“For one,” i began, raising a single finger, “Extraction is the process, not the energy we use.”
I listened carefully. That tracked. Just as Cultivation and Force had distinct nas in my own system.
“Two,” she continued, “the energy flows through all beings—” she paused, letting the weight of that statent settle into , its resemblance to Force almost uncanny. “Theoretically, anyway. But unlike what you described, this power doesn’t flow through all things. We’ve found a few plants that resonate, so rocks even… but mostly? Living things.”
It wasn’t her tone that sent the chill skittering up my spine, but the implication. The reason Synthia had avoided talking about it. Cultivation, by any na, was still cultivation: gathering strength from a source. Whether Force or this… it was about pulling power from sowhere.
Synthia shifted beside , clearly uncomfortable. She was listening, but there was a stiffness in her posture. Even so, I needed to know more.
“The na?” I asked. “How do you bring the energy in? And what does Extraction really an?”
i gave a sly, knowing smile. “Animora,” she said. “The energy of the living. Of things with consciousness. It pulses through our cores unseen, untapped,” she added, voice lilting like she was quoting sothing ancient. A mantra she'd heard so often it had carved itself into her mory. Her gaze drifted.
I waited. Expected more.
But she just stared back.
We held each other’s gaze for a mont. Her, barely tall enough to reach my chest even on tiptoe; , peering down at a girl who acted more like a guardian of ancient secrets than a child. There wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes.
Eventually, Synthia cleared her throat beside . “I think she wants you to go next, Peter.”
I grumbled, low in my throat. “Yeah, I figured.” I shifted closer to i, the little girl who carried generations of knowledge in her blood, her blessing. There was more to her, but I doubted I’d get to all of it before the match began.
“What I can share could shake your society’s understanding of power,” I warned. “I don’t know if it can rge with your systems. Or what risks it might carry, but if I tell you… it’s not sothing to treat lightly. Understand?”
She nodded imdiately. Eagerness spelled in her gaze. A curiosity that I’ve seen reflected in both my instructors of this world. I used my hand to flick away the hair growing just below my eyes now, keeping them locked to hers.
I brushed away a strand of hair slipping down across my brow, never breaking eye contact.
Then I began.
I told her everything, or at least, the foundations. It didn’t matter much what she could do with it in just a few hours before our duel. The more I offered, the more she seed willing to give. She was bratty, sure, but honest in her own intense way.
I started with the Energy Gathering Phase. Though honestly, that na had always felt a little off. Even now at Core Phase, we were still gathering energy. Maybe sothing like Force Sensing would be more accurate for those early steps.
i remained quiet through it all. The glow in her eyes faded from that luminous blue to her natural violet, and I couldn’t help but wonder: Was that glow tied to so internal database? Did it channel through her sohow?
I explained how Thea had awakened . How I’d learned to gather energy. How, at the end of that process, a core could be ford. But the mont I said it, I could see that she wasn’t totally impressed. Not with the initial ideas, at least. Intrigued? Sure, but not stunned.
“You have to actively circulate the power while fighting?” she asked, her brows knitting, the interest already slipping from her expression.
Synthia nudged i playfully. “It’s not so bad once you get used to it. But Peter can…” She glanced at , silently asking permission.
I gave her a small nod.
“Well,” she continued, “he’s like you. An inventor. He’s created his own thods. Things I wouldn’t have even imagined.”
i’s gaze snapped back to , her expression sharpening into a glare of impatient expectation. I chuckled under the weight of it.
“This is the last bit,” I said, smirking. “Then it’s your turn.”
“No problem,” she said quickly. “Just please continue.”
I straightened slightly, puffing out my chest in mock pride. “It’s the reason I’m the King. A sect master.”
Synthia coughed then turned away suddenly, her shoulders trembling with what I was certain was repressed laughter.
“The Harmonic Foundation,” I announced with gravity. “A creation of my own, or maybe a discovery. It fuses three fundantal changes in the body during Energy Gathering. They’re ford simultaneously, ant to beco sothing greater than the sum of their parts. A structure that unlocks sealed potential hidden deep within.”
