The Tower of Emnu

Aaron walked over to the cage with the pretty elf in it. It was one of the most fortified Cells in the prison with thick light screens surrounding the inside of an intricate metal bar cage. Sylus sat in a cage without any light screens and Aaron wondered what it meant for this prison to be this fortified.

When he stepped closer to the cage the elf opened her eyes. She wore strange wide clothes that looked like a dress, but it was in a make he had never seen before. It had incredibly long crimson strips of cloth dangling from seemingly random spots on the golden dress. But he could still see the woman’s curves all to well. Mei’s eyes were a shade of iridescent purple, another difference besides her ears to show him that this was not a human. Or at least not an earth human.

Suddenly Aaron felt very naked again and could not help but cover himself in front of the scrutiny of those piercing eyes.

"I see you have finished learning from that buffoon." she said in her melodious voice without smiling.

"I will teach you, since it is the masters will. But first meditate and cultivate for 3 hours like the master demands."

She closed her eyes again.

"If you want to be a student of mine you will follow your teachers commands, so prove your devotion and cultivate."

Aaron sat down on the ground in front of the Cage.

"Alright." he said silently and closed his eyes.

He had no problem with meditation. It was one of the things he did to pass time in prison, to quiet his mind. But even before his time in prison he had meditated to find tranquility in silence, while his conscience tortured him with the things he had done.

Aaron had long learned that he could do terrible things to his fellow man, but he was not a psychopath. Although the psychiatrists had disagreed with him on that point. He knew what he did to the men and women he had killed. He had always known that it was a terrible thing to do. To kill. But most he had liquidated had been scumbags.

In a land where justice was dependent on your wallet, his gun had been a judge in its own right. Not that Aaron had any illusions of grandeur or thought he was a vigilante.

No. He was a hitman, a killer for hire. Still the only thing that made him any different from a black ops solider or a spy was that he did not kill for a government, but for himself.

That society labeled one as just and the other as a crime was hypocrisy. As if any extralegal killing was any different from a hit just because someone who had been elected authorized it.

Hell a lot of cops had killed people simply based on their prejudices in his country. He was a lot better than them at least to Aaron’s mind. Still some of his murders haunted him and he had to work through it before.

Meditation had helped to come to terms with it all, thinking and accepting his fault in his actions and moving on from there.

Slowly Aaron calmed down, his breath evened out and his mind cleared. His thoughts retreating into the background, coming and going like passengers on a train he conducted. He did not entertain them, he simply let them go on to the next stop.

But his meditation now felt different than before, his entire body felt different. There was energy in him, power. Not a physical, bodily power, but something else. More ethereal, more energetical. Like he had electricity in his veins and he could feel the tension, the sheer potential of the energy within him.

Within his even breaths he could feel more than air, he could feel mana, tainted, weak and uncooperative energy. It was entirely different to the magnificent power residing in his body. It felt like a candle compared to the sun.

Barely noticeable.

But he still noticed it as he focused on his breath. With every deep inhale he could feel the energy, the mana seep into his blood. Mingle with the greater power of Qi and get absorbed into it. Wrangling the mana was easy, feeling it simple. But trying to siphon off Qi from the maelstrom of his own circulatory system was unlike harder.

First of all because the Qi in his veins disappeared as soon as it came, seeping into his flesh and bones. Nourishing him and making him more hungry at the same time. He could literally feel how his body burned his meager fat reserves, how it craved sustenance.

He ignored his hunger pangs and focused on grasping the Qi that was produced with his every breath. Slowly, so incredibly slowly he managed to nudge the Qi, made it move as his mind commanded. As his will ordered.

Once in his dantian his Qi settled down, a high energy haze slowly rotating around a center within his dantian. With every breath he tried to assimilate the Qi into his dantian. With time he got better at it.

But in the three hours of meditation he only managed to fill his dantian by a tiny bit, he had not even started to circulate it in the way the Fiend-god art moved Qi.

"Alright, this will have to do." Mei said and Aaron slowly came out of his deep trance like state.

