“First you’ll come with me.” Fu Kong commanded.

Mareus followed her up a set of glossy black stairs that didn’t quite match the cave wall.

Were these always here? He thought to himself.

She guided him down a seemingly random tunnel, the light fading only steps away from the entrance.

“Mistress?” He hesitated.

“Hmm?”

“I-I don’t want to seem rude, but can you see where we’re going?”

She stopped and the sound of a clap echoed through the tunnel. “Forgive me, it’s been some time since I’ve been around someone with no foundation. Perhaps this will make it easier for you.”

Mareus could only hear the flutter of her robes before the darkness gradually lightened. Something was floating beside them, it was like a black flame burning away the shadow.

He stretched his hand out towards it.

“I’d advise against that. That spell is far beyond your current capabilities and though the flames may only be illusory, they’ll burn with more intensity than anything you’re familiar with.” She warned.

Mareus pulled his hand back and quietly tucked himself deeper into his furs.

Fu Kong’s tone lightened. “How is it? Are you able to see better?”

“Y-yes, thank you mistress.”

He followed her for over an hour until the tunnel finally opened up to a wider entrance.

Though the sun had not risen yet, Mareus’ eyes stung as he looked up at the sky for the first time in what felt like ages. His body relaxed as he took his first breath of the cool morning air.

“I didn’t realize how confining it felt not to see the outside for so long. And this view-”

Before him was a cliff that opened up to a valley only from stories. Great plains that stretched into an unending forest of trees of every color. Snow capped peaks on every side. And the bluest river he’d ever seen nearly dividing everything in half.

“There is great beauty to this world, you can tell just from looking out across the valley that lies before us. But do you know what causes you to feel this way? If you think about it. At its essence, everything is no different than the space we were just in. There is stone and dirt, water that flows through cracks, wind that snakes through invisible winding paths, light and shadow that fight for dominance over any given space, and even beneath our feet there is an ocean of fire that hasn’t touched the surface in tens of thousands of years. So why is one space more breathtaking than the other?”

Mareus waited for her to finish, completely absorbed in her speech with the burning desire to understand the heavenly immortal’s thoughts of the world. It was then that he realized she was waiting for him to respond. Why would she want his input? Surely his thoughts would be no more than a drop in the ocean compared to hers.

“I apologize Mistress, I wouldn’t dare to guess at the answer. I am but a humble child from a small village with few people who have traveled out further than our hunting grounds.” Mareus respectfully bowed with his hands cupped together, trying to appear as humble as he claimed he was.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts child, don’t think of this as my asking for a deep understanding of the Dao. But more of me,” She paused. “Looking to understand how you view the world. The best way to know a person and their nature is to learn how they view the more simple and mundane things before learning where they stand when it comes to more, let’s say, complex topics.” She gestured out below them and asked again. “So what would make you feel that this view is any more beautiful than the one we had just come from?”

Mareus thought for a moment, in truth he wasn’t sure what made this view more beautiful. It just was. For one, he could actually see everything now. He sat down on the ledge and crossed his legs.

Why is this view more beautiful than others I’ve seen?

He looked out at the hills and mountains, the golden light that dyed the waters, the grasses stretched from its banks until they mostly covered the cliffs. The ocean of green and blue swaying in a gentle breeze.

It was a truly beautiful sight, but the more he thought about what made it beautiful, the more normal each part seemed.

He grew up seeing the grasses in peoples gardens and being used for any kind of medicine. He used to exercise every morning and would always see everything colored by the morning sun. Even the river was only slightly more special because of its size compared to the Three Man River that ran by his village.

“I’m sorry Mistress, I don’t think I can decide on what makes it all more beautiful to me. I only know that being able to see so far makes a big difference. And by themselves I’m accustomed to everything here. I guess, I could say that seeing them all in harmony like this makes them beautiful to me.”

A smile cracked through her pure jade like face. He still couldn’t get over how similar their features were, despite hers being a more perfected version of his. It was strange since he grew up being considered a source of jealousy for the girls in his village. Mareus couldn’t help but wonder if they came from the same land.

Her eyes were thin and rounded with a singular smooth lid, while his were more narrow with one of them being hooded. Even her black eyes seemed deeper than his, while his were freckled with specks of deep purple. The rest of her face perfectly matched her eyes as if some master artisan matched everything to be as perfect and beautiful as possible. While his own didn’t seem uneven, he thought his lips were too thin while his nose was too wide.

“Your thoughts are similar to my own.” Her words cut his comparison short.

“What do you mean?”

“I was never able to understand why some people would consider some things beautiful while others were off putting.”

She backed off the ledge as smokey clouds formed underneath her feet. “As you can see, I am able to use a greater power that is connected with the Law of this world. I do not know if it is because of my connection to this power that I have always found the darkness to be more comfortable or if it is because of my preference that I have my connection to this power.”

She walked back to his side and looked back out to the valley. “As for the scene here, I’ve found my answer to be, the balance. There are multiple elements at play here that like you said have a harmony. I believe that balance is what makes it ‘beautiful’.”

Mareus sat for a moment as he considered the things she said. And her power. If she could so casually walk through the air, then what else was she capable of?

Fu Kong gestured for Mareus to join her back near the cave entrance. “Come here for a moment, I shall teach you what it will take to have a power like mine. So that, if the heavens allow it, you will never face tragedy again.”

He followed his teacher away from the ledge. “I was always told that cultivation came down to improving your mind and body.”

“While they aren’t completely wrong, there is a reason that the highest level anyone in your village could achieve was the bottleneck between realms.” She looked like she was trying to pick her words carefully. “You could look at what they were able to achieve as more of an infancy, while true cultivation begins in the next realm.”

