Currently, midnight within the Ucalis Realm, Zenith had found time to sneak out without having to worry about Nelel since she was asleep. As for Jagartha, she was more reasonable. He had first thought it wouldn't be an issue telling Nelel about himself. Still, he found that he immensely enjoyed how he was being cared for by her and decided to keep it a secret.
He was still only human, after all. Being cared for was excellent. He knew Nelel was a superb child treating him so nicely despite his circumstance he owed her a lot. Zenith had entered a cavern he had discovered that stretched downwards into the earth. It seemed naturally formed though What brought him here was that it had a strong resonance of Aether.
Making his way downwards, and although it hurt to walk, the terrain was not suitable for the wheelchair, so he had stored it within that void space. "Bingo, his voice echoed against the walls" Infront of him an innumerable amount of Aetheric crystals protruding out from the cavern walls, tender blue and greenish lights all around. Zenith was a little surprised at the large amount.
"I'll make my breakthrough here" he spoke. His Souls senses, extending around and leaving his body somewhat. As this happened, his burn like wounds began to recover at a visible rate since his soul was no longer forced and condensed in his body.
Right now, it was more like a mass of energy behind him that twisted and distorted the void which would be impossible for any soul of a supreme divinity but this soul was now beyond that.
"Hmm, what's this. Oh, a coffin? " Being able to sense around himself even penetrating through the ground, Zenith noticed that deep beneath the earth, there was a large coffin chained up as if bound. Runic inscriptions emitting faint glows littering around this coffin and even the chains binding it.
"Sealing methods? This cavern was discovered then. Someone must have used it to seal that man inside, Peak demigod? Right about to step into the god realm. You probably caused a lot of havoc in this realm or pissed off the wrong person to be sealed up like that."
Zenith spoke to himself, then sat cross-legged. "None of my concern," uttering out again, before his eyes closed. He then began to initiate his methods. His soul core located within the void floated out of that space and appeared within his heart, a source of cultivation. It then began to integrate with his body.
One would no doubt find it odd for a four-year-old in bandages to be here in a cultivation stance let alone emit such a pure Aetheric aura. "Perpetual Realm..." Zenith Thought.
With closed eyes, he gathered the Aether around him and from the void, manually tempering and purifying it until he amassed a large source of pure Aether. And then as if creating a waterfall that pure Aether rushed towards his Soul core, causing it to grow, although, at a snail's pace, it was significantly faster then before.
"Finally I..." Zenith stopped as his mind suddenly grew foggy. Within that void, the planet of graves suddenly emitted a pulse. A Grave in the distance began to tremble before it gave a grey pulse identical to the one prior. This pulse seemed twisted and odd, and as this pulse extended outward and touched Zenith's consciousness, he felt himself reliving the memories of this individual.
----
"Useless trash....you shame our family name. Is it so hard for you to reach a breakthrough? I can't believe I am related to you. All the resources spent on you have wasted into nothing." A young man in his 20's wearing eastern themed cultivation attire with a stern look and slick hair was looking down at a 13-year-old who was similarly dressed and looking down at the ground.
"Big brother, I'm sorry... I will try harder..." The boy spoke.
"Hmph....try harder? It's the same excuse every damn time...." The young man walked off after shaking his head and giving a scornful look.
Time seemed to fast forward a year, or so ahead, the boy had grown a bit more and was cultivating within a large sect. The location of the sect Zenith was unsure of, but he knew this was within the 4th universe. This universe was indeed like those in Xianxia novels he had read in his younger days.
"I'm close to a breakthrough just a bit more!!" The young man suddenly spoke about to reach the perpetual realm. Getting closer and closer towards that step. Unfortunately, the young man had rushed after sensing a breakthrough resulting in him encountered a problem. He first coughed out blood as his internal organs were damaged. His cultivation began to go rampant. "N..noo!!..." He spoke, terrified. He had made a grave mistake.
"Fool!" A figure rushed in towards him and made some pinpoint hand gestures on the young boy's body dispersing the rampaging cultivation aura and saving the young man. It was his elder brother who looked at him angrily.
"Again...resources wasted....tsk...still worthless...The precious resources I fight for are gone because you are too impatient!!!" He scorned his little brother then walked off.
The young man looked down towards the floor, his tears running down his face mixing with the blood at his lips. "I'm sorry...he spoke." As time pressed forward three more years, the young man grew somewhat older yet the sadness he had, mixed with his expression of sorrow. He made his way through his sect while many began to speak about him.
"I can't believe Senior brother Sagiem spends resources on that useless little brother of his. Why does he do it ?" A female cultivator of the sect spoke to her nearby friend. The young man could still hear her voice.
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"I once asked a Senior, and he told me that Senior brother Sagiem is obligated because he made a promise to his dying father, in truth he hates this waste little brother of his"
The young man looked gloomy and irritated as he walked off, He began to think to himself."-Why do they need to say it? I never wanted to be a cultivator I wanted to be an artist. I hate this war..."
After lamenting, he entered his assigned cultivation cave, within the centre a fist-sized aetheric crystal. One this size was quite rare, yet he had gotten it thanks to his elder brother.
"What's the point....he hates me and is only doing this because of a promise...I don't want to do this anymore. I will tell him; next, I see him.
The visions Zenith was receiving then moved forward to the next time this young man saw his elder brother. The young man was making his way around again when he heard an uproar and people rushing past him.
