"I'm getting pretty tired of dragging you up here," Elric sighed dramatically, brushing a hand through his raven hair.

I strolled over to the group, shaking off the traces of grogginess. "You should be grateful to touch me so intimately," I said, feigning indignation.

Thea rolled her eyes. "What happened? Did you overuse your power?"

I nodded. "I really pushed the limits of my control. It was unbelievable."

Sia stepped forward, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

I exhaled, still processing it myself. "I could split my internal strength into multiple branches, enough for each finger. I don’t know exactly what the Precursor Energy did to me, but my ability to manipulate energy when my sense is activated…"

I trailed off, letting the words settle over them.

Elric squinted at me. "Wait, you’re telling me you’re better at control…than me?"

He looked almost offended, hurt even.

I puffed out my chest, standing taller. "That is exactly what I am saying." Every word was crisp and pronounced, crafted to inflict maximum damage.

Elric smirked. "Well, that’s fine. At least I can stay awake while controlling my energy."

Ouch.

I turned my gaze to the forest below. Something felt off.

There were definitely fewer trees than before.

I glanced at the others, but before I could say anything, Lyra spoke up.

"We figured you were safe, soooo"

"We finished up without you," Thea completed.

“Glad you could clean up.” I let out a defeated breath. "And the green pool of water?"

"We waited," Elric said, crossing his arms. "Figured you could check it with your Precursor Sense first."

Well, at least I was still a little useful.

I twisted my waist, stretching out the creeks. "Alright," I said, rolling my shoulders. "Let’s go see if it's just pretty water or something alive."

The walk over was quiet and peaceful. We all arrived quickly with me at the lead.

I stared at the pool, its surface pristine save for a few ripples from some unseen current drifting through the cavern.

It was… mesmerizing. The way it glittered, the way it seemed to call to me, pulling me forward.

"Peter?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right." I snapped out of the strange stupor and activated my sense.

The familiar red hues of the grass, trees, and my friends flared to life. But the pool…nothing. No pulse, no glow. Just a pool of glittering green liquid.

I cut off the circulation around my inner flame, returning my senses to normal.

"It's clean. Or rather… not alive," I said.

"Let’s take a closer look." Sia’s voice held an almost reverent tone. A little odd.

None of us argued, stepping forward. One step. Then another. And anoth—wow. It really was pretty.

My throat suddenly felt drier than I remembered. Green or not, that water looked downright refreshing.

My hands moved on their own, cupping toward the surface, breaking through its perfection. Ripples spread out, met by four more.

Guess everyone else got thirsty too.

Cool. Crisp. Like drinking the very essence of a fresh breeze. A spring morning in liquid form.

I groaned, utterly content.

"Peter, stop groaning. It’s distracting."

"You’re distracting," I shot back at Thea.

I looked up to really sell the comeback, but something else stole my attention.

The buzz.

A hum filled the air, a shifting, endless dance. Particles swirled in chaotic harmony, like a galaxy in motion, flowing through, well…everything.

The rocks. The soil. The funny vampire grass. Even the cavern walls pulsed with an invisible current.

"Incredible," Elric whispered.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"It’s…it’s world energy. Everywhere." Thea sounded breathless.

But it was more than that. The world energy we absorbed had always been constant. The same density, the same hue, the same feel.

This was something else entirely.

"Did you know there were so many colors?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

A rainbow of streams twisted through the void like chains wrapping around reality itself.

"I didn’t know. How could there be this much?" someone murmured.

I extended my hand, focusing, trying to pull it in…but nothing.

"Thea!"

She turned to me, beaming with excitement. "Peter! This is—nothing has ever been written about it. Nowhere I hav—"

“THEA!” I shouted interrupting her, “Cultivate.”

“Wha—”

“Cultivate Thea.” I repeated, trying to steady my breathing. "I want to see what kind of energy moves toward you."

"You cultivate." She pouted. "I want to see it."

I rolled my eyes, mimicking the habit I had picked up from her, as I sat down and focused on drawing in any amount of energy. It flowed in easily, but soon, I hit a limit. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t take in any more.

I opened my eyes and stared expectantly at Thea. "So?"

She scrunched her nose, lips shifting side to side. "Only one type of energy moved toward you."

"Great." I turned to Sia. "Can you cast a fireball using your cultivation energy?"

Then at Thea. "And—"

"Lightning, got it!" She jumped in excitedly, already guessing my idea.