He looked at the beauty who stood up and walked closer to the edge of her cage. His mind was still relaxed and comfortable. Free of distractions and still he could not help but think what a beauty she was.

"Sadly I am unable to replicate the masters feats. I can't destroy this prison of mine no matter what I do. So I can't bestow any inheritance upon you, even if I wanted to. Which is why I had you cultivate. You will need a bit of Qi to make the technique work at first. But after that, you will be able to simply sustain it by straining your muscles."

She studied Aaron who had fully awoken now and stood up as well.

"The 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change is the most fundamental technique of my people. But its also one of the most powerful. We learn it while we learn how to walk. Our every step is an expression of this marvelous technique as old as my people. My home world, Esaria is a very mountainous planet with many gulfs and to go anywhere requires us to be able to fly or at least jump very far. Few master the technique to an extent where they can truly fly. But I suppose you will inevitably be one of them, considering your physique will be a product of the Fiend-god art and the heavenly katas of the Artis clan."

She looked with disgust over to Sylus.

"It irks me to teach you anything, as you are that mans student, but I suppose it is another small favor to the master." she looked over at the massive cage almost reverently.

Aaron perked up and tore his gaze away from the bulge of the elf’s bust upwards towards her purple eyes.

"Fly? I will be able to fly with this technique?"

"For relatively short distances yes. Think of it more as gliding on the winds, while taking a very, very long jump." Mei said seriously and raised her hands above her head and stretched. Her body tensed and she let out a soft sigh that made Aaron more than a bit conscious of his nudity again.

"First, we will stretch. The 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change requires exceptional limberness. What that buffoons clan has never understood is that the body can be trained without any katas or Qi techniques. You are stiff and that will not do."

Aaron actually blushed at that comment, but he quickly tried to mimic the woman’s stretches. Mei just rolled her eyes.

"Not stiff like that, although I do not mind you staring or lusting after me. It is only natural for someone from a primitive world to be swayed by physical beauty. But it is a distraction and I will not have any disciple of mine be distracted by beauty of all things."

"I know how to distract you, sister Mei!" Sylus shouted across the room and Mei’s frown deepened, but she ignored the comment entirely and made Aaron stretch his body. The poses and ways he had to stretch seemed a bit like Yoga and were incredibly painful after the kata, but afterwards he felt so much better. It was almost as good as the relaxation after the rejuvenating fist kata.

Satisfied with his progress Mei nodded.

"Good, you will stretch like this every time before you start any martial practice and afterwards as well. To bring honor to the 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change you will not be a graceless fool, but you will soar above the heads of your enemies, not just jump!"

Aaron nodded seriously, although he only did it to placate the woman, who really had a temper. Each and every time he had not followed her stretches perfectly, her scathing critique came without pause and left the woman’s frown even deeper. Still she somehow had no wrinkles at all, which was probably some cultivator bullshit, since the elf was probably ancient, although she looked to be in her early twenties for human standards.

"Now, this is going to be very difficult for someone as primitive as you to understand, so I will only explain it to you once, then you will obey my every order, understood?"

Her purple eyes pinned him with her stern gaze and Aaron nodded and when her gaze intensified said:

"Yes."

"Good. The 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change is a movement technique that relies on the fundamental principle of Movement inherent in Qi. Qi does not follow the physical laws of the universe and as such Qi may flow upwards, away from gravity or any other physical laws, as Qi itself has no laws, it is the laws itself. Movement through Qi as such is not subject to the same restrictions as other movement within the physical realm of laws. The exact reason for that is not important for now. Just know that Qi in movement follows different rules than Qi that is static. Any movement technique is based on that principle, as is our illustrious technique. But it is still movement and as such subject to the limitations of our bodies. Being as flexible and limber as possible is necessary to have any amount of control over your body during the technique. Got it so far?"

Aaron blinked and froze up, his mind trying to understand the fast spoken babble that sounded like someone explaining to him aerodynamics, maybe it even was aerodynamics? Fantasy Aerodynamics?

"Not really."

