And like that, a few days passed.
Rael was gone.
He wasn't seen in the dorms, the mess hall, or any class. Whispers filled the academy like scattered leaves in the wind.
"Maybe he's training somewhere."
"Maybe he left the academy."
"Or maybe… he's preparing for something."
None of them were wrong.
Rael hadn't been in his dorm. He hadn't even been on academy grounds.
He had ventured deeper into the forest. Where the trees grew taller, and the sun barely touched the earth. A quiet place. Away from the crowd. The world.
A place to break past his limits.
---
He sat cross-legged atop a boulder, still as stone.
His eyes closed. His breath measured.
The wind rustled the leaves in steady rhythm, as if keeping time with his heartbeat.
For four days, Rael had done nothing but gather Essence.
Today was the day he ascended.
To reach the Ember tier.
The first—and arguably, the last—easy breakthrough in a cultivator's life.
But easy was relative.
To become an Ember wasn't just a rank up.
It was a transformation.
A shift in one's relationship with Essence. From external to internal. From flow to flame.
To become an Ember meant burning brighter than before—by fusing your energy with the world's.
He inhaled slowly, deeply.
Letting go of every concern. Every thought.
And then—
He entered his inner world.
---
It was still a void. An infinite black canvas.
Floating within it was a single flame, no larger than a candle's tip. Flickering gently.
His goal was simple.
Feed it.
Grow it.
Shape it into a reflection of his soul.
He floated upward with a mental command. And around him, Essence flowed like a river. He guided it telekinetically—careful, exact.
Too much Essence would burn him alive.
Too little would mean failure.
It was a dance of patience and control.
Bit by bit, the flame consumed his energy.
And then—
Something shifted.
The void rippled.
The flame surged—and from it, the ground formed.
A field of quiet obsidian, stretching endlessly.
Above it, a sky of eternal stars bloomed.
His Domain was forming.
Rael's eyes snapped open inside his inner world.
"…Wait. What?"
A Domain?
Only Mutants manifested Domains.
Dominion Skills—the rarest class of skills—were tied to these inner worlds.
That meant…
He wasn't normal.
He was a Mutant.
That realization opened possibilities.
Power. Potential.
But also danger.
Mutants drew attention. From sects. From clans. From the wrong people.
It also meant he'd need far more resources to advance in the future.
Rael took a breath.
No use thinking about it now.
He focused again. Essence flowed into the growing Domain. The skies and ground stabilized. The flame burned brighter. It had begun.
The breakthrough was real.
---
With the rank-up underway, Rael shifted his focus.
Time to prepare his second skill.
The concept was already written in his soul.
---
"Flash Counter."
The enemy will destroy himself.
The blade forged against me shall be its own wielder's downfall.
Strike like divine lightning. Fast and final.
"I swear an oath.
To counter any weapon forged against me—
one hundred times."
---
He repeated the oath aloud in his mind.
In this world, an oath was the price one paid for a skill to become reality.
And the more difficult the oath, the stronger the skill.
His oath required him to:
Counter 100 different opponents, without taking a single hit
It was a wild contradiction to his desire for peace.
But that was the nature of it.
Afterall one had to experience war to know true peace.
A hundred battles waited ahead.
And he'd face them all, one by one.
---
Meanwhile… at the academy
Tamir slouched over his desk, arms limp, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. You're saying… Rael Drayce—is the Battle Saint?!"
Jane blinked. "Yeah. You didn't know?"
Tamir looked like someone had slapped him with a fish.
"I never even met the guy!"
Jane giggled. "He is pretty famous, for, uh… beating up 525 students in a week."
"…Excuse me? So you say 525 students?" Tamir asked, voice high-pitched.
Jin nodded from across the table.
Jane continued the story. "And the infirmary was full for a whole period of time…"
Tamir gulped.
"They say… he snapped four days into the semester. Beat four upperclassmen with his bare hands." another student chimed in.
"Also true." Jane confirmed.
Tamir paled.
"I thought I was scared of Miss Vyne when she throws chalk. But this guy… he's like… like…"
"A tiger with a stick," The student offered.
Jane giggled again. "Or a really grumpy monk."
"Dear heavens," Tamir whispered, crossing himself with a fork.
---
"Do you think he's human?" Tamir asked quietly.
"Dunno, what do you think?" The student asked without looking.
"I don't like this squad anymore," Tamir muttered, shrinking into his seat.
---
Back in the forest
Rael opened his eyes.
His body felt lighter. His mind, sharper. His soul, a little heavier.
He had successfully broken through to the Ember Tier.
His first step forward in this life.
And yet, there was still so far to go.
---
Night fell by the time he returned.
He walked silently through the dormitory, slipping into his room like a ghost.
He lit a candle.
The leather book sat on his desk—Psalms and Proverbs.
He opened it once more. It had become like an addiction. That feeling of peace from the intent the book carried
Tonight, he would not train.
He would not forge, fight, or bleed.
He would read.
He flipped to a bookmarked page.
---
Psalm 4
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
For you alone, Lord,
Make me dwell in safety.
---
He closed the book slowly.
And for a long moment—
He breathed. And meditated.
No fear.
No need to pretend.
No bloodlust. No pressure.
Just peace.
It wouldn't last.
He knew that.
But for tonight…
It was enough.