The room around Domison looked similar, yet incredibly different at the same time. Color had drained from the world and every inanimate object's geometry was outlined in stark white and filled with the deepest black. A perpetually evolving array of white lines stretched all around him and, if he concentrated, he could make out the outlines of the buildings three blocks away. He had taken note that living organisms lacked the outline of inanimate items and this was further reinforced by the fact that he could make out the fuzzy outline of food inside the refrigerator through the door. It was odd to look at, seeing the fuzzy shape of different food items contained within white lines. Lines that brightened or dimmed depending on how many surfaces stood between him and their point of origin.

Domison noted almost immediately that it was almost impossible to see the white outline of objects' geometry through organic tissue. This fact sent a shock through his mind immediately and he spun around, observing the buildings moving toward the center of Aurora City. When applying his full concentration, he was able to push his vision out to five blocks of city streets. Domison strained for several minutes, raking his vision through floor after floor of different structures and ignoring Raze’s pestering mental berating. No matter how much he concentrated though, the only living creatures he could make out other than what seemed to be plant life were the three forms of his companions. He recognized them quite easily due to Craig’s massive frame, they had already made it two blocks away and were skirting the edge of Old Town closer to Aurora’s city center.

Domison let out a sigh and finally lent Raze his attention, to the guide’s obvious chagrin. After a few seconds of harrumphing the shadowling spoke, ‘If you are done screwing about, this is important for the gift I am preparing.’ Glowing red eyes scowled down at Domison from a pitch-black form floating in mid-air. ‘You may have started to notice that the shadow world seems almost like a reflection of your own. Yet while there are many similarities, there are also differences.’ Raze said pointedly while he pointed above to the glaring crimson orbs filling the sky like stars. ‘The shadow world is connected to your own, yes. But not as you are imagining it.’

The guide floated back down to Domison’s chest level and held out one hand. A transparent sphere appeared above Raze’s palm as he began to speak, ‘Your universe is this ball. Every galaxy and sun are housed on the surface. The shadow world, however, is like a layer underneath the surface with a reflection of your world shining through, hence-’ Raze plucked at one of the white lines making up the fridge, ‘the white outlines.’ The ball disappeared and the imp-like creature continued his lecture, ‘There are many different layers of the world and the veil that separates each is thinner in some places than others. Because of your affinity, you can travel between these layers, at little cost.’

At this point Raze went silent for a full minute, only staring at Domison, seemingly coming to some sort of conclusion. Only when the man started to feel uncomfortable with the quiet did words fill his mind again, ‘I am of the belief that this affinity may also allow you to establish a domain and solidify your inner world.’

Domison raised a hand into the air and Raze actually slapped a shadowy palm into his own forehead, clawed fingers passing straight through the top hat perched above. Without removing the hand from its face, another clawed hand motioned for Domison to ask his question. “What’s a domain? And, will “solidifying my inner world” be of any benefit?”

For a moment, glowering red eyes grew brighter and a clawed hand clenched into a fist. Domison thought he had finally tested the limits of Raze’s patience, though he wasn’t sure how an innocent question would do that, when the guide put up two fingers and responded, ‘You can think of a domain as bringing a semblance of your inner world into the physical by expanding your aura. This will give you better control of the mana in your surroundings and allow you to use techniques at a lower mana cost.’ One clawed finger went down, ‘Solidifying your inner world will make it more tangible, like an actual plane of existence. This will allow you to establish a link to the physical world that you can exploit. You can use this link as a mechanism of storage, or even flood the surroundings with your mana and establish an even stronger domain fueled by your intent.’ The second finger went down and Raze’s grin widened, eyes gleaming with a type of glee.

Domison nodded, not quite understanding but just wanting to hurry along with the practical training. As the two were speaking, a shadowy dog as large as a horse came up to the man from behind, nudging up under Domison’s arm. His body was almost lifted off the ground as Pabu brought his head back, making his request for scratches unignorable. As Domison’s hand dove into a forest of bluish-black fur and started scratching at just the right spot, a huge black tail started flailing back and forth like a weapon.

Raze continued his lecture by explaining how he would begin training for both of these intended upgrades and Domison was beginning to realize that much of Cultivation was conceptual. There was no perfectly correct way to do something, and everyone’s results would be different. The more that the guide explained, the more the man realized how powerful the body he had been granted was. The inheritance he had received from the primordial Abyss was not a detailed instruction manual, instead, it was a near-perfect foundation for him to build upon.

