Lyn woke to the distant ringing of bells.
Classes must be starting soon. Right, Lightflame.
He rose, changed into his uniform, and was about to wash his face when a faint notification touched his mind.
Hm. My Storage Shard has been updated.
A new message appeared within it, clear and neatly arranged like a letter.
Visit me later today.
—Defying Sun
Lyn sighed.
Naturally, Vilen had not forgotten about the Pegasus's Leap Shard.
After washing his face and straightening his uniform, Lyn stepped outside.
Bright sunlight covered the training grounds. Under normal conditions, hail and frost would have lashed the mountainside, but the fortress's climate formations held the air at a mild, steady temperature. The fragrance of mountain flowers mingled with the distant scents of sweat and charged ozone.
Following the map, Lyn stopped before a large building constructed from something resembling bamboo, though its surface had been darkened to a deep, polished brown.
This must be it.
He entered and turned into the first corridor, nearly walking into an elder coming from the opposite direction.
"My apologies."
The elder gave him a brief, stern look before continuing without a word.
Lyn found the door marked Lightflame and stepped inside.
The room was far larger than the exterior of the building should have allowed.
The rooms here are expanded as well. A spatial formation. Practical.
The interior resembled a small colosseum, with tiered seats overlooking a central platform reserved for the instructor. The faint scent of sandalwood incense lingered in the air, while more than thirty students filled the benches with restless conversation.
The desks and chairs had been fashioned from the same dark bamboo as the building. Exposed formations ran across the walls and ceiling in lines of silver and pale blue, glowing like luminous veins without clashing with the room's design.
Lyn did not study the decorations for long. A room was still only a room.
He selected a seat near the front. The surrounding students continued speaking in quiet, animated groups while he remained silent and observed them.
Most appeared to be in their twenties, with a smaller number perhaps already in their early thirties. From the Essence naturally escaping their bodies, Lyn detected mostly Rank Threes, a considerable number of Rank Fours, and a few Rank Fives.
How valuable is this class?
A conversation from the row ahead reached him. Three young women were speaking in low, frustrated voices.
"...failed again."
"How did you manage to fail? You're Rank Five, for Heaven's sake!"
"I miscalculated the formation formula. It was wrong, then the formation spiked, and I..."
Similar conversations surrounded him. Whatever Lightflame taught, it clearly demanded more than raw cultivation. Failure appeared common even among students several ranks above Lyn.
He leaned back and continued listening while waiting for the instructor. Several minutes passed, yet Lyn remained motionless.
Then the empty platform was no longer empty.
There had been no visible movement. One moment, there was only air; the next, a woman occupied the space.
Her presence struck before Lyn's eyes could fully register her.
Every conversation died.
Not from respect, but from obliteration.
"Beyond Morning..." someone gasped.
The air thickened until drawing breath felt like pulling liquid into the lungs. Primal panic spread through the room, the instinctive response of prey confronted by something far beyond its ability to resist.
The woman made no attempt to conceal her rank. Power poured from her like heat from a forge, pressing the students into their seats.
She stood tall, her body built for force rather than elegance. Defined muscle showed beneath plain purple robes, while wild white hair fell to her waist. Her pale eyes resembled winter stone, cold and without mercy.
Glowing letters stretched across her chest.
'The One Beyond Morning'
Lyn watched her without allowing his expression to change.
So what?
If someone could not endure the presence of a stronger person, how could they ever hope to become strong?
The weak feared the strong. That was the law of the world.
Lyn felt no obligation to obey it.
It was not courage. Courage required fear to exist before it could be overcome.
Lyn simply felt nothing.
A person without a clear purpose, a legacy to defend, or a great dream to lose carried a different kind of weightlessness. There was an emptiness within him that external pressure could not crush.
He was like a dead man standing among the living.
Rank Nine? The gulf between us is wider than the heavens and deeper than myth. So what?
He remembered Defying Sun entering the tavern without releasing the slightest trace of pressure. A Heavenly Expression had felt like nothing at all.
Compared with that, the woman's display seemed theatrical, a deliberate show of force intended for children who still believed power needed to be flaunted.
It merely reminded Lyn of the task awaiting him later.
I still need to return the Pegasus's Leap Shard.
The One Beyond Morning surveyed the room before speaking in a voice that scraped like gravel.
