In a certain region of the Cosmos, belonging to the middle layers of existence, there was a vast space between the clusters of worlds. In this interstellar medium, many energies were rampaging out of control.

Superheated plasma, gigantic magnetic storms, nebulae of strange gases, astronomical avalanches of cold matter and many ethereal forces were clashing against each other and moving at high speed across the universe out of their natural flow. The size of this rampaging clash was such that it was bigger than solar systems.

If even one of these extremely strong phenomena got into contact with an ordinary world, that world would inevitably perish.

And in the center of this world-ending storm of powers, there was a single oasis of serenity, inside of which a figure stood calmly. Unaffected by the raging energies around him, the figure waved his hands, intending to control the different mediums and energies to return them to their original state and direct them back to their natural course of flow.

The identity of the figure was Navin Lakar’s Phoenix Avatar, the one he used to interact with his newest disciple Ethan. Even if he liked to spend time with that funny kid, he had matters to tend to in many places around the Cosmos, so Navin usually left a spark of his consciousness with Ethan to protect him and communicate with him, while the Avatar spent most of his time traveling around repairing the damage in different realms. The situation was the same with Aina and Maria, who were accompanied and protected by his White Tiger Avatar.

While Ethan was meeting with the Sword Dancers in Sahbadia, most of the Phoenix Avatar’s attention was focused on dealing with this raging storm; in case any hazard to Ethan’s life were to occur then the spark of consciousness that Navin left with him would notice immediately and react to deal with the situation, in worst case scenario summoning the Phoenix Avatar to Ethan’s location. If nothing happened, then whatever Ethan did would just be ignored and only relevant information would be transmitted, because Ethan had right to his privacy and Navin respected that. It would only stress the teenager if he were to believe he was being observed day and night, very few people could be comfortable with that kind of situation and Ethan already had enough trauma to deal with.

Despite spending day and night with the new members of his family, it was just a fraction of Navin that interacted with them, while his Nirmitas —the true nature of his Avatars, constructs created by pure mental power and Qi— traveled different worlds dealing with the aftermath of the Cataclysm.

Case in point: these energies and clusters of matter would normally never cross each other’s path since they were separated by astronomical distances; so this astral storm that could destroy planets should never have occurred. But the Cataclysm had caused twists and tears in space, warping the currents of flowing matters into this region and endangering countless lives in different worlds if left unattended.

The thinning of the boundaries between different layers of the Cosmos made it so that even with Navin currently holding the Forces of the Cosmos at bay, some tears in space could still happen.

Further stabilizing the Cosmos would still need some time but after a whole week of relentless work, Navin had managed to solve most of the immediate crises.

Navin quickly repaired the different tears in the space to ensure no more of these energies and matters would cross and get out of its natural course.

Then he extended both arms to his sides as if to encompass the boundless magnitude of the Universe around him, and drew his hands closer. His hands were shaking ever so slightly due to the effort, what would have been easy to do a couple of centuries ago was a burdening action for his current self, even more so for a Nirmita that held only a fraction of his real body's power.

Space was twisted, not to disperse the storm but to capture it all into a spherical bubble and warp it to a single location: Navin.

In a matter of seconds, the gigantic astronomical storm of supercharged matter and radiation was compressed in a small sphere held between Navin’s hands. He then opened his mouth and swallowed the sphere.

Calm was restored. At least, for now.

Navin’s Avatar stood floating in the silence of space. Extending his Divine Sense in such a wide range of trillions of kilometers to fix the damage and gather the storm of matter and radiation was a huge strain for him now. Luckily, this didn't require much detailed observation with his Divine Sense but merely covering the area that would be affected by his ability.

He took a moment to assimilate the substances he had just absorbed, restoring a bit of his energy and alleviating the pain. He had spent the last week traveling around the Cosmos with his Second Body and four Nirmitas, minimizing the destruction from the Cataclysm and making efforts to repair the damage in the different regions of the Cosmos, while his True Body sat deep in meditation to recover from the wounds received during the war among the Gods.

During the past week since his return from the Divine Realm, Navin had seen far too much destruction in many places, he couldn’t afford to stay still.

His only rare moments of mental repose had been the time spent with his Disciples and Maria, and even then his Avatars would be moving around, he was never completely resting, nor could he give them undivided attention. The portion of his mind that spent time with those children was a very welcome rest from his current stressful state and it gave him quite a bit of joy and mental peace, training his new Disciples was a very important task and much more enjoyable than repairing the Cosmos.

