Center of the Far North – Snow Empress' Ice Palace
The frozen mist covered the white horizon like a silent sea. Deep within the crystal palace, the Snow Empress rested upon her throne carved from eternal ice, eyes closed, immersed in millennia-old meditation.
Suddenly…
A whisper.
Not in the air. Not in the wind.
In the blood of the ice.
Her body, perfect and still like a statue, trembled slightly. The temperature around her dropped even further, and thousands of snowflakes began to swirl in a soft vortex, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
—No… impossible…
There it was: a young heartbeat, weak… yet pure.
The ice essence of a newly born soul beast. Not just any ice, but ice with the same resonance as hers.
The Empress opened her eyes. Her glacial blue gaze pierced southward, beyond mountains and blizzards, as if she could see through everything.
The connection was instinctive. Natural.
The birth had released a brief but unmistakable wave: the sign that someone of her race had been born. She, who had always felt alone as the only maiden of the snows… no longer was.
But alongside that purity…
Something strange.
Another energy, foreign, mingling with the ice—like a shadow trying to conceal the light of that new heart.
The Empress gave the faintest smile. It was not a warm smile.
—Little one… who has hidden you from me?
The blizzard rose in fury.
The ice palace responded to her will to seek.
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Meanwhile, I was staring blankly at the horizon. I had been so captivated by the spectacle in the sky that I forgot something basic: I hadn't gathered wood or leaves to make a fire.
—Brilliant… —I scolded myself—. Forgetting something so important…
It wasn't that I needed the heat to survive; my body seemed adapted to the extreme cold. But there was a fear in me more human than soul beast: the fear of darkness. And that night, without a moon, the cave would become a black, silent mouth.
Fortunately, the stars and the auroras gave off a faint glow. I lifted my head and saw a landscape so beautiful it stole my breath. Among the green and violet lights dancing above, I felt a strange warmth—not physical, but intimate. It was like a mother's embrace, tucking her child in.
And then it happened: my energy surged instinctively. It was as if the very sky was feeding me. A tingling ran through me, and I couldn't help but smile.
It was a strange sensation, like soaking in a jacuzzi after a long, exhausting day. I closed my eyes, let myself drift… and fell asleep.
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A thin line of drool was slipping down my cheek when a ray of sunlight hit my face. I woke up startled, blinking against the brightness.
—Perfect… —I muttered—. If some marine soul beast had found me, I would have been breakfast on a silver platter.
I shook my head to clear it. It was time to start experimenting with my abilities and my body. Until now, I had used my soul power purely on instinct, like breathing without thinking. You know you're doing it, but you can't control each inhale at will.
Control was another matter entirely.
The same went for my ice manipulation ability: it felt like an atrophied muscle. Every conscious attempt to shape something left me drained.
I decided to improvise a traditional gym setup, but made of ice. With thick frozen pillars, I could strike them to train strength and endurance. I also tried making weighted clothes with my ice ability… the result was a disaster: the blocks were uncomfortable, unbalanced, and broke easily.
—Well, nobody said it would be easy…
Then I remembered something: Rokushiki, the six combat arts from One Piece. At their core, they were extreme physical techniques. In this universe, such skills could be considered soul abilities.
If a cultivator from another plane saw that here you could gain powers just by absorbing a soul ring, they would feel a bit envious. They have to comprehend and master martial arts created by generations before them, or invent their own. Here, a skill comes "packaged" with the ring… though it isn't always ideal.
Still, I saw an advantage: a learned skill could evolve through personal understanding. And Rokushiki was perfect for that purpose.
I decided to focus first on the three styles I knew well: Geppo, Soru, and Rankyaku. With soul power as a supplement, imitating them shouldn't be too difficult. The other three required a master to explain their fundamentals—it was like knowing how to throw a punch but not how to hit to maximize damage without hurting yourself.
Here, the ice essence in the cave would play a key role. It wasn't mine; it emanated from the stones and the frozen water inside. Just staying there for a while made me feel that energy seep into my body, helping to heal microinjuries and restore strength. If I injured myself during training, I could use it to recover quickly without lingering damage.
The place was saturated with it. The air had an almost imperceptible white shimmer, and the surface of the walls exhaled a fine mist that smelled like freshly fallen snow. When I breathed deeply, I felt that freshness fill my lungs, and a sweet chill ran down my arms and legs.
With that resource, I could push myself far beyond what normal training would allow.
While I practiced, more ideas came to mind.
Could I replicate Haki using soul power? Armament Haki seemed the most feasible: an invisible armor made of energy, something a soul master could develop if they understood the concept.
But control remained the biggest obstacle.
That's why, once I could feel my soul power consciously and not just by instinct, I would try applying a training method similar to chakra control from the Naruto universe. If I achieved that fluidity, I could move my energy as naturally as breathing.
And there was one more goal: to create my own cultivation method. Soul beasts absorbed energy purely by instinct, without any refined technique. That made their growth painfully slow compared to humans, whose advantage lay in cultivation methods. The only true edge a soul beast had was its long lifespan.
If I could devise a method to accelerate cultivation speed without losing stability, I could surpass anyone.
But that would be a long-term project.
For now, I had intense training ahead of me, a handful of ambitious goals, and a cave filled with ice essence offering me time… and perhaps, if I knew how to use it, power as well.