Chapter 56 — Flow of Time
Forty years had passed in the Time Chamber.
Jin sat cross-legged within the rune-inscribed chamber, a thick tome hovering before him, pages frozen mid-turn by his will. The light from the intricate rune on the wall pulsed faintly, resonating with his breath—steady, calm, measured. His eyes scanned a particularly complex structure of interwoven glyphs, one that looped and twisted like a coiled serpent devouring its tail.
The lines etched into the page shimmered with meaning, yet refused to unravel themselves completely. He could feel it—he was close to understanding it. One more breakthrough and he could trace the rune's power, maybe even inscribe it himself. Still, as he hovered on the edge of comprehension, he felt something strange.
The passage of time.
Even inside this chamber where time flowed ten times slower, he'd lost track of its weight. Forty years. Just like that. Gone like a breeze that stirred the leaves once and vanished. He leaned back against the smooth, ancient stone wall, letting the tome close softly before floating into his ring.
"Forty years... and I'm still just scratching the surface," he muttered.
He exhaled deeply, allowing his mind to drift. A single question surfaced, one that he had buried for a long while.
Where exactly do I stand on the path of cultivation?
And so, he began to recite the realms from memory, quietly, reverently. Each one held meaning, progression, pain.
"Mortal Realm," he said softly, eyes half-lidded.
"Initiate Realm."
"Adept Realm."
"Refinement Realm."
"Grandmaster Realm."
"Zenith Realm."
"Master Realm."
"Ascendant Realm."
"Transcendent Realm."
Nine realms. The roadmap of all cultivation paths, that he was aware of.
His fingers tapped lightly against his leg. The Mortal Realm… why did it linger in his thoughts?
"Why even call it a stage of cultivation?" he mused aloud. "It's just being human. Ordinary."
But then, something strange stirred in him. A flicker of understanding, half-formed.
"Maybe... maybe it's not about what it gives... but what it reminds us of."
Every cultivator began there. Mortal. Weak. Powerless. And yet, it was the only realm that united every path—Elemental, Body, and Soul. Every genius, tyrant, scholar, and warrior had once been just that. Mortal.
An idea started to blossom—a concept of drawing upon the memories, limitations, and resilience of mortality as a foundation for combat, for strategy. The mortal experience might hold something overlooked, something foundational.
But before the thought could fully form, something blocked it.
A fog.
It curled through his mind like smoke, obscuring the thread of clarity. Jin clenched his jaw and tried to trace it again, but the insight had slipped away, like trying to grasp mist with bare fingers.
"Tch," he grunted, shaking his head. "Almost had it…"
He stood slowly, rotating his shoulders as the tightness of hours—or rather, days—of meditation dissolved. His gaze drifted to the small silver strand coiled around his wrist: Gorr's hair, pulsing faintly with spatial resonance. A direct beacon to either of them if danger ever arose.
It remained still.
Jin stared at it in silence, fingers brushing over it gently. He hadn't heard from Lyra either. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned. No call meant they were safe… or too far gone to send one.
"They're fine," he told himself, forcing the words to settle inside him. "They're strong."
But the silence gnawed at him nonetheless.
A sigh escaped his lips as he returned to his makeshift corner of the chamber. He sat again, this time not with a tome or rune tablet before him, but with his cultivation on his mind.
Ever since that ancient ruin and the vial of blood… something inside him had shifted. His essence flowed faster, his comprehension had deepened. Even his elemental control—especially when combining them—felt more fluid, instinctive. It was clear he was still in the early stage of the Adept Realm, but that label felt hollow now. His power had surged beyond that level, threatening to spill over.
But it wasn't stable.
"I need to consolidate it," he said. "Push into mid-stage… maybe even late-stage Adept. Make that power mine."
There was no rush—time was on his side. But Jin knew the Grand Ascension Realm wouldn't remain quiet forever. Opportunities would bloom, wars would spark, and ancient forces might rise. If he wasn't prepared…
He looked toward the rune on the chamber wall—the one meant for energy gathering. It still thrummed with quiet life, offering essence that filled the chamber in waves far richer than anywhere else he had trained.
"First... another breakthrough in runes."
Then he would dive fully into cultivation—essence, soul, and body. And afterward, train in new techniques that only time and solitude could master.
But for now… it was time to press on. The fog in his mind would clear, the mystery of mortality would return. He just had to keep walking the path.
He turned his gaze back to the flickering pages of the rune tome, pulled it toward him with a thought, and immersed himself again.
The flow of time continued, and Jin welcomed it.