"Your first lesson is learning how not to drown in the wake of those above you."
A cold smile reached her eyes and nothing else.
"Most of you are already failing."
She clapped her hands.
A shockwave tore across the room, snapping heads backward and slamming unprepared students against their seats.
"I will be your instructor this semester. I do not believe an introduction should be necessary, but if any of you somehow do not know me..."
Her expression tightened with unmistakable disgust, although Lyn could not tell what had caused it.
"...then allow me to inform you."
She allowed the pressure to remain upon them.
"I am The One Beyond Morning. Eleven years ago, I was among the mortal Generals who led our armies against the Blood Cult, which has since been conquered."
Ah, that's right.
The memory settled into place.
The Ashen Light Sect had fought a brutal war against the Blood Cult. An alliance had eventually formed against it, and the cult had been defeated, although the victory came at the cost of heavy casualties.
At least, that was how Lyn remembered the stories Khor had told him long ago.
"Some sects encourage their disciples to pursue purity within a single Path," Beyond Morning continued, her voice cutting through the silence. "The signature Path of the Ashen Light Sect is naturally Light, sometimes combined with Fire. In practice, however, our people cultivate many different Paths."
She allowed the statement to settle.
Paths carried no official moral classification. If someone openly cultivated Blood Path within Ashen Light territory, people would undoubtedly stare, but little else might happen.
In the end, power spoke more loudly than ideology.
"Returning to the subject," Beyond Morning said, her disgust hardening into something colder, "some of you are Rank Five and still cannot control yourselves when confronted with someone stronger."
Her winter-pale eyes moved across the pinned students.
"This is embarrassing. If this represents your limit, none of you will ever be accepted into the army."
She released a short, sharp sigh, like a craftsman examining a collection of blunt tools.
I see.
This is not merely a training ground. It is also a recruitment funnel for the army.
The arrangement made sense. Students who performed well would earn more than Merit Points. They would gain access to positions and resources beyond the school.
Beyond Morning was separating those who could function beneath pressure from those who would collapse. The army had no need for geniuses who froze when a General entered the room. It needed soldiers capable of holding formation while Heaven itself pressed down upon them.
"Your performance here determines more than your grade," she continued, almost as though she had followed the direction of Lyn's reasoning. "It determines your value to the sect outside these walls. Remember that the next time you feel like trembling."
After a brief pause, her gaze crossed the room and rested upon Lyn for a single measuring moment.
"Most of you are between Ranks Three and Five," she said, her voice losing none of its edge. "What comes next should naturally be familiar to you."
The pressure covering the room gradually eased.
"The best method of cultivation is conflict. Through battle, you gain understanding. Through that understanding and your own effort, you accumulate more Truth Carvings."
She clasped her hands behind her back.
"You will also earn Merit Points, which can be exchanged for resources capable of accelerating your cultivation."
"Accelerating cultivation?" Lyn asked, his voice flat.
The surrounding students turned toward him.
"Truth Carvings require understanding. A person can only advance after gathering enough to activate a Heavenly Blockade. How do Merit Points accelerate that process?"
Silence rippled through the room.
To everyone else, the question seemed as basic as asking how to breathe. Several students looked away, almost embarrassed on Lyn's behalf.
Beyond Morning's winter-stone gaze settled upon him without judgment. There was only assessment.
"Naturally, you use Merit Points to purchase beast materials aligned with your Path," she answered. "Place them inside your Vessel Sea, use the depth of your Sea to crush them, and consume the truth they contain."
The explanation was blunt, yet Lyn's mind immediately sharpened around another question.
If it is this straightforward, why was it absent from the Light Information Shard? Why wasn't it explained in the basic sections of the library?
"There is naturally a significant risk," Beyond Morning continued. "That is why the method is not suitable for everyone. If you fail to crush and integrate the material completely, the Purity of your Sea will deteriorate."
She sighed again.
"Lower Purity means lower overall power. A weak foundation may rise quickly, but it will shatter just as quickly."
The repeated word began grating against Lyn's thoughts.
Enough with naturally.
The method itself, however, was interesting.
I may be exempt from the risk. I need to test it.
His attention turned inward toward the silent golden star hanging within his Vessel Sky.
What are you, exactly?
