Inside the Fire Simulation Chamber, the heat rippled like a living thing. The runes etched into the floor glowed faintly, weaving a pocket reality.
Thomas stared at the visions dancing before him, flames blooming, collapsing, rising again like reborn suns. They weren't wild or chaotic like what Kael and Adrian had seen in the Nexus route.
Here, the concepts unfolded in order, from first spark to raging inferno. This was the strength of these chambers, ordered truth, not wild infinity.
Adrian settled cross-legged nearby, letting the Source guide his gaze. The visions unfolded one by one.
He saw the most primitive truth first, combustion. Fire born when essence struck matter, feeding on mana as fuel.
Then heat flow, fire's breath extending, heating not just matter but space itself. A fire that burned even in the void.
Each vision bloomed into perfect clarity. To Adrian, it was like remembering truths he had always known but forgotten.
He drifted deeper. Sweat beaded on his forehead as the temperature climbed, but his body adapted instantly.
A volcano erupted in molten arcs, showing pressure ignition. Fire not just sparked, but born of crushing weight.
A blazing figure split into dozens of fiery copies, teaching duplication through heat mirages. The technique shimmered through Adrian's mind.
A crimson dragon of molten essence roared and collapsed into a collapsing sun. The very strikes Tharion had used in the arena echoed before him.
Crimson core compression, a fire that folded in on itself to explode outward, magnified.
Thomas grunted beside him, sweat streaming down his face. "The pressure... it's incredible."
"Focus on the foundation," Adrian murmured, eyes still closed. "Let the simplest truth anchor you."
Thomas nodded, his jaw clenched with effort. The flames around him flickered weakly, responding to his will by degrees.
Adrian absorbed them all. Every concept revealed itself like a page turning in a book written just for him.
Half an hour later, a hush fell. His liquified mana changed into fire essence as a Fire Domain spread outward from his body, pure and absolute.
The chamber trembled as flames bent to his will. Essence swirled around him like planets around a star.
Everyone stared.
Varik's jaw dropped, stunned into silence. A man who had entered with no fire essence at all now commanded a Fire Domain within half an hour.
"Impossible," he breathed, then caught himself. His voice cracked as he continued, "My lord, you were a space user..."
"How can you change your affinity?" Varik's hands shook as he gestured at the flames dancing around Adrian. "This defies every law of cultivation."
But Elara, Aurelia, Septimus, Cassian, Draven, Lucian... none looked surprised. They had read Aurelia's reports, had already accepted Adrian's miracles.
Draven even chuckled, his scarred face splitting into a grin. "Hah! If you'd taken longer, then I'd have been shocked."
Septimus peered at the fire domain with scholarly interest. "Fascinating. The purity exceeds most Stellar-stage."
Varik could hardly breathe. The casual acceptance of the impossible left him reeling.
"They treat this like it's normal?!" His worldview crumbled and rebuilt itself around this new reality.
In his heart, this felt like divinity. Adrian wasn't just powerful, he was a good soul who had freed the people.
Varik clenched his fist, conviction burning in his chest. "This... this is the lord I am serving now!"
The weight of serving true greatness settled on his shoulders. Not the cruel strength of Tharion, but something pure and limitless.
Adrian rose, fire swirling harmlessly off his body. But his gaze didn't linger on the flames. Instead, his Source Eyes studied the floor.
At first glance, they were simply concepts written in the Language of Mana, each guiding the fire mana crystals' energy. But near the core, his eyes caught it, a new symbol. One he had never seen in the Volumes.
It was simple, sharp, its meaning clear to him the instant he saw it.
Formation.
He followed its logic. It didn't act alone. The formation symbol was the anchor, declaring the runes as more than words.
Around it, instructions shaped the outcome.
[Show fire's truths, create visions, simulate concepts.]
That was why this chamber existed.
But Adrian realized that it could be redefined. What if he changed those words? Replace "create visions" with "shield," and the formation would create barriers instead.
Or "trap," and it would twist space itself into snares.
Back on Earth, technology created fragile shields for cities. Here, runes alone could weave protections stronger.
His chest tightened. To carve such a formation, the inscriber must not only wield fire essence, but also comprehend truths deeper than even the visions here. Whoever created this was terrifyingly far beyond him.
The galaxy was vast, and it showed itself to him again.
He turned his gaze. His father, Thomas, still sat before the flames, struggling. For him, even these carefully arranged basics would take years of effort.
Adrian extended his hand. At his fingertip bloomed a soft, white-grey sphere, humming with compressed truths.
"Father."
Thomas looked up. He knew this light, had seen Adrian share it before. He extended his hands without hesitation.
The sphere sank into him, bursting like dawn. Knowledge flooded him, planetary fire concepts, then galactic basics. The advanced galactic concept sealed itself within, a reservoir he could draw upon slowly.
Thomas gasped. His essence seed began to bloom inside him.
Then he laughed, loud and joyous, as his essence burst outward. A blazing fire manifested around him, and within moments, his essence seed bloomed fully.
He had ascended.
Thomas stood, fists wreathed in crimson essence, tears in his eyes. "I... I am SSS-rank." His laughter shook the chamber walls.
"Well done, Father." Adrian's voice carried genuine pride. "You've earned this."
Father and son emerged together from the simulation area.
Elara stepped forward, her golden eyes bright with joy. "Thomas, you magnificent fool. Look at you now."
"Couldn't have done it without our son." Thomas wiped his eyes, grinning at Adrian.
Varik stared, speechless. One had created a fire domain as a space user, and another had bloomed his seed in minutes.
And no one else looked surprised.
His mind whirled. "What did the lord give him? What was that sphere? Can they all comprehend faster than others?"
But he swallowed the questions. He was no fool. Secrets like these were not for him to ask.
Instead, he bowed low.
But within Varik, a fire burned. Whatever Adrian was, whatever secrets he held, following him felt like destiny.