After years of cultivating diligently since his first day at the very young age of 10 after awakening astral energy, Ramon saw his sea of consciousness filled to the brim with abundant astral energy.
Creak!
He felt the walls of his sea of consciousness creak like a dam with full water.
He was about to have a breakthrough and not just any breakthrough, he was about to have his first realm breakthrough.
Boom! Boom!
Ramon felt the waves in his sea of consciousness become more rampant than ever before, it was like this hidden world inside his head was about to explode due to the pressure of so much energy being contained here.
Throughout his journey in the Legionnaire Stage, Ramon's astral energy in his sea of consciousness remained transparent like clear sea water.
It was only when it came out of his body that it became golden energy.
When he started his journey at the low-tier stage, 1/4th of his sea of consciousness' banks was filled. As he grew, 2/4th was filled, which increased to 3/4th, which finally increased to the brim months ago.
Despite increasing to the brim, it didn't stop there, it kept on increasing.
This was why the walls of his sea of consciousness felt so much pressure now, they were now at the breaking point having gathered momentum for months.
This was the momentum that he needed to shatter his barrier.
At this moment, despite feeling so much pressure in his head which made him feel light-headed like his head would explode, Ramon remained calm.
He was not groping around a forest; he knew exactly what he was doing.
Mr. Guendouzi already taught them in their 1st year, basics of astral energy.
'During every tier breakthrough, there's no use panicking as the changes happen in your body, the best step to take is to relax your body completely'.
'The world is life; the world is astral energy'.
'It has a set of principles that it follows, understanding these principles is the first step towards having a successful breakthrough'.
'Relax and let it take the wheel, let it run its course'.
'Your job is to open up and let it in'.
'Once you know this basic principle, there's no difference between a tier breakthrough and a realm breakthrough. Once you have enough momentum, you will easily be able to break through a realm'.
'As a warrior, you will also be able to develop a connection with your affinity, it is an unforgettable experience'.
Phew!
Exhaling, Ramon relaxed completely and the process started instinctively.
The golden sword hovering at the top right corner of the world of his sea of consciousness experienced no change as something magical happened.
He felt the walls of his sea of consciousness shaking fiercely.
At that moment, he felt like a porcelain glass that would break any moment.
It was deeply uncomfortable but he did not fight it, having prepared himself mentally for this moment. He let the world take its course and it lasted just a few seconds before he felt and heard it.
CRACK!
The walls of his sea of consciousness cracked!
His sea of consciousness crumbled!
Ramon's instinctive human reaction to lash out when something wrong happened kicked in but tightening his muscles fearsomely, he fought it.
'I have to let nature take its course!'
'I have to let the world lead!'
As soon as his sea of consciousness crumbled like a shattering glass, all the astral energy that was contained inside it previously escaped.
This was energy that Ramon took years of painstaking effort to gather.
Feeling them leave, he felt heartbroken but he persevered. It took minutes for Ramon to be sucked dry of all his astral energy and he felt dehydrated.
For those few seconds, he felt like a man stranded in a desert without water.
He felt like he would die any moment, but it did not last.
This was a necessary sacrifice for greater power.
Ramon's eyes widened as all his pores wildly opened the next moment, and out of nowhere, astral energy started being sucked aggressively into his body.
BOOM!
It was so aggressive that all the students staying in this hostel felt the commotion, they also noticed the astral energy in the atmosphere become thinner.
As this new astral energy entered, Ramon felt his head and whole-body ache.
He felt like one of the patriarch's many servants working in his big farms and after a long day of work, his body ached like hell.
"Ugh…!" Ramon gritted his teeth through the pain.
10 minutes passed; more astral energy kept on surging in.
20 minutes passed…
30 minutes passed…
40 minutes passed…
45 minutes passed, then it finally stopped.
The pain was so severe that Ramon lost sight of what happened in his head. Now that it suddenly stopped, he looked again and he was stunned.
A new sea of consciousness was now formed in his mind.
A sea of consciousness that was far bigger than his previous one.
For those 45 minutes, he managed to absorb the same astral energy quantity and some tiny additions that he only managed previously in 5 years, and all this energy now resided in his new sea of consciousness.
The only difference was, it felt so tiny.
All this astral energy covered only 1/4th of his new sea of consciousness.
Ramon felt like he went back to square zero but he knew that this was not the case, this was because he felt so much stronger already.
His astral energy was far thicker than before and it was no longer transparent.
If he could describe it with anything, it felt closer to mercury now.
Yet, that was not all.
Ramon felt anticipation. 'If Mr. Guendouzi is right, this is when I finally get to develop a connection with my affinity'.
'My f*cking affinity!' He felt hyped.
Due to some reason, unlike all his classmates, he was unable to discover his affinity. Aegon even mocked him, saying it was because he was foolish and finally, today Ramon was motivated to prove that foolish friend of his wrong.
Yet, where was the affinity?
Ramon saw no affinity; he saw no blizzard suddenly appear in his sea of consciousness. He saw no volcano appearance, everything felt bland like usual.
The only difference was, the golden sword.
From the top right corner of his sea of consciousness where it hovered previously, this golden sword suddenly moved.
It moved!
This was the first time since Ramon saw this inexplicable phenomenon in his sea of consciousness. The golden sword lowered to the level of astral energy in his sea of consciousness, then it dipped itself into the sea of astral energy.
