Kaiden walked back to his room with his head full of what his father had just told him. He tried to think about it from every angle, but no matter how he looked at it, it didn't make sense.
Sigh.
He opened his room door and closed it behind him… and there she was. Waiting for him again.
Scratching his head, he asked, "When am I starting my cultivation? You didn't answer me earlier."
Her shadowy figure sat by the window sill, legs crossed, like she'd been there for a while. "I will help you awaken your powers," she said slowly. "Then after that, you'll go to the academy. They'll teach you about cultivation."
He sucked in a cold breath the moment he heard that. A god was going to help him awaken his powers. A freaking god! Wouldn't that make him unstoppable? Wouldn't that give him an edge over everyone else?
The thought made a grin appear on his face—until her carefree voice broke it.
"I really hope you're not thinking there's a difference between me awakening your powers and the academy doing it."
His brows furrowed instantly. What the hell is wrong with this goddess? Didn't she say she needed him stronger so he could help her? Then why wasn't she actually helping him?
"Whether or not you awaken a good ability is on you. I have no influence," she said coldly. "And just so you know before we start—if you awaken a weak ability, I'm killing you."
She stood up, floating forward.
The corners of his mouth started to lift, like he was about to smirk, but then he thought about what she said again. That smirk turned into confusion… then shock.
Holy shit! She's gonna kill me if I awaken a weak ability. How the fuck am I supposed to impress a god? I knew this shitty contract wouldn't be that simple.
The more he looked at her shadowy face the more annoyed he got.
If it wasn't for your god status I would be punching you nonstop in the face, girl.
Suddenly he felt a shift in the air. She stopped floating and moved closer to him. It felt like she was looking straight at him.
His heart quickened as he stared back. He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to kneel and worship her.
"It's right in front of you… punch it," she said with a smile he couldn't see.
Kaiden's eyes shot up. He moved back until his back hit the door.
Holy fuck! She can hear my thoughts. I'm finished.
"Yeah, you're finished," she said smoothly.
She did it again. She'd read his thoughts. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His mind wasn't something he could control completely, and he was sure even if she didn't kill him today, she'd kill him tomorrow if she kept digging into his head.
She mustn't know what I think about her!
"And what do you think about me?" she asked.
"Damn it, stop going into my head!" he blurted out.
" I-I think we need to draw a line of privacy. You can't keep doing this… I-it's… it's…."
"Sit," she said simply.
He swallowed hard. "I didn't mean I was really gonna punch you in the face! It was just a thought. I can't control that."
"Sit. I don't have time for this," she said softly, realizing she was scaring him.
Kaiden frowned, but once he understood she didn't mean him any harm, he let out a breath of relief. He sat down and crossed his legs.
This must be the awakening. His hands shook a little, not out of fear but out of nerves. Whether or not he ever saw his family again depended on this moment.
"There are two phases to awakening—the soul awakening and the body awakening," she said as she floated down beside him and took a sitting position too.
Kaiden tilted his head, his brows furrowed, "I don't understand… two phases? Body and soul? Why do we need both?"
The goddess leaned back slightly, her misty outline shifting as though the air itself bent around her. "Because humans are made of two parts, Kaiden. Your body and your soul. Without balance, you'll collapse. If you awaken only the body, you'll gain strength, yes, but your soul will remain weak — like building a grand castle on sand. It looks strong, but it falls the moment real pressure hits."
He scratched his cheek nervously. "So… if someone awakens only their soul, does that mean they're also weak?"
She turned her head slowly toward him, voice calm and cutting. "Correct. A soul without a body is like a sword without a blade — sharp in spirit, but useless when the fight actually starts."
Kaiden nodded, though his hand was still fidgeting on his knee. "Alright, so what's the actual difference? Like… if I awaken my body, what does that mean? And if I awaken my soul, what does that mean? Don't give me the long mystical answer, I'm not some monk. Just… talk to me like I'm an idiot."
Her shadow quivered as if she almost laughed, but instead her voice came low and direct. "Body awakening is physical. Think fire, lightning, ice, stone, even poison. Abilities you can see, touch, destroy the world with. Most cultivators awaken a body ability first, and the strong ones climb quickly. They're easy to understand — raw power, brute force, a soldier's path."
She paused, then tilted her head slightly.
"Soul awakening is different. It is not about muscles or flames. It is about essence. Your soul defines things like shadow, light, void, space… things that aren't just destruction but rules. Soul abilities bend existence. Some can terrify even the strongest body cultivators, because you can burn a body, but what do you do when someone can erase your shadow, or swallow your existence with nothingness?"
Kaiden's mouth fell open, "Wait, wait, wait… so you're saying soul is rarer?"
"Much rarer," she replied, her tone flat as if the fact was too obvious to be debated.
"One out of a hundred cultivators awaken their soul ability. And of those, only a handful survive long enough to master it."
"Why?"
"Because it's dangerous."
Kaiden blinked, clearly expecting more.
"That's it? Dangerous how?"
Her tone sharpened, like cold steel scraping. "Dangerous because the soul is fragile. Crack your body, and you can heal. Crack your soul… and you may never return. You'll wander the void as nothing but whispers. The cultivation world doesn't forgive weak souls."
A shiver ran down Kaiden's back. He rubbed his arms like he could chase away the chill. "So you're saying if I mess this up… I'm basically dead?"
"Worse than dead," she said.
"Great," he muttered under his breath, clicking his tongue. "So let me guess, I'm doing the soul awakening first, right? Because why wouldn't you throw me into the hardest part first."
Her form leaned closer until he could feel the pressure of her presence pressing on his skin. "Correct. I will awaken your soul. Your body… that will be left for the academy. They have the resources, the techniques, and the protections. Body awakenings are stable. Soul awakenings are not. Which is why… I'm here."
He swallowed hard, still trying to process everything. "So… wait. If body abilities are fire, lightning, ice and all that stuff… then what are soul abilities? Like shadow and light? What else?"
Her voice lowered into something almost reverent. "Shadow, light, void, time, memory, fate, even death itself. Abilities that cannot be touched with a hand, but can unravel the strongest warrior. Some are simple like charm or illusions, others are terrifying, like consuming life, bending time, or erasing existence. They are what truly decide who is remembered and who is forgotten."
Kaiden stared blankly. "Holy shit…"
For a long moment he just sat there, trying to imagine himself with one of those abilities. Then his lips twitched into a small grin. "So… if I get something insane time, I'm basically unstoppable, right?"
"Or you die the instant you fail to control it," she cut in sharply, her voice echoing inside his head like a cold knife.
The grin slid right off his face. He coughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "…Right. Yeah. That part."
She tilted her head, and for the first time her tone softened, just a little. "But if you succeed, Kaiden… then the world itself will bend when you walk."
Kaiden's heart thumped hard at those words. He clenched his fists, his nerves still rattled but his blood boiling with anticipation.
"Alright… then let's do it. Let's awaken this soul thing and see what fate has for me."
The goddess's form flickered, the air around her trembling like rippling water. "Patience. That comes next. For now, you understand the difference. Remember this well: your soul is your true foundation. Your body is the weapon. If your soul is weak, your blade will shatter. If your soul is strong… then even a broken stick will become a divine sword in your hand."
Kaiden gulped, his eyes fixed on her as the room grew colder, heavier. He couldn't tell if her words comforted him or scared him even more. Probably both.