After delving into memories, the soul discovered that it had been a male in its previous life, along with other miscellaneous details that were crucial to its sense of self. However, no further information came to it, regardless of how hard it tried. Despite this, the soul found a sense of peace in knowing who it was. Nothing else mattered; the world that failed to bring happiness didn't need to be remembered.
Gradually, the soul began to make sense of its current situation. Where was it? What was this place? What was the soothing energy it felt? And what should it do now?
After pondering for a while, the soul sighed. It decided to simply absorb the ambient soothing energy, as it seemed to heal its soul. Breathing was unnecessary, as there was no air in this realm, and as a soul, he doesn't think bodily functions are required for it, but the soul recalled its past life as a human and associated the act of breathing with absorbing energy.
Initially, the soul struggled to properly absorb the energy, as it had been attempting to do so by mimicking breathing. However, with time, and after trying various methods, it was discovered that meditating cleared the mind of distracting thoughts and allowed a stronger connection with the outside world. Through meditation, the soul could find peace within itself and the process of absorbing energy was much more efficient too.
Although the soul was not an expert in meditation, it had occasionally practiced it during its human life. As it continued to meditate and recall peaceful moments, it gradually improved its ability to focus. Its limited memories served as an advantage, as it only retained essential information that defined its identity. It didn't remember its name or other complicated attachments that burdened living people.
Immersed in a deep meditative state, the soul became lost in its own world. The energy flowing into it became more intense, and a miniature vortex started to form around it. The vortex grew as the soul absorbed more energy, gradually transforming its ethereal form into a more corporeal, human-like shape. Although there was no visible face, the soul resembled a glowing humanoid figure that radiated brightness. Its legs were crossed as it floated, surrounded by the expanding vortex.
As time passed, the soul noticed some changes. The comforting feeling it experienced had reached a constant state, no longer increasing. It no longer needed to actively meditate; rather, it achieved a passive meditative state. The soul couldn't discern how much time had passed, whether days, weeks, or even millions of years. It didn't anticipate aging or dying as a soul. Nevertheless, it felt a sense of accomplishment in achieving passive meditation.
The soul sensed a greater control over its emotions, and its thoughts flowed smoothly and rapidly. It didn't understand why, nor did it comprehend the circumstances that led to its current existence. In its previous life, people dismissed the notion of souls and considered such things as mere fantasy. Yet, here it was—a soul in an unknown place, absorbing unknown energy to mend its wounded soul. The soul decided not to dwell on such matters and focus on the present.
Without any knowledge of what was transpiring, the soul could only speculate. It understood that conjectures weren't always accurate or unbiased, and it didn't want to deny the truth if it were presented. But for now, it lacked the information to form concrete conclusions. It could only think of fantasy novels and consider this place as a potential heaven or hell, or perhaps something entirely different.
Lost in thought, the soul opened its eyes—or willed itself to perceive—and realized it had a 360-degree view. Although it lacked physical eyes, it could perceive its surroundings on a much broader scale. The sensation was initially overwhelming, even considering the surroundings are totally composed of omnipresent fog-like energy. However, after some time, the soul grew accustomed to the experience and can correctly acknowledge that its thoughts had become significantly faster.
As the soul attempted to comprehend the situation, it made another discovery. A vortex surrounded it, absorbing energy from its surroundings and facilitating its flow into the soul. Amidst distraction, the passive meditation wavered, causing fluctuations in the vortex.
Suddenly, a feeling of déjà vu struck the soul. It dawned on him—it was cultivation! Through meditation, energy absorption, and assimilation, he was cultivating something for sure. Although he couldn't identify whether it resembled mana, qi, chakras, or an entirely different concept from the fiction he knew, he was certain that cultivation was happening.
This realization brought clarity—the realm he found himself in was undoubtedly connected to souls, and the presence of energy like mana, qi, or chakras was real. If he could cultivate here, it was possible that others on multiple planets, universes, or realities could do the same.
The soul entertained the idea that many speculations people had made might be true somewhere, in some place. After contemplating these possibilities for a while, it concluded that it should search for something here, cultivate, and experiment with ideas it remembered from fictional stories.
And so, it embarked on this new path, observing the vortex and attempting different techniques while keeping its perception outward. It practiced altering the breadth and focus of its perception, learning to shorten or broaden its awareness. It also discovered a way to move—a form of levitation—though it knew there was no atmosphere in this realm to enable traditional flight.
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As time flowed, he embarked on various endeavors, experiencing occasional success while encountering failures or situations where he couldn't figure out the way to make them work. One area in which he achieved massive success was manipulating the energy around him, both in his surroundings and within himself. He could manipulate this energy through his thoughts and intentions alone.