Lyn's body had been abnormal from the beginning. At Vale Ridge, he had harvested Rank Four ashes without possessing the corresponding Truth Carvings.
If Beyond Morning's explanation was correct, the star might not merely bypass cultivation costs. It might consume truth directly without damaging the Purity of his Sea.
A perfect, silent refinery within his Vessel Sky.
One of the students raised a hand.
"I have a question. I couldn't find a proper explanation of what Heavenly Shards actually are. My parents and my teacher in Argindale only gave me the simplified answer that they are tools made from understanding."
He frowned as he attempted to arrange the question.
"But how is that possible? I know that they can form naturally and can also be created artificially."
"Naturally," Beyond Morning replied.
God...
"Someone asks this every year. It has almost become a tradition."
She rubbed her temples before continuing.
"What are Heavenly Shards? In simple terms, they are newly grown pieces or extensions of Heaven. They naturally crystallize into glass-like objects, although their appearances vary."
She closed her eyes.
"Natural shards often resemble fragments of ordinary glass. Artificial shards can be moulded into specific forms, which makes them easier to identify."
Beyond Morning opened her eyes again.
"You will eventually attend a workshop concerning their creation. For now, understand that every time you use a Heavenly Shard, you are using an extension of Heaven frozen into a crystalline state."
She turned slightly toward the class.
"Artificial shards are created by people. The effects of natural shards were once difficult to identify, but artificial production helped us better understand the functions found within naturally formed ones."
Her voice remained steady as she continued.
"Natural shards form when Heaven experiences itself. They may appear within beasts, although those shards cannot be harvested because they are fused with the creature."
Lyn remembered the silver wolf and the merchant who had carved apart its corpse without finding anything.
"They can also form through battle because battle produces understanding. The exact ability or rank of a naturally formed shard cannot be predicted."
Beyond Morning paused.
"Some believe that greater bloodshed and larger battles lead to higher-ranked shards. There is evidence supporting the idea, although it has never been fully proven."
She opened her eyes and rubbed her temples once more.
"New students must first refine a shard. During refinement, you naturally sacrifice some of your Truth Carvings."
Lyn's attention sharpened.
"Shards are formed from Heaven and Truth Carvings. Newly created natural shards contain what we call Primordial Carvings. Once someone refines the shard, either by placing it inside their Vessel Realm or by injecting Essence into it externally, those Primordial Carvings disappear."
Her expression remained indifferent.
"They cannot be harvested. In theory, they return to Heaven."
Primordial Carvings?
Beyond Morning clapped her hands softly.
"That is enough questions. We still have practical training to complete. Everyone outside, then follow me."
The students rose and began forming pairs. Some already knew one another from the previous year, while others naturally joined people from the same town or background.
Lyn waited, hoping to remain at the end of the line.
"Hey, you! Want to pair up?"
He turned toward a student who appeared a year or two older. The young man had short dark hair, blue eyes, and an otherwise plain face.
Rank Three, Stage Three.
A commoner?
The student carried none of the rigid pride Lyn had noticed among those from noble backgrounds.
"My name's Scar. What about you?" he asked in a cheerful, relaxed voice, his posture loose enough to appear almost lazy.
"Ryn. Sure."
Gaining a direct source of information was not undesirable. Lyn preferred listening from a distance, but conversation had its own uses.
Scar continued talking as they joined the rear of the procession, discussing the morning's events, the strange testing chamber, and the terrifying instructor.
The chatter bored Lyn, but he mirrored Scar's relaxed behaviour and offered neutral acknowledgments whenever appropriate.
This man is extremely talkative. He could become a useful tool for spreading information. I would only need to point him in the correct direction.
Scar was a living conduit, a human shard through which rumours could travel.
Every sentence also revealed something about his priorities, fears, and manner of thinking. Lyn merely needed to exchange a little patience for a potential lever he could use later.
I already know far more than I did several days ago.
Heavenly Shards, Truth Carvings, Blockades, formations, and the distinction between natural and artificial shards had all become clearer.
One term remained lodged within his thoughts.
Primordial Carvings.
If they are the raw truths of Heaven and are lost when a shard is refined, could they somehow be harvested?
Lyn allowed the unfinished question to remain within his mind.
