In the silence of the mine following Paul's disappearance, Ether sat with his hand on Kai's shoulder. It was not a touch of comfort, but a precise "anatomical scan." Through the (Spiritual Microscope), Ether watched the flow of blood in the terrified boy's veins, searching for the right frequency to turn him into a silent weapon.
"On the chessboard of immortality, there are no useless pieces; there are only players who do not know how to use pawns," Ether thought as he drove a small, charged energy-stone spike into a pressure point behind Kai's ear.
"Ah! Ether... that hurts!" Kai flinched, but Ether's grip was like an iron vise.
"Pain is merely an electrical signal telling you that your body is resisting change, Kai. Stop resisting, and you will stop hurting," Ether said in a dry tone devoid of any pity. "Arkon possesses the 'Eye of Insight' at the Peak of Rank 2. It doesn't see objects; it sees 'Spiritual Heat.' If I attempt to approach him with my new energy, I will appear to him like a blue flare in the middle of the darkness."
Ether began activating the (Dark Refraction) technique within Kai's body. Kai was not a cultivator, and that was exactly why he was the "perfect tool." His energy-void body acted as a "black hole" that could absorb and refract spiritual light if his nerve pathways were manipulated correctly.
"I will transform Kai into a 'Refractive Lens.' When Arkon casts his gaze upon him, he won't see a terrified slave; he will see an 'Energy Void' acting as a prism that scatters his insight, granting me fractions of a second to move within the blind spot."
This was Ether's true cheat: the ability to convert physical physics into spiritual tactics. Traditional cultivators meet force with force; he meets force with structural failure.
"Ether... why are you doing this to me?" Kai asked, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I thought we were friends... that you would get me out of here."
Ether looked into Kai's eyes, not a single lash flickering. "Friendship is a social contract among the weak to ensure mutual protection. I am not weak, and you are not an ally; you are a 'Necessity.' I will get you out of here, Kai, but not because I care for you—rather, because your corpse is of no use to me inside the mine."
Suddenly, the sector's walls shook. Arkon's voice echoed through the tunnels like the roar of a wounded lion. The Noble had discovered that Paul's "Life Thread" had been severed. The spiritual pressure of the (Peak of Rank 2) began to flood in like a deluge, shattering oil lamps and causing nosebleeds in the weaker slaves.
"The predator has begun the hunt." Ether stood coldly, feeling the chill of the Frost Raven settling in his fingertips. "Kai, stand at the entrance. Do not try to run; your body is now encoded to detonate your heart if you move more than ten meters away from me. Be my lens... and let us see if the god can see the blade that will slit his throat."