Outer Space - Several Hundred Thousand Kilometers from Earth
Vaelor floated in the void, still processing the revelation of his uncle's identity and the staggering power differential between them. His hand remained clasped in Nyxon's—the handshake sealing their alliance felt like it carried weight beyond the physical, as if reality itself acknowledged the agreement.
Nyxon released his nephew's hand and stepped back, his expression shifting from serious negotiation to something more businesslike.
"Now then," he said, his voice carrying that strange harmonic quality that suggested galaxies speaking in unison. "Before I depart to handle certain... political complications your existence has created, I need to provide you with proper cultivation resources."
He gestured, and space rippled.
"You can't reach Galaxion Tier—or anywhere close to it—using the meager energy sources available in lower realms. Earth's sun? Inadequate. High-tier Abyssal Rifts? Barely worth the effort for someone with your advancement rate."
Nyxon's golden eyes gleamed with something approaching pride.
"No, if you're going to grow strong enough to matter on the cosmic stage, you need resources from the cosmic stage."
He waved his hand, and reality fractured.
Not violently—more like a curtain being drawn aside. A spatial storage dimension opened before them, revealing contents that made Vaelor's enhanced eyes widen with genuine shock.
The first thing he noticed were the orbs.
Massive crystalline spheres floated in the storage space, each one radiating with condensed energy so dense that even looking at them made his perception strain. They weren't large by normal standards—each orb was perhaps three meters in diameter—but Vaelor's Divine Insight immediately recognized what they contained.
Galaxy-scale energy. Compressed. Crystallized. Contained.
"These," Nyxon explained, gesturing to the orbs with casual pride, "are Stellar Nexus Cores. I captured them from unstable dimensional zones in the upper realms—places where reality was collapsing and needed to be stabilized anyway."
He pulled one of the orbs out of the storage space. It floated between them, pulsing with internal luminescence that cycled through every color in the visible spectrum and several that shouldn't exist in normal space.
"Each core contains the pure energy equivalent of an entire galaxy," Nyxon stated calmly, as if discussing something mundane. "Not the matter—just the energy. Every star's output, every gravitational force, every electromagnetic field, all compressed and crystallized into stable form."
He gestured, and more orbs emerged from the storage space. One. Five. Ten. Twenty. Fifty.
Fifty galaxy-sized energy cores.
"This should be sufficient to fuel your cultivation to Galaxion Realm," Nyxon said with satisfaction. "Absorb them completely, integrate their energy properly, and you'll have the foundation needed to reach cosmic-tier power."
Vaelor stared at the floating orbs, his enhanced consciousness calculating the sheer magnitude of what he was seeing.
Fifty galaxies worth of pure energy. Each galaxy containing billions of stars. Each star burning for billions of years. All of that power, condensed, ready to be absorbed.
This is... this is...
He couldn't even formulate adequate description. The resources floating before him represented more power than his entire home planet would generate in trillions of years.
And his uncle was giving them to him casually, like a parent handing pocket money to a child.
"Next," Nyxon continued, pulling something else from his storage space, "you'll need proper tempering for your energy-based physique."
What emerged made Vaelor's perception recoil instinctively.
A sphere of absolute darkness. Not black—dark. The kind of darkness that consumed light rather than simply lacking it. The sphere was perhaps ten meters in diameter, but its gravitational influence was immediately apparent as space warped around it in visible distortions.
"A contained black hole," Nyxon explained. "Specifically, a stellar-mass black hole I extracted from a dying binary star system. The original star had approximately thirty solar masses before collapse."
He gestured, and complex formations materialized around the black hole—intricate patterns of energy that pulsed with containment power.
"The formations keep it stable and prevent it from consuming everything nearby. They also allow you to adjust the gravitational intensity—from the event horizon down to the singularity itself."
Nyxon's expression became more serious.
"The gravity near a black hole's singularity is millions of times stronger than anything you've experienced. It will compress your energy-based cells, force them to adapt, temper your physique beyond normal limits. The time dilation effects are also useful—you can cultivate for subjective years while only days pass in normal space."
He met Vaelor's eyes directly.