After several minutes of walking, the class reached an immense field carved into the mountainside. The verdant plain seemed impossible beneath the frozen peak towering above it.
To think that a snow-covered mountain could be transformed like this, all because of Morninglight's formations.
The scents of crushed grass and mountain flowers saturated the air. Even Scar finally stopped talking as the pressure of their instructor's presence smothered his enthusiasm.
Beyond Morning stood at the edge of the field, her purple robes stark against the impossible green. The class gathered before her, their earlier nervous energy compressed into tense silence.
She surveyed them with pale eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
"Your first practical exercise is naturally simple."
She gestured toward the students.
"You will form pairs and fight. Killing is forbidden. Crippling your opponent is discouraged, but permitted."
Several expressions changed at that qualification.
"The last person standing in each pair earns five Merit Points. The loser receives nothing."
She stepped back.
"Begin."
The students spread across the field with their partners, leaving enough distance between each pair to fight.
Lyn stood opposite Scar.
Rank Three, Stage Three. I do not possess a proper offensive shard, and he is probably among the weakest students here.
That makes me the weakest.
Lyn inspected the shards available to him. Light Reflect and the Notion Shard were the only ones with immediate value in combat.
Nearby students glanced in their direction. To them, the result appeared obvious. The gap between Stage One and Stage Three was too large for Lyn to overcome.
"Ready?" Scar asked.
"Ready."
Light covered Scar's feet, and he crossed the distance between them in an instant.
Lyn remained calm.
Poor control.
The Notion Shard allowed him to observe Scar's charge while simultaneously analysing its flaws.
Scar failed to control his forward momentum and committed too heavily to the attack. Lyn shifted his weight and stepped aside with minimal effort, allowing Scar to rush past him.
The young man skidded across the grass before managing to stop.
My speed usually catches people by surprise. This guy...
Scar turned and opened his Shard Gate, exchanging one shard for another.
"Lightning Anchor!"
A crackling spear-like construct of solidified light formed before him. Scar focused his intent and launched it toward Lyn at blinding speed.
He cannot avoid this. It is too fast, and the area is too wide for him to dodge in time.
Lyn smiled.
Light Reflect.
As the anchor reached Lyn, its path warped as though it had struck a perfectly angled mirror.
The construct reversed direction and shot back toward Scar at twice its original speed.
Scar's pupils widened.
He had no time to react.
The anchor struck his stomach and ribs, driving the air from his lungs. Scar coughed as a fine spray of blood misted the air.
How? I didn't see him use a shard.
Scar wiped the blood from his mouth and immediately activated another shard. Two miniaturized shards now circled him like tiny satellites.
"Mortal Fragment: Heavy Light!"
Is it customary here to shout the names of your attacks?
Three enormous anchors materialized around Scar, each approximately five times Lyn's size.
One flew directly toward Lyn's chest while the others curved from opposite sides, forming a converging attack intended to trap him between them.
I cannot reflect something of this scale. A Mortal Fragment huh... ?
Rather than attempting to block or outrun the constructs, Lyn took two quick steps backward, increasing the distance from the central anchor by the smallest necessary amount.
The three anchors converged upon the point he had just abandoned and collided with one another.
Solidified light shattered with a deafening release of energy, throwing dirt and torn grass into the air.
Lyn remained expressionless amid the fading glow.
"What?!" Scar shouted, his composure breaking. "How did you know its only weakness?"
That was its only weakness?
Simpleton.
"I suppose it was intuition," Lyn lied.
This Notion Shard is extremely useful.
"Ha! Of course. Of course that was it!" Scar laughed, although frustration outweighed any humour in the sound.
He raised his hand again.
"Mortal Fragment: Falling Anchor!"
Oh, wonderful. I wonder what this one does.
An enormous anchor of solid light formed directly above Lyn, blocking the sky for a heartbeat before plummeting toward him.
Lyn took two swift steps backward and rolled aside. The construct struck the ground where he had been standing, shaking the field and throwing another violent cloud of dirt into the air.
How much Essence can he possibly have left?
Managing Essence was the foundation of any genuine fight. Strength meant nothing once a person's Sea ran dry in the middle of an attack.
Only fools ignored the condition of their own reserves.
Lyn knew that he could not defeat Scar through superior force, but prolonging the battle offered another path.