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As soon as Domison was able, he fell into a position to meditate. Raze had instructed him to meditate upon his inner world and establish his intent within it, to connect it to a physical place. When the man had questioned Raze’s words, the guide went into a lengthy explanation regarding the feelings behind different Mana types and the myriad of natural intent sewn throughout the energies of the world. In the end, what Domison got out of it was to imagine his inner world as a physical place where cultivation would be optimal. Raze had assured him that he would be able to build upon this intent and further shape this realm as he advanced, but Domison wanted to get it as close to perfect as he could the first time around.

For almost an hour Domison just contemplated upon the feeling of his powers and the different Mana-affinities that filled his core. At first, he thought the abyssal energies were a single affinity, but as he looked deeper he realized that it was a beautiful tapestry of many different affinities. While he couldn’t quite make out the individual strands, the overall feeling of the energy was cool, dark, and hungry. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling to Domison though, it felt more like he had stumbled upon a cave of ice after wandering through the desert. A feeling as though his body was longing for more of the cold air, but also impatiently waiting for the icy stalagmites to melt down into the water to which he could consume.

With these feelings in mind, Domison went to work on his inner world. He imagined himself deep in meditation, using the feeling of his mana to fill in the world around his cultivating form. For a moment he could only visualize his form, floating in a deep void of black but after a few minutes, something seemed to click. The amalgamation of different feelings and the undertone of longing he had felt in his Abyssal energy solidified and started to shape the world. A cavern was painted into view, with stalagmites and stalactites as large as garbage trucks yawing around his form like a fang-filled mouth. Everything was covered in a layer of ice, but the calming sound of dripping water echoed around the entire cavern. His form was no longer floating in mid-air, instead, it was on a smooth platform at the end of a natural bridge, suspended in the almost perfect center of the huge cave.

As soon as the image was formed in his mind, Domison could feel the process coming to a climax. It would soon solidify and Domison was unsure exactly how much he would be able to change or how long after his inner world's formation he would have to wait to enact such change. Before everything fully snapped into place, Domison hurriedly made several final touches. He was just in time as only seconds later the visualization of his inner world started to become more tangible. When the man blinked again after the completion of his mental image, he was no longer standing in the shadowy reflection of his apartment.

Domison opened his eyes and was now standing in the center of a massive stone platform inside an even more momentous cavern, walls draped in sheets of ice. An incredibly calming sound of water droplets splashing onto stone echoed throughout the cave and Domison just closed his eyes for a moment, relishing the cool, clean air and the way his pent-up stress started to melt away. After only a few seconds something large nudged him in the center of his back and Domison stumbled forward a few steps. When he turned around he saw Pabu, laying in a large dog bed, right next to the small meditation mat that was set up in the center of the platform. Behind the massive dog was a small cabin, smoke curling from a cobblestone chimney. Domison stepped back towards his companion and started absentmindedly scratching behind the dog’s huge floppy ears as he smiled out at his new inner world.

Beyond the little house and flat platform, the cavern seemed to be breathing. Domison could make out deep red veins, of what looked like some sort of ore, running through the walls. The veins would pulse out with energy in time with the cycling of his mana, which Domison realized he could feel much more acutely in this space. It was a difference like watching a recording of a swimmer versus diving into a pool yourself. Domison sat upon the meditation mat, closed his eyes, and focused on the circulation of energies within him. Pabu rose from the fluffy bed and curled around Domison's meditating form a few moments after the man settled in.

After several hours of meditation and cycling, Domison rose with arms reaching out above his head, Pabu stretching out his long body beside the man. Raze circled around from Domison's left shoulder and spoke into his mind, 'This is very good. Now that you have solidified your inner world, or what is technically now known as your inner domain, it will be much easier to integrate your gift.' The little guide's red eyes had a calculating look as he gazed at the man. 'I will wait, however. Once you can project your domain onto the physical realm, then will be the perfect time.'

As soon as the guide finished his sentence, he began to shoo Domison towards the mouth of the cave across the natural stone bridge. Pabu nudged the man forward before he had a chance to ask any questions and he stumbled towards the exit. Raze spoke again when they reached halfway across the weathered black stone, 'Projecting your domain into the physical will be much more difficult and you have been training for many hours.' Domison only nodded and the group continued walking, straight through the looming black tunnel.