"One cannot cultivate while in the form of a soul flame," said the Heavenly Cloud Spirit, wisdom etched across his face.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Haziqa frowned.
"Don't tell me... you're trying to back out of our deal."
"I'm serious."
The Cloud Spirit shook his head in disdain.
"You must first form a body before even thinking about cultivation."
Haziqa nodded.
"I see. Then how can I—"
"Figure that out yourself!"
The Cloud Spirit cut him off, waving his hand dismissively.
He then added mockingly,
"Our agreement was only about cultivation. Nothing more."
A victorious grin spread across his face.
Haziqa thought to himself,
"So he's trying to cheat me... Time for Plan B."
Haziqa let out a sigh.
"Then I suppose there's nothing I can do."
He deliberately put on a disappointed expression.
"I'll come back after I've changed my form."
The Cloud Spirit was puzzled.
"What's wrong with this brat? Why did he give up so quickly? Wasn't he supposed to beg me to teach him?"
"Something feels off..."
He watched Haziqa's back as he slowly walked away.
"Did he really leave just like that? Is he seriously not coming back to beg?"
"I haven't had enough fun teasing him yet."
Without realizing it, he shouted,
"W-Wait!"
Haziqa returned in the blink of an eye, his face overflowing with joy.
"As expected of the great Heavenly Cloud Spirit. You truly haven't abandoned me."
Only then did the Cloud Spirit realize...
"Ah... so that's how it is."
"I've been tricked."
Haziqa smiled innocently before asking,
"So... when do we begin, m-a-s-t-e-r?"
"Fine, fine, you little brat! I admit it—you win. Damn you!"
The Cloud Spirit replied, barely able to contain his anger.
"I can tell you the conditions required to form a body, but actually creating it is entirely up to you."
Haziqa nodded.
"That's enough for me."
The Cloud Spirit sighed before speaking.
"To possess a body, you must first understand what it means to possess one."
"What does that mean?"
Haziqa asked in confusion.
The Cloud Spirit replied,
"I mean exactly what I said."
"If you wish to create a heart..."
He raised a finger.
"You must know how it beats."
"How it pumps blood."
"How its owner feels its existence."
"You cannot create something you do not truly understand."
"Even my own body is still incomplete."
Haziqa immediately interrupted him.
"Wait, wait. Then what about you? How did you come to understand what your own organs feel like? Even people born with them don't truly know that."
The Cloud Spirit answered,
"I am a cloud. That is the only answer I can give you."
Haziqa furrowed his brows and fell into thought.
"He's... a cloud? What does that even mean?"
"If he is a cloud..."
"Then what am I?"
Haziqa sank deep into his thoughts.
He felt as though he was on the verge of remembering something.
Something important.
Something he had forgotten long ago.
Something related to his very existence.
He stood motionless.
A long time passed without him taking a single step.
As time flowed on, the Cloud Spirit watched him with growing confusion.
How could he not?
Before him was a newly born soul flame, on the verge of accomplishing the dream he himself had chased for decades.
For decades, he had remained in the form of a soul flame, living in endless fear—
The fear of being consumed by a stronger spirit.
Years passed.
Haziqa remained frozen in place while the Cloud Spirit continued cultivating nearby.
Little by little, envy began to consume him.
Suddenly...
A brilliant radiance burst forth from Haziqa.
Its beautiful light concealed a horrifying sight.
The process of creating a body.
Tendons formed...
Only to tear apart...
Then reconnect again...
Over and over without end.
Blood splattered in every direction.
Flesh emerged from nothingness, only to be endlessly shredded until it finally assumed its proper form.
Then came the screams.
They echoed for days.
Only then did the Heavenly Cloud Spirit realize...
Nothing in this world came without a price.
The agony Haziqa endured—
As though his body were being crushed, shredded, torn apart, and burned alive again and again—
Was suffering the Cloud Spirit had never experienced when he created his own body.
The envy within him gradually faded.
In its place remained sympathy...
And respect.
All while Haziqa's endless screams and cries of agony continued to echo.
Days later...
The screams began to weaken.
Weeks later...
Blood no longer splattered across the ground.
As time continued to pass, the body slowly took shape.
Piece by piece.
Then, one day...
Without warning...
The radiant light disappeared.
Haziqa slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing one noticed about him was neither his powerful new body...
Nor the return of his beautiful silver hair...
Nor his strikingly handsome appearance...
But rather...
The terrifying darkness etched upon his face.
To the Cloud Spirit, the suffering had lasted only a few weeks.
But to Haziqa...
It was something entirely different.
It felt as though he had fallen into hell itself,
Where he had endured centuries of endless torment.
Even after the process had ended,
Pain still pierced every inch of his body.
And the echoes of his own screams still rang endlessly within his ears.