A couple of seconds passed, Navin finished assimilating the energies this Nirmita had absorbed and decided to move towards another world. He was wearing the simple clothes he had used when meeting Ethan earlier that day: a vermilion T-shirt and black trousers. But he would be using this Nirmita to pay a visit to certain respected individuals soon, so a change in his attire was in order, as to not wound sensitivities.

With a swing of his hand, new clothes appeared on him.

Layered crimson robes made from an amalgamation of materials from four different fire beasts, the outer layer of the robes taking the resemblance of Phoenix feathers for fleeting moments when he moved, Orichalcum highlights with multiple runes decorated the robes. Under them, he wore a close-fitting Yin Spirit Tunic. Armguards made from the scales of a Black Dragon covered his forearms, a belt made from the leather of a Titanic Bull adorned with a buckle of Soul-calming Silver was on his waist. Scarlet loose-fitting trousers woven from Summer-ascending Silk from the Fairy Realm and black boots made from leather of a Violet Lightning Dragon.

An equipment set of extremely high quality, each of the articles he was wearing was an Artifact of great might. Yet they were a mere decoration for him and he had no need for them, neither for defense nor attack. What’s more, these objects hadn’t actually been crafted from any materials, they had been conjured into existence by Navin’s own Qi.

Constructs of this level could easily be crafted by power alone for someone of the 10th Stage, and Navin was close to being on the 12th Stage.

Creation out of nothingness, an illusion strong enough to be anchored into reality, forged by Intent and Qi. Like in all Thaumaturgic workings, perspective was paramount, and from Navin's perspective, these artifacts were an extension of his Nirmita. As real and as transient as dictated by his will.

Artifacts were extremely valuable treasures for anyone even in the Higher Realms, but only Divine-rank Artifacts were truly valuable riches for Navin. Of course, Divine Artifacts couldn't be used as casual clothing. Such objects would only be summoned when there was a need to activate them, and would otherwise remain hidden within the user’s body and soul.

He felt comfortable wearing these clothes and he would be paying a visit to some important people in one of his next destinations, so proper courtesies should be respected.

He would move next to the Unseelie Fence, a sensible region of the Fae Realm. According to what Navin could detect, the Fence was still working as a barrier separating different worlds from contacting the Fae Realm, but the strain of withstanding the backlash caused by the breaking of the Seal of the Cosmos had debilitated it, so if left unattended the Unseelie Fence would collapse.

When the Fae noticed it, they would act and fix it, but Navin wanted to take no risks, so he would handle it. He could amend it in a matter of minutes and without using any resources, which couldn't be said by the Fae. He might encounter some of them but he would not stay long, once the Fence was fixed he would move to the next location, where he would spend a few hours: The Horologion within Azure River Pavilion, a Cultivation School in an 8th Stage World.

The Pavilion Master was a female Dragon of great strength and a Disciple of the Goddess of Water, while the Clock Watcher and the Prophetess that managed and lived in the Horologion were ‘guests’ of the school, providing service for them while enjoying the protection of Azure River Pavilion.

All of them were people worthy of respect.

While Navin could go wearing whatever he pleased and nobody there would say anything about it, it could be seen as a slight towards his hostess. Thus, Navin would wear an attire that would show he cared and showed respect to her, which in turn would give honor to her and Azure River Pavilion.

Navin hadn’t announced his visit, which was actually a small breach of protocol and courtesy, even if he was of a much higher status than anyone in there. Still, he wanted to talk with them about something and there wasn’t much time to follow all proper etiquette. He decided that he would give them some present for the trouble.

Navin hadn't visited any Cultivation School, Ancient Clan, Higher Realm Kingdom or any of the powerful factions in the Cosmos yet. He hadn't gone around announcing his survival and victory in the Divine War. He had no intention to be perceived as the new ruler of the Cosmos, even if he was currently the most powerful entity in existence, he didn't want their adoration nor worship.

That Azure River Pavilion, a peaceful Cultivation School that provided the services of the Horologion and the Prophetess to the Cosmos without discrimination, would be his first visit after the war, was essentially sending a message: He wouldn't become a ruler commanding over the Cosmos and ordering the other influences around.

His only desire was to cultivate his own Path.

