"And you suspect that this energy would be able to travel between two distant points in space, just as a person would, were it to come into contact with our method of travelling to our home world?"

While Jun hadn't been the most powerful cultivator on Nia, he'd still surpassed all but a select number of outstanding individuals, and claimed that he had been able to sense the last breath that his planet had ever taken. He reiterated on this when faced with Uncle Grey's question.

"Several thousand leagues above our sky, my spiritual sense came into contact with this strange blackness just before it smashed into the barrier." The wiry man looked frightened at the recollection. "It probed me in return. Whatever it was, it had a will of its own. It was also disturbingly similar to Origin Energy, yet incomparably different." He shivered, despite his ghostly build. "If as much time has passed as you say, then this barrier should have collapsed long ago. Something is wrong here."

A stomach-curdling silence took hold of all those present, until Uncle Grey spoke up in a commanding tone.

"Are you the only one that left a portion of your soul behind in this—whatever this forest is?"

"I doubt it. Most masters likely did the same, in order to make sure that the descendants of those that followed Halvin to your homeland would receive guidance should they ever return here." Jun fixed his beady eyes on Nolan, contemplative. "As much as these inheritance grounds were a means of preserving our martial ways and traditions, we masters of Nia created this safe haven in the hopes that one day we might retake our world."

"How did you plan on doing that?" asked Nolan, an uneasy suspicion in his heart.

"The plan was for Halvin to pass down his unique arrayment techniques to the descendants that followed him to the world that he'd chartered a course to, in the event that the last generation of native Nians failed to uncover the secret of the Blackening." He looked at Nolan with hopeless eyes, his face a tale of bittersweet emotions. "It seems that our hopes were for naught. What's worse, I can't help but feel that something unexpected happened once my original self went through that mysterious teleportation arrayment. I have no way of knowing for sure, but I have a bad feeling about it. Do any of you know, perhaps, of the fates of my people?"

Uncle Grey observed the man for a while, quiet and calculating, without a hint of his usual flippancy. "Such things happened far too long ago. Even when I was alive, I hadn't heard of any beings from other worlds showing up on Venara. It seems like a tendency that disappeared until only recently, I'm afraid." He glanced at Nolan, eyes thoughtful. "Let's not think of such things. Come, let's introduce you to the others, so that we can quickly put you to use."

"You're referring to the children in the Blackstar Sect's glade?" A brief twinkle of expectation arose in his eyes, though it quickly dimmed as he glanced at Nolan with a slight show of shame. "Does this mean that you've forgiven me?"

It was obvious that Jun was excited to see and socialize with other people. Nolan could only imagine how strange it would feel to learn that you were the last surviving person from your entire planet, even if it was only in the form of a depleted spirit.

"Forgive? I guess I can, given your circumstances. Forget?" Nolan shrugged, though he sent the man an encouraging look. "That'll be a tough one. I guess it'll depend on what you can teach me."

Uncle Grey gave him a superficial pat on the back, as his hand merely sailed through Nolan's body without sensation. "Leave it to Nolan to see through my intentions!"

Nolan laughed as he understood why what remained of Jun's life was spared, now that they'd learned about the history of Nia's downfall. "Great minds think alike, eh?"

"Great minds think alike…” Uncle Grey gave the saying some serious thought, as if there were many layers to unpack. “Sometimes you are wise beyond your years, my dear disciple."

Jun nodded along in approval. "Quite the casual display of wisdom. You are quite the child."

Nolan smiled inwardly as it dawned on him that all of the famous phrases, sayings and idioms from his home world were one hundred percent free game now that the Interspatial Migration had eradicated most of Earth's history and culture.

"I am what I am," he said in a ponderous tone, taking it upon himself to begin leading the way back to the others. "Nothing more, nothing less." He hid his amusement as the old spirits began to praise him with polite words, Nyla falling into step at his side as he walked into the still silence of the ancient forest.

***

"What do you mean, don't think? Is it even possible to do anything without thinking?"

"Does water think as it follows a current?" said Jun, a patient smile on his narrow face. "Does a cloud think when it floats along with the wind?" In the month since they had met the old master, he had taken it upon himself to tutor those of the group that practiced Nian techniques. It had been equally awkward and exciting when he had first become acquainted with everyone that hadn't met him during the initial encounter, and since then his face had brightened like a long-awaited sunrise, and he'd assumed an overall amiable disposition.