Continuing his exploration, he tried different things and honed his abilities, both in terms of scale and precision. As time passed, he accomplished feats that were once impossible during his mortal life. However, he lost track of how much time had elapsed, realizing that the concept of time may no longer apply to him. He focused on improving his energy manipulation and other skills, noticing that his proficiency increased over time.
He dismissed the notion of his own mortality or the limitations of his existence as a soul-like entity. Instead, he directed his attention towards experimenting with new techniques and refining his abilities. He discovered that he couldn't conjure elements like fire or water, or perform magical feats in general. He concluded that such abilities required a physical body or a realm where those laws were applicable. This place seemed to be solely for souls and related things.
Thus, he concentrated on the aspect of energy manipulation and sought new discoveries. He found that he could discharge accumulated energy from his body while doing so, establishing a strong connection to ambient energy. In the process, he realized that this act gradually transformed the energy within him over time, enhancing the quality and potency of the energy within him. He also became adept at manipulating energy throughout his body, experiencing a smoother flow with practice.
He created an energy vortex within himself, allowing the energy to flow into every part of his being. During this process, he utilized his perception to meditate and create an energy vortex simultaneously, achieving a harmonious equilibrium. Initially challenging, it eventually replaced his usual meditation practice. Now, he absorbed energy from the surroundings, channeled it throughout his entire being, and discarded excess energy, all while remaining energetically fulfilled.
As he continued this practice, he witnessed his energy becoming purer and more vibrant over time, transforming into a radiant essence that dazzled within him. With this come newfound control, he could manipulate a significant amount of ambient energy, all of which ensured that the energy within him was being refined all the time.
As time flowed, he became proficient in all the things he could do. The energy within him achieved a constant, dense state, no longer ethereal, and he appeared more distant, resembling a deity from mythologies he had heard in his mortal life. He reached a stage where he couldn't further improve or find new inspiration for the four or five main abilities he had mastered.
However, he discovered a new technique too: converging ambient mana to envelop his entire form, shaping it into armor or weapons. This proved to be the most challenging ability he had encountered, but he continued to refine it.
He created various cloth shapes he remembered and draped them over himself. He fashioned different types of weapons and practiced wielding them, improving his visualization and energy control. Drawing from videos he had seen about crafting clothes or weapons, he honed his conjured creations. Nevertheless, he felt a bottleneck in his progress and kept searching for something more.
For a considerable time, he worried that there might be external threats and remained vigilant all the while training. However, as he explored, he found nothing to substantiate his concerns. This brought a sense of relief, though he remained vigilant, keeping his perception constantly active.
Today was one of those monotonous days when he would perform most tasks, the skills almost become like a background process, such as breathing for a human. Cultivation too had become passive; he no longer improved in that area.
Even while floating and moving around he had become stable, and he could create and control things using ambient energy, as long as he maintained a steady connection with his own energy. Over time, the connection grew stronger, allowing him to sense the flow of energy vividly, especially in places where its volume was a lot.
He called the areas with abundant energy, ley lines or magical glaciers remembering fantasy tales, except these were situated in space rather than on the ground. He mainly searched for these places in the hope of finding something, but so far, he hadn't discovered anything.
Lost in thought, he observed his surroundings in this vast space. He sensed energy emanating from the folds of space, dissipating into nothingness. He decided to try something new. With improved control over a vast amount of energy, he willed it to gather around him.
Creating a vortex, he compressed the energy over time, transforming it into a floating, liquid-like substance. Exerting precise control, he shaped the energy into a ball and further compressed it. However, despite his efforts, it didn't solidify as he had expected. He again pondered the reason behind this failure, again concluding it was not a physical entity but a purely spiritual essence. Nonetheless, he was not attempting to create a core within himself this time; he aimed to develop something that could rupture space if such a thing were possible.
He willed the ball to take the form of a sword and overcharged it with energy. Layering the energy onto the sword blades, he intensified its power. It became the most potent weapon he had crafted thus far, but now he had to test if it would work. Gripping the sword—a different approach from his usual ability to control contoured weapons through will alone—he connected his energies to the sword, striving for equilibrium. Once he reached that point, he assumed a stance based on his memories of anime, manga, and novels.
After taking a moment to stabilize his thoughts, he slashed the sword with the sole intention of rending space apart. Astonishingly, space yielded before the blade, cleanly severed. Initially dumbfounded by his success, he quickly regained composure and reacted.
Utilizing as much energy as he could control, he willed the energy to support the cut while expanding it. Broadening the cut proved to be an immense challenge; space seemed solid, an immovable obstacle. Devoting himself entirely to the task, he somehow managed to widen the cut sufficiently to pass through.
He observed the ruptured space. He had only sought to witness something new, and now he had. Without looking back, he proceeded forward, he entered the fractured space, and as he fully crossed the threshold, the fracture closed and seamlessly melded with space once again.