Soul wrenching shrills and cries.
The pain unimaginable, just like back then.
It started with soft warmth of wisp at chest only to turn intense fire and then literal magma, flowing through all of his entire existence.
Wherever that violent energy explored, Organs became rigid, muscle twiched and skin became burning fiery red with even more prominent scarlet veins glowing under.
Eren's head went numb and his body in insurmountable amount of torture. Only he knew what he felt but not for a second he hesitated or took a step back.
He remained standing on his feet, enduring every inch of pain, screaming his heart out with vigour and torture. Barely five minute felt like an eternity and then it finally ended.
His consciousness that was on verge of collapsing finally went blank but not without weak but victorious smile.
And what followed was the absolute silence.
Alena didn't say much, she knew this would happen and watched at it was natural occurance without batting an eye. Ofcourse what she felt was a bit different.
In her heart she steeled herself, afterall great power asks for great sacrifice. If Eren was ready for it then she'll support him at all cost.
Upon her hold of mana, eren's unconscious body floated behind her as she walked back to their cave.
*******
Inside the cave.
" It smells good, what's cooking?" Alena smelled nose tingling aroma. She lazily opened her eyes to see eren jarring wok rigorously with one hand and mixing the content with ladle in other.
His movements precise, and with Swift movement he added pinch of salt.
Gently as he place wok down and served fried rabbit nuggets.
" The usual rabbit." He didn't sounded irritated but somewhat tired.
" We already talked about this, didn't we?" Spoke Alena lazily.
Eren sighed, apparently he can't eat mana riched monster meat without mana core, that would be dangerous. Rabbits were small as well as densely populated around outer region of white forest.
Unlike other animals who were on verge of extinction, sandwitched between hungry human and monsters.
Rabbits were easy to find, easy to cook and Eren, coming from poor background was eating meat on daily routine, something he didn't imagined. It was luxury.
He was happy with no lack of food supply and comfortable life so far, he wanted to share this with yuta, aunt sera and nina too but they were just dreams now.
He complained but that meant he was getting along fine, Alena ate everything in one bite, for her huge figure that would be like appetizer but quantity meant nothing to a high ranked cultivator.
Cultivators didn't needed to eat food, at the end mana could supplement their daily metabolic energy and more.
Eren sat beside, slowly eating his own. organising his thoughts.
" How's your body?, Any pain?" She asked.
" Nothing, actually it feels better. Much more relaxed and powerful." He was confused, he surely felt his bones getting crushed, muscle and organs popping like bubbles untill the pain became unbearable and he lost consciousness but when he woke up, everything was just like before. Not just normal but better. As if his muscles found strength, bones become more solid, mind much more calm and body feeling abnormal sense of overwhelming power.
" How am I still fine?" he asked.
" This is cultivation, that's why?" hearing her words didn't gave any solution.
" What's that mean?"
" As I said, cultivation.
In reality mana breaks and recreates every single cell but this process happens in very slow and minute manner, you can't even detect it.
That is natural cultuvation body will subconsciously do, then comes conscious cultivation.
natural cultivation is slow but we want power more faster way even if that's painful, conscious cultivation is same in process but way faster. We decide at which limit we can cultivate and for how long.
Obviously conscious cultivation is limited, Cultivator is bound to get tired mentally and physically.
Same way Mana is reconstructing you. Making you faster and stronger, althought a bit painfully. " it was more than a bit pain but neither eren cared nor Alena.
Worrying about that would be stupid afterall eren himself had chosen this way. Now only thing he needed to do was accumulate mana manually to form mana core as fast as possible but even than he had no way of knowing when will that happen.
" I also want to ask why my eyes don't regenerate?" Asked eren.
" Cultivation breaks and regenerate but that is not applicable to external or internal injury that isn't caused by cultivation, so it won't regenerate but luckily you'll have nine tail fox bloodline and regeneration power along with it.
but only after you form a mana core." Alena halted for moment and asked.
" Do you really want to continue?" A bit low tone as she looked at him.
" Are you worried?" He teased but Alena wasn't in mood.
" You know there is chance that you'll awaken naturally, there no need to torture yourself."
" You really are worried." Eren laughed and avoided her question.
" Eren what happened last night will continue and pain will not lessened, Is it really necessary to go so far for strength." She asked and for the first time in this conversation eren looked at her as he activated his mana sense.
Alena's resolved waned remembering Eren's painful screams, at the end she became attached to him.
" I don't want to repeat the past, If this is the way I can be stronger then so be it." His words contained profound determination, Alena's heart skipped a bit.
She could not longer oppose him.
Eren sighed and continued eating his fill.
" What're you thinking?" Asked Alena.
" Just about your absurd demand." He said, already tired of what he was asked to do.
" When will you start?" she showed no pity but eren knew she was just like this.
He waited then dipped last piece of nugget in chilly souce and put it in his mouth, slowly savouring last of its spicy texture.
" Right now." Eren stood up and licked his fingers.
" Kay.." Spoke with pure laziness and then closed her eyes.
Eren felt irritated but could do nothing, analysing his thoughts in linear manner he decided what to do first and walked out.
Eren jumped out, falling throught waterfall he swam toward shore. Eren cleaned his face, tied his wet hair behind and walked out even more annoyed, and as he was waiting alena's giggle came behind.
Intense water pressure, heavy current in the river, no way to walk aside this waterfall. For eren this was training as well as torture, because everytime he wanted to go in he needed to climb under heavy water pressuring him down but going out was easy, except for the getting wet part.
But this was also the reason eren needed to build a home faster so he could focus on more important tasks. Like learning how to fight and much more but those were future plans.
After this troublesome hurdle.
" Let's start." Eren picked up shovel and started digging.