Thanos led on the cold ground as he fought to remain conscious. There were voices nearby in the distance closing in, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

The adrenaline rush slowly wore off, giving way to a blossoming sense of pain as the frost-covered ground bit at him. He knew his parents weren't far away, the thought giving him enough warmth to stay awake.

Without much to do but lay on the ground feeling sorry for himself, he turned his attention inward to check on his newly formed core and essence channels.

His channels were in pretty rough shape as they had been split and mangled in various places across the lower half of his body. When essence naturally flowed through him now, it was hard not to wince at the pain caused when moving through those areas.

His core, on the other hand, was a thing of beauty. He couldn't help but appreciate the wonder before him as he watched what looked like gas flow in from the top and come out of the bottom as sand into a magical-looking world. There was even a mystical-looking city shimmering in and out of existence on the horizon, with tall white towers and minarets.

Much of his core was now a washed-out colour, but this was because he had just used up a lot of its stored essence during his fall. The core looked the same, filled with essence or not. The only difference was that the parts devoid of essence held no colour.

As he watched, the hourglass seemed to reach a tipping point as the gaseous top half was now empty, leaving the flow into the bottom half to give out.

Not long after the grains had stopped falling, the hourglass slowly tilted to its side and began to rotate. A strange sensation overcame him as a sense of past and future mixing struck.

He watched as time seemed to reverse. Everything that had been the bottom desert world was now a purple and blue maelstrom of gas flowing downward into the void at the bottom, seemingly waiting to get filled.

As a new world got birthed in the bottom of the hourglass, a wave of energy washed through his body, restoring it to peak condition. He had to double-check, but even the damage to his essence channels was repaired.

No, that's not right.

The previously damaged channels were now healthy looking, but not entirely. It seemed that the scarring done to them during his birth remained, but all the other damage done to his body since the formation of his core was gone.

Whatever happened also affected the core as he could feel the sudden change of essence it stored. It was brighter now, like he had never expelled all the essence a few moments ago. The parts that had moments ago been devoid of colours now had them.

He knew the scarring wasn't an issue, as it would get settled once he used his new core to reinforce his channels. The strange pulse had also healed his external injuries, and he felt in great shape. It was as if the events of this night had never happened, leaving him with only a lingering sense of tiredness.

He wasn't sure what was occurring, but he suspected it had to do with his new core. Turok had said that essence bodies could bend reality, so whatever this was, he would place bets on it being core-related.

Perhaps this is the power of my essence body?

He knew that those born with an essence body usually had strange alterations to their core that warped the laws of reality, such as the example Turok had described as the soul-burning flames. He couldn't help but wonder if this was his power.

Does my core heal me when it turns?

The entire thing required more study, as he suspected it wasn't as simple, but that would have to wait. The hourglass rotating again was a while off looking at the falling sand, and he had no success, causing it to happen manually.

His core could suck in essence or expel some out, but he had no control over getting it to move or do anything other than what it was created for.

Distant voices were close now, and he decided to return to the real. Forcing his body to the side, he rotated just in time to see his father jump into the small crater, the general and his mother seconds behind him.

"Quick, grab him."

"Where's Anton?"

"Is he okay?"

"Here, wrap him up."

"He seems fine."

"Let's get him home."

A series of talking voices washed over him as all he wanted to do was sleep. Even though whatever had happened to his core mostly healed him, he felt as tired as before tonight's events.

It was night, and he only wanted his comfy bed and rest. With that thought, he closed his eyes and snuggled into someone's warm embrace.

***

He woke to being prodded and poked by something cold. His eyes snapped open, seeing it looked to be night as his window was closed, and the soft glow of a Lightstone lit his room.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes with his tiny hands, he looked around at the surrounding people. There were many of them: Anton, Ajax, the woman with the creepy bird, and his parents. The healer did the prodding as his assessing fingers checked over his body.

"How is little Than doing?" He heard Valeria say, using the little pet name she and his father had given him.

He preferred the shortened version, as Athanatos Keraunos was a bit of a mouthful. Being called Than suited his tastes just fine, so he would use it in the future.

The meaning of the name was intriguing, with it meaning 'Immortal Lightning' and hinted at certain things with the fact he should have been born with an essence body based on lightning, but it was a mystery for another time.

