"Say, Riza..." Rey turned his head and gazed at her pretty gold-like eyes. He blushed and smiled. "What rank are you now?"

"At this point... I'm an evolved level 3!"

"So fast?! That's amazing!"

"Well, in terms of speed... it seems that you're the more amazing one. Going up one whole level in a single day... that's amazing, Rey!" Riza smiled.

The two of them walked and chatted until they reached the gate of one of the towns in the Sun Empire.

"Halt!" Two guards at the top of the gate walls said simultaneously. "What's your business here?"

"Matriarch Tyrien and the Grey Kioko have sent us!" Riza shouted back. "They said to tell you a secret code word... Invictus?"

"Very well." The guards sighed. "Wait, you..." The guard looked at Rey from afar. "Don't I know you from somewhere?!"

"No, sir. This is my first time coming here." Rey said nervously. It wasn't his first time here at all. In fact, Soma had used his body to massacre this town of its guards just a couple weeks ago! Rey was at least thankful that Soma hadn't taken good care of his body. Tattered clothes, long hair, covered in blood; how could they recognize his face so easily? If they did realize who he was... He'd likely be recognized and hung on a pike!

The guard thought it was odd, but he shrugged off the feeling. At the very least, they are with the matriarch and patriarchs; they weren't someone he could afford to offend! He raised the gate for them, and they walked into the town.

"Follow me!" Riza said, obviously excited to get to Sonalius. She was familiar with the area; this is where Kouta helped the two of them. Within a couple of moments, they walked over to Kouta's shop. There were a few guards outside making sure nobody unwanted entered as the people inside recovered. Riza said the codeword again, and they entered in with no trouble.

"Riza!" Kouta saw the familiar girl and smiled. "Only a few weeks and you're already back?" He laughed dryly. "It seems that I have to give that man a rough time again..." He coughed.

"Good to see you too, Kouta! This is Rey."

"It's nice to meet you," Rey bowed. "Thank you for saving them!"

"Please, the pleasure is mine. Plus, if I hadn't... I think the guards would have killed me either way." He said nervously.

"I see..." Rey also coughed and changed the subject. "Where are Sonalius and the rest?" 

"They are inside resting. Make sure to be quiet when you enter."

Rey, Riza, and Kouta walked inside and saw the five men and women laid on a table. Matriarch Tyrien had a bruised face and deep gashes where Sig'car tore through her skin. The rest of the officials didn't look much better. They had lost a fair amount of blood and had internal bleeding as well as superficial injuries.

But when Rey and Riza looked at Sonalius, they felt their hearts drop. His wounds still bled, and he held Sig'car off for the longest amount of time. Riza tightened her fists and gritted her teeth, muttering something Rey didn't hear. He looked at his indistinguishable face that was swollen to the point that Rey feared he couldn't recognize Sonalius. His stomach, arms, and even his legs had deep wounds where Sig'car repeatedly hit him. 

"Sonalius should have healed by now, but it seems he burnt his life away and is dealing with the weakness that comes along with that. Temporarily, his natural healing is reduced and is taking significantly longer to heal his internal damage as well as the broken ribs and jaw." Kouta whispered. "But rest assured, I will do all that I can to make sure he recovers as fast as possible."

"But he'll survive?" Rey asked hesitantly.

"Yes, he should make a full recovery despite all he's been through."

Rey and Riza heaved a heavy sigh of relief as they looked at each other with regret.

'If only I had been a bit stronger, a bit faster...' They both thought. 

"Give them a week or more and they should heal up swiftly. They are cultivators who've trained in life and death, of course."

"What should we do until then?" Rey asked helplessly.

"Whatever you want to do, but not here. Go elsewhere." Kouta didn't want others to disrupt his work so he sent them both out of the room. 

Rey and Riza looked at each other again and decided to go explore the town. Rey hadn't had much to practice and could not comprehend through sight yet, so he wanted to learn any technique to widen his horizons. Riza had been stuck learning Seventh Mind and also needed a new perspective as she waited for her teacher to wake up. As they walked through the town, they came across a shop and looked inside. 

"Hello, what can I do for you?" A gentle woman's voice called them in when she saw them.

"Just browsing for techniques. Is there any techniques regarding the space or time law?" Rey inquired. 

"Space law? Time law? Does anyone even practice those?" The woman gave a chuckle but then realized the boy was serious. "We don't have any of those, sir! Perhaps some light or dark techniques would be better for you?"

Rey could only sigh as they both left. Riza didn't need more techniques, and Rey can't practice other laws since his affinities are too low in them.

"It's tough cultivating with only two laws..." Ray lamented as he could only try to self-develop techniques and study the Redwater technique he already had. Still, it was better than nothing. Rey put his focus into his soul and read the contents even closer. At least this time, he could use his body as the medium instead of his soul. Its effectiveness was much greater as Rey properly could feel auras and increased his perceptions. 

"Rey, your aura became less noticeable!" Riza instantly noticed it when she was practicing.

"Still, it's noticeable and still there, even to someone on the same level... this is troublesome." 

Rey thought about and decided to try to create his own techniques now. After all, since there was no technique here for him... he'd pioneer his own path. He thought about how he might create a technique to mask his aura and suddenly, his head pounded as he slumped to the ground.

"Rey!" 

He heard Riza call his name and catch him. His vision blurred and changed. He felt weightless as he uncontrollably looked at his hands and stepped forward. Staring at his long, slender fingers, Rey realized he appeared to be older. He was further off the ground, and there were strange black symbols adorning the walls. They shone with purple light and made him feel relaxed.

"Hibari!" A man called to him. Rey turned his head and saw the familiar blonde hair and purple eyes stare back at him confidently.

"Master, my god!"

"What is the use of sealing?" He quizzed Rey.

"To seal the enemies, to destroy them from within, and render them powerless!" Rey felt his lips turn into a smile.

"Wrong! It's to seal heaven and earth! It's to seal evil! And to seal even ourselves!" 

His voice echoed in Rey's head as the scene collapsed. Rey blinked and found that Riza held him and a few people gathered around him. After all, it's not normal for a cultivator to suddenly faint. 

"Rey, are you okay?!" Riza looked scared.

Rey stood up but didn't hear what she said; he was too enthralled with the memory Hibari had planted in him.