The last day’s events had helped Bahamut loosen up a bit, and now he was ready to give cultivation a shot. Looking at his current elemental affinity percentages, he couldn’t help but smirk proudly to himself. He had come a long way to reach 90% across the board. Some days, he spent more than twelve hours, some six hours, and even with that, the percentages were random. In the earlier stages, he would be getting two or three, at most five. Then, when he was around 60%, he got a sudden 10% boost to 70%. Reaching 90% was the same. And now, he had 10% more to get a 100%, and his breakthrough and ascension will be smooth sailing.

He couldn’t help but imagine using his elements. Casting fireballs, stomping the earth for a part to shoot up and hit it, flying without wings, just the wind... he was on cloud nine of imagination. But, he stopped himself fast enough, because to achieve all that, he had to get that 10%. Whether it would be easy or difficult, only by attempting it would he know.

The open field was very quiet. Even the wind seemed hesitant to pass through.

Bahamut stood at the center of it all, bare-chested, his body already marked by faint scars and dried streaks from previous attempts. The sun hung high above him, merciless and radiant, pouring down light and heat without restraint.

His breathing was slow, measured, and controlled, but his eyes... his eyes burned with something deeper. Resolve.

"Ten percent..." he muttered under his breath.

It sounded small, insignificant, but he knew better. That final stretch was never just "ten percent." It was the wall, the real wall. He exhaled and sat, legs crossed, with his hands resting on his knees and his back straight. The moment his eyes closed, everything changed.

He descended inward.

His consciousness slipped past the surface of his mind, diving into that vast internal world where his power resided. Six cores floated in the endless expanse: fire, wind, earth, water, light, and darkness. Each one pulsed with its own rhythm, its own will, its own presence. But this time, they felt different, as if they knew what he was trying to do.

"I’m not asking," Bahamut’s voice echoed within that space.

His gaze locked onto four of them: light, fire, wind, and earth.

"I’m taking."

The moment he reached out, the reaction was immediate.

BOOM!

The space trembled violently. The light core flared first, radiating brilliance that nearly swallowed everything else. Fire followed, erupting in violent bursts. Wind howled like a storm unleashed. Earth rumbled like a waking giant. They resisted firmly, like kings refusing to kneel. Bahamut gritted his teeth.

"Don’t... test me."

..

Outside, his body trembled. The ground beneath him cracked in thin lines that spread outward like a spiderweb while the air grew heavier and hotter. The sunlight around him intensified unnaturally, bending slightly toward his body as if drawn in. His veins bulged, his muscles tightened. A thin line of blood slipped from his nose, then another from his ear, and another from the corner of his lips, but he didn’t move.

...

Inside, Bahamut stepped forward toward the light core. It pulsed brighter as if warning him.

"You think you’re above me?" he growled.

The moment he touched it, a blinding pain exploded through his entire being. It wasn’t heat nor pressure, but something deeper, as if his very existence was being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time. His vision fractured, his consciousness wavered, but he didn’t let go.

Instead, he pulled.

"COME HERE!"

The light core resisted violently. Fire surged, wind screamed, earth trembled. They were all reacting and interfering, shattering the balance.

...

"Ghh!"

Bahamut’s body jerked violently. Blood sprayed from his mouth. His back arched as his muscles convulsed. Then, something else appeared.

It was black, thick, and viscous. It began seeping from his pores, from his chest, his arms, and his back, like corruption being forced out of his body. It dripped down slowly, staining his skin, mixing with the blood. His breathing turned ragged, but still, he didn’t stop.

...

The battlefield inside had become chaos. Fire lashed out wildly, the wind tore through everything, the earth rose and shattered repeatedly, and light expanded uncontrollably. Each core was reacting to his forceful intrusion.

"You’re all mine!" Bahamut roared.

His presence exploded outward in dominance. A faint shadow of a beast loomed behind him, watching. His will surged forward like a tidal wave. He grabbed onto the light core again, this time with everything.

He felt pain, resistance, and rejection, but he ignored all of it.

"BEND!"

The light core flickered for a moment, but that moment was enough.

A small fracture formed.

...

Outside, the sunlight above him flared violently. The temperature spiked, the ground sank slightly beneath him, and the wind around him spiraled uncontrollably.

Dust lifted into the air. Nearby disciples stopped.

Some turned, while some shielded their eyes.

"What... is that?"

The pressure... It was suffocating.

...

