"It is Qi."

I peer up at my partner in the sky and do a full-body scan, expecting to see a monstrous wave of Qi flowing through Ember as well.

Every time I get a new power-up, he seems to know something about it or straight up already have it himself and keep it a secret from me.

However, there's no such thing in his system. The core where Qi would be is empty. The only thing remotely close is a hint of energy with the same reading as my Red Hydra's buff circling around his eyes.

It's like a miniature pocket of Soul Energy, but just as fast as I see it, it dissipates like it was never even there.

Ember flaps his wings and comes down near me, then I notice his eyes flare up with the same crimson aura momentarily again while he touches the ground and looks me up and down.

"What did you manage to do? Find an Originator's tomb or something? I didn't even know natural sources of Qi were still around in this era."

We both stand on opposite sides of the tallest white marble pillar, raised high above the rest of the gargoyle dungeon. The slowly turning boss room portal lets off a light buzz behind me as I think of a response.

"No... I didn't find a tomb... I just met a friend who gave me this power."

Ember lets out a resounding laugh through our telepathy link.

"What friend? The Demon King? There hasn't been anyone in centuries in control of the Origin Particle other than him. Since that Demon took control of all the tombs, humans have been confusing legends of its power with Demonic Energy and trying to hoard those black stones like gold. Come to think of it, we're not even at level 600 yet... so I know he didn't grant you soul essence as he did me in a past life."

Ember pauses.

"So you really found someone that can wield Qi... I assume that's why we're back in this Labyrinth. We have some leveling work to do, don't we?"

I nod slowly at his last line, but so much of what Ember just said went right over my head.

"Well, yes. I'm in a hurry to get up to the 27th floor, but that can wait... This is more important. Explain everything you just said. In full detail. I've never gotten a clear answer about all of this. Let's back it up to when you first mentioned soul energy, like when I managed to absorb the Red Hydra's Soul Stone. This is Essence granted by some powerful Demon?"

Ember nods his head slowly, walking over very close to me.

"Yes, the most powerful Demon there is. I don't believe you could fathom his strength at your current level. There's a lot to get through, and if you're in a rush, maybe we should climb while I talk."

I take out my sword and air-step onto Ember's back.

"Fine, good idea. Let's go."

We blip through the boss room portal and face the Gargoyle Boss without breaking a sweat. I channel my Qi while Ember summons even more of the Crimson aura around his talons for a split second to attack one of the mutant spawns that tries to attack us.

While both lay on the ground motionless and we wait for them to dissolve, Ember continues his point.

"What you're using is a basic pure form of Qi. If it's in your system, I'd assume you can now sense my soul energy as well even when I don't make it fully visible to your mana senses."

My eyes dart from his eyes to his claws and I nod, giving him more than enough of an answer to continue.

"Well, the two are very similar, but not exactly the same."

We teleport to the next dungeon and begin flying through the air straight to the boss room once I do a scan and find that the monsters below have nothing but body-hardening skillst.

"Qi is the essence of a fundamental power known as soul energy. All basic Qi users have the same tricks in their arsenals; Block, Bash, Imbue. Although these attacks in their basic forms can trump Mana or Demonic energy even twice or three times their relative power, it is not the true peak evolutionary state. Once Qi rests in your body for long enough, and you begin to control it as instinctively as breathing, your being melds with the energy and you will awaken a unique form of Qi. A Soul Energy Awakening is what many of the Divine Beasts call it."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

As we approach

the next Boss room portal, Ember charges a claw with the crimson aura again and sends a dense ball of it down at a tree on a nearby mountaintop.

As it makes impact, the entire tree melts away, and the mountainside bursts with very lightly tinted red-orange flames.

From here, it looks like the flames are almost transparent, but they're destroying everything they touch.

"An attack like this is irreversible. My soul energy has the ability to cleanse with fire. Not even the dungeon's natural regeneration can heal something like this. As my strength grows greater back to my old form, its abilities will become stronger once again too."

My eyes widen as I watch the side of the mountain continue to melt away.

We take out the next boss together and continue soaring through the next floor before I get the mental clarity to ask another question.

