Sirius drained the last drops of tea from his cup with divine grace, then rose with the unmistakable air of a master ready to begin the real lesson. He snapped his fingers, and reality shifted around them like liquid light. They now sat in the pristine white void, both cross-legged on the ethereal floor, facing each other like master and disciple preparing for the ultimate teaching.
"To commune with the Allborn, you must first understand the fundamental nature of spirit energy," Sirius began, his voice carrying the weight of eons. "I'm certain your system has whispered fragments of knowledge to you, but now you need the complete truth."
He paused, his piercing blue eyes studying Sera's attentive expression before continuing. "Everything connected to spirit energy possesses a unique signature—waves of power that define the very essence of that being's constitution." Sirius pointed directly at Sera, his gesture carrying divine authority. "I can sense your signature as clearly as seeing your face. Though we possess entirely different spiritual fingerprints, we can merge our energies temporarily to become one. When this union occurs, we meet within a soulscape—if I initiate the connection, it manifests as my inner world; if you take the lead, it becomes yours."
Sera focused with laser intensity, absorbing every word like a student whose life depended on the upcoming examination. The comparison wasn't far from the truth.
"While you cannot yet perceive these signatures naturally, I will teach you the method," Sirius continued, rising to his feet. "However, time is our enemy, so I pray you possess the aptitude to master this quickly."
Sirius stood and unsheathed the Allborn Katana he had been crafting, its blade gleaming with otherworldly light. He gestured for Sera to assume a ready position. Sera, completely bewildered by why the ancient god wanted to spar when he'd emphasized their time constraints, erupted in frustration.
"Hey, old man! You just said we had no time, yet here you are wanting to beat me senseless!"
Sirius merely gazed at him with a patient frown before placing a finger to his lips in a subtle shushing gesture, then pointed to his own eyes. "Watch me carefully!"
The god assumed a combat stance that somehow combined the coiled tension of a sprinter with the predatory menace of a hunting cat. In what appeared to be a single, fluid motion, he swung his blade through the air and returned to his original position. But the aftermath told a different story—ripples cascaded through the very fabric of space as massive pressure exploded outward like shockwaves from a divine bomb.
Sirius turned to Sera with an expectant expression. "How many times did I move?"
Sera blinked in confusion. He had watched with complete attention, and his eyes clearly registered only one movement. He couldn't fathom why Sirius was asking about multiple motions when there had obviously been just one.
"I see your confusion," Sirius observed, immediately snapping his fingers. Within the white expanse, a perfect duplicate of the god materialized—not another Sirius, but a crystalline image capturing his sword technique in perpetual repetition.
"This should aid your practice. Remember—time is not your ally."
Sera remained silent, transfixed by the image as it repeated the identical sword sequence over and over. He strained his perception, analyzed every microsecond, but could only detect a single strike. The motion had cycled fifty times, and Sera was beginning to suspect the old god was playing an elaborate prank on him. Then a crucial realization struck like lightning—they were working with spirit energy, and if his experience with mana had taught him anything, it was that energy always possessed multiple applications.
Sera recalled Sirius's first instruction: *watch*. An idea crystallized in his mind. He concentrated on the foreign energy within him that wasn't mana, drawing upon it the same way he would access his magical reserves. But spirit energy proved far more volatile than mana—when he attempted to channel it like an electrical current, the power surged through his entire body, subjecting him to excruciating pain and crushing pressure. Yet Sera endured, gritting his teeth against the agony as he molded the energy into his very essence—his hands, legs, muscles, even the spaces between his cells. Finally, he concentrated a portion of this power specifically into his eyes while maintaining the flow throughout his form.
After countless failed attempts that left him gasping and trembling, Sera finally succeeded in coating his entire body with spirit energy. He looked at the clone again, which was now performing its 112th repetition. This time, his enhanced vision revealed the truth—as the clone executed what appeared to be the initial slash, it spun around to deliver a second strike, followed by an upward cut, then a vertical downward slice, and finally a precise horizontal slash at mid-level. Five distinct movements hidden within what seemed like one.
Sera turned back to Sirius with exhaustion etched into every line of his face, but triumph blazing in his eyes. "Five," he declared breathlessly. "Five slashes."
Sirius's face split into a proud grin as he dispersed the clone with another casual snap. "Excellent! What you've just unlocked is an ability known as 'Sense' in this realm. Most beings only awaken this power upon reaching the Master rank, though a rare few with exceptional intelligence can unlock it at lower levels."
The god approached Sera with measured steps. "You've discovered a method to access this power, albeit only a fragment of its true potential. To sense spiritual signatures, you'll need to *feel* them rather than simply see enhanced movements. Apply the same principle you just used, but with a different focus."
Sera looked at Sirius with eyes that clearly communicated: *What do you mean by 'same principle'? Give me actual instructions!*
Regardless of his internal complaints, Sera employed the same energy manipulation technique, but this time he closed his eyes and attempted to sense the environment around him. Instead of compressing the spirit energy inward, he allowed it to explode outward like a radar pulse, spreading his awareness throughout the surrounding space. Immediately, he could perceive threads of power and pulsing pressures in the air—this was Sirius's signature, and it felt remarkably serene, like a calm mountain stream.
Sera opened his eyes to find Sirius wearing another satisfied grin. "Now you're ready to meet the Allborn."
As the initial excitement subsided, Sirius prepared Sera with detailed instructions for the upcoming encounter. "I will mask my own signature to help you focus exclusively on the Allborn, since you're still new to this system. When you locate its spiritual fingerprint, I want you to synchronize with it—don't resist or fight its influence. Allow it to guide you, follow its lead back to its source, and let it draw you to its core. Once you arrive there, I want you to flood that core with your own energy. Awaken the sleeping dragon and let it know you've come bearing both leash and partnership."
Sirius's words resonated powerfully in Sera's heart, though he suspected the crafty god was essentially telling him to rush blindly toward potential spiritual suicide. Nevertheless, he assumed the cross-legged meditation position, placing his katana before him. The blade hummed with energy—a sound that had always been present but which he could only now perceive with crystal clarity.
Sera unleashed his spirit energy like a tempest, and immediately detected another signature entirely distinct from what he'd felt from Sirius. Unlike the god's calm, flowing presence, this signature radiated raw aggression and seemed eager to tear him apart on a molecular level. Following Sirius's guidance, he collided with this hostile energy and allowed it to drag him inward, leading him toward the epicenter of its power.
Sera found himself at the core—a pulsing sphere of black energy shot through with purple veins, unlike anything he had ever encountered. This was his first glimpse of a living core, and unlike the mana cores he could devour, this one radiated sentient hostility. He pushed his own red-tinged energy into the dark sphere, attempting to dye it with his signature. The core fought back viciously, expelling his power like an immune system rejecting foreign invaders, but Sera doubled his efforts. They engaged in a spiritual war of attrition until finally, his red energy overcame the black-purple resistance, dyeing the entire core crimson.
Suddenly, blinding light exploded around him, and Sera felt his spirit energy settle into perfect harmony with his surroundings. Unlike his previous struggles, he was certain now that he stood within his own soulscape—a realm where his will was law.
A single, resonant drum beat echoed through the spiritual dimension, and from absolute nothingness, a magnificent structure materialized. The building rose seven meters into the ethereal sky—a traditional dojo crafted with architectural perfection that spoke of ancient warrior traditions. Surrounding the structure, dozens of katanas in various colors stood like silent sentinels, while torches lined both sides of a crimson carpet that led directly to the dojo's entrance.
The invitation was unmistakable. Sera was about to meet his Allborn face to face.