"Using a movement Qi technique, means moving through Qi, which means you can move contrary to the natural laws of the universe or space you inhabit, but it depends on your physical bodies abilities and flexibility how far that goes."

Aaron nodded, although he still found the notion of Moving outside of the realm of physical laws to be... ridiculous.

Then again, he had so far seen a living Soul, a talking spirit, had fought in an illusion that worked like a strange game and last but not least he had been revived after death.

So yeah, the physical laws he knew about, most likely did not mean anything at all anymore.

"So basically I what? Shroud myself in Qi?" Aaron asked.

Mei smiled, showing her teeth that made Aaron almost flinch. She had sharp teeth that looked vaguely shark like and dispelled any notion of innocent beauty one might have had looking at the pretty woman.

"Yes, that is an accurate simplification. You shroud your feet in Qi and use that to propel you in ways that are not explicable with natural laws. Usually by making yourself lighter, a lot lighter. But movement is difficult in Qi, devilishly so."

The elf raised one of her legs and showed him her bare feet. Or rather the sole of her right foot.

She had a tattoo there, an intricate net of connections centered around a single spot in the center of her foot, a bit closer to her heel actually.

"This is the spot where you push out Qi out of your body to coat your feet. The most basic application is to connect this Meridian on your right foot with the same on your left foot. It enables basic movement.

But first we will have to carve a way from your dantian to your feet to properly move the minuscule amount of Qi that is required to start the technique. Eventually your body's inherent Qi, residing in your flesh, your muscles, will power the technique, even without feeding it Qi actively.

The Fiend-god art makes this even easier and will probably mean you will not have any limitations on the usage of this skill. My own people have very Qi intensive bodies and as such use our muscles are all that is needed to propel us with this technique."

Aaron listened intently and tried to focus on the woman’s eyes, looking at her lips made him shudder, as he could now see the sharp shark teeth beyond perfect red lips with every word the woman said.

"Carve out a way from my dantian to my feet?" he asked slowly, his mind catching up to the word flood of the elf.

"Yes, your internal network of Qi is entirely atrophied and as I can not give you an inheritance like the great master, you will have to follow my instructions very, very closely."

"What happens if I don't? Worst case scenario?"

"You may cripple yourself. But more likely is, that you simply create an inefficient path for Qi and as such the technique will be much reduced in potency."

"Okay... I would not like to be crippled. What exactly do I do?"

Mei smiled at him sweetly and gestured to the ground.

"You lie down, flat on your back, close your eyes and follow my words exactly. If you sense any deviation from my instructions you say it immediately."

Aaron frowned slightly, still conscious of his nudity, before he pushed those thoughts away and laid down in front of the cage. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

"Good, now find your dantian, find the center inside of yourself, find the origin of your Qi. Breathe slowly and deeply, relax your body, but sharpen your mind."

Aaron let his conscious mind feel the thrum of power within himself. Ever since he had gotten the inheritance from the master and had been the Fiend-god Aranack, his blood felt different. Powerful. It flowed through him like a river of boiling power. He could feel the mana he breathed in through his lungs, feel it mingle and change to Qi only to be absorbed by his body that seemed starved.

He felt his hunger, the slight pang in his stomach that had also never left since he had unlocked the technique.

But besides that, he could feel his dantian with sudden clarity. The center of his power. All the Qi within was his, forever. The space did not entirely feel real, but he could feel, no actually see it in his inner eye with such clarity like he had a camera in his guts.

"I can see my dantian." he said, his voice far away like from the other end of a tunnel as he saw the fog of Qi rotating slowly around a center, its energetic purity, its potency so great it felt like looking into the birth of a star.

"Good." Mei's voice was clear and soothing, like she was whispering into his ears.

"Sense the exits your created with your Fiend-god art, feel the Qi veins in your body, feel the path of the Fiend-god art."

Aaron’s inner eye moved and he found the openings immediately. It was like two open pathways that lead through his body. His mind followed them, like he was moving through a tunnel, there were branching pathways at every step and it felt like a labyrinth. But the only paths that were clear and crisp was the pathway of the Fiend-god art. He followed the circular path, so complicated and mind boggling to the end, until he was back in his dantian and his head throbbed. He could not really understand the path, or what it did.

