For two years, his days consisted of nonstop training and lessons from his teacher. Sometimes she would break up the lessons with stories of her life and the places that she had been. She told him of underwater cities, nomadic tribes who live in harmony with magical beast people, a tribe of mortals who live as a respected class under two separate clans of dragons.

She told stories from around the world and across stretches of time that he couldn’t even comprehend. One series of stories especially stood out to him and he would regularly ask her for more details or to tell them again. They were about a legendary being of shadows she would encounter every few decades that would create illusions and change his appearance. And whenever they would meet they would talk about the villages that he was able to convince he was a mountain god, or the royal and powerful cultivators that he would entertain and pull pranks on, or even the random travelers he would come across and have them play a game with him before either rewarding them or cursing them.

“I thought Primordials were terrifying monsters, are they all really like this one?”

“I haven’t met many of them in my lifetime, Primordials tend to be highly individualistic beings. But from what I can tell is that there are as many different personalities among them as there are for any of the other races.”

“Have you ever seen his true form?”

“You’ll come to understand that all Primordials have his same ability to shift their form. And while I’ve never seen his true form, I have met another Primordial born from the Law of Darkness and have seen their true form. So I can imagine his would be similar. He does have a few features he likes to keep in any of his forms though.”

“Like what?” Mareus excitedly tore apart a chunk of meat.

“He prefers the form of a dark skinned child with sapphire eyes. The child’s look changes from place to place, usually trying to mimic children nearby. And the only time I’ve seen him not as a child was when he took the form of an emperor's fool. Supposedly this is his preferred form when dealing with others of his kind. Yet even in this form he maintains his dark skin and blue eyes.”

Regardless of what stories she would tell, Mareus was always right there hanging on her every word. There was so much more possible and so many more amazing places to see than he had ever dreamed. It was this very thought that really got him excited when she told him that they would go on a trip outside the valley.

“Really?! Where are we going?” He flipped across the cliff's edge. “There might be a lot of space here, but recently it’s been starting to feel… small. I’m not sure if that makes sense.”

Over these two years, Fu Kong somewhat softened in her expressions. Her laugh was carried by the wind as she replied. “You used up the crystal faster than I thought you would.” She glanced down at the crater where the crystal once sat. “I’ll be taking you to the place I found it. That was only one of the smaller crystals there so I’ve since claimed the land and have set up wards to keep others away.”

“That,” He pointed down, “was one of the smaller ones?”

“Yes, we can leave now. Unless you want to keep doing acrobatics.” She teased.

Mareus did the best he could to hide behind his collar. “No, we can go now.”

They flew on her shadow for about two hours before a glowing crater came up on the horizon. It must have been twenty kilometers across and despite how close they already felt it took another half hour before they came close to the site. As they approached, Mareus felt a sense of unease that made his every instinct scream that it was dangerous to go down there.

“That is my fault.” Fu Kong waved her hand. “There, you now have permission to go through the ward.”

Just like that, the feeling faded away and was replaced with the awe of everything before them. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, which was something he’s been experiencing a lot more since he met his master. It felt like every aspect of it was balanced as his master put it.

“It’s fantastic.” He whispered.

“You think so? Don’t be fooled by the appearance. This place is still dangerous aside from the peaceful atmosphere. Spaces like this only form where there is a strong connection to the Dao, consequently it is in a constant flux.”

The two began their descent at the edge of the crater. Mareus watched as his teacher slowly grew taller, only she wasn’t growing taller. He looked down to see his feet slowly sink into her shadow, the inky substance had already swallowed him up to the ankles.

“What’s happening?” He frantically pulled at his legs, one digging more into the mystical platform while he pulled the other out.

“The Dao is strong enough here that it can disrupt the power of Law.”

His leg completely fell through the platform. “Are we going to be okay?” He cried.

“Don’t worry my child, I already told you that I won’t allow any harm to come to you. The Dao has its own will, but if you have a strong enough soul or enough will power to directly contest against the universe itself you can hold back the effect.”

Mareus could feel something gentle wrap around his leg and gradually lift him back to the surface. Cultivation was far more mysterious than he had ever imagined before.

After reaching the base of the site they hovered above the ground without touching down. “Are we-” Before he could ask if they were getting down, Fu Kong propelled them forward with her shadow. So close to the ground it felt as if they were moving hundreds of times faster than when they were in the sky.

That can’t be right, it feels like we’re definitely moving slower than before. My eyes must be playing tricks on me.

The scenery flew by as they continued forward, occasionally navigating large crystals, trees and other obstacles. “I thought we were here to gather more heavenly crystals?”

“The smaller crystals won’t benefit you much any longer. Despite not having access to utilize the full power of your soul, the resources you’ll need have grown in both quality and quantity beyond most nascent immortals.”

“I. See.” He didn’t feel so powerful, just what was this seal on the soul that limited mortals?

It’s not fair.

“I want you to remember, that even if you have the power to access and take advantage of places like this one, you should only take what you need and not strip the land clean.” Her hair blew gently in the wind, as if the wind from the speed couldn’t ruin her celestial appearance. “As you live longer you will learn of the balances needed and with enough care you could control these territories and cultivate the land for your benefit and others under your wing.” She turned back to him. “Similar to what I have done with you.”