The most complex part of the aftermath of the Cataclysm would be the people, Navin was certain of it. He could repair the damage and stabilize the Forces of the Cosmos, but the actions of people would be a far more complicated matter. Ambition, greed, desires, oaths of vengeance, and many other motivations would make the different factions move to chase their own objectives.

And those objectives would clash with each other, thus causing wars across the different realms. And no two wars were the same, situations varied and it was not easy to determine culprits and decide what was right and what was wrong.

Morality was not simple black and white, and the Cosmos was not ruled by such subjective concepts.

So much to do, so little time. So much strain for him to withstand. It didn't matter, because he would simply shoulder this burden and carry on. Wounded and weakened he might be, but he was still the only existence above Stage Nine. So while he would not rule as monarch of the Cosmos, he still had the responsibility to take care of the people within his reach and he would at least act to prevent unnecessary harm to the lower worlds and innocent people.

Navin was about to teleport when he heard his 4th Disciple’s voice calling for him.

Ethan was quite an interesting existence, a funny kid that had unfortunately experimented a tragic event that he was still dealing with; but he was someone with a bright and endless future ahead, Navin had no doubt of that. The fact that the kid carried with him a bundle of possibilities and a spiral of ever-growing power within him, made it a certainty that he would ascend to great heights.

What gave Navin pause, however, was the grief that was transmitted along with the call.

Why? Ethan shouldn’t be in any danger or the spark of consciousness Navin had left with him —which was the thing enabling this call to happen in the first place— would have reacted long before Ethan even noticed any danger to himself.

Ethan was feeling sad and alarmed, and there was a sense of urgency when he called for Navin. So Navin postponed his travel and focused his Avatar towards his Disciple. Even if there were very important things to do, those duties could wait for a bit.

Family came first.

Ethan stared numbly at the destruction around him. He stood trembling as his sense of smell was overwhelmed by the scent of blood and smoke.

Once again, in front of him there were dead people on the street, but this time it was not dead silence all around him. There were people screaming as their friends struggled to hold them still. Cries of pain and despair as they looked at their missing limbs, shouts for help, sighs of relief as a potion poured on a wound took effect, and the cries of mourning as members of the Watch and Hunters closed the eyes of friends for the last time.

“Did I not tell you to stay there? What are you doing here?”

Edek’s voice drove Ethan out of his thoughts as the Elder reprimanded them with a severe expression.

“We want to help, Elder.”

Taus, one of Issima’s friends, answered with a serious voice. He was the oldest of the group of young Sword Dancers, his face was full of determination but Edek simply shook his head.

“There’s nothing for you guys to help, go back and let more experienced people handle this.”

That was a normal thing for an adult to say to any teenager near a disaster area, Ethan thought. It was the sensible thing to do, to let professionals or stronger people help in a more efficient way.

Ethan knew that there existed risks if inexperienced people attempted to help the wounded during an emergency, erroneously performing CPR or wrongly using a tourniquet could instead cause the demise of the people they were trying to help. Carelessly moving someone with bone fractures or internal damage could be fatal, so children were instructed to seek for adults and the adults knew that they had to call for professional help, like calling an ambulance.

Even in a different world where such protocols weren’t established, the common sense of letting experienced people deal with emergencies was still present.

Ethan saw Kareb turn towards them as the healer that had been tending him turned around and went to help other people. Ethan’s gaze was drawn towards the bandages on the Hunter’s left arm, or rather, what was left of it.

“Get the kids out of here, Edek. Go with them, for their safety. There might be other enemies lurking around. The Mapraks got away, but they aren’t the only dangerous individuals in the service of Feld-Ehia.”

Kareb had a grim face and was obviously in pain, but he stood up and spoke to Edek. Ethan saw him stumble but the veteran Hunter gritted his teeth and kept his back straight.

Ethan remembered ‘Maprak’ being the name of a clan of assassins of some sort that they mentioned in the meeting after the attack from the beast horde and the other country’s soldiers. The City Watch was supposed to have one spy from that family as a prisoner somewhere in the city, after the man had sabotaged the walls’ magic defenses.

Ethan saw Edek turn to look at Kareb again and they exchanged a few words before being interrupted by Carina and Qarim. Ethan paid them no mind.

Ethan took deep breaths to calm himself and force his mind to look for something he could do to help.

There were two ways to help that came into his mind:

One, use the medicines he had in his Spatial Ring.

Two, ask his Master to heal the people here.