"The paths your Fiend-god art travels are through your entire body. Now repeat your journey, but try to sense in which part of the body you are. Sense the surrounding flesh, feel your relaxed body, feel the Meridians that were opened and feel where you can best take purchase."

Aaron followed her words closely, but it was difficult. Very difficult. Even just following his Qi pathways gave him a headache, now actually sensing where he was in his body, was another added layer of difficulty.

But he persevered. He was patient and took it slow, while the soft voice of the elf guided and prodded him.

He answered her questions like in trance and eventually he found the part of the Fiend-god art that had moved into his legs. Then she made him travel back to his dantian and he could sense where he could take a shortcut.

He told her everything he felt, he saw with his inner eye.

"Good, Aaron, now take a bit of Qi from your dantian and lead it to the spot you know could be a shortcut. Sense your position in the body, sense your flesh, your blood pulsing. Where are you?"

"In my hip, I can feel the open path beyond this."

"Excellent, you are doing well. Now take a strand of Qi from your dantian and gently, gently, push it against the blockade. This will clear the path, but it will make it harder to cycle the Fiend-god art, as you will have to remember not to take this shortcut for it."

Aaron did like he was told, he pushed against the blockade with his Qi and it was one of the weirdest feelings he had ever had. Slowly the Qi ate through the blockage until he stepped into a new tunnel leading down his leg to where the Fiend-god art had already taken him. One blockage was removed after the other until he finally was at the soles of his feet.

There he could feel the Meridian Mei wanted him to open and drew once more Qi from his dantian to his inner eye in his foot. Slowly he carved out the blockage until he could feel it give with in inaudible pop. Nothing really changed and he then repeated the same procedure in his other leg. He felt his head hurt, his Qi dwindle as he used it up, until finally he was done.

Aaron could hear the joy in Meis voice as she complimented him.

"Very good, Aaron, that was exceptionally sharp for someone who just started on their cultivation journey.

Now slowly, slowly open your eyes and wake up."

Aaron found himself blinking up into the darkness of the prison, only illuminated by the blue light of the lamps that created the mana defenses locking the cultivators in. His body felt so relaxed and comfortable, even though he was laying on the stone floor.

He sat up slowly, feeling drained and hungry. He felt always hungry since he had gotten the Fiend-god art. But now, now the hunger was a hurtful pang in his stomach, pushing away his relaxation.

Aaron groaned slightly, but stood up nonetheless.

"How does it feel?" Mei asked and he looked towards her prison cell. She stood close to the light screen and studied him intently.

"I...don't know. It does not feel any different."

"Hmm, it seems the Qi in your body has not reached a high enough concentration to work yet. No matter. Take a bit of Qi from your dantian and lead it to your left foot. To the opened Meridian."

Aaron nodded and coaxed a bit of the nebulous Qi from his dantian. It was strange. As soon as the Qi had settled down in his core, it followed him much more willingly, not like moving a limb, but more like calling a puppy.

His will prodded and the Qi miraculously followed. He reached the Meridian in his foot quickly, as the path was simple comparatively to the Fiend-god art.

"Okay. I am there."

"Good, now imagine the Qi leaving through this Meridian and entering through its counterpart in your right foot. Establish a connection, finish the cycle."

Aaron concentrated and let the Qi flow through the meridian out and then sucked it back in on the other leg. It was much diminished, but he still managed to finish the cycle back to his dantian.

He opened his eyes again and felt into his feet. It felt different this time, like standing on...silk, or something smooth and not quite right. Because the silky feeling had still the texture of the stone underneath his feet.

It was paradoxical and weird and when Aaron tried to explain, Mei waved his explanation away.

"How one perceives Qi this way is unique, all that matters is that you feel something has changed.

Now for a little test. Bend your knees and jump on the spot."

