The torrent of cosmic visions, the feeling of insatiable hunger, the very memory of a serpent devouring stars—all of it left Silak utterly breathless.
He was a silent witness to a power so vast that the languages of his two lifetimes combined felt woefully inadequate to describe it. It was not just power; it was a fundamental law of existence made manifest.
While Silak's soul was adrift in that sea of alien knowledge, Gahumdagat's massive eyelids slowly peeled open. The ancient beast's glowing gaze fell upon the boy's motionless form, scanning him for any signs of spiritual backlash or physical injury. A soft, silver light pulsed gently around Silak, a sign that the inheritance was settling into his soul.
["Good. It appears the transfer was a success."] A wave of relief washed through the ancient being's mind, followed by a ripple of concern.
["I only hope the Goddess truly understands the risks she is taking with this boy…"] With a mental sigh that seemed to carry the weight of centuries, Gahumdagat saw that Silak's soul and body were unharmed. The great beast allowed its eyes to close once more, receding into a state of watchful rest.
["The rest is up to you now, young prince."]
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Four days passed in the silent, timeless cavern.
Silak's body remained in the same standing position, as still as the stone around him. Fortunately, his recent breakthrough to the Qi Gathering stage, combined with the initial tempering of his Bronze-level Corporeal Refinement, had infused his body with a vitality far beyond that of a normal child. His cells hummed with latent energy, that allows him to last for at least a week or more without sustenance while remaining in peak condition.
On the fifth day.
A subtle fluctuation rippled through the ambient Qi around Silak. Gahumdagat's senses picked it up instantly. It was a sign that the boy's consciousness was returning from the depths.
The ancient guardian waited, filled with a mix of anticipation and apprehension. Had the young prince truly absorbed the inheritance of his clan, or had his human soul rejected it? Failure was the most likely outcome.
The techniques of the great beast clans were intrinsically tied to their bloodlines; for a human to learn one was a feat of immense difficulty, let alone a core devouring technique without even having formed a cultivator's core.
Silak's eyelids trembled. Consciousness returned not as a sudden snap, but as a slow surfacing from an infinitely deep ocean. The first thing he felt was a phantom echo in his soul—the memory of that vast, cosmic hunger. It was a strange, hollow feeling, as if a new space had been carved out within him.
Then, reality crashed in. The cold, hard stone beneath him. The dim, ethereal light of the cavern. And the incredible, bone-deep stiffness of his own body. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze hazy and unfocused. After a moment, he tried to move.
Crack! Pop! Crack!
A series of crisp crackling sounds, like dry twigs snapping, echoed in the quiet cave as he unfolded his limbs. A groan escaped his lips.
"Senior?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "How long… how long was I out? My body feels like it's turned to stone." wincing as he began to move through a series of basic stretches to work the stiffness from his joints.
["Today is the fifth day since you closed your eyes."]
"What?!" The word ripped from Silak's throat. Adrenaline flooded his system, chasing away the last vestiges of his trance-like state.
"Five days?! Oh no, my parents! They must be worried sick!" A spike of anxiety pierced through him. He pictured his mother's worried face, his father leading a search party into the now-dangerous forest.
["Relax, young prince. I did not wake you because you had unwittingly entered a state of profound enlightenment. An opportunity like that is rarer than a phoenix feather for a cultivator. You are truly blessed."] Gahumdagat's mental voice was tinged with a clear note of envy. What he had first dismissed as a simple trance had revealed itself to be something far more profound.
["I notified Shardani on the second day. She informed your parents that you were undergoing a special, intensive training with me and were not to be disturbed. They are not worried"]
Silak exhaled a shaky breath, the tension draining from his shoulders like water. "Really? Oh, thank you, Senior! Thank you for being so considerate."
["It was nothing. Shardani handled the difficult part. Now,"] the ancient being's tone shifted, becoming sharp with curiosity, ["that you have calmed down, tell me. How much of my clan's technique were you able to comprehend?"]
A brilliant light ignited in Silak's eyes, the reflection of cosmic wonders still fresh in his mind. He thought back to the vision, the feeling, the sheer, irrefutable truth of the technique. He struggled to find the right words.
"Senior, 'strong' isn't the right word for it," he said, his voice laced with breathless awe. "It's… it's a divine technique! It's like I've been living in a world made of food, but I could eat. Who knew hunger can be used as a basis of a technique and reach such a degree. The technique… it's not just about fighting. It's a way of being. The idea of any energy being wasted now feels fundamentally wrong."
Gahumdagat's mental presence radiated satisfaction and pride. The boy understood.
["Hmph. That is to be expected from a divine technique of our clan. Even I, after centuries of study, cannot claim to have full mastery. At most, I have grasped perhaps twenty-five percent of its true depth, and yet that alone has allowed me to become what I am today."]
The ancient beast couldn't help but brag, though his pride was tinged with the melancholy of his own bottleneck. ["Imagine what one could achieve with one hundred percent mastery!"]
"I agree completely, Senior!" Silak exclaimed, his own excitement surging. He felt the phantom hunger in his soul again, not as a threat, but as a promise of limitless potential.
"I believe," he said, his voice steady and filled with a strange new confidence, "that I was able to fully inherit the technique you passed down. The entire framework, the core principles… it's all branded in my soul. Though it will take years for me to master, but the path is clear."