Elder Cultivator

The further Anton’s cultivation improved, the further his senses could extend. As it was now, a mere few stars away from the peak of Life Transformation, he could stretch beyond a hundred and fifty kilometers at the far end, with various factors limiting him. Wild energy, either natural or intentionally stirred up made the process more difficult, and of course that was sensing through open air. Having to make turns in tunnels or to sense through water or solid materials all limited him in various ways.

But as his senses once more stretched into the sky, they extended further. And if he wasn’t searching for anything in particular but simply making a thin string, it could go… many times further. The exact distance was difficult to determine without some sort of reference. Though normally his thin ‘threads’ of sensing energy covered an area several meters in height and spread out across the ground to optimally detect most cultivators, when narrowed to the size of actual threads and moving without interference it was inestimably far.

Though such threads were weak, easily broken by any sort of energy fluctuation out in space. Even the sun’s rays, an extremely diffuse sort of power, were enough to throw him off at extreme distances. His attempts could fail at any time for pretty much any reason… but on a few occasions he thought he felt something.

He wasn’t just randomly reaching up into the sky. In one direction he knew there were the upper realms- or at least the main density of ascension energy seemed to be in that direction. It seemed to shift, but that was only relative to his position upon Ceretos. The changing of the seasons and the rotation around the sun would naturally provide some differences, so he had to pay attention to star charts to guide himself properly. As far as he could tell, ascension energy didn’t end up in quite every direction. As for the distance… he was unsure.

As for feeling something beyond ascension energy, the closest celestial body was the moon. He was aware it was an almost unfathomable distance away, and his senses would have to stretch several thousand times further than normal… but he could swear once or twice he brushed up against it. That always came with an immediate breaking of the thread of energy, however, so he couldn’t be sure. It could have simply been a miniscule piece of space debris, as could only sense a tiny point. The only thing that made him have some confidence was that with the thread of energy so fine, the fact that he only ever sensed something at the tip should mean something. Perhaps it wasn’t the moon itself, but some sort of atmosphere? Or lingering remnants of Everheart’s formations.

Or hopeful imagination.

Anton returned back to himself, unsure if he was really making any progress. Ultimately it didn’t matter if he could touch the moon or not, with his real target so much further away. If he understood correctly, there would be little of interest remaining on the moon, perhaps nothing at all. The life Everheart had taken there would have no doubt perished with everything else- formations that could only last for so long by stealing away a false future they would never have. Damage to the surface could be seen with a proper telescope and some enhanced vision, the same as they had been so many years prior to the best of Anton’s understanding.

Hoyt would be gone soon, and following him Alva. It was impossible to say they had a clear picture of what the Scarlet Midfields were like, and information about where individual ascenders might appear was cagy at best. Perhaps there was some way to predict it, but Catarina and Timothy had not found it. What they could say was that local groups were quite eager to snatch up new ascenders- and finding the right group was crucial. New ascenders weren’t exactly weak, but they found it difficult to stand on their own.

Near Catarina and Timothy were a few prominent groups. One that controlled several systems was known as the Harmonious Citadel. They were powerful, but had strict rules for those who joined them. A more sinister group that was only whispered about were the Dark Ring, known for snatching people away for them to never be seen again. They were in direct conflict with the Harmonious Citadel, though presumably somewhat weaker. The general area they controlled was known, but specific outposts were impossible to find and destroy.

Timothy and Catarina had joined up with a ‘smaller’ group, the Silver Sea Coalition. It seemed they controlled a good portion of Nuvater, the planet they had first arrived on. They had a decent enough reputation, though it was yet unknown what they might actually demand for their support. Even a newly ascended formation master like Catarina was difficult to replace, however, so they were currently being treated well.

More information came in all the time, though it would obviously be less reliable further out. It was unlikely most of those ascending from Ceretos would end up on Nuvater, but if they were nearby they could arrange for transport- or at least a message to be sent. Much effort was being made to work with the allies of the Order so that any who ascended would be prepared and given the opportunity to work together. It was unlikely there would be any sort of stable setup in a short number of years, but they had to start.