If Scar continued wasting Essence, Lyn could simply wait until he exhausted himself.
"You... you avoided it again!" Scar shouted, drawing breath in sharp gasps.
Laughable.
Even so, Lyn could not deny the power behind the attacks. Without his perception and the efficient control granted by his SS Purity, a single mistake would have left him crushed.
Waiting remained the safest option. Scar would eventually reduce himself to a gasping heap, allowing Lyn to claim victory through attrition.
Naturally, that would work.
The instructor's habit had already begun contaminating his own thoughts.
Naturally? That damned woman is contagious.
A patient and methodical victory, however, might draw the wrong kind of attention. It would mark Lyn as cautious, observant, and strategically resilient.
People would begin asking questions. Appearing fortunate was safer than appearing competent.
"Mortal Fragment: Heav—"
Scar's voice died halfway through the name.
Horror spread across his face as he stared at his own hands.
Lyn observed this, smiling briefly at the sight.
Just as I expected.
Scar had failed to monitor his Essence reserves.
His Sea was empty.
The light surrounding his feet flickered out, while the two tiny shards orbiting him became unstable and dropped harmlessly into the grass.
Scar remained standing, but his breathing had become heavy and ragged. He resembled a weapon whose ammunition had already been spent.
Several paces away, Lyn stood unharmed upon the ruined field.
Neither spoke.
Scar's laboured breathing and the distant clashes from other battles filled the silence between them.
At last, Scar released a defeated breath.
"Draw?"
Lyn gave him a slow nod.
"Draw."
It was the ideal conclusion.
Without a decisive victor, Lyn avoided attracting an obvious spotlight. He had revealed little beyond careful dodging and the use of a single plausible shard.
Observers might consider him fortunate or moderately perceptive, but not necessarily dangerous.
Scar also preserved some dignity by avoiding a formal defeat.
Beyond Morning appeared beside them without warning, her presence forming like a sudden absence in the air.
"Naturally. To think this would be the first battle to conclude today."
Her eyes settled upon Lyn.
"Ryn, correct?"
This is bad. Damn it.
Her attention was precisely what he had wanted to avoid.
"Yes," Lyn answered, keeping his voice flat.
Beyond Morning narrowed her pale eyes at Scar but said nothing. The look carried a silent criticism, making it clear that she had expected him to win.
She had already noticed Lyn's unnatural calm when she released her aura inside the lecture hall. That observation had now become a question.
"A draw means both of you receive three Merit Points."
That brings my total to one hundred and one. I wonder how expensive the so-called market is.
Lyn and Scar lowered their heads in acknowledgment.
"Class is dismissed for the two of you."
Beyond Morning turned and disappeared as abruptly as she had arrived, leaving them amid the damaged grass while distant battles continued across the field.
Scar no longer seemed interested in talking. He walked away solemnly in one direction, while Lyn chose another.
I now have six hundred and sixty Truth Carvings.
The number settled heavily within his thoughts.
I had six hundred and forty. That means I gained twenty from a spar lasting perhaps twenty minutes.
Lyn replayed the exchanges in his mind: the evasions, the reflected attack, and the decision to wait for Scar's reserves to fail.
From what I understand, ordinary people may gain between one and ten Truth Carvings from battle, genuine insight, or even weeks of study.
What did I do to gain twenty?
The number of Truth Carvings obtained depended upon the individual. Some gained more, while others gained less. There was still an average, and anyone who consistently exceeded it would be considered talented.
In a world this vast, talented people were everywhere.
Common people were even more numerous.
Lyn opened the mental map and selected the location 'MARKET'.
I have no food. I haven't eaten since yesterday, and I still need to visit Defying Sun.
He walked for approximately thirty minutes. The testing field had been far from the central training grounds, and the return journey carried him toward the familiar dark-wood buildings of the residential district.
As Lyn approached, the surrounding noise grew louder.
The afternoon was already well advanced, and the main lane between the quarters had filled with students moving in both directions.
The market lay ahead, embedded directly among the residential buildings.
So loud.
Lyn had not yet entered the market proper when he noticed the disturbance.
Raised voices boiled through the narrow lanes. Bodies pressed together and shifted like a disturbed hive, while the noise of argument and confusion rose above the ordinary market chatter.
Hm? Something happened.