Sitting in the empty, dark expanse, Rey trained without ceasing for the entire day. He continued reviewing Redwater Form and practicing sensing energy like a starved wolf eyeing a piece of juicy meat. Rey was fully captivated in understanding, and time passed without him realizing it. What felt like a few moments to Rey, was, in fact, days of intensive strain on his soul and willpower.

Rey's hard work, however, wasn't without reward. After being enlightened by Redwater Form, he gained the ability to sense his bodily energy. Originally, Rey thought that Redwater Form would only increase his ability to sense energy. After practicing, Rey realized that the book was more than that; it improved all of his senses, not just energy. With each emotion, he could distinctly feel the muscles on his face, neck, and shoulders contract. Even the vibrations in his voice from nervousness became apparent.

'Was this technique created for a spy, perhaps?' Rey sat still, showing little changes in body movements despite his pondering. 'A foundational technique like this that strengthens awareness, and this was B-rank in difficulty? Perhaps the merchant had it all wrong?' Rey breathed a heavy sigh as he realized he still needed to move his energy and not just sense it.

'Soma...' Rey held his arm and slightly squeezed it. Clenching his jaw, Rey frowned. 'What are you up to?'

Within the southeastern land of the Sun Empire, Mist valley.

A lean young man ran across the plains in front of him, seeking cover. His disheveled long black hair and tattered clothing fell to the ground as he arched his spine backward. A gleam of light flashed right above the young man's forehead as a lock of hair was sliced off. Sweat formed on his forehead as he teleported away.

Soma breathed in deeply, his body exhausted. Leaning against a tree, he saw the giant beast searching for him. Soma took one more deep breath and pushed off, teleporting numerous times. Each time Soma teleported, the gap between them widened slightly; but the creature was fast and warped space slightly, making Soma slower and itself faster. With a loud howl, it sent beams of light after Soma. He noticed them and changed direction, retreating further into the valley and scaring off many creatures.

Soma took advantage of the terrain to lead the beast into more creatures that were dumb enough not to run away, making it enraged. It clawed and bit at Soma, but all it caught was air. Even it was getting exhausted and had to give up the chase. With a loud growl, it turned around and saw Soma right before it. Swinging its claws and firing more light beams, they nearly struck him. Soma expertly controlled and contorted his body so it could not harm him. As its energy was nearly depleted, it howled and tried to run away, only to find Soma using his hand as a sharp knife hacking at its feet.

The beast became even more furious and thrashed around, hoping to kill the slippery fellow. Soma switched back to defense and wasted its energy until it was rendered helpless.

When the beast realized it was being toyed with in such a way, it roared. Wuu! Its bellowing cries could be heard tens of kilometers away. Its scales fell away and crumbled like old pottery. The creature became faster, and with renewed vigor, rushed to slash at the kid.

Soma teleported a distance away from it and made a long sword appear out of thin air. He imbued it with space energy as it distorted the air around it. The beast hesitated and glared at the sword in fear. The battle took its toll on Soma. With the newfound speed and power of the beast, he was put to a disadvantage.

With a growl, the beast ran towards Soma in a blur. With its front claws out, it swiped at his head and swung its bony tail. Soma dodged the large, sharp claws that it wielded, but the tail came around and sliced his right cheek open, making a shallow cut. Blood dripped from the wound as Soma teleported away from it again.

With his body aching and ragged breathing, Soma smiled fiendishly. Time seemed to stop as the beast instinctively took a step backward. Blood streamed down Soma's cheek, he stretched out his tongue and licked the wound. A tinge of pain radiated and excited him. The familiar taste of iron made Soma grin with wide eyes as adrenaline pumped through his veins. Like a wild hyena, he laughed without restraint, sending shivers down the creature's spine.

"Interesting. So very, very wondrous!" He cried out in delight.

Like a blaring alarm, the sense of danger was the only thing it thought as its body shook uncontrollably. Its sixth sense peaked as killing intent built and fear overwhelmed the creature. Feeling as if something was wrong, it ran faster than before; its life was at risk. But as to why the man would laugh with such insanity, and for itself to feel such a deep-rooted sense of fear, the creature could not comprehend; all it knew was to run as fast as it could, to escape!

Frantically turning its head backward, the creature saw the man continue to stand where he was with a smile that rivaled the devil. As soon as it looked forward, however, the man appeared ahead. Slamming its feet into the ground, the creature swung its tail around and sought to run away.

Running forward, Soma brandished his sword and sliced its hindlegs open. Deep gashes formed with every slash. Even though the pain it felt with each step it took made the creature cry aloud, it still ran without inhibition; it would rather feel excruciating pain than bear the consequences of what this madman would do to it if it stopped running. Just the mere thought made electricity ripple up its spine.

The creature gnashed its teeth and ran with full speed. Heading west, the shrubs grew thicker and grass grew more abundant the further Soma chased. After a full 15 minutes of Soma slicing its legs while running, the originally tough and proud beast was completely disgraced. Its pink, now scaleless skin was lacerated, the two hind legs buckled under pressure, and it was sent crashing down to the ground. Swinging its tail, the creature looked pitiful as it tried to fight back.

