Seven years.
Within the Shadow Realm...
Seven long years had passed.
Outside...
Exactly seven days had passed.
The time I had left before entering Neraphyx...
Had finally arrived.
...
A cold breeze swept across the endless black landscape.
I stood quietly atop one of the highest peaks in the Shadow Realm, overlooking an ocean of darkness stretching beyond the horizon.
The Realm hadn't changed.
It remained silent.
Ancient.
As if time itself had stopped flowing the moment it was created.
Yet...
Everything felt different.
Seven years ago...
I had stood here as an outsider.
Today...
The Realm no longer rejected my presence.
The dense Shadow Energy that once felt hostile now flowed peacefully around my body.
It brushed against my skin like a gentle breeze before dispersing naturally.
Closing my eyes...
I could feel it.
Not through instinct.
Not through energy perception.
But through understanding.
Shadow Energy flowed everywhere.
Inside the mountains.
Within the rivers of darkness.
Beneath every step.
Even the empty air carried traces of it.
It was as natural to this Realm as Spiritual Energy was to Zeraphyx.
Opening my eyes, countless black streams became visible to my perception.
They intertwined throughout the entire world like invisible veins nourishing the Realm itself.
Beautiful.
Yet terrifying.
Seven years ago...
I couldn't even perceive their existence.
Now...
I could almost predict where every current would flow before it moved.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"So this..."
"...is Shadow Energy."
Many misunderstood it.
They believed Shadow Energy was simply another element.
Another attribute.
They were wrong.
Completely wrong.
Shadow Energy...
Was Death itself.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
It carried the authority of decay.
Consumption.
Silence.
Everything it touched slowly became part of it.
It did not burn.
It did not freeze.
It did not explode.
It invaded.
Like an unstoppable tide.
Slowly replacing life with death.
For ordinary cultivators...
Exposure alone could become a death sentence.
If their bodies were too weak...
The Shadow Energy would invade every meridian.
Corrode every organ.
Consume their vitality.
Until both body and soul collapsed into dust.
That dust...
Would become nourishment for the Shadow Realm itself.
The lucky ones...
Died.
The unlucky ones...
Remained.
If their souls proved strong enough to endure the corruption...
They wouldn't disappear.
Instead...
They would awaken once more.
As Shadow Warriors.
Bound eternally to the Realm.
Some retained fragments of memory.
Some remembered names.
Others remembered only instinct.
Those whose minds shattered completely...
Degenerated into mindless Shadow Beasts.
Forever wandering the darkness.
Searching for enemies they no longer remembered.
A cruel fate.
One far worse than death.
Which was why...
Learning Shadow Energy naturally was considered impossible.
Even among the Black Panther Clan...
A race born with an unparalleled affinity for shadows...
Only a handful ever reached true mastery.
Most spent their entire lives scratching the surface.
The average warrior...
Could barely utilize ten percent of Shadow Energy's true potential.
Even the greatest prodigies...
Rarely exceeded one percent.
Not because they lacked talent.
Because Shadow Energy rejected shortcuts.
It demanded complete understanding.
Absolute control.
One mistake...
Was enough to lose everything.
There was...
However...
One exception.
The safest path.
The quickest path.
The only path acknowledged by the Shadow Clan.
Become a Shadow Warrior beneath someone who had already mastered Shadow Energy.
Once accepted...
The master's Authority naturally protected the subordinate.
The corruption disappeared.
The danger vanished.
The master's control became a shield.
Allowing the warrior to safely cultivate Shadow Energy under their command.
It was the reason Nyxaroth's Shadow Legion could grow endlessly without destroying itself.
A perfect cycle.
Power protecting power.
For Father...
And for me...
Things had been different.
Neither of us chose that path.
Instead...
We resisted the corruption directly.
Every trace of invading Shadow Energy was burned away using our own power.
Our cultivation.
Our bloodline.
Most importantly...
The Azure Flames.
The divine flames constantly flowing through our bodies purified every foreign energy attempting to invade us.
As long as our own energy remained stronger...
Shadow Energy couldn't corrupt us.
It simply couldn't gain a foothold.
Of course...
That didn't make us immune.
If someone like Nyxaroth forcibly injected an overwhelming amount directly into our bodies...
Even the Azure Flames wouldn't save us.
Strength always had its limits.
Yet...
I was different.
I discovered that during my first year here.
The moment Shadow Energy entered my body...
Instead of resisting it...
My body...
Accepted it.
Not completely.
Not recklessly.
It simply...
Knew what to do.
Prime Breath activated almost instinctively.
The invading Shadow Energy rapidly transformed.
Its violent nature disappeared.
Its corrosive Authority dissolved.
Moments later...
It became ordinary energy.
Pure.
Stable.
Harmless.
At first...
I believed Prime Breath was responsible.
Until one day...
I intentionally stopped using it.
The result...
Never changed.
Even without consciously circulating my technique...
My body continued converting Shadow Energy naturally.
As though...
It had always possessed that ability.
Neither Nyxaroth...
Nor the Seven...
Could explain it.
Even the White Dragon merely observed in silence.
No answers.
Only curiosity.
The only conclusion I reached...
Was that my body somehow recognized Shadow Energy.
Not as an enemy.
But as something...
Familiar.
Sometimes...
While meditating...
I even felt a strange sensation.
As though somewhere...
Far beyond my perception...
Another form of energy called to me.
It felt similar to Shadow Energy.
Yet fundamentally different.
Older.
Purer.
Every time I reached for it...
The feeling vanished.
Leaving behind only questions.
I eventually stopped chasing the answer.
If seven years couldn't reveal it...
Then perhaps...
The future would.
After all...
Seven years had already changed me more than enough.