She stepped next to me, practically vibrating with energy.

"Thea?"

"Hm?" She looked up, eyes bright with anticipation.

"What are you doing?"

"Well…" She put on an innocent face. "I don’t have any skills learned for my element. So I just have to hit something instead."

I took a step back as she inched closer. "You never practiced any attacks using your lightning?"

"Relax, Peter." Her tone was far too casual, too teasing, for the situation. "I’ll be gentle…I promise."

That didn’t sound convincing in the slightest.

I turned to Lyra and Elric for backup, but they were already looking away, gathering around Sia, who also pointedly ignored me.

Traitors.

Before I could react, Thea lunged. I twisted to dodge, but she was too fast.

A full-body tackle sent me sprawling onto the cavern floor, pinned beneath a giggling maniac bent on electrocuting me.

"Thea, don’t you dare," I warned.

But the warning came too late.

Sparks flickered in her palm. Blue-yellow nodes of energy, dying other points of world energy, gathered around her.

Well…I guess my theory was right.

A sharp jolt.

A yelp.

The sound echoed through the cavern.

Pain. Extre—well, I mean not extreme. More like a sharp pinch. Still, very disrespectful.

Almost as disrespectful as the laughter-filled girl rolling across the ground, sending poor vampire grass scattering in every direction.

"Over here," Elric called from behind us. Sia, Lyra, and he had apparently moved away from the pool after Sia cast her fire spell.

I sighed and reached down, grabbing my still-prone girlfriend. "Come on, Taser Princess." I held out my hand, and she took it with a smirk.

"You scream like a girl," she kindly observed.

"...You scream like a girl," I shot back with absolute conviction.

Brilliant comeback. As always.

She stifled a laugh, gripping my hand as she got up.

We made our way to the others. "So why’d you move over here?" I asked.

Lyra answered first. "Something about that water pulled us to drink it… thankfully, it wasn’t harmful."

That’s right. With everything that happened after drinking it, I had totally forgotten about the strange compulsion we all felt near the pool.

"Too much of anything can be harmful, and we don’t know how much is too much of…" She gestured toward the emerald pool. "That."

"Good point. Thanks for getting us over here," Thea added.

I turned to Sia. "Any special types of world force show up when you used your ability?"

She nodded. "Yeah, some dark reds surrounded me when I was casting."

The colors were already fading from my vision. I assumed the same was happening for the others.

"You thinking of something?" Elric asked, probably noticing the shift in my expression.

"I don’t know… maybe we’ve been thinking about this all wrong," I told them.

"What do you mean?" Thea asked.

"What if Body Refinement wasn’t the next step but just another path?" I explained. "What if we hit a bottleneck because our limits have been met on two separate branches of cultivation? Energy Gathering and Body Refinement. The only reason we got so far on either is because the two paths pull each other forward."

Thea’s eyes lit up with realization. "Then… we should advance another way! A third branch."

"Exactly."

"Something we’re lacking… something we just experienced," she mused, excitement growing in her voice. "Our perception!"

Deciding to interrupt our moment, Elric crossed his arms. "Soooo, how do we do that?"

"Drink more special water?" I offered.

"No," Lyra and Sia answered in perfect sync before Lyra continued. "At least not for a few hours after the effects wear off."

I caught Thea staring at me with a strange glint in her eye.

I stepped back. "What? You’re not thinking of shocking me again, are you?"

She took a slow step forward, and my heart jumped. "You already know how to increase perception… maybe not the same way as that water, but with your Precursor Sense."

All eyes shifted to me.

"Uhhh. Yeah, I guess?"

Elric put a hand on his chin, contemplative. "Our Precursor Energy moved into our systems, but yours settled into your focal point."

Oh. Ooooh. I got it now.

"Then we have two different tasks," I started. "I have to figure out how to use the energy to let us perceive the different kinds of world force, and you—"

"Figure out how to pull it from our system and use it as something other than a replacement for MP and SP," Elric finished for me.

"Then after?" Sia asked.

I shrugged. "No idea."

"Either way," Thea said, her bright smile unwavering, "there’s nothing wrong with discovering different ways to cultivate! It’ll work out eventually."

"Great! One final question then."

They all turned to me again.

I gestured toward the glowing pool.

"How do we bottle that sweet, sweet green nectar, and keep it from seducing us into drinking it?"