The next morning, Ethan stood before three hundred students who now looked at him with very different eyes. Yesterday they'd seen him as a prize, a curiosity, maybe a teacher.
Today, after watching him repel a Voidborne scout, they saw him as something else entirely.
A weapon. A solution. Their only hope against the things that were eating the galaxy alive.
No pressure at all.
"Yesterday was your introduction to what we're facing," Ethan began, his voice carrying through the Core Chamber. "Today, we start actual training.
But before we begin, I need to explain something fundamental about the Immortal Path."
He activated his spiritual sense, letting everyone feel the flowing quality of his cultivation. "Traditional cultivation is about accumulation. You pull in energy, compress it, store it in your core. The more you hoard, the stronger you become. Right?"
Nods throughout the chamber. This was basic knowledge for every cultivator present.
"That's also what's killing reality," Ethan continued. "Every core is a tiny black hole, pulling energy out of circulation. Multiply that by billions of cultivators across thousands of worlds, and you get a universe that's bleeding to death. The Voidborne exist to fix that problem by eliminating the holes."
Captain Vex raised her hand. "So you're saying cultivation itself is the problem? That we should just stop advancing?"
"No. I'm saying we've been doing it wrong." Ethan demonstrated, cycling energy through his core in the Immortal Path pattern. "Instead of trapping energy, we channel it. It flows through us, gets refined and returned to reality stronger than before. We become part of the cosmic ecosystem instead of parasites feeding on it."
*****
Look, I know how this sounds. I'm a human who learned to cultivate like three days ago, and I'm lecturing beings who've spent centuries mastering their techniques. The audacity is insane. I get it.
But here's the thing—I watched Earth die because nobody understood what the Voidborne actually were. I watched billions of people get erased from existence because we thought we could fight them with the same cultivation techniques that summoned them in the first place.
So yeah, I'm going to stand here and tell species older than my entire civilization that they've been doing it wrong. Because the alternative is watching the whole galaxy burn like my planet did. And I'm done watching things burn.
*****
"Show us," a Celestial student demanded. "Demonstrate the difference."
Ethan nodded to Nyx, who'd been waiting at the side of the chamber. She produced two training crystals, each designed to measure energy absorption.
"Traditional method first," Ethan said. He approached the first crystal and began pulling energy into his core using standard compression techniques. The crystal glowed brightly, showing massive energy drain from its surroundings. "See? I'm taking from the environment, converting it to personal power. The crystal registers as depleted."
He moved to the second crystal. "Now, the Immortal Path method."
This time, he let energy flow through him in the cycling pattern. The crystal glowed even brighter, but when Ethan checked the readings, the ambient energy in the area had actually increased.
"I channeled energy through myself and returned it refined," he explained. "The crystal shows more power available now than before I started. That's the fundamental difference. We don't consume—we elevate."
The chamber erupted in murmurs. Students were conferring with each other, some excited, others skeptical.
"That's impossible," a Fenris warrior growled. "You can't gain power without taking it from somewhere. Conservation of energy—"
"Is exactly why this works," Ethan interrupted. "Energy isn't destroyed in the Immortal Path. It's transformed and improved. Think of it like water purification. The water doesn't disappear—it becomes cleaner, more useful."
He could see some students beginning to understand, their expressions shifting from doubt to cautious hope.
"Today, you're all going to attempt the basic cycling technique," Ethan announced. "It's going to feel wrong at first. Every instinct you have will scream at you to compress and hold the energy. You're going to have to ignore centuries of training and trust something new."
He paired students up by species compatibility, creating small groups that could support each other during the learning process. Dr. Senna moved through the groups with her medical equipment, ready to intervene if anyone's cultivation went dangerously wrong.
"Remember," Ethan called out as students settled into meditation positions, "the goal isn't to be the strongest individual. It's to be part of a stronger whole. Let the energy flow. Don't fight it. Don't trap it. Just guide it through and let it go."
The chamber filled with the hum of three hundred cultivators attempting something that went against every instinct they'd ever developed.
Ethan moved between groups, feeling through his enhanced spiritual sense where students were struggling. A Celestial warrior was compressing too hard—he gently corrected her technique. An insectoid species member couldn't find the right rhythm—he helped establish the pattern.
Hours passed. Some students grasped the concept quickly, their energy beginning to flow in smooth cycles. Others fought against it, their traditional training too deeply ingrained to overcome easily.
*****
Here's what nobody tells you about being a teacher—it's terrifying. Every mistake I make gets multiplied by three hundred students. If I demonstrate a technique wrong, I could permanently damage someone's cultivation. If I push too hard, people could die.
If I don't push hard enough, they won't be ready when the real Voidborne swarm arrives in sixty days.
And yaah, I'm aware that sixty days is nothing. That's two months to turn three hundred strangers from rival factions into a cohesive force capable of fighting reality-warping monsters. Military boot camp takes longer than that, and those recruits are all from the same species with the same goals.
But I don't have the luxury of time or certainty. I've got two months, a system that expects miracles, and the weight of potentially saving the galaxy on my shoulders.
So I smile, I demonstrate, I correct techniques, and I pretend I'm not absolutely terrified that I'm going to fail everyone counting on me.
Welcome to my life as the last human alive.
*****
By evening, Ethan was exhausted. He'd personally worked with over a hundred students, feeling their struggles through temporary resonance links, guiding them through the unfamiliar cycling patterns.
But there were results. Thirty students had successfully executed a complete Immortal Path energy cycle. Thirty out of three hundred wasn't impressive, but it was a start.
"Not bad for day one," Princess Lyra commented, watching students file out of the chamber. "Though I notice the Solar Dynasty students are struggling more than most. Too much ego to accept a new method."
"They'll adapt or fall behind," Nyx said. "Survival is an excellent motivator."
Ethan's system pinged with an update.
**[TRAINING PROGRESS: 10%]**
**[STUDENTS SHOWING APTITUDE: 30/300]**
**[ESTIMATED TIME TO BASIC COMPETENCY: 23 DAYS]**
**[TIME UNTIL VOIDBORNE SWARM: 59 DAYS]**
**[WARNING: PROGRESS INSUFFICIENT FOR SURVIVAL]**
"We need to move faster," Ethan said quietly. "At this rate, we won't have enough trained fighters when the swarm arrives."
"Then we increase training intensity," Commander Seris suggested. "Double sessions, mandatory practice during personal time—"
"That'll just burn them out." Dr. Senna shook her head. "Cultivation requires mental clarity. Pushing too hard causes deviation or worse."
"Then we need a different approach." Ethan stared at the empty chamber, his mind racing through possibilities. "What if instead of teaching everyone individually, we use resonance to accelerate learning? Link students together so the ones who understand can help guide the ones who don't?"
Nyx's galaxy eyes gleamed with interest. "Group resonance learning. Dangerous, but potentially effective. The Primordials used similar methods."
"Dangerous how?" Lyra asked.
"If one student's cultivation deviates, it could cascade through the entire group," Nyx explained. "But the reward is accelerated comprehension. What takes weeks individually could happen in days collectively."
Ethan made his decision. "We try it tomorrow. Controlled groups, close supervision. We don't have time for slow and steady."
As his companions debated the risks, Ethan looked out at the Shadow Moon landscape and thought about Earth. About everything he'd lost. About everything he was trying to save.
Sixty days until the swarm arrived.
He'd better make them count.