Training in that world did not resemble training.
There were no arenas.
No loud commands.
No techniques being explained.
Only… imbalance.
Gravity there was never stable.
Sometimes the ground became too heavy to bear,
and sometimes the body lost its weight until it almost slipped out of reality.
And the Ancestor… watched.
Always in silence.
On one occasion,
he moved Ares without warning to a region where the mountains bent.
The bending was not a metaphor.
The peaks themselves leaned…
as if the sky were pressing down on them with an invisible hand.
The moment he appeared there,
Ares felt his body being slowly crushed.
If that thin white aura had not surrounded him…
he would have been reduced to a trace.
It was the Ancestor's aura.
Not clearly visible,
but every particle in that world respected its boundary.
Suddenly—
The Ancestor tapped Ares on the forehead.
No words.
But a will passed through.
A silent command:
"Return gravity to its path."
Ares froze.
Not out of fear…
but because something tried to invade his awareness.
A heavy will.
Firm.
Not accepting refusal.
Before it could settle,
the system moved.
[External energy detected invading the host's mind]
[Analyzing… same type of energy previously carrying the technique]
[Assessing danger…]
Part of that will vanished.
It was swallowed.
The pressure inside Ares's mind suddenly calmed.
The system said:
[Compulsive influence neutralized]
[Content converted into a comprehensible format]
Ares felt the command was no longer coercion…
but meaning.
He asked silently:
"Was he… controlling me?"
The system answered in its usual calm:
[The Ancestor assumes the host's awareness is incomplete]
[What was transmitted is an unconscious guiding will]
It paused, then added:
[The content of the will has been preserved without allowing it to control the host]
[What the will carried was an order to restore gravity here to its natural state]
Ares understood.
Not everything…
but enough.
He raised his head toward the heavy emptiness above him.
Then he began to feel.
The energy.
The bending.
The weight.
He extended his awareness…
as the technique had taught him.
The threads were chaotic,
intertwined,
pressing in contradictory directions.
He tried to push them.
They did not move.
He tried again.
They trembled slightly…
then the pressure returned even stronger.
But something inside him did not break.
He began to learn that gravity is not a force to resist…
but a balance to be readjusted.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Then months.
The Ancestor did not intervene much.
He only moved him from one imbalance to another.
Once to a valley where gravity multiplied dozens of times.
Once to a plain that almost escaped gravity entirely.
And once to a region where forces shifted every few seconds.
And each time—
That quiet tap on the forehead.
That will.
And that system… which swallowed its sharpness and left its meaning.
Until Ares no longer waited for the command.
He began to sense the flaw before being asked to fix it.
After four months…
Ares stood in silence.
Something had changed.
The world no longer pressed on him as before.
He closed his eyes.
Breathed slowly.
Then—
Space bent slightly…
and returned.
The pebbles stopped trembling.
The winds settled.
And for the first time since his arrival…
gravity there…
seemed natural.
The system's voice rang:
[Congratulations, host]
[A noticeable improvement in gravity control has been achieved]
[The host has reached the end of the third level — Energy Guidance]
It paused for a fraction of a second.
Then:
[The host must begin forming the energy core]
The following information appeared:
[Possible formation locations: mind — heart]
Ares asked:
"What is the difference between them?"
[Calculating… analyzing…]
[A fundamental difference detected]
[Forming the core in the mind represents the most stable path for controlling and dominating energy]
[Forming it in the heart is linked to the physical structure — it will increase the gravity of the host's body and his ability to control it]
The system summarized:
[Mind = control of the field]
[Heart = control of the body]
Ares was silent for a moment…
then asked:
"Can I not have both?"
[Current level of energy understanding does not allow that]
[This may become possible after developing the technique]
"Which option is better?"
[The mind is the most natural and stable]
[The system is capable of supporting the formation process as it is part of the host's awareness]
[Forming the core in the heart carries low probabilities due to insufficient understanding]
Ares did not hesitate long.
"Let us form it in the mind."
[Beginning…]
In the next moment—
His awareness was struck.
Not ordinary pain.
But a physical sensation…
as if his mind were a solid mass cracking under a hammer.
It was not a metaphor.
He felt fractures filling his mind,
as if it were a solid block being split.
But he did not stop.
He followed the technique.
Focused.
Pressed his awareness inward…
where the core had to be born.
Suddenly—
[An unknown region has been opened…]
[The host is opening an unknown part of his awareness]
[Unclassified region]
Even the system's voice seemed slower.
[A massive energy source is required to complete the process]
[Activating the dantian and absorbing energy]
Then—
An immense cold flooded his awareness.
The pain vanished.
It was replaced by a deep calm…
frightening in its purity.
And everything drowned…
in absolute darkness.
A few steps away…
the Ancestor watched silently.
"Hmm… he has mastered control in a short time."
But suddenly
he felt the disturbance of energy around Ares.
Not an imbalance…
but a flood.
Energy streamed toward him as if it had finally found a center to belong to.
The Ancestor's gaze changed.
He whispered:
"Do not tell me…"
The sensation drew closer.
Deeper.
Sharper.
He finally murmured:
"Is he opening… his sea of consciousness?"
"Is he truly doing this before even beginning the path of ascension?"
"Hmm… if he continues like this, serious mistakes may happen with consequences that will not be praised."
For the first time in a while…
He tapped his forehead quickly.
Not a command this time.
But an intervention.
Assistance.