The fracture spread slowly. Bahamut’s body trembled violently, his consciousness flickering in and out as the strain pushed him beyond his limits. The cores reacted again, interfering... fighting him.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

He slammed his will forward again. There was another crack, another fracture, and the light core trembled.

...

Outside...

BOOM!

A shockwave burst outward from Bahamut’s body. Dust scattered. The air rippled. His body jerked forward and went still. The black substance poured out more heavily now, dripping onto the ground beneath him. His breathing slowed and finally stopped.

Silence fell.

...

A faint screen flickered into existence before his unconscious form.

[STATUS UPDATE]

[Affinity Changes]

Light: 100%

Fire: 100%

Wind: 100%

Earth: 100%

Water: 90%

Darkness: 92%

The field remained still as the sun returned to normal. The wind calmed, and the pressure disappeared. All that was left was Bahamut, collapsed, broken, but smiling faintly.

...

Darkness did not greet him. It did not whisper. It did not move to acknowledge his presence.

It simply... existed.

Bahamut stood alone.

The contracted space stretched endlessly, a boundless expanse of black that felt heavier than any physical weight. It pressed against his skin, seeped into his breath, and clung to his very existence.

This was not like the others. Unlike the others, darkness was silent and always waited. It was patient.

Bahamut exhaled slowly, his bare chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Though he had cleaned himself after the previous session, the exhaustion still lingered deep within his bones.

Yet his eyes were calm and focused.

"Alright..." he muttered into the void. "Let’s finish this."

He sat cross-legged. The moment his eyes closed, the darkness deepened.

...

He descended inward once more, into that vast internal space where his power resided. Eight cores floated there: six elemental affinities and two chimera cores.

Five of the elemental affinities were complete: light, fire, wind, and earth, all radiating with full, stable power. Water flickered softly in the distance, untouched.

And then... Darkness.

It didn’t shine, it didn’t pulse outward like the others, it just existed, a void within a void.

Bahamut stared at it and stepped forward toward it. The moment he reached it, he touched it lightly.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, it moved inward, toward him, like ink spreading through water. It wrapped around his consciousness slowly, gently, but with intent.

Bahamut’s body stiffened.

"Yeah. I remember this feeling."

It seeped deeper, sliding along his thoughts, pressing into his will.

His physical body sat motionless in the domain, but his shadow began to stretch. It peeled slightly away from his feet, rising unnaturally, twisting like a living thing. A faint black mist seeped from his skin, thin, cold, heavy.

The moment darkness reached deeper inwardly, pain followed. It was not sharp, but suffocating, like being buried beneath an ocean with no surface. Bahamut’s jaw tightened. His fingers twitched slightly.

"So this is your game."

The darkness pressed further, looking for space, for weakness, for control. For a moment, his thoughts slowed, blurred, and faded. His sense of self wavered as if he were dissolving into it.

"...No."

The word wasn’t loud, but it was firm. Bahamut’s will anchored itself.

"You don’t get to take me."

The darkness didn’t stop. It pushed again harder this time. The suffocating pressure increased. His vision fractured. His consciousness trembled. But, he didn’t push back wildly. He held on and endured.

The darkness surged again, trying to flood everything, trying to erase the line he drew, but Bahamut didn’t move or yield.

"You can stay..." he muttered slowly. "...but only where I allow you."

For a brief moment, everything stopped. Then, the darkness shifted, settling. It flowed around his will.

Outside, his shadow stabilized. It was no longer writhing or clawing at the ground. It flowed smoothly now, calm and controlled. The black mist around his body thickened slightly, then settled, clinging to him like a second skin.

His breathing steadied.

The darkness core pulsed deeply as it aligned and accepted the balance Bahamut was trying to bring. Bahamut exhaled.

"That’s better."

The suffocating pressure faded. He opened his eyes. The void remained unchanged, but something was different. It no longer pressed against him. It... acknowledged him.

A faint screen flickered into existence.

[STATUS UPDATE]

[Affinity Changes]

Darkness: 100%

Water: 90%

Bahamut let out a quiet breath.

"One more."

His gaze shifted toward the faint presence of water, still distant, still untouched. A slight smirk tugged at his lips.

"This one won’t be quiet... will it?"

Bahamut was pushing himself. Maybe he was rushing, but it was necessary. There was no time to waste, and he wasn’t someone who would take things slow just to hide what or who he was. He had things he wanted to keep secret, and he could only do that if he was stronger. It was more difficult to catch a powerful person than a weak one.