The days following the incident in the ancient cave returned to their usual rhythm.
Morning training.
Afternoon studies.
Evening meditation.
Nothing appeared to have changed.
Yet...
Crystal knew that everything had.
She had spent countless nights searching through the ancient records she had preserved over the centuries.
Books.
Scrolls.
Stone tablets.
Even damaged journals written in forgotten languages.
None described what Kieran was experiencing.
Not one.
---
The morning sun had barely risen when Crystal called Kieran to the cave once more.
He arrived carrying a wooden bucket filled with fresh spring water.
"You called, Mama?"
Crystal nodded.
"Put it down."
She waited until he sat before speaking.
"Kieran."
"Today, we're going to discuss cultivation."
He immediately sat up straighter.
"There are many cultivation arts in Gaia."
"Some are created by empires."
"Some by sects."
"Some by clans."
"And some..."
"...have existed since before written history."
She traced a circle into the dust with her finger.
"No matter how different they are..."
"They all seek the same goal."
"To allow Magna to become one with the body."
---
She drew four lines extending from the circle.
"There are four known ways people step into the Initiate Realm."
Kieran watched attentively.
"The first..."
"The Path of Force."
She pressed her finger heavily into the earth.
"They gather Magna as quickly as possible."
"They force it into their bodies."
"They break through rapidly."
"But..."
She crushed the line beneath her finger.
"Their foundation becomes unstable."
"They often remain trapped in the lower realms."
---
She pointed to the second line.
"The Path of Harmony."
"They slowly absorb Magna."
"They strengthen both body and mind together."
"This is how most respected academies teach their students."
"Their foundation is solid."
"And most powerful practitioners follow this path."
Kieran nodded thoughtfully.
---
"The third..."
"The Path of Inheritance."
She looked toward one of the ancient scrolls.
"Certain bloodlines."
"Ancient clans."
"Divine beasts."
"They inherit cultivation directly."
"They awaken naturally."
"But..."
"Their greatest strength can also become their greatest weakness."
"If they rely only on inheritance..."
"They stop growing."
---
Finally...
Crystal looked at the last line.
For several moments...
She remained silent.
"The fourth..."
"...is called the Forgotten Way."
Kieran tilted his head.
"Forgotten?"
Crystal smiled faintly.
"Because almost no one believes it still exists."
"It teaches that..."
"...before Magna enters the body..."
"...the body must first become worthy of receiving it."
Silence filled the cave.
Kieran slowly lowered his gaze.
"...Is that the path we're following?"
Crystal nodded.
"Yes."
---
She continued.
"Most practitioners ask..."
"'How much Magna can I absorb?'"
"The Forgotten Way asks..."
"'Why should Magna choose me?'"
Kieran's eyes widened slightly.
Those words...
Felt strangely familiar.
Almost as though he had heard them somewhere before.
---
Crystal stood.
"Come."
She led him toward the river.
The morning mist floated across the water's surface.
Countless tiny strands of Magna danced in the air.
"Kieran."
"Reach out your hand."
He did.
Immediately...
Several strands drifted toward him.
They circled his fingers before resting lightly upon his palm.
Crystal smiled.
"Do you notice something?"
"They're brighter today."
"Not only brighter."
"They're closer."
Kieran observed carefully.
"They don't seem afraid."
Crystal nodded.
"Because you've never treated them as tools."
"You've never tried to command them."
"You've never tried to seize them."
"You simply..."
"...accepted their presence."
---
For the next several hours...
Crystal said nothing.
Teacher and student sat quietly beside the river.
The Magna around Kieran continued to gather.
Not in hundreds.
Not in thousands.
But in countless numbers.
They shimmered like stars around the young boy.
Even the surrounding beasts began appearing.
Moon Deer.
Sky Finches.
Silver Rabbits.
Spirit Monkeys.
They all quietly watched from afar.
None made a sound.
The valley had become unusually peaceful.
---
High atop a nearby cliff...
Kael and Elder Rowan watched silently.
"The valley is changing."
Kael muttered.
The old stag nodded.
"It isn't the valley."
"It's responding."
"To him?"
"Perhaps."
Rowan's ancient eyes remained fixed upon Kieran.
"Or perhaps..."
"...it remembers something."
---
As sunset approached...
Something unexpected occurred.
One tiny emerald strand of Magna slowly descended onto Kieran's chest.
Crystal watched without blinking.
Unlike every previous time...
It did not leave.
Instead...
It gently dissolved into his body.
A warm breeze swept across the valley.
Nothing explosive happened.
No powerful aura erupted.
No dazzling light illuminated the sky.
Only...
A single strand.
Crystal smiled.
"...Finally."
Kieran opened his eyes.
"Mama?"
"You've taken your first true step."
He looked down at his hands.
"I don't feel stronger."
"You shouldn't."
She chuckled softly.
"The Forgotten Way isn't about becoming stronger overnight."
"It's about making sure that every step you take..."
"...can support the thousand that follow."
The tiny strand of Magna quietly settled within Kieran's body.
Not inside his dantian.
Not inside his meridians.
But deep within every cell of his body, where it slowly merged with his flesh as though it had finally found the place it had always wanted to be.
Crystal's smile slowly faded as she sensed it.
"...It fused with his body?"
Even she had never seen Magna cultivate the body before the core.
The mysteries surrounding Kieran had deepened once again.
And somewhere beyond the Chaos Channel, in a Realm unknown to the people of Melika, an ancient pair of eyes slowly opened inside a forgotten sanctuary.
The old being looked toward the endless sky.
"...The world has begun to stir."
Then the eyes closed once more, leaving only silence.
End of Chapter 18