Hundreds of thousands of years ago…
In one of the higher cultivation worlds, there was a small village that once a year received a cultivator from a mid-tier sect to recruit potential disciples.
"Ah… hah… hah…" the boy's ragged breathing echoed as he slipped into an alley, glancing back in fear of being followed.
When he finally felt safe that no one was chasing him, he looked at today's harvest with joy: half a moldy loaf of bread and an apple.
Night fell, and the boy felt he could finally leave his hiding spot. He stepped out of the alley, leaving the central area of the village behind. The houses gradually disappeared, and the dwellings in this part became increasingly rundown and precarious.
"Xuehua, I managed to get something from the market today," the boy said as he entered a dilapidated shack.
He approached a girl who seemed to be the same age as him. Although both looked about twelve, in reality they had already turned sixteen. The malnutrition in their bodies was painfully obvious.
The girl's face lit up when she saw that the only person she had left had returned, and her happiness grew even more when she saw what he had brought.
"The village guards have been way too alert lately… you can't keep risking yourself like this," she murmured with concern.
"And how are we supposed to survive?" he replied, gesturing at the place they lived in. "Our situation isn't going to magically get better."
The girl couldn't say anything else. She lowered her gaze guiltily, knowing that if it weren't for her, he might have been able to find a job that would at least keep him safe.
"Don't feel guilty, Xuehua. Everyone else is wrong; they don't understand the truth behind your eyes."
At that moment, the girl raised her head and fixed her gaze on the boy.
For the first time, we clearly see her eyes: white, empty, without pupils.
They seemed to see everything and nothing at the same time.
…
Cassian woke up drenched in sweat. Pieces of the past had finally caught up with him. It made him do something he rarely did: wake up early.
Adela was surprised to see that her master had risen before her.
"Cassian…?" she asked uncertainly, her voice heavy with a concern she rarely allowed herself to show.
"Adela… prepare a cup of tea for me," he ordered, his voice sounding rougher than usual as he tried to dispel the image of those white, empty eyes he had just seen in his dream.
She frowned, sensing an abyss of secrets in that silence she still couldn't cross.
But she knew it was better not to press him. One day, he would trust her with everything.
Her eyes shone with unwavering determination as she turned to fulfill the order.
Once the morning had truly begun, Cassian stood up and, before Astrid woke up, said:
"I'm going to see Sylvia. I'll try to return soon."
"Master, before that… Elizabeth said the Duchess of Astaford wants to see you," Adela informed him from the doorway.
Cassian nodded and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared from the room.
A mansion that radiated history and power appeared before his eyes.
He didn't wait outside. He went straight to where Sylvia was.
He arrived at a luxurious room with crimson red sheets and decorations that screamed "I breathe fire" in every corner.
Seeing that the owner was still sleeping, he sat down in a nearby armchair and waited for her to notice him.
For a moment, he felt a little bad for watching a woman sleep, but then he remembered who she was.
"There's no way a shameless woman like her would care about something like that," he thought, shaking his head in amusement.
Waiting too long wasn't his style.
He stood up and walked toward the bed.
The woman who could command so much power within the empire was sleeping with a slightly funny expression, completely vulnerable.
Cassian raised his hand toward her cheek, but just before he could touch her, Sylvia moved with feline agility. She grabbed his hand, pulled him onto the bed, and tried to pin him down.
"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes still sleepy and her voice laced with danger.
"Hahaha."
She frowned, confused.
"Cassian?" Sylvia's vision finally cleared completely. Upon recognizing him, she threw a pillow at him in annoyance. "Stop laughing! What did you come for? Ah, no, wait…"
Her eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered their agreement.
"I'll change and we can start," she declared.
She didn't wait for a reply. She quickly dashed off, excited, to change out of her nightclothes into something more appropriate for what they were about to do.
They moved to what appeared to be a private training area.
Sylvia had already ordered all the servants to leave for the day and instructed that no one was to disturb her under any circumstances.
Once everything was ready, she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to begin what, to her, was even more "magical" than magic itself.
"The other day I managed to help Adela break through to the seventh circle without issues in her foundation…" he began, while she urged him to continue with her gaze.
"I have to say it wasn't easy helping her. Sylvia, the world itself is putting obstacles in your way. To go further, you must fight against something that is part of you. I can help you force the breakthrough, but I sense it won't be so simple to overcome the limit of the ninth level."
"What do you mean?" she asked, with a seriousness she rarely showed.
"If what I think is correct, you need to take control of a Law."
"A Law?" Sylvia repeated, confused.
"As you heard. But it's extremely dangerous to attempt this at your current level of power. Normally, someone would only start trying once they are three realms above yours. In the place I come from, they call that the Realm of the Void of Reality."
Sylvia listened attentively, processing every word, but couldn't help asking:
"Three levels above? Is that where you are right now?"
He shook his head with a hint of irony.
"That's only the beginning of the immortal levels from where I come. Those stages are divided into three major groups: Mortal, Immortal, and Sovereign."
"But then… is it impossible for me to break through the ninth circle?" Her voice faltered for a second as she faced the immensity of what he was telling her.
"On the contrary. I believe the fact that each of you is born with such a strong affinity for an element is exactly what makes it possible for you to begin understanding a Law."
"Although I don't think it will be easy for you to make the jump from Mortal to Immortal if you need to comprehend a Law just to reach the Nascent Soul stage…"
"Nascent Soul?" Sylvia repeated, confused. "Even though I don't understand most of what you're saying, you're telling me it's possible."
"Yes, Sylvia… I suppose your comprehension of fire is quite high. Luckily, I have quite a good mastery over the Law of Fire, so I can help you with it. But listen carefully: once you understand a part of it, do not try to manifest it. Even if it feels weak and you think you can control it, your current body won't be able to withstand it for long."
He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice to emphasize the danger.
"That's where I come in. Once you understand it, I'll start channeling my energy through your core, helping it flow to force the limit open. The moment you feel the barrier is about to break, manifest the Law inside your core. As lightly as possible. If you overdo it, you could burn yourself alive…"
He let out a tired sigh, feeling the weight of the technique he was about to perform.
"Understood?"
She looked at him seriously and nodded with a determination he had never seen in her at the academy.
He placed his hand on her forehead.
"It might give you a headache. Endure it as long as you can. Don't try to understand everything. Grasping even a little is enough."
He began transmitting his knowledge of the Law of Fire. He tried to suppress it as much as possible, because he knew that if by some chance she understood more than she should and underestimated its power, this would not end well.
Once he finished, he looked at her, waiting for her to say she was ready. Her eyes shone with the new knowledge. She sat on the floor, signaling that they could begin.
He placed his hand on her back, and his energy began to circulate alongside hers.
When he located what was blocking her progress, he started concentrating the flow on that spot. Little by little, small cracks formed until the seal broke completely.
"Now, Sylvia!" he said urgently.
The moment the limit shattered, the Law appeared inside Sylvia's core, fusing with it and increasing her power by an amount that a Nascent Soul cultivator would normally never see.
Her soul, which seemed to have lost the chains that held it back, became much stronger—so strong that, if she wished, she could condense it into something physical.
But the world did not react well to this loss. The essence that every sentient being in this world was born with shrank inside Sylvia, marking the breaking of a limit that should not have been broken.
A pillar of fire shot into the sky, shattering the roof of the training hall and leaving a blazing trail that would be visible even from thousands of miles away.