"What a fascinating sight!" Soma howled and grinned. "Young. Proud. Arrogance from family... Your death." Soma licked his lips as he swung his sword at the flailing tail in front of him. A sharp grating noise rang out as Soma felt his arm go numb and the tail was delivered a deep gash.

"Wuuuu!" The beast cried and let out a shrilling call.

Soma ran forward with beads of sweat rolling down his raised cheeks. A slight stinging reminded him of his mortality as he smiled. Leveraging on its hind leg, Soma kicked off from it and caused the beast to thrash once more. It used its teeth and forelegs in a bid to hit Soma, but he nimbly moved and evaded as if it was a rehearsed dance. Within a moment, he stood before its large head and gave it one last haunting smile. Soma stabbed through the creature's bright, yellow eye, piercing its fearful gaze. The shrill screams echoed through his head and made his ears bleed, but it seemed to only make Soma more determined. Soma dove his entire body into its eye and squeezed through the bone around him. Brandishing his sword once more, he destroyed its brain until it no longer had any breath of life.

Instead of climbing out of the ruined animal, Soma cut through and squeezed his body further down into the creature's chest. As if he was clearing away a thick set of vines, Soma hacked away until its heart was in view. The heart was still beating and pumping warm blood throughout its vessels, covering Soma in deep red as he licked his lips in excitement. Drinking the blood around its heart, power flowed into him as he drank and drank, until his stomach ballooned and he was unable to consume anymore.

Climbing out of its eye, Soma looked like he fought an army. His tattered clothes seeped in the scarlet red blood, and his hair stuck to his skin. With each step, a bloody trail formed behind him. Scavenger animals who burrowed underground and in the trees peeked their heads out and drooled. Looking at the free game left behind by the boy, eagerness and growls were revealed as swaths of beasts revealed sharp claws and teeth. Within a moment of Soma leaving the proximity, a battle for its meat outbroke.

Soma grinned with delight after having his fill. He resumed a playful look as he stumbled away in thought. His ears were still ringing, energy nearly depleted, and covered in blood, yet he didn't show any displeasure.

As Soma continued walking, the ground turned to mud and plants grew wildly. Large, tall trees intertwined with each other, forming a complex network of paths high up in the skies. Green and luscious trees blotted out most of the sunlight, forming an eerie atmosphere as birds dove and shadows skittered about, lurking in the darkness.

The blood in Soma's belly continued to shrink and be refined. He sat against a damp tree and began using the energy to empower and change his genes. As he did, he felt his affinity and harmony to space and time strengthen further.

"It's close, Ouranos. Be reborn through me! 70% of our bloodline. Refining will make it 75%." Soma laughed cheerfully while his cold eyes looked ahead. "Ozzy," his voice boomed, "come."

Sprinting out of a hollowed-out tree, a slim pig with loosely fitted metal scraps wrapped over its pink skin appeared. With each step of its hooves, the metal jaunted and clanked incessantly. With tears welling up, Ozzy ran forward without restrain, creating a ruckus. Mud splashed and twigs broke under the weight of the pig's stomping, alerting nearby creatures of its presence. Soma glared dangerously at him and surrounded the stout, funny looking piglet with chaotic pressure. Nervously, Ozzy ran slower and made subtle movements as it cautiously approached Soma.

"That was better," sitting with one knee propped up, he patted it's soft, pink skin, "I'll make a ninja-pig of you yet" Soma smiled warmly. His gentle demeanor highlighted the boy's high cheekbones and warm smile. Ozzy squealed in delight with a smug look and a half-smile.

Ozzy stared greedily and licked the blood off Soma's face, grooming him. Waiting to be reprimanded, Ozzy's body shook and shied away. But Soma showed no aggression, and Ozzy continued to lap it up until he had no more blood visible. The little piglet gleamed happily as its body expanded slightly.

With a heavy sigh, Soma got back to his feet and touched his cut cheek. When his hand away, the slash was gone as if it never existed. The power Soma used stimulated a change in his body as energy gushed into his body. His skin gradually smoothened, and the scar on his solar plexus faded slightly.

Soma took a single step forward and felt jarring pain. His limbs felt locked down and he could barely move them. Losing control over his body, he fell face forward into the mud. Slowly, he supported his weight with his hands and kneeled. He stretched out his hand couldn't stop it from shaking.

"No!" Soma howled in indignance, "I need to hurry, faster!"

Regaining control over himself, he stood up and ran further north with Ozzy. Worry and cold plastered itself over Soma's face as a man silently watched his actions faraway from the trees.

"Such an exceptional, powerful man. This is a very peculiar relationship you have with him, Rey." The man softly whispered as his long robe flourished in the wind. The Sun Empire crest shooked as he vanished from the scene. No trace was left as the marsh resumed its stillness.