I wanted to use the sword better, so I started practicing.


    "Eve, do you know any sword techniques? Or do I get a newbie gift pack?"


    "No gift packs, sorry," Eve replied. "But if you gain more energy, I can use it to slow your perception of time."


    I raised an eyebrow. "Explain."


    "Right now, when you eat, that energy is used by the nanos to rebuild your body. The energy from spirit stones, however, is used to cultivate your mind. You will need both to get stronger. This makes your path much longer compared to other cultivators."


    That didn’t sound good. "Why?"


    "A normal cultivator strengthens their soul first. This makes them smarter and enhances their ability to cultivate faster. But you… you can’t do this, because the space where your soul would grow is occupied by me."


    I blinked. "Wait, so I can’t cultivate?"


    "You can. But it’s different. Because you have me, I will cultivate your mind while you cultivate your body. Normally, when a cultivator breaks through, 50% of the energy strengthens their soul, while 25% strengthens their mind and body. For you, it''s reversed. 50% will go to your body, 25% to your mind, and only 25% to your soul."


    I let that sink in. So I was a body cultivator, meaning I couldn''t use normal techniques.


    "So you don’t have any body cultivation techniques? Or even sword styles?"


    "They all rely on spiritual energy, which you don’t have," Eve said flatly. "I have basic sword knowledge, but it''s just movements. You need to learn how to use the sword for yourself."


    She had a point. Even in my old clan, they only provided basic sword skills because real techniques required wrapping the weapon in spiritual energy. I had to find my own way to fight.


    I kept swinging the sword, feeling the weight shift with each movement. At some point, the night became day, then evening again, but I never stopped.


    I was lost in the flow.


    "Chen, you should eat again." Eve’s soft voice echoed in my mind.


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    I hesitated, not wanting to stop. But my stomach made the decision for me. I put the sword away and started eating.


    The boar tasted even better the second time. Maybe it was because it had cooked longer. Maybe I was just starving. Either way, I didn’t care. It was good.


    Life settled into a rhythm.


    Over the next few days, I hunted. I trained. I explored.


    I found a pond about two miles from the cave—discovered it by accident when I saw fish jumping. "Fish sounds like it’d be great for breakfast."


    I made a spear and went for a swim. After days of sweating and training, the water felt like heaven.


    Catching fish was surprisingly easy. I was already faster. I could feel it, even if I didn’t understand it.


    The smallest fish I caught was at least ten pounds, looking like a trout but far bigger than anything I remembered from Earth. By the time I made it back to the cave, my arms were full.


    On the way, something caught my eye.


    A small, rotten stump. A single white flower growing from its center.


    It glowed faintly. Too bright. Too pure.


    I frowned. That was… strange. Normally, anything with this much spiritual energy would have a beast guarding it. But there was nothing.


    I took a cautious step forward.


    The closer I got, the more refreshing it felt. Like standing in a crisp breeze on a summer day.


    I reached out—


    "Don’t touch it! It’s too much power!"


    Eve’s warning came too late.


    The moment my fingers brushed the petals, a cold unlike anything I had ever felt spread up my arm.


    Not just freezing—hollow, empty.


    It wasn’t just my skin that was cold. It felt like my very existence was being swallowed.


    "Chen, let go!" Eve’s voice rang with urgency.


    I tried. I couldn’t.


    The cold raced across my body, moving faster than thought. Ice formed on my skin, but it wasn’t normal ice—it was colorless, transparent, like reality itself was breaking.


    The world around me dimmed—not into darkness, but into nothing.


    No sound. No warmth. Just void.


    My chest tightened. Breathing became impossible.


    And then—


    Silence.


    Not quiet. Absence.


    The pain was gone. The cold was gone.


    Everything was gone.


    Somewhere far away, I felt Eve struggling. She was pulling at the energy, trying to contain it. But something else had already taken hold.


    A shift.


    Deep inside me, something stirred.


    A presence that wasn’t a presence. A hunger that wasn’t hunger.


    A black hole in my core, spinning, devouring, erasing.


    It didn’t take. It erased. Unmade.


    For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I was even here.


    Then—everything snapped back.


    I gasped awake, my back hitting the cave floor.


    Sweat drenched my skin. My breath came in ragged gulps.


    The flower was gone. No remains. No trace.


    Eve’s voice was quiet. Almost shaken. "Chen… what was that?"


    I swallowed hard. I didn’t know.


    But I felt it. Something had changed.


    And I wasn’t sure if it was something I could ever undo.