That world was not a place life could imagine.
Gravity there was not a law…
but a mood.
One step could make your body feel heavier than a mountain,
and the next step could make you so light that the air almost carried you.
The mountains themselves looked as if they had not yet decided whether they would stand… or fall.
The Ancestor stood watching the child.
He did not look into his eyes.
But at what surrounded him.
At the subtle bends in space…
at the way small pebbles were sometimes drawn toward Ares,
then suddenly veered away as if they had reconsidered their decision.
He thought calmly:
"Gravity… so its influence has begun to appear."
"The power of this boy is connected to one of the fundamental laws of the universe, and it may be greater than that."
"From what I see, he has already begun to control it slightly."
"Truly, anomalies are terrifying—to begin realizing their power and practicing it well without having full awareness or reaching maturity."
"This place will be very good for him to understand the power of gravity."
The power was not stable,
but its presence could no longer be denied.
The Ancestor muttered, "Good… let us begin building his foundation."
The Ancestor raised his finger…
and gently tapped Ares on the forehead.
No light emerged.
The sky did not shake.
But something unseen… passed through.
A technique.
Ancient enough that the name of its creator no longer mattered.
Natural Energy Control.
A technique that does not teach power…
but teaches its owner how not to be a stranger to it.
The Ancestor watched the child for a moment.
He did not wait for a reaction.
In his view… this was only a newborn whose awareness was not yet complete.
Then he said calmly:
"If your energy keeps moving without you knowing it…
you will not need an enemy to kill you.
You will be your own enemy and the cause of your death."
He stepped back.
As if he had finished what he came to do.
Inside Ares's awareness…
alerts exploded.
[Unknown information detected implanted within the awareness]
[Starting analysis…]
Short moments passed.
Then:
[Analysis complete]
[The information is a technique directed at understanding an individual's natural forces and controlling them]
The details appeared:
Technique levels:
Energy Sensing
Partial Energy Control
Energy Guidance
The system paused for a fraction of a second…
then asked:
[Does the host wish to process the technique and improve its compatibility?]
[Suggestion: attempt to develop it in a way that suits the host's structure and awareness]
Ares did not understand all the words.
But an instinctive feeling told him that refusing… was not a good option.
He accepted.
At that moment…
something deeper than his thoughts moved.
The system activated its source.
His black hole.
Not the one stable inside Ares's dantian…
but another core,
silent,
cold,
operating outside the laws of the body.
That source which had merged with the essence of the heavenly world and the artificial intelligence chip.
Suddenly…
he saw it.
A transparent blue panel formed before him.
It was not light…
but closer to a concept that had become visible.
At its center spun a miniature black hole.
Calm.
But hungry.
Ares asked with some curiosity:
"Are… you… this?"
The system answered:
[Yes]
[My true existence is within the host's awareness]
[A visual representation is projected to facilitate perception]
Processing began.
It was not only a calculation…
but an organized devouring.
The black hole swallowed the information.
Disassembled it.
Rearranged it.
It performed thousands… then tens of thousands of calculations.
Even time itself seemed to slow out of respect for the process.
Then finally:
[Processing successful]
[After reconstructing the technique… an additional level has been unlocked]
The panel glowed for a moment.
Fourth Level: Formation of the Energy Core
But the system was not finished yet.
[Note: the original technique contained a strange pattern resembling a compulsive will]
[It would have forced the host to practice the technique unconsciously]
A short silence…
Then:
[Pattern neutralized]
Ares was not stripped of his will.
He was given a choice he did not yet understand.
The system finally said:
[Transferring information to the mind]
In a single moment…
the technique was no longer "information."
It became a memory.
Ares felt as if he had practiced it for years.
He knew how to search for energy…
before knowing the meaning of searching.
He felt it.
Thin threads filling the world.
Inside the rocks.
Inside the storms.
Even inside the silence.
And without a conscious decision…
he breathed.
Space around him trembled lightly.
Dust particles shifted.
They approached… then slowly revolved around him.
Energy Sensing — completed.
After moments…
that invisible field shrank slightly.
It was no longer as chaotic as before.
Partial Control — begun.
Far away…
one pebble stopped in the air.
It trembled…
then fell.
Not perfect.
But not a coincidence.
The Ancestor opened his eyes slightly.
He did not turn immediately.
But he said:
"Faster than I expected…"
Not admiration.
But reassessment.
Then he finally looked at him.
For the first time…
he did not see only a potential danger.
But something that had begun to learn its own language with energy.
He thought calmly:
"So… I did not bring him to the wrong place."
Suddenly…
gravity shook violently.
The ground sank several centimeters…
then returned.
The distant storms bent their paths slightly.
The Ancestor stared at the child.
This was not his doing.
Not entirely.
This world…
reacts to every change.
He said in a low voice:
"Good…"
Then added:
"Let us begin the real training."
At that moment…
inside Ares…
something began to form.
Not power.
But a center.
A small seed…
for a core not yet born.