“Do you mean the realm of immortals? That was practically a legend to my village. And if it wasn’t for you I’m not sure I would have believed it even exists.”

Fu Kong put her hand up to stop him. “Let’s not put the cart before the horse. First we will test your affinity.”

“My affinity?”

“It helps to determine the inherent abilities and traits of a student so that they can be guided on a path that would most benefit their growth. I doubt your elders had a practice for this, but many powers in the outside world have some form of test.”

After hearing that Mareus couldn’t sit still, “So how do we test my affinity? Would it be possible for me to learn that technique you used to walk on the air? Or maybe I could use a flying sword. Being able to get around the sky would be so much more fun than walking everywhere!”

“Perhaps one day,” She patted his head. “For now we will focus on building a strong foundation. There are a few options on how to test your affinity. But, the method we will be using is to teach you how to draw out enough of your own power to manifest it before you and examine its properties.”

“Do I have enough power to do that?”

“You do, it’s a method that requires more skill than raw power. Many ancient cultivators claim that it’s thanks to internal energy having an innate connection to the Dao, the way of things.”

“Okay! What do I need to do!”

“Firstly, you’ll need to sit in the lotus position and begin to meditate.”

Mareus closed his eyes and tried to imitate the warriors he spied on when he was younger. From his memory he could recall them sitting still and focusing their breathing.

“That’s not a bad start, I’m surprised.”

He had to stifle his smile because the feeling started to fade as he filled with pride.

“Good, it doesn’t look like I’ll have to remind you to maintain focus. Next, you’ll draw that focus inward and follow the flow of your own energy. For now, just get accustomed to the natural flow.”

Mareus sunk deeper into his meditation, a faint line of energy coming into focus.

Fu Kong continued, “Once you are able to draw out your power, I’ll examine its shape, stability, and color. Depending on each of those will determine the best path to start you on.”

He continued to concentrate on his center as she spoke, her voice beginning to sound more and more distant. As he fell deeper into his own consciousness he could feel a pricking sensation in his fingers. More like his hands were falling asleep than anything uncomfortable. The feeling slowly spreading through his limbs and settling just below his navel. The line starting to grow and weave all of the paths together.

She began to circle Mareus as she spoke. “Mortals often have a harder time connecting to their soul than the other immortal races, and in fact many are never able to in their entire lives. But, this is not a perfect seal. There are cracks that allow for some of the energy to leak through and integrate with your body as you live your life.”

As she spoke the threads of invisible energy began to glow brighter in his mind’s eye, taking on a blue-white appearance.

“Good, it feels like you have a good grasp on that energy. Now you must will it to the center of your palms and push it forth from there. It helps to imagine some physical representation of your energy pouring from your hands into the world. Some imagine streams, others spheres, or gas. You can use any number of mental im-”

A small dense sphere of light appeared between his hands. Far more stable than she would have guessed it should have been. Moving closer, she noticed powerfly swirling currents of energy orbiting one another and dancing around the sphere.

Well that’s unique. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like this. She thought.

On the edge of the sphere was a deep black corona that appeared to swallow it. And the more she focused on it the less of the internal storm she was able to see.

“Mistress, I’m not sure if I’m doing this right. It’s getting harder to control the energy.” Sweat began to bead on his face as he contorted it into several ridiculous expressions.

“You can open your eyes,” She urged her student. “You’ve succeeded and it is stable enough. Even without you putting more energy into it.”

Mareus lit up when he saw the rice dumpling sized orb floating between his palms. He leapt from his seat and pranced around the cliff as he waved the light around as if to show the world.

“I’ve done it. I can’t believe it. I’m actually a cultivator.” His grin filled his face while presenting his success to his master.

“Congratulations, though that hair makes you seem more like a wild hermit than a cultivator.” Fu Kong used her sleeve to cover her chuckle.

Mareus almost forgot the ball of energy between his hands as he ran a hand through the matted mess.

Blushing, he gingerly held it out to her. “Mistress! So, uh, what does it say about my affinity?”

“You have an affinity for the Law of Darkness.”

“Does that mean that I could use the same power as you!” His eyes grew. At least he assumed that’s what the shadowy energy she controlled was.

Chuckling she said, “Yes, but not only that, it means that it would be easier for you to learn the power of darkness than any other Law. Though, mortals have the ability to choose the Law they wish to master. It is for this reason that some schools will train initiates to open themselves up to all of the elements until they are able to connect to one of them. Though in my opinion it is much better to focus and train for one discipline rather than spreading yourself too thin.”

Mareus was absorbed by the fading light in his hands as she spoke, moving his hands around to watch as no matter the direction he looked at it he couldn’t focus on the black ring surrounding the chaotic energy.

“Does that mean you’ll be teaching me your path?” He asked.

“Not exactly my path,you will be on a variation of my path that I developed as I learned more about cultivation and the Dao through my travels. In other words you will be learning a perfected version of my path.”

Stunned, he watched as the light finally faded from his hands.

“It is fortunate for us that your elders refused to allow you to cultivate. It is much simpler to build a foundation correctly than to correct a flawed one.”

“But, I thought I was too old, wouldn’t that affect my growth.”

“Hmm, you should remember that your elders had a poor understanding of what it takes to properly cultivate. Not only did they lack a fundamental understanding, but they lacked the resources to properly support a talented individual. You may have a later start than most, but with my guidance you will quickly surpass those around you.” She gestured for him to follow. “Before that, let’s return inside so that I can teach you the basics of cultivation and we can prepare you to start learning the cycling technique.”