With each passing day, Dante became more anxious. In theory, he had understood what Rim and Sabrina were doing. But, on a deeper level, he still didn't understand what the breakthrough to gold would look like.

The difference between the cultivator classes was clear. A normal person would become a bronze when his body began to be able to store Qi. Silver arrived when the cultivator opened his first channels and could use Qi in a focused manner. Gold, however, was the stage when the cultivator needed to start using the oversoul.

Since each cultivator's monster core varied, there was no certainty when talking about advancing to gold. It depended on the personality of the beast, as well as the Qi that the monster had when alive. Added to all of this, there was also the cultivator's affinity with the monster core.

First, Sabrina and Rim had cultivated and refined their Qi to the maximum. Right now, they were little by little trying to expand their core, so as to access the monster inside. The final step, however, was the most frightening for Dante. He had no idea what monster Rim had inside her, but Sabrina had a demon.

Isaac had set a date for the advancement ritual. There were only three days left. It didn't even seem like one week ago that he had told the others about his plan to escape.

Hector had locked himself in his room a day ago and had not been heard from since. Isaac assured Dante that everything was normal, and that he could sense Hector was almost finished with his advance.

"Don't get distracted! If you keep this up, I'm going to assume you're the type that needs to suffer in order to learn. And it's not a good assumption, believe me," Isaac said, scolding Dante.

Dante was still following the same routine. The cultivation could not stop. Struggling to ignore the pain that came from Isaac's Qi, Dante focused on his core.

After every training session - or torture session - Dante would take a pill of Light Qi, so that his core would be balanced. He felt he was getting close to another breakthrough. The pill of light Qi was dissolving rapidly, his Qi thirsting to find its state of balance. The young cultivator's Qi was grossly different from when he had passed the first slayer test. Now, the golden energy burned like the hottest of fires, and could cauterize any wounds in Dante's body. Except Death, of course.

As long as his Qi didn't run out, Dante felt immortal.

As he was focused on his inner world, circulating Qi through his meridians, he felt a strange sensation. It was as if something in his energy was calling him. At first, he tried to resist, but the voice embraced all of his.

It didn't take long before he started slowly loosening the bonds of consciousness. He was so tense, so tired from so much cultivation. He closed his eyes, letting himself be carried away completely by the voice.

In the distance, a bright light forced him to open his eyes. The atmosphere was not foreign to Dante's memory. It was where he had seen the phoenix for the first and only time.

This time, the environment was a little different. The monster's light was less chaotic. More real. He didn't know if it was all a dream or something else.

Determined not to let the opportunity slip through his fingers, he did not hurry the process, trying to open his senses slowly. The phoenix, which before was just a shadow, covered by the glowing Qi, began to take more defined forms.

From that crude form that Dante first saw the phoenix, a beautiful bird was engraved, with long tails and wings that seemed to embrace infinity. With a body as long as a peacock, the phoenix's eyes were focused on Dante. Too focused for it all to be a dream.

When he thought about trying to do something to get out of there, he realized that his body did not obey his commands. It wasn't as if he was afraid, but it was an instinctive gesture from his body. The monster's voice seemed to come from all sides at once. Dante suspected that he was in a mixture of illusion and his inner world.

"Fear not, child. Recognize yourself, for you have been chosen to make the Empire of the Sun Fire shine once again." The monster's voice seemed to come from all sides at once. Dante suspected that he was in a mixture of illusion and his inner world.

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Testing his mouth, Dante realized he could speak. At least that much. Last time, he couldn't even do that. "Thank you, I think?" he didn't know exactly what to do. He had not been instructed to deal with legendary beings in environments that existed only in his head.

The voice seemed to make the world itself tremble. "You have done a good job so far. I see that you are taking the first steps towards building our legacy. Two excellent concubines you have arranged. The demon's will give us trouble, but nothing is impossible in the face of the sun god's majestic radiance."

When Dante realized the monster's words, he felt his cheeks burn. What was that crazy monster thinking?

"Now that you have finally got strong enough to communicate with me, we will have much to decide. I suppose you will soon become interested in the oversoul, right?"

