CHAPTER 37: GOOD STUFF!!!
ONE turned to leave, then added over his shoulder: "I suggest you all don't rush things and do something stupid. Dismissed."
John couldn't wait to get to the dorm and start experimenting. The others were of the same mind—they walked fast, though still in orderly fashion. Around them, the other squads dispersed back to their rooms as their own supervisors dismissed them.
As soon as John reached the dorm, he didn't waste a second. While the others were still shuffling through the door, he'd already dropped cross-legged onto his spot.
Nico raised an eyebrow. "Well, someone's eager."
"We all are," Adam said, grinning. "We are finally getting to the cool stuff, after all."
The others followed John's lead, dropping onto the floor, crossing their legs, and closing their eyes to access their inner domains.
While the others were still trying to find their rhythm, John was already inside—standing on the abyss, the red core looming above in the empty void as purple threads wove through it.
Now, let's do the exact same thing as earlier, John thought as he tried to remember the feeling he'd had when he absorbed what Echo called Ether. And he successfully did.
The tingling sensation returned—familiar now, buzzing at the edges of his awareness. He reached for it, ready to guide it into his domain.
But just before he could, Echo cut in.
[Now, now. Weren't you paying any attention to the lecture, minion?]
[You first have to purify the energy and actually come up with a proper technique. Not just suck in energy like it says in your origin script—which, I may remind you, is still the lowest of the low.]
John's brow furrowed. I know, but I have to understand something first to even be able to improve it.
[True. But you're also ruining your future with that mindset. Sigh. Now think of this like a... theoretical experiment. You first imagine what you think might happen, then you try it.]
Is that a safe practice?
[Mostly. But don't worry. After all, you have the one and only me guiding you.]
John shook his head. Okay, I'll ignore that last part. Let's try what you told me. So, how do I start?
[Okay. Now, you know what Ether is, right?]
Yes. The energy used by humans.
[Correct. Now you need to understand what an impurity actually is.]
[In simple terms, it's anything incompatible with you.]
[Foreign energy. Chaotic signatures. Residual will from the environment. Traces of other people's power. All of it can be impurities—depending on who you are.]
[What's bad for you might be fine for someone else. A person with fire affinity might thrive on volatile energy that would burn you alive. While a person with water affinity might need calm, fluid energy that would feel stagnant and useless to you.]
[It all depends on the person.]
[Origin scripts allow you to distinguish what's best for yourself—some more than others. So, your first task is to try and feel those parts before you assimilate the energy into your domain. Is that clear?]
John gave a hesitant nod. Somewhat. But how do I distinguish which part is impurities? Like, how?
[Well, it wouldn't be a task if I told you, would it? It's your job to find what works for you. Your own way.]
John begrudgingly closed his eyes and reached out for that tingly sensation again.
He pulled in a tiny stream of raw energy, but this time, instead of letting it disperse and be absorbed into his domain, he held it—just like Echo said—and tried to feel the impurities.
At first, it all just felt the same. But he kept focusing, kept feeling, and slowly he started to notice something.
Some parts of the energy felt warm. Welcoming. Like they wanted to be there.
Other parts felt... off. Like they didn't belong. Like he had to get rid of them.
Those must be the impurities, he thought.
But then something strange happened.
He kept feeling. Kept examining. And the more he did, the less those "off" parts bothered him. It wasn't that they disappeared—it was that his perception of them changed.
They just... started to feel the same as the warm ones. Not exactly the same, but close enough that it was hard to notice the difference.
John opened his eyes. Hey, Echo.
[What?]
I found it. I can feel the impurities.
There was a pause. [Already?]
Yeah. But here's the thing. John frowned. It's strange.
[What do you mean?]
I mean... I can feel them. The wrong parts you mentioned—the ones I feel like shouldn't be absorbed by me. But soon they stopped bothering me. Stopped feeling... well... off.
[That's... not normal.]
Yeah, I figured.
[Most people feel impurities as something repulsive. Something they need to get rid of. If you're not feeling that...]
Then what?
[I don't know. This is the first time I'm hearing a case like this. Have you tried to do anything with them? Like, use your affinities or something?]
How do I use my affinities?
[Just think of it like moving a limb. They'll respond.]
John closed his eyes again.
Like moving a limb, he thought.
He reached for the tingly sensation once more, pulling in another stream of raw energy. But instead of trying to separate the impurities, as everyone is supposed to do, he did something different.
He ignored the impurities and focused on the energy as a whole. He thought about how to make it better. Denser. Stronger.
Just like Echo said, he called upon his affinities.
First, he thought about the void—emptiness. Non-existence. So, he started stuffing raw ether into it. He kept pushing energy in until the void was so full it was about to burst.
Right as it teetered on the edge of exploding, he activated his lightning.
He threaded it through the unstable energy, weaving it together. The lightning didn't destroy anything; instead, it bound everything together. The chaotic mass slowly took shape, forming a pearl-like structure wrapped in crackling blue threads.
Stable. Finally.
But then something unexpected happened.
The abyss and the red core moved on their own.
The abyss surged upward and swallowed the pearl. When it emerged a moment later, John couldn't explain it—but the pearl had changed. It was darker. Denser. And somehow, it was now absorbing more energy on its own without becoming unstable.
At the same time, the red core bathed the pearl in waves of crimson light. Washing it. Completing it.
Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
The pearl dissolved into his domain.
Everything shook and started to glow.
[What the heck did you do?]
But John couldn't hear Echo. He was lost in the euphoria of whatever just happened.
And as soon as it happened, an ancient mechanical voice echoed through his mind alongside a message.
[Energy Circulation Art Learned.]
[Please enter the name of the art you have created to receive a grading.]