"So... what are the odds that once I awaken my Soul Energy, I become immortal, like you?"

Ember laughs as we both burst into flames to negate the frosty blizzard winds of the floor 23 dungeon.

"Zero. It a takes a bit more than just wielding Qi to negate the rules of death. That process was a lot more complicated... and I think a story better saved for another day."

"Hmm. Well, at least tell me how long it would take to awaken this Soul Energy if I already have Qi flowing through me? And if I can't do it very soon... how can I defeat a monster with Soul Energy granted by one of these Divine beasts, similar to my Red Hydra's buff. I've been having trouble, just making my attacks denser or filled with more Qi isn't enough."

Ember turns his head while flying to look back at me for a moment.

"You're fighting someone now with the power of a soulstone too? What other Divine Beast died while I was asleep?"

He chuckles and turns back as we arrive at another Boss Room in mere minutes.

I respond while jumping through.

"Oh, they're not dead yet. And I don't know if they're one of these Divine Beasts you keep talking about; It's the Lich King if that makes it more clear. I've been battling its subordinates for a few days, but can't manage to defeat one without using my borrowed energy. I need to find a way to beat one only using Qi."

Once we appear on the other side of the portal, instantly melting the Ice Wielding monster to the floor, Ember responds in a surprised tone.

"The Lich King, huh? It hasn't come around to play in forever. This might actually be interesting."

We teleport to a new dungeon filled with sand. Enormous Golems erupt from the ground as Ember takes flight again, soaring over the 24th floor.

"However, you're nowhere near strong enough to face it. I recommend you don't go back to whatever Region you were fighting its subordinates in. Not even as a fun training exercise, if we both went all out right now, I doubt we'd even land a finger on that monster. I bet it's watching you fight with its underlings and laughing on its throne. If you've killed its mindless monster slaves and haven't received a response, it doesn't even consider you as a threat."

I gulp at the sound of this, remembering just moments ago when Ember literally disintegrated a mountain with a power I didn't know existed until today.

"Wouldn't stand a chance?"

He shakes his head and I don't push the point further. I just sit and think to myself as the artificial desert sun beats down on me from above.

We take out the golem boss without issue, then soar through the 25th floor full of fast-moving lizard creatures wielding blades and spears. Unfortunately, their speed only comes from a ranked-up buff, while most of them use dagger arts and dual wielding which is already fully upgraded for me.

We take out this level 556 boss without an issue and move onto the next dungeon.

"I'm going to train with the man that gave me Qi later today, but do you have any advice or training methods for me? How can I expedite the process of awakening my soul energy."

The mountainous region of the 26th floor passes below us as Ember responds.

"There's really no secret. It just takes time, many years of growing and training with the Qi inside you. You'll have to step back from this one and take things slow."

"Not what I wanted to hear... there must be some way to expedite the process..."

After a ride of silence, we defeat the level 589 boss together, and the 27th Floor's transport magic is just waiting to be triggered.

"Alright, I'll be meeting back up with my teammates now to do some slow level grinding, but good talk. If there's an actual tough battle ahead, I'll summon you back out."

Ember nods as I open my Spatial magic.

"Again, this is a real warning. Wherever you are out in the world right now, I recommend you turn back until you've gotten much stronger. Don't go picking a fight with the Lich King unless you know what you're up against. I assure you, you don't."

Ember disappears into my item storage, and the White transfer magic of the boss room brings me up to the next floor.

A million things cross my mind, like all the reasons these countries and businesses are really after Demonic Energy because they mistake it for some old legends of a God Particle Ember mentioned. The potential that my new abilities have excites me, but the biggest looming thought of all is the constant warning Ember gives about the enemy that controls Valor City.

There seems to be very good reason people are calling it The Dark One.

Maybe leaving town while I'm still not a nuisance to get stronger out in Sector 2 wouldn't be such a bad idea...

My thoughts come to an abrupt halt as the transfer magic finishes.

The light dissipates and I take in my surroundings to see Maria standing proud with both hands on her hips and Abby letting out a laugh to herself in a joking tone.

"Haha! Beat ya! I knew we'd make it to this floor first!"