Sean and Esteban looked over at Nolan with the same envious expressions, the younger one throwing somewhat of a fit. "Can't you just beam the technique into our brains or something? Isn't that how it worked with him?"

"Be patient, kid," said Sean, whose look of irritation was a direct contradiction to his words. “Nothing worth having comes easy in life.”

"Sean is correct,” said their new teacher. “This is a very advanced technique, after all.”

Nolan pretended that he wasn't paying attention, projecting a small amount of energy to a plot of grass about ten metres away and creating a connection between that spot and the one where he stood. With the grace of one that had been practicing the movement for years, he activated the first move of the Tranquil Void Step and the scenery around him abruptly changed. As Jun had instructed, he relied on his spiritual sense to maintain his awareness of the surroundings, and then cast an innocent glance at Esteban as he let out an exaggerated yawn.

He laughed as Esteban flipped him off, and then set about creating a basic meditation circle arrayment, intent on pushing through to the ninth level of Profound Entry as quickly as possible. There were still about eight months before the Millennial Ring would forcefully expel him from Nia, and he intended to make use of every moment that remained.

"All things in this universe are bound to the laws of reality," he heard Jun saying. "That means that they follow a certain system, which keeps them in check and maintains balance throughout Infinite Space. To activate the technique's first step, you must become one with the systems that characterize time and space, and—"

"Okay," sighed Sean. "I think I've had enough of this for today. We've been standing around out here for eight days with zero results to show for it."

"Such is the life of a cultivator. Why don't you two take a break for a while?" When they exchanged slightly regretful looks, Jun laughed. "Really, it's understandable. Sometimes it helps to step away for a time, so you can come back to your training with a fresh mind."

"I thought we weren't supposed to think," said Esteban, though he spoke with a relieved smile.

"Off now, with you both. I'll meet you in the fountain in a moment." While they walked away, he muttered under his breath. "Why Halvin left that treasure in this glade, I'll never know." Noticing that Nolan's eyes were on him, he put on a friendly smile. "Not that I'm complaining." With that, he flew off after the others to join them in the Divine Spirit Fountain, which was very beneficial to his weakened spirit.

Nolan hung back, ruminating on the old man's words as he activated his arrayment diagram. What did he mean, Halvin left that fountain here? Uncle Grey's the one that brought it along, wasn't he? His master had long since told him the story of how he had stumbled upon the ruins of some godly sect from who knows how long ago, and used the treasures and techniques that he found there to rise up to be a top figure of his era. Could the sect that he'd discovered have been the forgotten remnants of the Neomen that had fled from Nia? Nolan glanced over at where Uncle Grey was laughing along with Ian and the girls on the far side of the field, tutoring them all in their respective cultivation methods. The only other possibility was that he'd lied, though Nolan saw no reason for him to do so.

Despite what they'd learned from Jun, the group had decided to remain in the glade regardless of the supposed risk, since both of their ghostly mentors judged that the barrier would hold for many millennia to come. This baffled and disturbed their new acquaintance, but seeing as how the oldest member of the sect—Sean—was barely over thirty-years-old, even with the dilation of time on Nia in relation to Venara, it would take many decades of life on the latter before they would have to worry about abandoning the realm altogether.

As the arrayment that he'd just created began to attract energy from the surroundings, Nolan stifled a sigh of lamentation. No matter what he did these days, death was always just around the corner.

"It's always one sect or another that’s causing me problems," he grumbled to himself, stepping into the circle and immediately feeling the strain of the dense accumulation of energy. He started to wonder how things were faring in the Easterly Kingdoms, but quickly cleared his mind and began to cultivate the Ancestral Body Technique.

Nolan had no idea how long it would take for him to reach the Genesis stage, but he was positive that it was possible so long as he drew breath. He was anxious to speak to the old man that had bequeathed him with the core cultivation method that had ensured his survival since his early days on Venara. Nolan was the only one aware that what remained of Halvin, leader of the Blackstar Sect and the Overseer of the Winterlands, dwelled somewhere deep within his psyche. The man clearly had business with him, and Nolan was very interested in what he had to say.