Cain sat alone in his dimly lit quarters, the forbidden scroll open before him. Shadows danced along the walls, flickering in time with the small lantern he'd set nearby. The symbols on the parchment seemed almost alive, the dark ink shimmering as he traced each line with his gaze, absorbing the finer points of the Eclipse Devouring Art. He could feel his heartbeat quickening, a subtle thrill mingled with a cautious curiosity. Tonight, he would put the technique to the test.
The scroll's initial stage called for a minor source of life essence—a low-level creature or a simple plant, to ease his body into handling foreign Qi without overwhelming his pathways. It seemed almost harmless, but he knew better than to trust the simplicity of its instructions. The power he sought was bound to be treacherous.
Slowly, Cain drew a deep breath, centering himself as he reached for a small plant he'd pulled from the academy grounds earlier. Its leaves were thick, the vibrant green radiating faint vitality. To any other novice, this plant was mundane. But to him, it was a test, a gateway to something far greater.
Positioning his hands over the plant, he summoned his Qi, allowing it to flow through his fingers. His breaths were controlled, steady, as he formed the intricate hand seals he'd memorized from the scroll. With each seal, he could feel the energy within him shift, becoming denser, heavier, as he focused it on drawing the plant's essence.
The room's air thickened, an almost tangible energy settling around him. The plant trembled slightly, its leaves turning a shade paler as a faint stream of greenish light rose from it, drawn upward toward his hands. Cain watched, transfixed, as the life essence—a wisp of vitality—flowed into his body.
As it entered him, he felt a surge—a warm, tingling sensation spreading from his fingers through his arms, settling in his core. It wasn't the raw, straightforward power he was used to with regular Qi. This felt richer, deeper, almost as if it carried a lingering memory of the life it once sustained. His own Qi merged with it, transforming it, intensifying the energy he could command.
But the thrill was accompanied by an unexpected weight. There was a faint whisper at the edges of his mind, a subtle hint of something alien, as if the essence left a shadow of the plant's vitality in his spirit. It was a harmless trace, perhaps—just the slightest sense of rootedness, an urge to remain still and absorb.
He brushed it off, intrigued rather than disturbed. This was merely the beginning, a small sacrifice that proved his body could handle the technique's effects. If a plant's essence could already amplify his Qi to this degree, he could only imagine what drawing from something larger would feel like. And he fully intended to push those limits.
--
Over the next few days, Cain continued his experiments, starting with small animals—birds, rodents he captured near the academy grounds. The technique became smoother, his control more refined as he adapted to the hand seals and breathing rhythm required to extract life essence. Each session granted him a bit more Qi, a bit more strength, and he could feel his cultivation inching forward faster than any traditional method had ever allowed.
Yet, with each extraction, he noticed the lingering traces grew stronger. After absorbing the essence of a bird, he found his senses heightened for hours afterward, his gaze sharper, his hearing more acute. But it was accompanied by an odd unease, a restless energy he hadn't anticipated.
One evening, after finishing a session with a small fox he'd trapped, he felt it even more intensely. The creature's essence was richer, more vivid, and as he drew it in, he caught a flash—a brief but startling vision of open fields, the rush of wind, the instinctive need to flee. It was disorienting, the sense of the animal's instincts interwoven with his own thoughts. For a moment, he felt almost… trapped within its mind.
He steadied himself, taking deep breaths as he let the sensation settle, dismissing the flicker of emotion as a minor side effect. This was power worth any discomfort. If these traces grew stronger with each use, they would be a small price to pay for what the Eclipse Devouring Art promised.
--
Cain knew he needed to try something more challenging. The academy grounds bordered a section of forest rumored to contain minor magical creatures, each with Qi levels far beyond ordinary animals. He waited for nightfall, then slipped into the trees, his movements silent, each step bringing him closer to his target. This hunt required stealth and patience, for these creatures were sensitive to even the slightest presence of human Qi.
It didn't take long before he sensed a faint pulse of Qi up ahead, concealed among the bushes. He knelt low, controlling his breathing as he observed the creature—an iron-feathered pheasant. Its plumage glimmered faintly, Qi-infused feathers casting a metallic sheen in the moonlight. This pheasant was known for its enhanced senses and swift reflexes, traits that made it difficult prey for inexperienced cultivators.
Carefully, Cain formed the initial hand seal, feeling his Qi pulse in response as he prepared for the technique's first stage. The pheasant's head jerked up, sensing his Qi. It darted toward the trees, but Cain was faster, lunging forward and seizing it just as it flapped its wings in a desperate bid for escape.