"Physically, he seems to be in perfect health apart from the old scarring in his channels that had been there since birth. Something else is happening near his core, but I can't see it properly." Anton calmly said, a placid look on his face seeming to mask confusion.

"There was human blood on his head when we found him. Where did that come from? He doesn't seem injured." Ajax said, his booming voice causing Thanos to wince.

"The child Ignited a core last night. You all felt it. That's what you're feeling now." Penelope, the elderly woman in purple, said as she interrupted a reply from Anton.

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He noticed all the others gathered, glancing between themselves before his father spoke up.

"You're saying what happened tonight was him igniting his core? How's that even possible? He's too young." Marcus replied quicker than the rest, a hint of incredulity lacing his words.

"Won't we know when I check?" Penelope replied as she moved over.

The older woman approached him and shooed the healer out of the way, getting a few grunts from him. The stern-looking man relented under the elderly woman's gaze and stepped back with a nod from his father.

"Let's see, shall we?" She said as her cold, wrinkly hands wrapped around his wrist whilst another rested above his navel.

He felt a strange sensation flow into him at the woman's words, and there was a sense of being laid bare before her. Something in him seemed to recoil at the intrusion, and essence flowed outward from his core as if by instinct, obscuring it in a haze.

"Hmm."

"What is it?" His mother said from his left, sounding worried as she leaned closer.

"The boy has a core, that's for certain, but I cannot tell anything more than that. Strange." Penelope muttered to herself as she removed her hands with a disappointed sigh.

"That shouldn't be possible?" Marcus said, sounding confused.

"Marcus is correct. The only time I've ever heard of such a young child forming their core was recently during the fifth prince's birth. I heard it caused quite the commotion in the capital and that he was born with an essence body." The Generals said, his voice still loud enough to wake the dead.

"That's what I think happened tonight. The boy has formed a core, so the only logical explanation is that he is also the bearer of an essence body." The older woman replied, and he noticed that the strange bird seemed absent.

"Aren't essence bodies only created at birth? He is months old now. It just doesn't make sense. Surely there must be another explanation?" Valeria said, her red hair reflecting the warm light coming from nearby as she looked up from him.

"Didn't you say the child was at death's door when you found him? That he miraculously healed? I suspect this essence body of his was late to bloom because of that." The older woman replied, her greying looks contrasting to his mother's.

"Is that possible?" Valeria said, surprised.

"Anything is possible when it comes to cultivating. That's even more true when essence bodies are involved. How else can you explain everything, the blood but lack of injury?" Penelope calmly replied as she turned to glance at his mother before she stood off to the side.

"It sounds like you have some experience with them?" Ajax asked, his voice sounding a little suspicious.

"I once knew someone blessed to be born with one." The elderly woman replied, not elaborating any further.

"So what do we do?" Valeria said, and he couldn't help but notice the concerned look on his mother's face.

Part of him wished he could just explain to alleviate her worries.

"Nothing. Just raise the child as you would any other. He's fortunate to be gifted, but that doesn't always mean the holder of an essence body is destined for greatness. It still depends on what kind of person he'll become. Raise him to be a good person." Penelope said as she collected something from nearby and promptly left the room, her face unreadable.

Her pet, missing the entire time, flew down from the rafters and landed on her shoulder as she left. Thanos saw the others in the room exchange odd glances before his father shrugged and walked over.

"As long as he's okay. That's all that matters." Marcus said as he reached out to stroke his head.

"You should all get some rest. We can deal with anything else in the morning," Ajax said as he picked up the large hammer sitting in the corner of the room, throwing it over his shoulder.

"What about Texon? We need to go and find her." Marcus said as if he suddenly remembered the woman who had been missing since the attack.

"Texon returned just before I came over. She had to jump down a cliff face to escape and is a little worse for wear but should make a full recovery. I left her overseeing the aftermath of the battle. No stopping that woman." The General said with a hint of respect in his voice.

"Sounds like her. How are our losses?" Marcus said as he stood beside the taller man.

"A couple of injuries, some major, most minor. The only loss was Albus. It seems like even here, we can't get any peace. Will you guys be moving into the village?"

His parents looked at each other before quickly coming to some kind of unspoken agreement.

"We should be fine here. The odds of something like this happening again are slim, and hopefully, I will have broken through before long." Marcus said with a shake of his head.

"Alright," Ajax said and turned to leave, stopping just at the doorway and looking back over his shoulder.

