My attention pulled back from the site and onto my cavern. I still had plenty of experiments to knock out and one I was rather eager to finish up was bringing light into the cavern. Though the waterfall brought in a substantial amount of light, it wasn’t the effect I was looking for. Inside the forest surrounding the hills, I came across a few plants capable of glowing in the dark.

I really wanted those inside my cavern. The idea of lining the path in the cavern to help diminish the dreary atmosphere appealed to me on some fundamental level. The problem was how to accomplish such a thing. The plants were inside my territory, however I realized that [Lesser Energy Tendrils] was just too potent for living creatures.

While I could use them for breaking down solid material and moving debris, each time I used them on a living creature, they would explode. The closest I managed to get to touching without killing was when I subdued one of the creatures early on, however the spark inside it dispersed immediately on contact. Without a viable method of moving the fragile plant, I was somewhat stuck.

There’s something to be said about having a vague sense of time. As I could automate many things such as constructing more minor pure energy crystals, excavating a few inner caverns for material, and using [Degenerate] on various materials after storing them inside [Lesser Spatial Storage], it left me with time to think.

Initially, I tried to dig out the plants with [Lesser energy Tendrils] and drag them back to my nucleus by pushing the debris behind it. While it...worked, the plant itself was little more than strips of organic matter after all the scrapes and bumps along the way. I then tried to dig around it and drag a solid chunk of ground back with the plant still in the middle. This fell apart quickly as the soil was unable to retain its shape over the long distance. After a few failures, I resorted to a backup plan I once thought of, but pushed back on.

I knew [Lesser Energy Tendrils] destroyed what they touched, but I also knew it was based on my own ability to control them. As they were the ‘lesser’ form of the skill, it was no wonder my lack of control over them would be the same as dropping a boulder to plant a seed. As I’ve used the skill over the years in a purely destructive fashion, I never learned the concept of finesse. As my other quick plans failed and I saw a future use beyond just replanting items of interest, I diverted my attention to the tendrils.

It took me a few years of focused effort, however I managed to reach the point of pinching a pebble and lifting it without crushing it. Officially, this was my first true success. I’ll admit that the pebble was solid granite and there were hairline fractures running through the entire thing, however the mere fact that it was now suspended in the air between two of the tendrils I controlled was a testament to my efforts.

With results to show for my efforts, I took a break and turned my attention to the creatures at the hill base. I was so focused on relearning to control [Lesser Energy tendrils] that I ignored the rest of the territory. It wasn’t so much that I ignored it, but that there was nothing important enough to pull my attention away with.

The community grew dramatically during my inattention. The small homes they once had were now rather massive in comparison. A large, dome-like, structure was placed in the center of the structures. Its size was easily 3 to 4 times larger than any single home. I swept my conscious through the structure with curiosity and found the leader near the top floor.

Either I was so focused that I lost track of time, or the few years I was out of it were rather stressful for the man. His fur was greyed out and showed clear wrinkles around the eyes. Though his exterior diminished, [Minor Energy Perception] provided a very different story. The man retained a potent degree of energy within him, so potent in fact that I was nearly blinded on first glance from being unprepared.

A portion of my presence descended onto the man. Unlike in the past, he didn’t seem surprised, nor did he overreact in any way. His eyes opened slightly and his gaze drifted into the air. It was strange for me as I thought he and I were looking directly at each other, something I’d never experienced before.

“Are you there, great one?”

The man opened his mouth to communicate, however I couldn’t hear anything he tried to say. I read his lips as best as I could, however it was never a skill I was too interested in and left it to atrophy. Judging by his gaze and the fact that no one else was nearby, I took it his intention was to communicate with me.

He remained calm and silent, still seated. In his patience, he reached out once more after a time of silence.

“Are you unable to hear me, great one?”

This time, I managed to read his lips to a certain degree. Though there were unfamiliar terms, it was clear to me now he was trying to reach out. I didn’t have much in the way of responding, and using [Lesser Energy tendrils] was still shaky territory for me after dispersing those sparks earlier. Without a better method, I retrieved and applied my presence to him in pulses.

A smile crossed his face. Did he understand my intent? The man stood from his chair and walked to the center of the room. He moved in a very deliberate fashion, each motion telegraphed and timed to prevent any surprises.

“Perhaps I can be of use to you before this old body of mine expires.”

His hand rose from his side and [Minor Energy Perception] displayed his energy circulating through his body at an accelerated pace.

“Without your warning back then, it’s likely our sect would have been lost. I’ve been wanting to pay you back for years.”

Energy collected into his hand, expelled from him and structured in a strange form. I watched with object fascination as it structured itself. The energy constructed a self perpetuating shell. Inside it, [Minor Energy Perception] lost the ability to distinguish between the precise components.

“While I might not know what you are, great one. I do know you can project your presence as you please, which means you have a form of energy control. Such a thing seems effortless to you, yet I imagine the complications of such a power carry a few drawbacks. One of which should be similar to the spirits with the inability to register sound waves.”

The cube of energy became more dense, the energy inside it no longer visible. It instead took a fundamental change right before my eyes, the energy itself changing form to solidify into a strange multicolored crystal.

“This great one may not know, however our sect originates from the bloodline of a true heavens beast, the Kitsune. Many of our children lean towards the spiritual paths and lack the traditional sense of hearing, favoring qi vibrations instead. With years of effort, our clan managed to create a skill capable of converting between the two. I’d like to give this to you. Perhaps, this is the only way I can repay you.”

The man dropped his hand and backed away from the floating crystal. He gestured out to it with a smile. I couldn’t understand him as many terms were new to me and my lip reading was rusty at best, however I understood the basics. My attention moved to the orb and from the floor, I extended a [Lesser Energy Tendril] to it. Upon contact, the orb shattered into bright shards, each altered their path and drove straight into my tendril.

For a moment, I panicked. I could feel the energy traveling to my nucleus and didn’t have any way to stop it. The moment I controlled the tendril with my consciousness, there was an undeniable link between it and my nucleus. The energy traced that link reaching back into my cavern. It struck my core and in a fit of fear, I shut everything down.