal that he is not exactly the same right now," Riza said, feeling that Aizen was being insensitive.

"I suppose..." Aizen said.

They concluded their conversation and got into position. Aizen quickly burst forth toward the bird, but quickly wore a shocked expression. The bird, sensing danger, flapped its wings in a wreath of fire around the area, and then teleported a few seconds later! Riza started throwing shurikens that were headed towards the beast at an alarming speed. Aizen used his partial control over the air law to breathe in most of the oxygen around the area, causing its flames to die down a considerable amount. Then, Rey made his move. He clothed himself in space energy, positioned his body, and fell through the ground.

Aizen was shocked at this, 'Where did he go? Earth affinity?' He thought before completely disregarding that thinking when he saw what Rey did next.

Rey instantly shot out from the ground towards the creature and shot out a couple of arrows near where the bird was. The bird, however, was confused at this and merely watched as the arrows were going to land 10 meters away from it.

At this, Rey smirked, our plan succeeded! He warped space and teleported them towards the creature 2 meters away and headed for its face. Rey wanted to teleport the arrows closer but was met with some weird resistance.

CAW!

The bird became infuriated and tried teleporting away, but the time it needed was not enough. It instead tried dodging.

Pshew Pshew!

Two clefts were made in its wings instead of killing it. It looked to see where Rey was but was quickly confronted with Aizen punching it.

Boom!

The bird was sent flying. It quickly got up, seething with rage as it dashed towards Aizen with its talons ready to draw blood, but was then confronted by Riza throwing shurikens at it again. It teleported right before Aizen, thinking it would finally attack these bastards that decided to fight it. Rey however, saw this coming, he teleported himself a few times as Aizen punched the bird, and then teleported beside the bird with twice as much difficulty.

'Perhaps this is because he also has control over the space law?' Rey thought before pulling out two daggers and activating imbue. He then cut it with both of his daggers as he completely split it in two with imbue, but he still cut it again and again and again, not knowing how many times he had cut it. This was Rey's first time actually fighting, and he was still in shock about killing something.

"Rey!! Rey!! It is dead!" Riza said

Rey then came out of his shock and refocused his attention.

"Hahaha! To think you have a space bloodline this powerful! You shocked me, Rey. You should probably start absorbing that bloodline though." Aizen said heartily.

Realizing this, Rey did as Hibari had told him. He placed his hands on both halves of the creature, then dug and burrowed his fingers into the creature until he could feel its still-warm blood. Then he flowed his space energy and consciousness into the bird. There, within the bird's body and soul, Rey connected to the space law of this universe.

He could feel information rushing to his mind. Incomplete engravings, energy flowing in different patterns, many things that were incomprehensible too were all filling up his mind until he could no longer digest this information.

'Congratulations on killing your first space creature...can you feel it? The pleasant and yet craving feeling for more information and power? This feeling must not dismay you. Many great beings sought this feeling out so much that it possessed them, and ultimately leading to their death. Hmm...Seems like your comprehension is pretty good, you're almost to the Adept stage 3." Hibari said.