They continued in silence, one moment they were looking at a seven tiered waterfall with river plants that rivaled a rainbow. The next they passed a boulder that blocked off the sky, and when he looked closely he could see green from moss and specks of gold and silver. A blazing heat washed over him as they flew over a river of molten earth, a tall crimson tree standing in the middle of the current with its leaves replaced by green flames reaching to the heavens.

How can it burn without becoming ash?

A lump formed in his throat as they passed the next scene. The ground was dyed in a deep crimson color with white dust and stones littered across the floor. Mareus leaned forward, eager to absorb as much information as possible for any hint to what was the reason behind this. It was when he was finally over the edge that they flew over something unmistakeable. A large half crushed skull of some unknown creature passed under them in the blink of an eye.

“Death is a part of the Dao, a necessary step in the cycle of things to bring balance.” Fu Kong spoke quietly.

Mareus glanced back at his master before looking behind them, now in full understanding of where they had just come from. He had grown to understand death, still he felt a strange sympathy for those whose path ended here.

“You shouldn’t dwell on it too long, while death is not a pleasant thing for most, those who die here only do so because of their own hubris and lack of preparation. With that said, be sure not to stray too far from my side.”

Mareus took a deep breath while looking back and shifted closer to his teacher.

It took another incense’s worth of time before they finally reached their destination. In front of them stood a dozen shimmering crystals that formed their own mountain. While gawking he noticed a large cut in one of the smaller crystals. “It was just a broken piece.” He muttered.

“Yes, we were quite fortunate here. I’d say this space is at least hundreds of thousands of years old. Originally I broke off a piece that I thought could take you to the peak of the mortal realm. But your soul is greedier than I could have predicted.”

Mareus slumped his shoulders, “I apologize, teacher.”

“No need, it shows your potential. When you ascend to the realm of immortals you will not be inferior to even Anima of royal bloodlines.” Fu Kong approached the piece of the crystal mountain that she cut before. “Half of what remains should be enough to supplement the remaining of your foundational training.”

She placed a hand on its surface before her black energy erupted in a sharp angled line. The sound of two solid surfaces thundered across the crater before echoing back and creating an otherworldly resonance that forced Mareus to cover his ears. The sound increasing in pitch as the chunk slid faster.

Mareus dove to the side and covered his head before the piece could crush him. The thud of its weight never came. Instead he saw the mass falling silently into a vast black pool.

“What? How? How is this possible?”

“You didn’t think we would just fly back with something this large, did you?”

“I don’t know, but how can you do this?” He remembered all the times she used her shadow to store things. But they were nowhere near this impressive. Honestly, he had assumed she was destroying them with her shadow somehow and simply replacing them.

“There are many truths to this world that can allow you to achieve things others could never comprehend.” Fu Kong didn’t care to elaborate as she waited for the last of the crystal to be swallowed. “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry Master?’

“It’s been how many years now, since we last spoke?”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Disregard him, he is of no interest to you. Did you forget what happened the last time you made me repeat myself? Wha-”

Mareus began looking around for the other half of his teacher's conversation.

“I see, wait for me to take care of the child and then we can discuss this.” She looked at Mareus, her perfectly carved face now giving off the impression of an Asura instead of the Celestial she was normally. It was a subtle change, more in her aura than anything her actual expression. “We’re going home.”

“What’s hap-”

“Now.” Her quiet voice was unwavering.

The single word silenced the world. The next thing he knew Mareus was enveloped within darkness and the world truly went silent. It reminded him of when he first woke up in the cave he called home. Not too cold but still couldn’t be considered warm, both comfortable and claustrophobic, easy to lose track of time.

It wasn’t long before she unwrapped him to reveal the training room, actually it was too quick. Even if he lost track of time there was no way that the journey back took less than a quarter of the original.

Just how fast is she, really?

“I have something to take care of, I’ll be gone for at least a month. Make sure to keep up with your training.” She dropped four pre-cut boulders of the crystal around the room. “These should last you until I get back.”

“Mistress.” As Mareus reached out she had vanished into the shadow.

Time dragged along as he practiced for two weeks in complete isolation. For the most part it felt as if he was going through the motions instead of making any sort of progress. As he trudged through the forest he noticed something different. The path he had gone through everyday for the past two years was off. Leaves were disturbed. Branches were drooping lower than before.

Is this some sort of disease? He thought to himself.

A soul crushing scream pierced the natural sounds of the forest.

“Was that one of the rabbits?” Despite them being far stronger than he was currently, the rabbits were objectively cowards. Whenever he would track them it was common for them to scream before running away. But for some reason this scream felt more than terrified. Mareus followed the direction of the sound, careful not to make any noise as he crawled through the brush.

As he approached closer to a clearing he caught the hint of the most foul stench he had ever experienced. It reminded him of the bitterness of the Phoenix Elixir, but magnified hundreds of times and mixed with the smell of a long rotting flesh. Every meter he came closer to the edge of the brush the odor grew more pungent.

Brushing away the leaves he saw a slaughter, at least a dozen furry corpses were scattered across the forest floor. The bright red was a sharp contrast to the soft green bathed in a golden light.

What could have done this? They should be the only creatures here aside from Teacher and me. He trembled in silence.