The agony, a ceaseless tide of fire and ice, was a constant companion. Zaylan hung suspended in its embrace, his consciousness flickering like a dying candle flame.
The spatial tear before him, no longer just a source of terror, had become his singular focus, a roaring maw of mana that he desperately tried to funnel into his being.
The metallic tang of ozone filled his mouth, now accompanied by the coppery taste of his own blood, a testament to the internal strain.
His Physical Refinement (Passive) ability was working at a furious pace, attempting to assimilate the raw, volatile mana coursing through his veins. Every muscle fiber felt like it was tearing, shredding, only to knit back together denser, stronger.
His bones groaned with a deep, resonant ache, as if they were being compressed into something harder than steel.
He heard the faint crack-pop of tiny capillaries bursting, the sickening squelch of internal organs struggling to adapt to the unprecedented influx.
Yet, through the blinding pain, a peculiar satisfaction bloomed. He could feel the change.
He was forging himself anew.
The translucent System screen, a relentless taskmaster, continued its silent count:
[Mana Saturation: 38%]
[Mana Saturation: 41%]
The numbers crawled upwards, each percentage point an unbearable eternity. He gasped, his lungs burning, air rasping in and out. "More," he whimpered, a raw, animalistic sound.
He pressed his face closer to the tear, as if he could physically draw the mana in faster.
This is what it means to cultivate, he thought, his mind a fractured landscape of pain and clarity. It's not just about sitting still. It's about enduring. About breaking and rebuilding.
He remembered passages from cultivation novels where protagonists faced qi deviation or shattering breakthroughs, moments of immense danger that promised profound power. This felt like one of those moments.
Am I going to die again? Is this how Dylan truly felt, overwhelmed by this power? The thought spurred him on. He would not give in.
He would not break like a common ability user whose body couldn't handle the strain. He was a cultivator. His body was meant for this.
He forced his scattered thoughts to coalesce, to direct the mana.
He pictured the swirling energies being compressed into a tiny, shining core deep within his abdomen—his Dantian, though the System hadn't named it. He visualized it solidifying, becoming a stable reservoir.
This was pure instinct, a desperate gamble based on fragmented memories from fiction, but it was all he had. The effort sent jolts of pure agony through his skull, threatening to black him out.
"The Bradonn's Empire is initiating a continent-wide mana frequency scan!" A news anchor, a new face, screamed from a holographic display flickering in a distant town. "We are identifying potential 'Awakener hotspots'! Citizens are advised to cooperate with authorities! We are in this together!"
The plea felt hollow, desperate.
Meanwhile, behind closed doors in the highest echelons of power, chaos reigned.
In a hidden bunker beneath Aethelburg Prime, the emergency council meeting of Bradonn's Empire was a cauldron of conflicting strategies.
"The populace is on the verge of anarchy!" roared General Armitage, his face a furious crimson. "We need to assert control! Lock down the spatial drifts! Mobilize every available unit!"
Chancellor Reed, her usual stoicism now replaced by a haunted weariness, shook her head. "General, we can't 'lock down' something that's tearing reality apart! And every time we send in a unit, half of them come back with new, unpredictable abilities—or worse, don't come back at all. Our conventional weapons are insufficient against whatever comes through those tears!"
Minister Rhys, ever the data analyst, projected a complex graph. "Our research teams are analyzing the System data feeds. We're seeing correlations between mana exposure and ability manifestation. But a rare few... a tiny, statistically insignificant fraction... they're showing no discrete abilities, only a continuous, exponential increase in base parameters. We're calling them 'Integrators.' They seem to be absorbing mana directly, transforming their biology." He gestured to a small, isolated cluster of green dots, one of which was Zaylan's unregistered profile. "They're unique. Unpredictable."
Dr. Aris Thorne's holographic projection flickered. "These 'Integrators' could be our greatest asset, or our greatest threat. We don't understand their limits, their potential. They deviate from all known mana-response models."
Back in the forest, Zaylan was becoming one of those deviations. His body was shaking violently now, a seizure-like tremor that threatened to throw him to the damp earth.
The pain was a crescendo, pushing him to the absolute edge of consciousness.
He felt his throat tear as he screamed, a wordless bellow of defiance against the overwhelming force.
[Mana Saturation: 70%]
The percentage blazed in his mind, a red-hot brand. Almost there. He was so close to Stage 1.
He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms, the new strength in his grip almost crushing bone. He could feel his heart, now a throbbing drum, strengthening, beating with a new, impossible rhythm.
His lungs, once burning, now felt as if they were expanding, able to draw in more air, more mana, with each ragged breath.
He pressed harder, funneling the mana towards his core, feeling the internal resistance give way, bit by agonizing bit. He envisioned himself absorbing the tear itself, pulling its raw power into his very being.
The air around the tear shimmered more violently, the darkness within it seeming to deepen as if something was being drained.
Then, with a final, shuddering surge of agony, a profound transformation occurred. A silent snap echoed in his mind, like a vast container suddenly overflowing.
A wave of intense, pure mana washed over him from within, not tearing, but mending, soothing the screaming cells, fusing his renewed body together.
The pain, though still present, dulled, becoming a distant throb.
The System screen flashed triumphantly.
[Mana Saturation: 100% - Achieved!]
[Cultivation: Stage 0 (Beginner) -> Stage 1 (Foundation Building) - Breakthrough!]
A sense of unimaginable lightness, of pristine clarity, washed over Zaylan. His body felt renewed, incredibly powerful, yet surprisingly nimble. He stood taller, his senses sharper than ever before.
He could hear the faint scurry of unseen insects beneath the leaves, smell the distant scent of pine sap and damp earth with astonishing clarity. He felt… whole. He was no longer just a boy; he was a cultivator, now a true Foundation Building expert.
This was just the beginning. The corrupted beings were coming, but for the first time, Zaylan felt a surge of grim confidence. He was ready.