Back inside the training facility, everything felt the same.
People still trained.
Metal still clanged.
Voices still echoed.
But for Kang Seojun
Everything had changed.
He sat in the corner, legs crossed, eyes closed.
At first, it felt stupid.
Pointless.
"...Listen to myself…"
He muttered under his breath.
"What kind of advice is that?"
But even as he complained
He didn't get up.
Because something had happened earlier.
That warmth.
That strange feeling deep inside his body.
It wasn't strength.
It wasn't power.
But it was real.
And more importantly
It was his.
Seojun took a slow breath.
"In…"
"Out…"
At first, his breathing was uneven.
Distracted.
His mind kept wandering.
To the people around him.
To the embarrassment.
To that annoying guy.
"...That bastard…"
He clicked his tongue slightly.
Talking like some wise old man.
Acting like everything he said made sense.
But it didn't.
Not completely.
Still
Seojun kept breathing.
Slowly.
Steadily.
In
Out
In
Out
Time passed.
Minutes.
Maybe more.
The noise around him started fading again.
Not because it disappeared
But because his focus shifted.
His breathing became smoother.
His body relaxed.
And then
It happened again.
That warmth.
Faint at first.
Then clearer.
Seojun's eyes twitched slightly.
"...There it is."
He focused on it.
Not forcing it.
Just observing.
The warmth sat deep inside his lower abdomen.
Calm.
Still.
But alive.
Seojun swallowed slightly.
"...What is this?"
He had never felt anything like it before.
Not when training.
Not when fighting.
Not even when trying to absorb crystals.
Especially not then.
Those always felt wrong.
Like trying to force something into his body that didn't belong.
But this
This felt natural.
Like it was always there
Just hidden.
Seojun took another breath.
"...Don't think."
He remembered the words.
"Just listen."
So he did.
He let his thoughts settle.
Let his breathing guide him.
And slowly
That warmth began to move.
Seojun's eyes widened slightly.
"...It's moving?"
The sensation wasn't random.
It followed a path.
A slow, circular flow inside his body.
From his lower abdomen
Upward slightly
Then back down again
Like a loop.
Unstable
But real.
Seojun's breathing hitched for a moment
And instantly
The flow broke.
The warmth scattered.
"...Damn it."
He clenched his fists slightly.
"It stopped…"
Frustration crept in.
But then
He paused.
"...No."
That wasn't right.
He took a deep breath again.
Slower this time.
More controlled.
In
Out
In
Out
The warmth returned.
Faint
But there.
Seojun's expression changed slightly.
"...So that's how it works."
Not force.
Not control.
Flow.
Understanding.
He closed his eyes tighter.
This time
He didn't try to move it.
Didn't try to guide it.
He simply followed it.
Watched it.
Felt it.
And slowly
The flow stabilized.
The circular motion became smoother.
Clearer.
More consistent.
Seojun's breathing aligned with it.
In sync.
For the first time
His body felt… whole.
No resistance.
No discomfort.
Just balance.
"...This…"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"...This feels right."
Outside the building
Jaemin leaned casually against a nearby wall, arms crossed.
His eyes were closed.
But he was smiling.
"...You got it."
Even from here
He could feel it.
That subtle change.
That internal shift.
Jaemin opened his eyes slowly.
"A dantian awakening isn't flashy…"
He muttered.
"No explosions."
"No sudden power spikes."
"But once it starts…"
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"It doesn't stop."
That was the terrifying part.
Seojun didn't rely on external resources.
Didn't depend on crystals.
Didn't follow ranks the same way.
His growth wasn't measured in numbers.
It was measured in understanding.
And once he started understanding
He would evolve rapidly.
Jaemin pushed himself off the wall.
"...And I just gave him a head start."
He smirked slightly.
"Nice."
Back inside
Seojun slowly opened his eyes.
Everything looked the same.
But it felt different.
His body felt lighter.
More stable.
More… controlled.
He stood up slowly.
Then looked at the training dummy.
"...Let's test it."
He stepped forward.
Raised his fist.
And punched.
A simple punch.
Just like before.
But this time
Something was different.
The moment his fist moved
That warmth followed.
Not forced.
Not dragged.
But naturally flowing into the movement.
The impact landed.
The dummy shook violently.
More than before.
Much more.
Seojun's eyes widened.
"...What?"
He looked at his hand.
"...I didn't even try harder."
No extra force.
No extra effort.
But the result was completely different.
He took a step back.
"...Again."
He punched again.
Same result.
Clean.
Efficient.
Powerful.
Seojun let out a slow breath.
"...That guy…"
His expression shifted slightly.
"He knew."
There was no way that was random advice.
No way those words were meaningless.
He clenched his fist slightly.
"...Who are you?"
Outside
Jaemin was already walking away.
Hands in his pockets.
"...Now you're starting to get curious."
He chuckled quietly.
"Good."
Because curiosity leads to growth.