Few sentences in the world would cause such a drastic change in Dante's mood. It was as if someone had offered a pot of gold to a dwarf. That monster might be crazy, but it wasn't as if Dante had a choice.

"Yes!" said Dante. After a while, he decided to answer the creature properly. It wouldn't hurt to try to content someone whose power could kill him at any moment. By that strange talk of concubines, Dante thought the creature was in the habit of other times.

"O, heavenly god, please teach me the hidden and long-forgotten arts of the true way of the Sun Fire. I shall soar beyond the heavens." It was a line he remembered from a play he had seen in school, long ago.

"Excellent, my beloved disciple," said the phoenix. Dante felt a weight leave his shoulders. At least he wouldn't be dying anytime soon. "But before that, you will need to change this strange food you eat. I will give you a list of ingredients that you should eat from now on."

Dante really didn't understand. At that moment, he strongly doubted the veracity of the facts happening around him. A legendary monster asking for a... diet? No, something must be wrong. Everything must be a dream.

He couldn't imagine anything that could wake him up. He even thought of pinching himself, but found his body incapable of any movement. No... it was all too real to be just a dream. They had warned him that in the upper levels of silver the monster core would begin to manifest.

"And why is that?" Dante said, still confused by the monster's predilection for a certain type of food.

"It seems you still have a lot to learn," the monster said, lowering his head. "When monsters die, we leave behind our essence, a part of our life energy that remains in the world. When a human uses us to create a core and manipulate Qi, we somehow gain a new life, albeit a very limited one."

"One of these limitations is the absence of a physical body. However, I can still feel, even if only to a limited extent, things that you feel. This is how we accept a cultivator to carry our core, after all. Our feelings must at least be in tune with someone. In other words, you eat my favorite dish, I am happy. Your body is weak, I'm too. A little chicken won't hurt anyone."

Dante caught himself mentally writing down all the foods said by the monster. Since he was playing with fire, it was better to avoid getting burned, wasn't it? He looked at the monster with admiration. If even during eternal rest there was still so much power left... how strong should the phoenix have been during his peak?

"You may ask, child. We are literally alone in this entire micro world. There is no one who can hear us." The phoenix's patience seemed to start running out.

Gathering courage, Dante said, "ever since I was accepted into the school, they told me that a monster of your caliber must accept the host. Why me? I mean, surely it's not hard to find someone more talented... I just don't know."

Emitting a noise distantly reminiscent of a laugh, the monster seemed to become a little more relaxed. "I'm sorry to tell you, but you already know that answer."

A slight movement in the monster's Qi was enough to make Dante's body levitate closer to the Phoenix's mouth.

Strangely enough, the closer he got, the more comfortable he felt. The fire emanating from the monster was not hot, or even uncomfortable. It was like a fire in a fireplace on a cold winter's day, able to warm to the depths of the soul.

"Talent? Expectations? That's not what I seek. Every year prodigies emerge all over the world and claim to be blessed by Qi, capable of revolutionizing existence itself. Meanwhile, here we are, thousands of years with the same system of government. The same old monsters rule the world."

The phoenix looked deep into Dante's eyes, eyes flaring. "What I was looking for is someone with the same fire as I had. Someone who would give his soul to get stronger, to go forward. I didn't look for wealth, heredity, or anything like that. I want someone whose flame would light up the ancient gears that move this sick world. And you, Dante, were my best bet. You were willing to do anything to try to save your clan from failure. I will admit nothing less than the top for both of us. And I have seen your suffering, child. I know everything you've been through."

Dante couldn't understand the words in their literalness. However, looking back into those eyes of flame, he recognized a bit of himself. They could call him several things, but not lazy. Day after day, he was proving to everyone how willing he was to move forward.

"I am honored to have been chosen," he said, making a reference position.

He realized only after the movement that he had regained full control of his body.

"Very good. Now, I must go. We will return to talk about our oversoul. That man and the kitten surely have something on their minds."

Kitten?

Before he could elaborate that he knew nothing about that, the world burned to the ground. Luckily for Dante, this time it seemed that it was just for dramatic purposes. It wasn't long before he was back in the training room.

With a few more answers, Dante felt refreshed to move on. To pursue his dream. To save his family and friends.