Aaron frowned crouched down and jumped up. He had expected to maybe jump higher, twice as high maybe. What he did not expect was soaring into the air. He screamed in surprise and watched the ceiling, at least 100 feet above him come closer and closer, before he started to fall down again. Panic filled his veins and desperately he grasped for anything, the prison cage! He grasped for the bars, his hands finding purchase as he fell against the metal construct with a grunt.

Aarons blood was pumping quickly in his veins and he heard...soft laughter?

Still afraid for his life he stared down at Mei and tried to ignore Sylus howling laughter that rang out from the cage across from him.

Mei smirked up to him.

"You...you planned this." he said accusingly.

"Ah common, Aaron, a bit of fun. Besides, this was an apt demonstration of the power of your new movement art. It is not a toy."

"It could have killed me." Aaron protested, making Sylus choke in his laughter and shout at him.

"No, idiot. Even without the wind steps you would have had at most some bruises."Sylus voice echoed between laughter.

Aaron stared down and frowned.

"Really?"

"Your body is much more resilient because of the Fiend-god art and the 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change is a lightness technique, if you let go of the cage and let yourself fall you will find yourself falling like a leaf on the wind. Slowly and without harm." Mei said with a smile.

Aaron frowned, but felt quite embarrassed over his reaction. So he let go of the cage and let himself fall.

Instead of plummeting down, he...glided. It was like he did not weigh as much as he did and yet his actual weight, or his center of gravity never changed.

To his surprise he landed on his feet, still feeling silk underneath his toes and in baffled surprise he stared down at his feet. Visions of a long dead god and martial art had been more than enough to hammer home that this cultivation stuff was real. But this, floating like he weighed nothing? That really made it real to him.

"Good." Mei said with a smile.

"But this is only the most basic of ways to use the 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change. While this will allow you to dodge and use the basic lightening part, it is a far cry from the whole technique. But I guess it will take time for you to acclimatize with it. Try walking for example."

Aaron was cautious this time and took a step. His right foot stepped out and when the left foot pushed against the ground, he shot forward for a few meters, lost his balance and fell face forward to the ground.

This time Aaron had anticipated accidents and caught himself with his hands.

"It will take some getting used to, but don't worry its better to acclimate yourself now than in combat."

Awkwardly he got back up and snorted, but could not disagree. For the next half an hour he tried walking, skating along the ground like in roller blades and dodging, a lot of wild movements out of the way of some attacks. It worked. But he landed more than once on his face.

The Wind steps seemed to play with the natural laws of conservation of energy, momentum, weight and acceleration at will. So Aaron could jump to the side, stop himself and then jump with the combined speed of his dodge and his jump upwards. It made little sense, but Mei showed him a few things and let him fail when he did not get it right.

Nothing hammers home how to move better than getting smacked in the face with the floor or a light screen.

"Better, but far from competent. You will train to use the 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change every day, every opportunity you get. Do not forget to stretch before doing the Artis Kata. Should you wish to deactivate the technique, all you have to do is to imagine sucking in the Qi cloud surrounding your feet through your Meridian. I fear at first you will have no other choice but to train the two techniques separately. Eventually I expect you to combine the kata with this movement technique though. I have no doubt to excellent effect. While I do not know the Artis clans Katas, my people have their own martial arts, so let me demonstrate what I mean."

Mei stood on one leg and pulled back, her foot poised to strike. Then she jumped, a flurry of kicks rippling through the air, the wind blasting against Aaron’s chest while she moved. She danced, jumped, was a flicker of graceful and precise movement while her limbs attacked from all angles, above, below, the sides. There was no defending against it if one did not have a similar movement technique. She was like a shadow, moving in and out of range and the skill she demonstrated was breathtaking. The elf paused and smiled at Aaron, showing her shark teeth.

"Just some basic martial arts combinations. But this technique can do far more, if you manage to include the 10.000 Heavenly Winds of Change into the Kata I may be convinced to show you how to do this."

The woman seemed to vanish. It was not speed, but perception that seemed to disappear. Her feet made no noise as she moved with effortless grace. Her form shadowed by the light of the iron cage as she flickered from shadow to shadow. Her passing did not disturb the air, made no sound and her form melted into the twilight.

