Ares stood at the center of the room, still to the point of resembling a statue, as if the void around him had stopped breathing.
The three tablets rested between his palms.
Ordinary wood… that is what any passerby might think.
But Ares was not a passerby.
There was something hidden crawling beneath their silent surface, something not seen by the eye… but sensed by an ancient instinct that does not fail.
True knowledge rarely shouts.
Most often… it whispers.
He slowly extended his fingers.
The moment his skin touched the surface of the tablets—
No sound occurred.
No light appeared.
But inside his head…
A dam collapsed.
Not pain…
Not pressure…
But an invasion.
A massive flood of information surged through his awareness without permission, as if thousands of minds had decided to speak inside him at once.
Symbols forming, then fading.
Energy paths intertwined like networks of stars.
Maps of a body humans had not yet learned how to read.
And principles… that seemed older than this world.
For a short and dangerous moment—
Ares felt that his skull was too narrow to contain what was being poured into it.
That his mind… might tear apart.
Before the flood could turn into madness—
The system intervened.
Cold.
Precise.
Free of any trace of confusion.
[Absorbing information…]
[Beginning analysis…]
The feeling of chaos gradually withdrew, like a storm pulling back when it collides with a wall that cannot be broken.
Ares no longer felt that he was thinking alone.
There was another presence inside his awareness…
Something that does not err.
Something that does not hesitate.
Moments passed in which time lost its shape.
Then the voice came:
[Information analysis complete.]
[Three foundations identified… for three training systems.]
[Evaluating…]
Silence.
Short… but heavy enough to make the air seem denser.
[Evaluation complete.]
Ares breathed slowly, then asked inwardly:
"Which paths should I follow?"
The response was delayed by only a fraction of a second…
But when it came—
It changed something in the course of his fate.
[After thousands of calculations and evaluations…]
Optimal approach: the host should follow all three paths.
Everything fell still.
Even his thoughts.
All three?
Combining two paths was a dream that chased the most insane practitioners… and ended most of their lives.
As for three paths—
It was not a road to power.
It was a challenge thrown in the face of the impossible itself.
The system continued, in a tone that knew no exaggeration:
The Path of Immortal Ascension.
The path that will grant the host a deep understanding of energy — how it is guided, how it is purified, and how it rises until it reaches its ultimate limits.
Purify the energy…
Then the body…
Then the soul.
With every advancement, the energy reserves will expand.
Calculated result:
Acceleration of the awakening of the remaining elements of the Black Hole.
When he heard the name…
Something cold moved deep within Ares's chest.
As if an abyss had opened its eye for a moment.
The system continued:
The Path of Elements.
Not a choice… but a necessity.
Understand the elements.
Comprehend their laws.
Then break the boundaries between them… and merge them.
Final probability:
Birth of the Black Hole.
At that moment, Ares did not feel that he was choosing his future…
He felt that his future was being built before him, equation after equation.
Then—
The system's tone slowed slightly.
The Path of the Celestial Body.
A path of extreme harshness… and mysterious even after analysis.
But its value exceeds its difficulty.
It is the path that will create the perfect vessel.
A body that does not collapse under the weight of power…
And does not tear apart when energies flow within it.
Projection:
Raise the host's strength to levels difficult for measurements to define.
Ares remained silent for a long time.
Then he finally said:
"I understand… but are there risks?"
The reply came without hesitation:
For others — the probability of death is extremely high.
Loss of control.
Energy conflict.
Bodily collapse.
Most who attempted to walk more than one path…
Did not complete the journey.
The system paused for a single beat.
Then it said:
But the host… is not "others."
With the system present, every energy can be analyzed, its laws dismantled, then rebuilt without chaos.
Moreover—
The host has already achieved the first perfect interaction between raw energy and the elements.
Ares's pupils shrank.
"When did that happen?"
When the natural energy core bonded with the gravity core.
Through the technique of natural energy control.
He understood.
What he thought was a passing moment…
Was actually the first declaration of something exceptional.
The system continued:
Thanks to the Black Hole dantian, the host can absorb different energies, devour them, then fuse them into raw energy that submits to his will.
Conclusion: there is no need to worry about energy conflict.
For the first time in a long while…
Ares felt a faint calm slip inside him.
Not the calm of safety.
But the calm of one who begins to realize he was not created according to ordinary standards.
But the system was not finished.
The only factor currently unclear: the Path of the Celestial Body.
The energy produced from it is known as:
Vital energy.
Not energy drawn from outside…
But generated within the body itself.
An idea that felt heavy… and great.
Energy that originates from him.
The system finally said:
Optimal approach:
Begin immediately with the Paths of Immortal Ascension and Elements.
As for the Path of the Celestial Body—
Postpone it…
Until you reach the age of seven and your genetic formation is complete.
Silence filled the space.
But it was not the silence of hesitation.
It was the silence of someone who glimpsed part of the road… and knew there was no return.
Ares looked at the three tablets.
And felt a cold truth forming inside him:
Most practitioners choose one path.
Some madmen choose two paths.
As for him…
He was preparing to walk a road that, if the sane heard of it… they would call slow destruction.
But the strange thing—
He did not feel fear.
Instead, something more awe-inspiring.
A deep calm…
Like the calm that precedes the birth of a star capable of devouring the sky.
He clenched the tablets in his fist.
And in that moment—
His true journey began.
Not only toward power…
But toward a horizon that might make the very concept of "power"… seem small.
And in a deep place within his awareness…
The gravity core rotated slowly.
As if…
It were awakening.