The first idea could provide some help, Ethan had medicine from a whole drugstore along with first-aid kits. Although those drugs would have very limited use in the current emergency they could still help to prevent infections, treat fever and pain, while also prevent the wounds from worsening. He also had various magical medicines that his Master gave him in the Spatial Ring, which Navin had assured him were far more efficient than the medicines from Ethan’s world. Ethan hadn’t tested any of them, but he would take his teacher’s word for it. However, there were many people dead or on the verge of death in the area, and also people caught under the debris, reaching those people could take time, time that they didn’t have.

The second idea was the sure-fire way to save the wounded, his Master was pretty much a God that could easily heal people; whether or not he could resurrect people Ethan wasn’t sure, but he would bet on yes. However, Ethan knew that his Master wouldn’t like to be so directly involved in the matters of people unrelated to him and could refuse.

Still, he didn’t lose anything by asking. And if he refused? Ethan didn't know, but he first had to try.

Ethan took deep breaths until his heart had calmed and then called for his teacher inside his mind.

Master.

"Yes, Ethan?"

Sure enough, Navin’s voice sounded inside Ethan’s mind. However, the young man remained silent, hesitating on how to say what he wanted. Just as Ethan was about to send a reply to his Master, a voice sounded right beside him.

“Oh.”

Navin stood next to Ethan, looking at the wreckage around them with a calm gaze.

“So this is what you wanted to tell me. No wonder you were so shaken.”

“Yes, these people need help, please.”

Ethan replied while turning to take a look at his Master. Unlike how he had dressed since they left Ethan’s world, this time Navin had strange clothes similar to the ones he had worn on their first meeting. The closest Ethan could compare it to were traditional oriental clothes back in some countries from his world, and even then, from a period of history centuries past.

This clothing was somewhat similar to the style of clothes Navin was wearing when they first met. The apparel of a Cultivator in the stories Ethan had read in his world, the so-called Daoist robes, was something like a mixture between a scholar’s clothes and a martial artist’s uniform.

However, Ethan was not interested in the fashion sense of his teacher, nor was this the moment to ask questions about clothes. This was a state of emergency.

“Can you help?”

Ethan asked with a grim look on his face, he didn’t like how the sound of his own voice sounded so pleading.

Navin looked at him and tilted his head to the side.

“You have medicinal pills and elixirs in your Spatial Ring, right? Those could be used to heal the wounded.”

“Yes, but there are more people under the rubble. It’d be much faster and efficient if you do it.”

Navin stayed silent for a moment, seemingly considering the issue, then he shook his head.

“Their conflicts are inconsequential to me. Why should I get involved?”

Ethan felt his chest tighten upon hearing Navin’s words. He stared at his teacher angrily. What the hell was he saying in a time like this?

“What do you mean by ‘why’? To not let them die, of course!”

“Ethan, this is just like when they were attacked before, I have no relation with them, so they are not my responsibility and I have no desire to participate in the wars of mortals.”

“But this is different! This was done by explosions, like a terrorist attack!”

Ethan yelled in frustration. Every moment they wasted discussing was a moment when people would be dying. He saw his teacher sigh and a cool breeze blew around them.

“It’s the same thing as before, actually. This was a continuation from the previous attack, a countermeasure in case the initial attack failed. I have told you this before, their wars are not something I should get involved with, hazards made by mortals should be handled by mortals.”

Ethan saw his teacher taking looks around with a serene expression. Had he assessed the situation already? Could a mere look around enable him to know the causes of the incident? Ethan wasn’t sure, the faculties and senses of Deities and high-level Cultivators were extraordinary. His Master could be sweeping the entire city with his Divine Sense and nobody would know, yet he would gain an understanding of the big picture and situation in an instant. There was a look of detachment printed on his teacher’s face, as if he was a bit disappointed that this was happening, but not particularly bothered or worried about it.

“Even so. Help them, please. This isn’t intervention in their war, this is helping and rescuing those in need. You don’t have to fight, just heal.”

Ethan asked once again. His Master was the best solution for this problem, it could be over in an instant if Navin intervened. Ethan was burning with urgency, yet the Cultivator remained unfazed. Apparently no longer interested in the surroundings, he locked his gaze on Ethan.

After what felt like an eternity, he nodded.

“Alright, I will help."

That was what Ethan wanted to hear.

"Awesome! Then-"

Navin raised a hand, interrupting Ethan's excited voice.