Synthia wasn’t even trying to hold it in now. She was face-down in the grass, fist lightly pounding the soil, struggling to muffle her laughter. Guess she had heard of that before, and fine—I was a little bothered at the reaction. Sure, she heard of the concept before, but not that I was successful. No way she was, right?
I decided to sweeten the deal with a bonus.
“One of the abilities it grants,” I added, “is access to the Inner Space. A spiritual realm that enhances attunent to =elental Force, increasing the amount of attributes you can manipulate and absorb.”
That shut her up.
Synthia froze mid-chuckle, then slowly sat upright. Her expression was stunned, eyes wide with disbelief. “You didn’t…” she whispered.
I kept my cool, feigning casual awe as if the idea was no big deal.
I simply smiled and said, “You should be able to, too. You already manipulate it. Absorbing it is just the next step.”
To demonstrate, I raised my arm as the roots slithered up, tightening with gentle pressure. I lifted a finger, and slowly, a crystalline bead of ice ford at the tip. A heartbeat later, it lted into nothing, replaced by a flicker of heat, then a tiny spark. A soft explosion crackled in the air.
It was silent after that. Deadly so. The two girls weren’t even breathing anymore even as I lowered my finger.
“Th—that’s…” i stamred. “You’re… Peter, you are human, right?”
This ti, even I paused, blinking once. “As human as it gets. No blessing. No bloodline. Just .”
She looked down at the ground in the next mont, the blue glow running through her arm, her eyes alight again, the glistening running through them like images swapping through them in blinding speeds.
She didn’t speak. Not for a long mont. Synthia used the silence to recover.
“You can really do it?” she asked, her voice quiet now, all awe. “All of it? The foundation… the elents?”
I nodded slowly. “It’s coming together. And…” I hesitated then pushed forward, the words falling out a little softer than I’d ant. “It’s not really official or anything, but… you can co. Anyti. To my ho.”
I looked at i, the immature face running through sothing in her own little world, realizing my own naivety and foolishness.
“I don’t hold much back,” I admitted. “Even when I should. Teaching you everything… it’s just a small thing.”
I scratched the back of my neck, gaze shifting down. “Honeslty, your potential terrifies more than even those with a bloodline. With Body Refinent. Then the next steps in core—”
“I have a blessing,” Synthia interrupted, surprising .
My eyes shot up as she continued.
“I told you before, my abilities were my first reward in a separate trial… I didn’t know before, but I do now that I live here.” She looked at i too. “With their technology. So long ago when I passed, I only wanted one thing. My own Blessing. So, I was granted it in a way.”
She smiled, what I could only imagine years of yearning for sothing that was out of reach even now, lting away bit by bit. “That funny old man gave a blessing. My own he said, so I guess he actually awakened it. But I never received anything more than the slow manipulation of elents. But that my Bloodline,” she finished, emphasizing the point.
That was it. A human that could stand on par with Luna, a creature that had a talent unlike any other. Synthia’s own unique power. But sothing else ca with that. There were other Bloodlines. Sothing beyond the universal system that perated this world.
“Are you allowed to leave?” I asked, already sensing the answer.
“I’m accepted,” she said, avoiding the answer. “They treat kindly here. Especially i.”
i was still stuck scanning sothing, seemingly not hearing a single word exchanged by Synthia and I.
“She’s… like family to now. And all I have to do is let them run tests. They always look frustrated, but I overheard them once. Even with what I can imagine must be constant failure—they learned one thing. A new Bloodline.”
I leaned back trying to absorb it all.
“Animora,” I finally said.
“What?”
I shrugged, pushing away from her admission. “Sothing totally new. Isn’t it exciting?”
She huffed with a short laugh. “If you knew…”
I pivoted my elbows back, half laying down. “What? My guess is you extract the Animora from living things. There is plenty of danger out there. Beast.”
“And majestic creatures,” she added with a small, but not aggressive frown.
I moved, pursing my lips. “Of course. Many on land. The sea. Everywhere. But it’s how we use all this power that’s important, right?”
I thought about that fight in the arena. The first punishnt I received in the State of Stars. Would I beat soone rcily down just because I could? No. I was the one who would spew out paths to strength just to be petty.
“So many take away life,” she mumbled.
“Maybe it could give it out too.”
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