"This is genuine cosmic-tier training. The kind of tempering that transforms ordinary cultivators into legends. Use it properly, and your physique will achieve densities that make neutron materials seem like mist."
Vaelor's analytical mind was already calculating the implications.
Time dilation near a black hole's event horizon. I could spend months, years cultivating while only brief periods pass on Earth. The clone can maintain appearances while the main body undergoes intensive advancement.
And the gravitational compression... my energy-atoms will be forced to pack tighter, denser, more efficiently. Each cellular universe will become more real under that pressure.
This solves the advancement speed problem completely.
"Third," Nyxon said, pulling out several crystalline stones that glowed with inner light, "you'll need these for Law comprehension."
The stones were various colors—deep blue, golden yellow, silver-white, dark purple, emerald green. Each one radiated with a particular conceptual weight that suggested fundamental reality principles made manifest.
"Law Comprehension Stones," Nyxon explained. "Each one contains the complete understanding of a particular Law, recorded from ancient masters who achieved perfect comprehension. Space Law, Time Law, Gravity Law, Light Law, Shadow Law—all the fundamental principles you'll need to master."
He gestured, and dozens more stones emerged from storage.
"These won't give you instant comprehension—that's impossible. Laws must be understood through personal insight. But they'll provide perfect reference frameworks. You'll see how masters approached the Laws, what insights led to breakthroughs, what pitfalls to avoid."
"Normally," Nyxon added, "these stones are priceless treasures reserved for the most talented clan members. A single stone might be auctioned for resources equivalent to a galaxy GDP. I'm giving you fifty-three of them covering every major Law and several esoteric ones."
Vaelor's consciousness was approaching overload from processing the sheer value of what was being provided.
Galaxy-scale energy. Black hole tempering. Perfect Law reference materials. Any one of these would be considered ultimate fortune for lower-realm cultivators. I'm receiving all three.
"And finally," Nyxon said with a slight smile, "you'll need proper combat experience."
He pulled out what appeared to be a small jade token, perhaps the size of a coin. Intricate patterns covered its surface—formations and arrays so complex that Vaelor's enhanced perception could barely track their structure.
"This," Nyxon announced, "is the access key to the Sanctum of Infinite Battle."
He channeled energy into the token, and it expanded. Not growing larger physically—expanding dimensionally. Space unfolded around the token, revealing a vast structure that existed in pocket dimension.
Through the dimensional window, Vaelor glimpsed an enormous hall stretching beyond visual limits. The architecture was simultaneously ancient and impossibly advanced—pillars that seemed carved from solidified starlight, floors that reflected infinite depths, walls inscribed with glowing combat records.
"The Sanctum is a combat simulation facility," Nyxon explained. "It contains recorded battle data from the strongest experts across the universe's history. Every legendary warrior, every cosmic-tier master, every technique that's achieved fame—all recorded and available for simulation."
His expression became more animated with clear enthusiasm.
"You can fight against perfect recreations of these experts. Not illusions—genuine simulations that replicate their power, techniques, combat instincts, everything. They'll adapt to your abilities, learn from your tactics, push you to absolute limits."
"The Sanctum has records spanning from Tier 1 Warriors up to Universal Sovereign level combatants," Nyxon continued. "Obviously, you'll want to start at appropriate difficulty and work upward. Fighting a simulated Universal Sovereign at your current level would be... unproductive."
He smirked slightly at the understatement.
"But as you advance, you'll face increasingly powerful opponents. Learn their techniques. Understand their combat philosophies. Develop your own fighting style through battle against the universe's greatest warriors."
Nyxon placed the jade token in Vaelor's hand.
"The Sanctum also includes training facilities, recovery chambers, technique libraries, and analysis functions that will help you identify weaknesses in your combat approach. Consider it your personal cosmic-tier training ground."
Vaelor held the jade token, feeling the weight of what it represented. Not physical weight—conceptual weight. This small object contained access to knowledge and training that could transform him from talented prodigy into genuine cosmic powerhouse.
He looked at the resources floating around them: fifty galaxy-scale energy cores, a contained black hole, dozens of Law Comprehension Stones, and access to the Sanctum of Infinite Battle.
This is...
His thoughts crystallized into a single realization.
This is what it feels like to have the backing of someone truly powerful.