"But I’m not simply going to fix things for them. If you want to get involved in their wars, that’s on you. I will help you, but you will have to handle these things yourself. It will be very troublesome for me if I were to act directly, and it would be annoying if they start adoring me.”

His Master’s calm and measured voice contrasted with Ethan’s heated and urgent tone. They were in the middle of what Ethan could only call a terrorist attack, there were people dying around them… and Navin was talking as if he was sightseeing in a park? Seeing him so calm was infuriating.

“Why would that be troublesome? Just do it in a way that they don’t know it’s a god’s actions. A random stranger coming to help or a powerful Mage using magic to heal them will do the trick! If I can come up with a solution surely you can do much better.”

“Perhaps, but it's not so simple. Every action has consequences, Ethan. And my direct involvement would have great consequences here, which would make this place my responsibility even more than it already is due to your presence here. I really don’t have the time to deal with that.”

Ethan was at a loss for words, staring incredulously at his teacher for a long moment. It was as if he held no regard for the lives lost here. He was talking as if he was annoyed for doing a domestic chore like washing dishes or sweeping the floor. That made Ethan angry, he wanted to snap at his teacher and yell in frustration for not getting to work on saving the people instantly. But he could not do it. Frustrating as it was, he had no right to yell at him and this was also not the moment for it.

"Will you shoulder the responsibility of helping these people, Ethan?"

Navin asked. Ethan gritted his teeth, this was not the moment to discuss, or think long about useless stuff. There were people who needed help.

“Yes. What do we need to do then?”

“Simple, I will give you the power to heal them and you will heal them. Cool, right? It’s a roundabout way, but this indirect intervention is better. I will provide you with the base material and guide you through the process, but you will be the one to craft it.”

Navin explained while grabbing Ethan by the shoulders and turning him around, then pushed him in the direction of the wounded.

“Craft what?”

Ethan asked as he started to walk, still unsure of what he was supposed to do and how.

“What these people need, of course.”

Navin replied as they got closer to the group of wounded unconscious people lined up that was about to be moved to a different location for further treatment.

“A miracle.”

Navin had arrived at Ethan’s location. Although he only revealed his presence to the young man.

As expected, Ethan was safe. The cause of his grief and urgency was made apparent the moment Navin took a look at their surroundings.

Upon arriving, he instantaneously scanned the area with his Divine Sense. There were collapsed buildings, some still on fire, wounded people and dead bodies both on the street and under the debris. A large section of the Watch's barracks was collapsed.

With a single thought from Navin, the wounds of the survivors stopped worsening, their lives were no longer at risk. It was easy to figure out what Ethan wanted to ask him to do.

For Navin, who had a great comprehension of the Way of Karma, the causes and effects of situations in a mortal world were clearly displayed to him, especially about such recent events.

Information flowed into his mind. Images of the recent past flashing in quick succession to provide him with an understanding of the situation.

This had been an act of war, it wasn’t even a new plan, but a follow-up from the previous attack. The soldiers sent to take this city had a ritual for self-destruction carved within them; even in death, the runes carved unto their bones hadn’t disappeared and were used by someone to detonate both the dead soldiers and the surviving Battalion Commander.

A back-up plan in the case of failure, both to prevent leaking of information from captured soldiers and to deal a blow to the enemies despite having lost. A ruthless measure, planned by a cold mind and carried by devoted soldiers.

The ritual had been a willing sacrifice; the soldiers had accepted those runes on them knowing what it would do.

The chain of events unfolded before Navin. Infiltration of some spies into the Watch’s barracks, the use of Necromancy to move some of the corpses of the fallen Feld-Ehian soldiers, the extraction of the captured spy, and the detonation of all the bodies that possessed the carved ritual in them, the Commander included.

While speaking with Ethan, Navin extinguished the fires that were still burning in the surroundings.

Navin told his Disciple about this being a continuation of the previous attack, but Ethan had no interest in it. His only concern was helping the people.

That was a good thing, that spoke of Ethan’s kind-hearted nature.

However, Navin had no interest in getting involved in the wars of mortals. An entity of power like him would create vast ripples —both physical and metaphysical— with each of his actions, so if he took an active, visible, and direct involvement then he would be twisting and changing this world’s Fate in ways that he really didn't want to.

If he helped them once, why not twice? And if you have saved them twice then might as well save them thrice. The chain of Karma and responsibility would only prolong and the forcefully severing of it would cause bigger damage.

