The road stretched wide and empty.
No pressure.
No resistance.
Just open land and moving air.
Kael walked slower than before, each step deliberate. Without a domain to push back, his body threatened to overextend, muscles pulling too far, joints moving too freely.
He hated it.
So he corrected it.
Kael shortened his steps further, tightened his core, and forced his posture lower. He imagined pressure where there was none—visualizing weight pressing down on his shoulders, against his spine.
Fake.
But useful.
Seris watched quietly. "You're fighting the air."
Kael nodded. "Until the air fights back."
They encountered their first obstacle by noon.
A ravine, shallow but wide, its sides slick with loose stone.
Other cultivators leapt across easily.
Kael didn't.
He stepped down, crossed the bottom, and climbed up the other side slowly, forcing his legs to work under controlled strain.
Seris frowned. "That was slower."
Kael agreed. "But honest."
At the top, his thighs burned.
Good.
[Adaptation Log:]
— External Pressure: None
— Internal Load Simulation: Active
— Efficiency: 18%
They made camp near dusk.
Kael trained while Seris rested.
No techniques.
No Qi release.
Only controlled movement.
He lifted stones, not to throw—but to hold. He balanced on uneven ground, tightening muscles to replace pressure. He practiced standing still under imagined weight until sweat soaked his clothes.
Time passed slowly.
Pain accumulated.
That night, someone watched.
Not close.
Not hostile.
Yet.
Kael felt it when his breathing changed, when the air around him shifted ever so slightly.
He opened his eyes.
"Show yourself," Kael said calmly.
A man stepped out from the darkness.
Thin.
Sharp eyes.
No heavy aura.
A scout.
"I heard about you," the man said. "The one who left the domain alive."
Kael didn't stand.
"Then leave," he replied.
The scout smiled nervously. "Just curious."
Kael finally looked at him.
The man froze.
Not from pressure.
From certainty.
He backed away slowly and disappeared into the night.
Seris exhaled. "You scared him without doing anything."
Kael closed his eyes again.
"I did something," he said. "I didn't yield."
By morning, Kael could feel it.
Not pressure.
Balance.
His body no longer overreacted to freedom. Muscles obeyed him again, moving with restraint rather than excess.
Still weak.
But aligned.
[Progress Update:]
— Internal Load Control: 22%
— Dependency on Domain: Decreasing
— Hidden Benefit: Baseline Stability Increased
Seris stretched. "You're adapting faster than you think."
Kael nodded. "Because this is harder."
She tilted her head. "Harder than Crushing Ridge?"
Kael looked at the open horizon.
"There, the world tried to crush me," he said.
"Here, it doesn't care."
They resumed walking.
Ahead, the land rose gradually.
Mountains.
Between them, faint distortions shimmered.
Pressure zones.
Plural.
Kael felt the pull again—but weaker, less demanding.
An invitation.
Not a command.
He tightened his fists.
"Next time," he said quietly, "I won't rely on them."
Seris smiled faintly. "You're becoming dangerous in a different way."
Kael didn't deny it.
He walked on—
heavy without pressure,
stable without support,
learning how to carry himself when the world refused to help.
The test came sooner than Kael expected.
They encountered a group of five cultivators blocking the narrow mountain path ahead. Not elites. Not hunters.
Opportunists.
Their auras were uneven, Qi flaring too loudly, trying to intimidate rather than control.
One stepped forward, smirking. "Hand over your supplies. You look… tired."
Seris tensed.
Kael didn't.
He stopped walking.
That alone made the man hesitate.
"You don't feel it?" the cultivator scoffed. "No pressure zone here. No advantage."
Kael nodded slowly. "I know."
He stepped forward.
The first attack came fast.
A blade flashed toward Kael's neck, wrapped in sharp Qi.
Kael didn't dodge backward.
He stepped in.
His shoulder met the attacker's chest.
Not with force—
with mass.
The man flew backward, crashing into the stone wall, gasping as air left his lungs.
The others froze.
Kael felt it clearly.
No pressure had helped him.
No domain had bent the world.
That weight—
was his.
[Combat Feedback:]
— External Pressure: None
— Internal Load Control: Functional
— Stability Under Conflict: Confirmed
Two rushed him together.
Kael lowered his stance, tightened his core, and moved deliberately. Every motion was compact, economical, restrained.
A fist struck his ribs.
Pain flared.
But his structure held.
Kael grabbed the attacker's wrist and pulled—not fast, not hard—just enough to break balance.
The man fell.
Kael's heel came down.
Stone cracked.
The fight ended.
The remaining two backed away, fear replacing arrogance.
"This isn't right…" one whispered. "He's heavy."
Kael looked at them calmly.
"Leave," he said.
They ran.
Seris stared at him after they disappeared.
"That was different," she said. "You didn't overwhelm them."
Kael nodded. "I didn't need to."
He flexed his fingers slowly.
His breathing was steady.
His body didn't tremble.
Pain lingered—but it didn't destabilize him.
As they continued upward, Kael reflected quietly.
Pressure zones amplified him.
But without them—
he was learning restraint.
Density without oppression.
Weight without domination.
That night, Kael trained again.
But differently.
He practiced absorbing impacts from falling stones, letting his body accept force without relying on pressure. He practiced holding awkward stances until his muscles burned, reinforcing internal alignment.
Seris watched, saying nothing.
By dawn, Kael felt it clearly.
Something had settled.
Not power.
Foundation.
[Adaptation Progress:]
— Internal Load Control: 29%
— Combat Efficiency (No Domain): Improved
— Hidden Trait: Structural Endurance (Emerging)
As they broke camp, Seris finally spoke.
"You're scarier like this."
Kael looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because now," she said, "even if the world gives you nothing…"
She gestured at the empty land.
"You still stand."
Kael turned toward the mountains ahead.
Pressure zones waited there.
Hunters too.
But for the first time—
he didn't feel pulled.
He chose his direction.
He stepped forward, grounded by nothing but himself.
And the road—
did not feel light anymore.