"The Elite's are back! Senior Brother Sagiem made a breakthrough to the Celestial realm and saved Princess Ekisha!" one of the rushing youths spoke to his friend who was also curious regarding what was going on.
"What? That's incredible. Senior brother is outstanding! he always creates a miracle I wish I were half as talented as him" The friend replied.
"Half? Bah, even just a pinky's worth of talent is enough for me. Let's go check it out before we miss it!" The two then made their way over following the flow of people.
The young man looked more gloomy. His fists clenched together. "-Big brother and Ekisha have been seeing each other for some time. She is the granddaughter of an upper ecliptic realm expert... he is talented and lucky. something I'm not-"
The young man left to re-enter his cultivation cave. The visions moved forward several hours until it stopped to show the young man painting a picture rather than using this time to cultivate. His home suddenly shook a little before the figure of his brother entered.
"You're here painting instead of having gone to greet me? I can't believe this...." The elder brother shook his head in anger and glared at his little brother.
The younger brother kept facing away from him, the brush in his hand shaking a little. His mind and body quivering before snapping, Suddenly he turned around and looked at his elder brother before yelling.
"YOU ARE THE ONE THAT FORCED ME TO CULTIVATE, YOU ARE THE ONE THAT KEEPS ME HERE, AND YOU ARE THE TALENTED ONE BETWEEN US!. I don't want even to be here, but you force me day and night to use resource after resource that you tell me is valuable that you have gone through a lot of effort to receive, you can SEE that I am not worth cultivating up, so why continue!"
He had finally had enough and snapped at his elder brother. the elder brother looked carefully at him and chuckled softly. "Nasayim you dare bark at me? " A smug look appeared on Sagiem's face before he continued.
"Is this because of Ekisha? Because you think I stole her from you? No, that isn't the right word. You never had a chance, to begin with, you're just a flea, an ant, a toad trapped in a well. all you are good for is being a stain on my life because of a stupid promise I made to father, be obedient and do as I say and maybe even you can amount to something."
Nasayim, the young man was quivering, his anger on the brink of insanity building up. His eyes had gone bloodshot followed by him roaring out, gathering his full strength he struck towards his elder brother who glanced at him indifferently Then waved his hand. The power of Sagiem's cultivation coming into play and blowing the attack as well as Nasayim against the cultivation cave's wall.
Nasayim gasped and coughed out blood, his internals rippled and were damaged, though for a cultivator like him he could recover. He slid down the wall and coughed over his cultivation garb.
"Never raise your hand towards me again, or I will cripple you...." Sagiem spoke. Nasayim suddenly chuckled before his lips curled into a smile. "Let me save you the trouble...."
Sagiem eyebrows raised as he had a bad feeling, he suddenly dashed towards Nasayim, but it was too late. Nasayim had detonated his cultivation.
"DAMN YOU!' Sagiems voice sounded in the blinding light. More visions moved to the next day. A skinny withered figure wrapped in bandages almost like Zenith had been but in a more gruesome appearance was laid on a bed with the smell of medical herbs and incense around the room.
Sagiem was standing beside the figure with an old man with a long white beard beside him. "I have done all I can.....the best I can achieve is not letting him perish, he won't be able to cultivate again. His meridians have ruptured, even if he were to form a soul core he can't let the Aether flow in his body or it would tear him apart..."
Sagiem looked carefully at Nasayim, who was the withered figure on the bed. "So be it" His voice somewhat pained. The visions moved forward again, two years into the future.
A figure was sitting outside on a chair, wearing a hooded robe, his hands visible as they looked burnt and withered. He wore a plain wooden mask, his eyes visible, and with closer inspection, one could see how soulless they appeared this was Nasayim.
In front of him, an empty canvas with the materials to paint clear in front of him. His surroundings were peaceful, with no one living near him for miles. Now and again, someone would deliver necessities to him.
Nasayim, having detonated his cultivation and achieved this so-called everyday life, came at a high cost. His appearance and his motivation to paint gone.
While continuing to stare at the canvas, the disciple of the sect tasked with bringing necessities to Nasayim arrived. The disciple himself didn't know any details about what was going on. Having just been tasked with getting things to Nasayim and never speak about it. Nasayim's identity and fate kept secret to not dirty Sagiems name.
As the disciple floated down beside Nasayim, he glanced at the empty canvas and clicked his tongue. "Tsk...nothing today either ay? All well. I've brought the usual il to place them inside.
He made his way in the small cottage and raised his right hand. His storage ring glowing as food and other things appeared then were placed into storage.
The disciple then made his way out and sighed. He began to talk to Nasayim who had not spoken a word since the event. "You sure are lucky to live a normal life. You must know someone high up in the sect to be taken care of like this. Cultivating sucks, you can't compete with those geniuses like Sagiem. Lucky dog and Princess Ekisha are getting married a month from now. I heard her grandfather intends to take him on as a personal disciple."
Not a moment after he finished speaking the disciple had suddenly quivered with instinctual fear. He looked behind his back to see Nasayim Glancing directly at him. "W..well I better go...." He uttered then began to fly off and vanish in the distance.
The silence that followed was eerie until a withered hand reached out and gripped the brush, he moved it towards the white canvas and placed it onto it before bringing it down in a perfectly straight line. he didn't dip it in any paint a simple dry bristle brush.
Though if one were to look carefully at Nasayim's eyes, they would see they were no longer soulless, but bloodshot and heavy with hatred. The canvas reflecting off his pupils and what showed was a crimson red line running down almost like blood.