Zephyr crouched on the scorching sand and slowly closed his eyes. The heat beneath him was enough to burn skin, yet he paid it no mind. His focus was entirely elsewhere.
He took a deep breath and began relaxing his muscles, one by one. Once his body felt light and loose, he moved to the next step: silencing his mind.
He spoke to himself in a calm, inner voice:
"Calm… focus… calm, then focus… calm… focus…"
His breathing slowed, as if the world itself had come to a halt. The beat of his heart echoed rhythmically in his chest:
Ba… dum… ba… dum… ba… dum…
He remained in that state for nearly fifteen minutes, until he sensed himself entering the stillness Arnuld had once described—
the absolute stillness that precedes the gathering of Ascension Energy.
From afar, Arnuld and Sarin watched in silence, standing at a distance where even their breathing couldn't be heard. They didn't utter a single word. Any sound could shatter Zephyr's fragile focus.
Arnuld turned his head slightly to spot Zakrox nearby, watching with the keen eyes of a hawk. When he noticed how deeply immersed Zephyr had become, he gave a slight nod.
Inside, Zephyr felt utterly still, as though his body and mind had detached from the world.
"Now it's time…" he told himself.
"I'll draw in the energy particles slowly, no rush. And if I fail… it's fine. I'll try again."
But almost immediately, a voice within snapped:
"No! Don't let yourself drift! Focus… just focus on the calm…"
As he continued his deep breathing, a vivid image formed in his mind: countless, invisible particles floating all around him. Though unseen by the naked eye, he could feel their presence with uncanny clarity. They varied in shape, size, and color—some glowing softly, others dim, all dancing through the air like living beings.
"I can see them… Ascension Energy. Now, the second phase: draw the particles toward the heart, slowly… very slowly…"
Zephyr focused his mind on one random particle—red in color—and selected it as his first target. He imagined his consciousness reaching out, guiding it like a piece on a mental chessboard. The particle began inching its way toward him, crawling through the sea of others, slowly nearing his body.
It behaved like a shy child stepping into an unfamiliar world—hesitant, yet responding to his will.
But as he attempted to guide it into his heart, he met an unexpected resistance—
his skin.
It felt solid, impenetrable, like an unbreakable wall blocking entry.
Zephyr was startled. Arnuld had never mentioned this barrier. Still, rather than panic, he thought rationally.
"If there are tiny channels in the skin that can't fit this particle… maybe I just need a smaller one."
He released the first and reopened his awareness to the ocean of floating particles, carefully scanning until he found an exceptionally tiny one—so small his consciousness barely registered it, yet it was there.
He grasped it with his mind and began to gently pull it toward his heart.
Meanwhile, Zakrox whispered to Arnuld and Sarin:
"He's taking too long…"
Arnuld nodded subtly, eyes fixed on Zephyr.
"Yes… he's past the usual limit, but it's fine. If something serious had happened, we'd know."
Back in Zephyr's mind, he continued guiding the minuscule particle forward, now driven by equal parts fear and focus. He didn't want to repeat the previous failure.
The particle neared the skin—specifically, one of the microscopic channels he had spotted earlier.
"Now!" he told himself, and nudged the particle into the channel.
Suddenly, a sharp sting pierced his skin—like the jab of a needle. His body flinched, and his concentration shattered.
His eyes flew open.
"Damn it!" he cursed, frustrated.
Arnuld approached, followed by Sarin and Zakrox.
"What happened, boy?" Arnuld asked, concern evident in his voice.
Zephyr stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to make sense of it all. Then, he began explaining in detail:
"I completed the first step. I cleared my mind, regulated my breathing, relaxed every muscle."
Arnuld nodded—he had seen it for himself.
Zephyr continued:
"Then I visualized the particles. They were everywhere… billions of them. Different colors, different brightness. I picked one and drew it toward my heart, but my skin rejected it—it was like a wall."
All three raised their brows in surprise. None of them had encountered such an issue before.
Zakrox asked, "And what did you do after that?"
"I noticed there were tiny channels under the skin, but the particle was too big to enter. So I let it go, searched for a smaller one. When I found it, I guided it toward the channel… and it went in. But the moment it entered, I felt a sharp pain—it broke my focus."
Arnuld looked astonished.
"This is the first time I've heard of a skin barrier blocking entry…"
Zakrox chimed in:
"I've heard of people classified as 'voids'—unable to sense Ascension Energy at all. But you're different. You sensed it, even controlled it. A barrier doesn't mean you're a void… it just means your path is unique."
He added:
"You do have channels—but you need two things: particles small enough to pass through, and the endurance to withstand the pain they cause."
Zephyr nodded slowly.
"Yes… that's what I have to do."
He closed his eyes, preparing for another attempt, but Arnuld placed a firm hand on his shoulder and stopped him.
"Enough, boy. You've worn yourself out. Don't try again now."
Arnuld's tone was strict:
"Try again tomorrow after training. And if you fail, try the day after. Rushing it will do more harm than good."
Zephyr wanted to object, but when he saw the firmness in Arnuld's eyes—and the agreement in Sarin's and Zakrox's—he relented.
Arnuld declared,
"Go to your tent and sleep. In four days, we'll leave this cursed desert for green hills and deep forests."
But Zephyr barely heard him. All he could think about was the barrier, the channels, and how to break through them.
He walked slowly to his tent, sword resting on his shoulder, drowning in questions:
"Does this barrier exist in every human back in my old world? Is that why Ascension Energy doesn't exist there?
Is it because I'm from Earth that my skin still blocks the energy?
Or… was the energy itself never present in my world?
Or are all humans there naturally voids?
But if that's true… how did I sense it?"
His mind swirled with these questions until he reached his tent. He closed his eyes—and within moments, sleep overtook him, ending a day filled with doubts… and marking his very first step toward Ascension.
What Zephyr didn't know…
was that the pain he felt was merely the beginning of the path ahead.
And if this was just the first step…
What awaits him on the next attempt?