As he held it firmly, he felt a surge of energy—the creature's life essence struggling against him. He activated the seals, focusing intently as the pheasant's essence began to flow into him, its Qi merging with his own in a dizzying rush of sensations. The pheasant's life force was potent, each pulse stronger than any he'd absorbed before, and as the essence seeped into his spirit, he felt an instinctive thrill, the urge to run and fly, to escape into the night. His vision shifted, and for a split second, he saw the world through the pheasant's eyes, a flickering memory of forests, of freedom.
He blinked, his pulse racing, forcing the image away as he stabilized the Qi within him. This absorption left him breathless but exhilarated, his own Qi deepened, his senses sharpened even further. Cain's every instinct felt heightened, more attuned to the sounds and movements in the forest around him.
But the sensation was accompanied by a darker echo. A desire to remain hidden, to stay in the shadows and avoid detection, lingered in his mind. He found himself hesitating, reluctant to return to the academy grounds, a strange compulsion urging him to roam freely under the moonlight, an almost primal craving for freedom.
It took him several minutes of focused breathing to push the urge away. He clenched his fists, grounding himself. The Eclipse Devouring Art was powerful, but with each use, it left a deeper mark on him, embedding fragments of the absorbed life essence into his spirit. If the essence of a mere pheasant could leave such an impact, he wondered, with a shiver, what absorbing a higher-level creature or even another cultivator would do to his mind.
--
A week passed, and Cain's confidence grew. The Eclipse Devouring Art had accelerated his cultivation, each session with small creatures pushing his limits further. He could feel his Qi reservoir deepening, his strength increasing, and with it, his ambitions. This technique was everything he'd hoped for—a shortcut to power that transcended the ordinary.
Still, he sensed he had only touched the surface of its potential. The scroll spoke of greater heights, stages where he could draw from powerful beasts or even other cultivators. The idea thrilled him, but he knew he had to take each step cautiously. This was not a path for the reckless.
One night, as he sat alone, the scroll open before him, he found himself studying the ritual described in its final stage. The Eclipse Devouring Art culminated in a powerful ceremony, one that required the alignment of a lunar eclipse to be fully effective. The ritual was shrouded in mystery, but it promised a merging of foreign essence so potent that it could elevate a practitioner's power to near-immortal levels—if they could survive it.
He felt a strange pull, as if the moon itself beckoned him to follow this dark path. The scroll's words hinted at an indescribable connection between life essence and the lunar cycle, a force that would synchronize his Qi with the deeper energies of the world. For a moment, he imagined the surge of strength, the thrill of becoming something other than human—something closer to the immortal being he yearned to be.
But the warnings echoed louder. The final stage demanded a toll not just on the spirit but on the mind, twisting the Qi pathways with each absorption until they were forever changed, marked by the life forces they had consumed. The moon's energy, channeled improperly, could shatter him, leaving only fragments of the person he once was.
Cain's fingers traced the edges of the parchment as he contemplated this ultimate power. He was no stranger to danger, but he had to be more than cautious—he had to be in control, to temper his ambition with the patience necessary to command this art fully. If he rushed, if he faltered, it would consume him before he could claim its power.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he snapped the scroll shut, sliding it out of view. He opened the door to find Finn, his gaze curious and probing as usual.
"You've been keeping to yourself, Kael," Finn said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Busy with those dusty scrolls, I imagine?"
Cain returned his gaze evenly, his expression unreadable. "I find they have… valuable insights."
Finn tilted his head, studying him. "Insight is one thing. Obsession, another. Just be careful. Some paths, once crossed, are hard to return from."
Cain forced a polite smile, but his thoughts churned. He wondered if Finn suspected, if his prolonged absences and new, unsettling aura had drawn attention. He would have to be more careful, not only with his technique but with how he conducted himself. Already, he could feel a change within himself—a subtle darkening, a sharpening of his senses and instincts.
As Finn left, Cain closed the door, his gaze returning to the scroll hidden beneath his bed. The taste of power had only intensified his hunger, but he knew that he could not afford recklessness. The Eclipse Devouring Art was a tool—a weapon that could either elevate him or devour him whole.
This was only the beginning, and if he was to walk this path to its end, he would need to be vigilant. There was no room for error, no place for weakness. He would master this art, one step at a time, and rise beyond the limits of mortality. Whatever shadows it left within him, whatever ghosts it stirred, they would be his to command.