He couldn't simply declare one country and say 'I support this country, it has my backing and protection', such a thing would completely overturn the political situation of this world.

What if he decided to take this whole world under his protection and make it so they would have no more wars?

That would, in some ways, be even worse. His involvement in conflicts to prevent the mortals from killing each other could lead to adoration, new religions forming, dependence on him and then the people of this world leaving the decisions into his hands, discarding their wills and offering their fates to him to decide.

No, he would not do that.

He was already very busy keeping the Cataclysm at bay and fixing up the myriad of problems around the Cosmos that were caused by the deaths of the Powerhouses and Divinities. He could not waste time intervening in the course of a mortal world’s history.

He would not take over that world, he had no desire to be worshipped. He would not become a puppeteer playing with the lives and fates of the people.

Even with good intentions, those courses of action didn't tend to end well.

Many powerhouses had tried to save everyone, traveling around the Cosmos to many worlds spreading prosperity and innovations everywhere they could find. It wasn’t a pointless enterprise, it was worthy of respect and admiration, but there was a limit to what one could do to help. Creating a perfect paradise was an impossible objective. No one could be everywhere, no one could stop all conflicts from arising, and problems were bound to happen.

No one could change that, no matter how much one ascended and gained power. Bringing perfect bliss, peace, and happiness to every single existence in the Cosmos was something beyond the ability of anyone.

No one could shoulder that Karmic burden.

Life was not perfect. There were all kinds of situations, both good and bad, happening across many dimensions and affecting an infinite number of people. And as long as people possessed free will they would make choices that would go against the choices of others, creating confrontations.

But, it wasn’t like that was a reason to stop helping people. Just that one had to accept that there were things out of one’s control and be careful in the way one provided help.

Ethan wanted to help the people, but he lacked the means to do it so he had asked Navin to help. That was fine, Navin would provide the means to help.

If Navin acted directly, he would create a ripple of consequences in this world. But if he acted through Ethan, then the ripple would significantly lessen.

It would also mean that Ethan would embark on a journey shouldering the responsibility of a savior, it would not be an easy and uneventful path. But if he wished to save people, then he needed to walk resolutely and accept the consequence of his actions.

Navin thought about this in the seconds it took him to push Ethan towards the area where the wounded were. It would serve as a wonderful training for his young disciple.

“A miracle, really? That’s your great idea? What part of that doesn’t scream ‘Hey, there’s a freaking God intervening here’?”

Ethan said, his voice still filled with annoyance and some anger. He was now in the middle of the street, rubble and wounded people all around him.

His teacher replied from behind him.

“It will be fine, just call it a Skill or a spell from you when they ask about it.”

“I call bullshit. It would be much simple to just heal them yourself.”

“Would you please stop with that coarseness and impolite words? Trust me, this is better. And it's not exactly a lie, anyway. It's a miracle in the sense that it's a supernatural working made from the power of a higher entity, but it's a spell in the sense that it will be formed by yourself and molded by your will. Now shut up and focus if you want to help them.”

“Fine! So what now?”

Ethan wanted to protest more, but if his Master was willing to help then Ethan would shut up and save his questions and complaints for later. He looked around, noticing something was off.

It was too quiet.

Everyone had stopped, frozen in time. The eerie similarity to the moments before the event that had killed everyone in his world sent shivers down Ethan's spine. Was his Master was doing something to them?

“Nothing happened to them, it’s you who have been accelerated.”

And apparently, that acceleration didn’t stop him from reading Ethan's mind.

“You had it written on your face, I assure you that your privacy and thoughts are respected and entirely yours. I can make oaths if you want.”

Ethan thought about pointing out that he was, in fact, with his back turned to Navin, but decided there was no point in continuing that discussion.

“So? What now?”

“Just focus on my energy and guide it into the shape you want. Normally there are four things necessary for a Miracle: a source of power, a wish, willpower, and faith. The power is usually given by an entity of higher power, the wish is to call forth the intervention to materialize the desired phenomenon, willpower is what gives shape to the miracle, and faith that the miracle will happen strengthens the working, a strong conviction is important in this kind of things. I will provide the power and assist you to craft the miracle, the rest will be handled by you.”

Navin put the index finger of his right hand on Ethan’s back, behind his heart, and poured the energy into him.