And growth
Leads to strength.
Jaemin looked ahead.
"...This is just the beginning."
Behind him
Inside that building
A future monster
Had taken his first real step.
And Jaemin
Was already planning the next move.
Got it, I'll keep sentences flowing normally and avoid breaking everything into one-liners like before.
Seojun stood still for a while after that last punch, staring at the training dummy as if it had just betrayed him. The impact was still fresh in his mind. He hadn't used more strength than usual, hadn't changed his stance much either, yet the result was completely different. The difference wasn't external, it wasn't something visible like muscle or speed. It was internal.
He slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to understand what exactly had changed. The warmth inside him was still there, faint but steady, like a quiet flame that refused to go out. When he focused on it, it responded. When he ignored it, it stayed calm. It didn't feel like something foreign anymore. It felt like something that had always been part of him, something he had simply never noticed.
"That bastard…" Seojun muttered under his breath, recalling Jaemin's words from earlier. At the time, they sounded vague and annoying, like someone trying too hard to sound wise. But now, they made a strange kind of sense. Not logically, not in a way he could explain, but in a way his body understood.
He took a slow breath and tried again. This time, he didn't rush the punch. He let his breathing settle first, letting that internal flow stabilize before moving. When he finally threw the punch, he didn't think about power or speed. He simply let it happen.
The result was even cleaner than before. The dummy shook violently, the impact echoing slightly through the training area. A few nearby trainees turned their heads, noticing the sudden increase in force.
Seojun immediately stepped back, slightly startled. He wasn't used to drawing attention, especially not like this. For years, he had been the guy who lagged behind, the one who couldn't keep up no matter how hard he tried. Now, suddenly, something had shifted.
"What did you just do?" one of the trainees nearby asked, narrowing his eyes.
Seojun hesitated for a moment before replying, "Nothing special."
The guy clearly didn't believe him, but Seojun didn't bother explaining further. He himself didn't fully understand it yet, so there was no point trying to put it into words. Instead, he turned away and walked back to his corner.
As he sat down again, he placed a hand on his lower abdomen, focusing once more on that warmth. This time, it was easier to sense. The moment he closed his eyes, the flow returned, smoother than before. It wasn't just a random sensation anymore. It had direction, rhythm, purpose.
"So this is what he meant…" Seojun whispered.
He began to experiment with it. Not recklessly, but carefully. He tried syncing his breathing with the flow, letting it circulate naturally. Each cycle felt slightly clearer than the last, like polishing a mirror that had been covered in dust for years.
Time passed without him realizing it. Minutes turned into hours, and the noise of the training facility faded into the background once again. This time, however, the silence wasn't empty. It was filled with awareness.
Meanwhile, outside the facility, Jaemin walked down the street casually, his expression relaxed but his mind active. He didn't need to look back to know what was happening inside. He could already predict it.
"He should be stabilizing it by now," Jaemin thought, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Once the first circulation becomes natural, everything else follows."
There was a certain satisfaction in seeing things play out exactly as he expected. Not because he wanted control, but because it confirmed that his understanding of the story still held weight in this altered reality.
"But things are still changing…" he muttered quietly.
The abomination appearing earlier than it should have, the behavior of certain events shifting slightly, and the presence of that unknown entity all pointed to one thing. The story wasn't following a fixed path anymore.
"And that makes it interesting."
Jaemin stopped walking for a moment, looking up at the sky. It looked normal on the surface, but he knew better. Somewhere out there, something was watching, something that had merged his story with reality for its own amusement.
"Axiom…" he whispered.
Just thinking about that name made things feel heavier. That wasn't a character he had originally written in full detail. It was more like a concept, an idea of a higher being that manipulated events from the shadows. But now, it existed. Not just as an idea, but as something real.
"And it's definitely interfering," Jaemin said under his breath.
That meant he couldn't rely entirely on his original plot. Some things would remain the same, like Seojun's potential, but the timing, the triggers, the exact progression could all change.
Which meant he had to stay ahead.
Jaemin exhaled slowly and started walking again. "I need more pieces on the board."
Seojun was one. A strong one. But not enough on his own.
"There are others…" Jaemin's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought back to his own story. Characters who played key roles, individuals with unique abilities, people who would shape major events if left alone.
"If I can find them early…"
A faint grin appeared on his face.
"I can control how things unfold."
Back inside the training facility, Seojun finally opened his eyes after what felt like hours. His body felt completely different now. Not heavier or lighter, but more connected. Every movement felt intentional, every breath meaningful.
He stood up slowly, testing his balance. There was no wobble, no unnecessary tension. It was like his body had finally aligned with itself.
"This…" he murmured, looking at his hands again. "This is my path."
For the first time in years, he felt confident saying that.
Not because someone told him. Not because he proved it to others.
But because he felt it himself.
And somewhere outside, walking away without looking back, Jaemin smiled faintly, already moving on to his next objective.