"I know I shouldn't speak much of your family issues, but your clan made a mistake when they forced you out. I am glad you managed to find a place with our lot."

"As am I. You've been a great mentor to me, and I appreciate it." Marcus said with a grateful smile.

"Right, I best go sort things out. Try to get some rest. You all look like you need it." Ajax and he turned to leave the room, his heavy footfalls fading into the distance.

His parents came over and stood at either side of his crib as they leaned in, watching and fussing over him. He didn't feel that tired but decided to pretend to fall asleep as he knew his parents would stay with him for as long as he was awake. They had already been through so much and deserved a good night's sleep, so he closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

"He looks so adorable when he's sleeping." He heard his mother whisper.

"He does. Come, we should follow his lead and get some rest. It will be a busy day tomorrow with the clean-up and funeral. I also need to go and find my weapon." Marcus said, and two sets of footsteps left his room as the door closed.

Opening his eyes, he outwardly sighed at the death of one of the villagers. He had no recollection of the man, so they probably hadn't met.

Still, losing any of his fellow villagers felt like a blow as he knew how much this place meant to his parents. He grew fond of the hardy people here and hated the thought of them getting hurt.

I need to grow up and get stronger so I can protect people. I won't be able to do that by being lazy or shying away from danger.

Using his mind's eye, he turned his focus inwards, appearing next to his core. To his perception, the giant hourglass dominated his vision as his consciousness floated in the empty void before it.

His core was fully coloured now, and he knew this meant that its essence reserves were now whole. He didn't need to look visually to realise that fact. When he concentrated, a feeling of fullness emanated from his navel area, making it obvious.

The top half was nearly empty now, and he felt this was an opportune time to do some testing.

This is going to hurt.

Using his tiny arms, he forced himself over and managed to sit upright in his crib. Reaching out both hands, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

It would look like nothing was happening to an average person, but looking down at his hands, he could see essence leaking outward.

He watched it flow out as he felt his core slowly empty, flooding his surroundings with space, time and illusion essence. Eventually, his core ran dry, and a feeling of emptiness and sickness washed over him as he looked at the corner of his wooden crib.

A muffled grunt escaped his lips as he brought down his right hand, slamming it onto the sharp corner of his cot. Turning his hand over, he found it bleeding, and a teeny splinter of wood poked out of his palm.

Perfect. Let's see what happens now.

It didn't take much longer, and he kept any essence away from his core so as not to interfere with the results of his testing. That strange feeling came over him again, and he felt like time had been upended for a moment before everything stabilised.

He watched as there was a cut on his palm one moment, and then there wasn't. A smattering of blood and a lone splinter now sat above perfect, unblemished baby skin. Looking inward, he took in his core and noticed it was as he suspected.

It's full.

Ecstatic at seeing his suspicions confirmed, he couldn't help but think about what all this meant. It was how he had created the core, and the fact that his essence channels were still injured made him realise the truth.

My body can turn back time!

It was evident to him now it had happened a couple of times. The scarring to his essence channels was still there, as that was the baseline template created when he had formed the core.

The head injury and damage to his channels, when forcefully expelling essence to slow his fall, happened afterwards. Just like the world inside the hourglass, his body was created anew to look exactly the same as before. Even his essence reserves were replenished as if by magic.

Looking around his room, he noted the fading mass of space, time and illusion essence in the vicinity. This meant that the essence in his core wasn't just returned to him and came from somewhere else.

He wasn't sure how all this was possible, but the implications of such an ability were enormous.

Couldn't I just heal from any injury?

Not only was there the chance to sustain massive injury and heal in the blink of an eye, but his core would also get magically filled up. His longevity in battle and the ability to train longer and harder than others would be a considerable advantage in the future.

He might even be able to lose limbs and regrow them instantly, but he wasn't willing to test such a thing.

There's also a way to prove my suspicions further.

The next step in cultivating after forming a core is to use the stored essence to reform his essence channels so they can cope with the increased pressure when starting to cultivate.

If I do that and let my core rotate, then, in theory, a new baseline should be created. Then, anytime I heal, I will be back to perfect health, unless...

A nightmare scenario suddenly appeared in his mind, causing a feeling of cold dread to shiver down his spine.

What if a new baseline doesn't form? Wouldn't that mean I would get stuck like this? That I wouldn't age and just be a baby forever?

Well, Fuck.