Ethan's breath stopped as he felt the power flowing through his veins, flooding him with something beyond a mortal’s grasp. It was different from the gentle Qi his Master used to teach him the way to flow energy and meditate during his early days of training in the desert, this was of a much higher quality and strength.

It was somehow searing and soothing at the same time. It was intense and powerful, to the point of almost overwhelming Ethan’s senses. With every beat of his heart, Ethan could feel the divine energy coursing through him.

Was this the power that his Master carried with him all the time? How could he contain this overwhelming strength and walk around so casually without making everything around him turn into dust?

“Focus, Ethan. Make a clear mental image of what you want to happen and what shape do you want to give to this power. I will guide you through it. This is no different from making a strong wish upon a shining star.”

Ethan closed his eyes. Ethan burned with questions as he felt the energy coursing through his body.

What do I want? What is the miracle I want to craft?

Does it need to be specific? How do I mold it to what I want?

The power in him was burning with a desire to be used, and as he inhaled he felt himself gathering more and more of it. He had no notion of how to do magic, so he did the only thing his Master had told him to do: make a wish.

Ok, what do I want? To save the people who are wounded.

The power moved, feeling Ethan's intention. He felt it dancing and flowing across his whole body before circling around and making another trip across him. Ethan felt as if he was going to explode, he moved his own Qi and the blazing power followed it without obstruction or resistance. Both energies flowed together until finally moving towards Ethan's Cultivation Core.

What kind of miracle do I need? Healing. Yes, I need healing if I want to help these people.

Ethan found himself standing in a silent place surrounded by darkness and without any apparent source of light, yet he could see his own body perfectly even if everything around him was dark. Ethan imagined tendrils of flame and light dancing, curving and solidifying, swiftly taking different shapes and drawing many patterns over the dark space. Rows of symbols forming, moving, twisting, and arranging themselves into a mysterious formation. The symbols were unknown to Ethan, but he knew their purpose, they were magic runes, and they existed to materialize his wish.

Healing, yes. But not simple healing, it can’t be something to a single person, it has to be wide, reaching the people under the debris too. What if the debris is trapping them or piercing them? The magic needs to get rid of that too. Can it fix the collapsed buildings, too?

If he was going to borrow his Master's power to do it, then he may as well do it in a grand way and make the best spell possible. So Ethan pulled more and more from the endless well of power that was being provided by his Master, a sea of purifying flames, an ocean of healing light.

Ethan realized that the thing from which he was drawing greedily, what he believed was akin to an ocean, was actually a single drop. It was simply so vast and massive, that it might as well be considered an ocean for him. Ethan could not envisage what the real ocean of that power was like, its true extension was beyond his imagination.

He watched as more symbols joined the array, some changed their positions, others dissolved into tongues of fire before taking another shape. Light delimited the array, completing a beautiful perfect circle.

What I need is something that can fix everything, heal all wounds, erase all infection, rearrange and mend broken bones, recover blood loss, cure any and all ailment. What I want is a complete and thorough recovery.

A memory came into his mind. The fire that his Master wielded to cleanse and purify things, the same that had a calming effect on body and mind.

A Phoenix’s flame.

Ethan used that image and fed it into the array. The array vibrated with jubilation, brimming with divine might, then something clicked inside Ethan's mind and he understood that it was ready.

Ethan had a strange sensation, he felt as if the array were alive; as if it had a will of its own and had a desire, an intention.

A purpose.

Ethan realized that the array was calling for him, asking him to activate it, to enable it to fulfill the purpose for which it had been created.

Ethan opened his eyes.

He was no longer accelerated, time was flowing like normal around him. There were voices again, some were crying in pain, some were calling to him, a single cloud covered the scorching Sun, conjured by the whim of a Deity. Ethan ignored it all, his mind was focused on a single thing and there was no time to waste.

He raised both hands over his head and the array was made manifest between his palms. For a single moment, it shone with a light that attempted to outshine the blaze of the Sun in the sky. Crimson and golden flames burst forth taking the shape of a fiery bird extending its wings to take flight.

A nameless spell, a miracle crafted with borrowed power for the purpose of saving unknown people in need.

The bird raised its head proudly, as if commanding all creation to behold its magnificence, the Phoenix opened its beak and a melodious cry was heard, thundering across the city and the sands of the desert, echoing in the stunned silence of all who witnessed the flame or heard the sound.

Light bathed the whole city with its warmth and somehow they all had the same thought within their minds.

It was going to be alright.