Bzzz!
As soon as it dipped in, Ramon felt a sensation like an electric shock coursing through his body as he felt a tremendous change in his energy.
Ramon saw no affinity but he felt so much different.
His senses felt so much sharper, and for some reason, he felt like his astral energy now developed the properties of a sword.
The most prominent change? It was the color of his astral energy in his sea of consciousness.
His astral energy inside here finally developed a color.
It became a bright golden like an ocean of gold.
Blink!
Ramon's eyes finally snapped open.
His realm breakthrough was complete.
He clenched his fists and thick golden energy erupted with strange properties somehow like a sword, Ramon grinned, having forgotten about his affinity heartbreak already.
"I feel…, so powerful".
"So, this is the Knight Stage Realm".
At a corner of this room, his 2 roommates watched. Elmas watched with narrowed eyes flickering in calculation, while Aegon was hyped for his friend.
As soon as Ramon calmed down, he rushed towards him.
He slapped him on the shoulder. "You monster! How was it?" He laughed.
"Tell me everything about a realm breakthrough, I want to know it!"
Ramon looked at his friend, he scratched his head and chuckled. "Hihi".
…
Again, a student of this special batch took the academy by storm and it was a familiar name, Ramon Brenden.
Ramon becoming a Knight Stage Warrior was big news.
Even as the academy was taken by storm, Ramon's position also changed as he was finally invited to the headmistress' office for the first time since his admission into Centerpoint Astral.
'So, this is Lady Openda in her office?' Ramon was in awe.
She was in her usual black scholarly clothes, oozing charisma and power even as her assistant, Sheila stood to her left while Mr. Patrick stood to her right.
They all looked at the boy with curious eyes.
Lady Openda smiled. "Ramon, can you tell us the full sequence of your breakthrough again? Your report was a bit confusing".
Ramon scratched his head. "Ok".
As soon as he finished his full sequence story, the eyes of 2 of the astral warriors in this room changed secretly as countless wild thoughts went through their heads but they managed to keep their cool.
"You were unable to awaken an affinity?"
"Yes". Ramon looked down, feeling dejected. "Does this mean I'm not talented?"
Lady Openda didn't even deem it fit to answer the boy, she continued. "You think your astral energy now has properties of a sword?"
"Yes, it's so magical, I feel like I can cut through steel without a sword by just covering my hand in astral energy! I feel like I can even beat the fat man, I feel like…"
Mr. Patrick's eyes darkened. "Ramon!"
"Oh!" He finally recovered, rubbing his black hair awkwardly.
Lady Openda smiled. "It's ok".
Standing up, she went closer to pat the boy on the head. "Congrats, you are now capable of truly representing Centerpoint Astral and the Lightning Manor".
"Keep on training diligently, you'll become a strong pillar of humanity".
"I know". Ramon grinned.
Mr. Patrick's eyes twitched. 'This brat!'
"I like your drive," Lady Openda chuckled. "Goodluck Ramon, welcome to the true stage of astral warriors".
"Hihi, thank you". With a grin, the energetic 15-year-old left.
As soon as the boy left, Lady Openda turned to look at Mr. Patrick, they understood each other's thoughts immediately. "A heavenly restriction". Lady Openda said it with a heavy tone filled with dread and awe.
"I never expected to see a carrier in my life".
She sighed. "I think I can retire blessed now".
Mr. Patrick took a deep breath. "Stop joking, we need to report this to the Lightning Manor, this is not a simple matter".
"You think they don't know already?" Lady Openda chuckled, then she waved her hand casually. "Never mind, go ahead, inform them".
"Umm, w-what's a heavenly restriction?"
"…"
The other 2 faces in this room turned to face Sheila as she flinched.
Mr. Patrick left without saying a word.
Lady Openda smiled teasingly. "A secret".
Sheila became flustered. "B-but I'm your assistant! I-I'm supposed to know everything!"
Lady Opena chuckled. "You're overdoing again".
"Argh…!" Sheila was frustrated.
Lady Openda laughed.
…
Only a small commotion happened in Centerpoint Astral Academy, but outside, rumors of another giant sword appearing in the sky went round.
Fortune tellers foretold of a great shift in the era and that the golden sword was a sign from the heavens, all those who needed to save their lives in the upcoming calamity only needed to pay a certain amount of gold coins to be safe.
While all this happened, somewhere underground in Centerpoint City.
A man that had been meditating in seclusion for 10 years finally opened his eyes, and as he did, they were filled with so much excitement and fanatism.
Bzzz!
3 auras appeared as soon as his eyes opened.
"Master, you're back". They bowed.
This man reacted by standing up. "It is time!" His hands shook in excitement.
"The catalyst for synchronicity is finally ripe".
He grinned like a mad man. "It's time to shake things up, it's time for excitement finally, hehe, it's time for violence!"
One of the 3 men behind him, a green-haired man raised his head. "Master, what is our reason this time for starting it?"
"Who needs a reason?" This man turned back to face his subordinate.
"Hehe, it seems you've forgotten in my absence". He looked ahead into the darkness. "Who cares about peace in a world of astral travelers?"
"This is a world of violence!"
The green-haired man bowed. "Yes, master".
Amid the darkness of the underground, his voice reverberated. "Make preparations…"