The Extra's Rise

The first time I stepped onto one of Liam's training platforms, the experience nearly overwhelmed me completely.

The moment my feet made contact with the carved stone, knowledge crashed into my consciousness like a tsunami of understanding. Not just information—actual experience, muscle memory, instinctive responses that belonged to someone who had spent decades mastering every aspect of combat and magical theory.

I staggered, barely maintaining my balance as Liam Kagu's memories flooded through my awareness. The sensation was indescribable—like suddenly having access to a lifetime of experiences that weren't my own, understanding techniques I'd never practiced, feeling the weight of decisions I'd never made.

"Arthur!" Seraphina's voice reached me through the torrent of inherited knowledge. "Are you alright?"

"I'm..." I paused, trying to process what was happening to me. "I'm experiencing his memories. Not just learning about his techniques—actually experiencing what it felt like to use them."

The platform pulsed with increased intensity, and suddenly I could see the chamber as Liam had seen it during its construction. The impossible architecture hadn't been built—it had been manifested through the application of space-time manipulation that operated on scales I could barely comprehend.

Liam's understanding of space-time magic made my own attempts look primitive by comparison. Where I struggled to balance opposing forces, he had achieved perfect harmony between spatial manipulation, temporal control, and gravitational effects. His techniques didn't just manipulate these forces—they integrated them into seamless combinations that made the impossible seem routine.

"The scale of his technique refinement," I said with growing awe, "is beyond anything I imagined possible."

Through the inherited memories, I could feel what it had been like to wield high Radiant-rank power with perfect technical control. Not just the raw strength, but the precision that came with decades of refining space-time magic until every application was effortless.

The platform shifted, and suddenly I was experiencing one of Liam's training sessions from his peak period. The sensation was so vivid that for a moment I forgot where I really was, completely absorbed in the memory of practicing techniques that transcended normal space-time magic.

Space folded around Liam's will, distances becoming meaningless as he moved between locations without crossing the intervening ground. Time dilated and compressed according to his intentions, allowing him to experience hours of subjective time in moments of real duration. Gravity became a tool for enhancing every movement, responding to his desires with precision that made the impossible seem routine.

"This is what advanced space-time magic looks like," I whispered, understanding flooding through me as I experienced techniques that went far beyond my current abilities. "Perfect integration of all three fundamental forces."

The memory shifted to show me Liam's battle against the Heavenly Demon, and I finally understood why that conflict had required such sacrifice. The Heavenly Demon at full power hadn't just been strong—it had been an entity whose corrupted nature made it incredibly difficult to defeat permanently.

I watched through Liam's eyes as the demon's unified form wielded power that rivaled his own high Radiant-rank capabilities. The entity possessed regenerative abilities that let it recover from devastating attacks, reality-warping techniques that could alter the battlefield itself, and most dangerously, corruption that spread to anything it touched for extended periods.

The battle had been as much about endurance and tactical thinking as raw power. Liam's space-time magic had given him the tools to match the demon's capabilities, but victory had required sacrificing his life to land the final blow before the corruption consumed him completely.

"The techniques," I said as new understanding crystallized in my consciousness, "they're not just about becoming stronger. They're about developing the wisdom to use strength responsibly."

The platform responded to my growing comprehension by revealing deeper layers of Liam's knowledge. I found myself experiencing his struggles with the temptations that came with Divine-rank power, the constant choice between using his capabilities for personal benefit versus cosmic responsibility.

Divine-rank beings didn't just have the power to reshape reality—they had the responsibility to ensure that their reshaping served the greater good rather than their own desires. Every action rippled across scales that affected countless lives, making ethical considerations more complex than anything faced at lower power levels.

But beyond the technical aspects, Liam's memories showed me practical applications that revolutionized my understanding of what space-time magic could accomplish.

I watched him create pocket dimensions not through brute force manipulation of space-time, but by finding natural weak points in dimensional barriers and carefully expanding them. He demonstrated time manipulation that didn't violate causality but instead worked within cosmic laws to achieve effects that appeared impossible.

Most remarkably, he showed me how gravity could be used not just as a tool for combat or transportation, but as a means of achieving perfect balance in all applications of power. Gravity wasn't just a force—it was the universe's method for maintaining equilibrium, and understanding that principle was key to wielding any ability without causing unintended consequences.

"Show me," I said to the platform, feeling ready to attempt some of the space-time techniques I'd experienced through Liam's memories.

The response was immediate. Knowledge flowed into my hands as I began practicing the space manipulation techniques that Liam had perfected. Instead of forcing reality to bend to my will through Grey energy, I learned to find the natural flex points where space was already unstable and gently encourage it to adopt the configuration I desired using more conventional spatial magic.

The difference was remarkable. Where my previous attempts at spatial manipulation had relied heavily on Grey energy's unique properties, Liam's methods achieved similar effects through refined understanding of how space-time naturally behaved. It wasn't about overwhelming reality—it was about understanding reality well enough to work with it rather than against it.

"Arthur," Ren called from another platform where he was practicing combat forms that incorporated his newly white hair into complex defensive patterns, "what exactly are you doing over there?"

"Learning to manipulate space properly," I replied, successfully creating a small pocket dimension that could hold objects in suspended animation. "Turns out I've been approaching it completely wrong."

Time manipulation proved even more challenging. Liam's memories showed me techniques for creating temporal bubbles where different rates of time flow could coexist, but the precision required was staggering. A single miscalculation could create paradoxes that would unravel causality across vast regions.

I managed to create a small area where time moved at half its normal rate, then gradually learned to adjust the ratio with increasing precision. The sensation was strange—watching the world outside the bubble move in slow motion while experiencing normal time within the affected area.

"Incredible," Seraphina said, observing my progress from her own training platform "You're achieving effects that should require years of development."

"Liam's knowledge," I explained, expanding the temporal bubble to include both of them. "I'm not just learning new techniques—I'm inheriting understanding that took him decades to develop."

The gravity manipulation proved most intuitive, probably because it related most closely to my existing understanding of Grey energy's balance principles. Liam's memories showed me how gravitational fields could be shaped not just to move objects, but to create zones of perfect stability where other forces could operate without interference.

I practiced creating gravity wells that could contain explosive effects, gravitational fields that enhanced precision rather than just providing force, and most remarkably, techniques that used gravity to harmonize conflicting magical energies.

"This is how high-level Radiant-rank fighters maintain control," I realized as I successfully demonstrated a technique that used gravitational fields to balance opposing magical forces. "Not through raw power, but through perfect understanding of how different forces interact."

Hours passed in intensive practice as I absorbed more of Liam's knowledge and learned to apply it through my own capabilities, integrating his space-time magic techniques with my unique Grey energy. The platform seemed to adjust its teaching methods to my learning style, providing exactly the right combination of theory and practical experience to maximize my development.

But perhaps most importantly, I began to understand what Liam had meant about the responsibility that came with great power. Every technique he'd developed included safeguards and limitations designed to prevent unintended consequences. High Radiant-rank power wasn't just about capability—it was about the wisdom to know when and how that capability should be used.

As I practiced a particularly complex space-time manipulation that created a stable portal between distant locations, I felt something fundamental shift in my understanding of my own potential.

I wasn't just becoming stronger. I was learning what it meant to be worthy of the strength I sought.

And somewhere in the depths of the inherited memories, I could sense Liam's approval of the progress I was making.