"The stealth variant of the technique might be very useful to you. So I expect proper training and an offering of beast cores." The woman smirked and Aaron chuckled and bowed.

"I can't promise anything. No idea how to even get beast cores. Or If I can ever combine the two techniques. But I will do my best."

"You will do more than that, you will put your entire essence into training and studying. No student of mine will disgrace himself, is that understood?"

"Yes, mam."

"Are you finished?" The quiet voice of the Master made them both look towards the giant cage and Mei nodded.

"Good, now young Aaron it is time for you to leave. To your left beyond my Prison you will find a tunnel leading out of this complex towards the first floor of the Tower. There will be food and clothing waiting for you I suspect."

Aaron’s eyes lit up at the mention of food and even though he had grown more or less comfortable walking around naked, it was still a welcome prospect to wear anything even if they were rags.

"Remember, we will require 13 mana stones a month or beast cores of equivalent value to sustain ourselves. For that we will help you as much as we can. Here is a bit of advice." The old ghosts voice became serious and Aaron stepped closer and straightened unconsciously.

"With these two techniques and the Fiend-god art you will be a force to be reckoned with. At least in the lower levels of the tower. Until you master and integrate these techniques I can't in good conscience recommend going beyond the 5th level. Every 10 levels is a settlement of some sorts. Some are cities, some towns and others mere camps.

The difficulty of the floor spikes similar every 10 levels. At level 5, 15, 25 and so forth.

To put your current prowess into perspective. You should have no equals among the new arrivals like yourself. Or even against most of the inhabitants of the Town of Beginnings on the first floor. But know that within a year every single one of those who will enter the first floor with you will eclipse you. They will all be capable of moving to the 10th or even 20th floor. You will not.

And even low level Vessels or Mages will be able to kill you, if they corner or trap you. You do not posses a way to break magic yet and until you do, you should not go beyond the 5th level, because it would be laughably easy for most mages to kill you beyond that without it."

Aaron’s elation fell and dampened even his enthusiasm for food. But he did not despair hearing this, he took it as a challenge and felt steely determination settle in.

"Do not fret, young one. Know the strengths of cultivation. It is time. Already you will live a century longer than most just for stepping on the path of cultivation and should you break through to the second realm you will outlive any who reside in this tower unless you die a violent death.

Use this time you have, not to progress quickly, but for mastery over your techniques, over your body, mind and soul.

If you show talent, perseverance and dedication, one day you will ascend this tower with ease. No monster or Aspirant will be able to withstand you. In due time you will shatter the challenges others will be unable to overcome in their lifetimes. Be patient and do not despair if you face odds you cannot overcome.

Survive, save yourself and live for another day. Eventually all obstacles will melt away as long as you live."

Aaron bowed his head towards the Master, Sylus and Mei in turn.

"Thank you all for teaching me. I will try to get you this months mana stones as soon as possible and I will take your warnings seriously. I have no problem fleeing like a coward and biding my time if I have to."

"Good, good. Now go, my young student. I can hear your stomach grumbling already." the old ghost said and laughed his ghostly laugh.

Aaron waved to Sylus, who smirked and nodded to him. Mei had already sat down again and had her eyes closed.

He walked past the giant Prison cage of the master into the murkier part of this prison. There he did indeed find a tunnel in which he vanished without hesitation, letting the darkness swallow him.

Sylus looked after the young man and scoffed.

"You think he will survive Great Master?"

"He is a good seedling. His past life is his strength, but also his curse. Only time can tell what will happen. And what is time for us? The mere passing of a moment or a thousand years. It is inconsequential. If he does not turn out to be the answer we seek, then another one will turn out to be the key to this prison." The Master answered and his ghost vanished into seemingly nothing.

Sylus nodded and sat down in his cell to start meditating. It was like the Great Master said, in the end it did not matter who would release them from their bonds, it was inevitable that someone would in the end.

The only question was how tedious and boring it would be until then and at least in that aspect Sylus thought Aaron might alleviate their boredom.