And if there were no other landmarks… everyone seemed to know where Everheart’s Tomb was. It seemed to have cycles of when it was open and when it was not, but it was supposed to open once more within the next decade or two, remaining that way for at least ten more years.

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When the day came, Hoyt prepared himself with no fanfare. He was at the peak of Life Transformation, and had made every preparation he could reasonably achieve. He had the successes of those ahead of him to rely on, as well as some failures. His grandfather could have been either, but had ultimately stayed behind to support the sect. Hoyt had a strong connection to the Order as well, but he felt no compulsion to stay behind. In fact, it would be pointless to do so. It was already in good hands.

His eyes stopped on Anton as he scanned those watching. A second grandfather, in a way. Vandale had been supportive, but his situation made things difficult for Hoyt. He didn’t want his success to rely on simple family connections… though perhaps he should have taken more advantage of it. If he hadn’t been fortunate enough to link up with Anton and the others his path could have gone very differently. Still, everything had worked out for the best in the end.

He closed his eyes, blocking out other sensations. He felt something calling for him, in the sky. He reached out, forming a connection with the ascension energy as he circulated his own natural energy. He pulled, suddenly finding himself the one yanked towards the ascension energy rather than the other way around. Catarina and Timothy’s special circumstances had partly shielded them from this effect, but he’d known it was coming.

He found himself surrounded by nothing but pure energy. It flowed about him as he moved with great speed, burning like fire as it impacted him. He began to absorb it as quickly as he could, forming it into the hundredth star. He felt it growing inside him, burning to a crescendo… but he would not have gotten to this point if he wasn’t confident. Determined. He could have simply forced himself to stay where he had been, relatively safe, while he completed the process… but this should yield better results.

Fire burned in and around him, but it felt good. He was not aware of the passage of time as he wrestled the energy under his control, properly advancing his cultivation as he ascended. He knew that beyond the hundredth star the path was basically untrodden, but if the pattern continued he would have twenty-seven more stars before the next prime tempering to figure things out. The mere thought that he would even reach that point was almost insane, but he recalled all of those in his generation with similarly great talent. If they didn’t make something of it, it would be a waste.

Suddenly, Hoyt felt a great cold and realized he had stopped moving- at least with the great speed he had been propelled with before. Furthermore, he could see around him- and what he saw was empty nothingness. He covered his mouth and nose, worried about his breath… but he realized solving such a little problem with his current power was trivial. He wasn’t even sure if he would need to eat, and though he only saw a distant star and little else he was not lacking for energy.

He gave himself a push, accelerating in one direction at a rate he felt he could maintain indefinitely. Closer to the star he might be able to find a planet to land on… hopefully one with proper resources. It was strange, as Timothy and Catarina had not experienced the same but appeared on the surface of Nuvater.

It was at that point he realized he should attempt to send a message to someone- anyone. There were a few devices, one of which might connect him to Catarina, if both sides had managed to properly link their devices beforehand. Another would most definitely link him back home, though the messages would take a very long round trip- though whether it would be shorter or longer than reaching the other two there was no way to know.

As Hoyt drifted through space, he focused on the star. He didn’t want to actually get close to it- he couldn’t handle that much energy, no matter what stage he was in. But getting a better look might be interesting. He did cultivate the Hundred Stars, after all. Or perhaps it was inappropriate to call it that beyond ascension. Maybe it would be something more.

He almost didn’t notice something pass in front of his vision. As he turned his head, he could barely make out a black spot against the nothingness of space around him- the object visible only from how it blocked smaller stars in the distance. Hoyt slightly changed his trajectory, wondering about the new object. Though perhaps he needn’t have bothered, since he suddenly found himself entangled in some sort of great web- or net.

It yanked him towards the object, and only then did Hoyt comprehend their relative momentums. He was moving incredibly fast, though with nothing to stop him or to compare against he’d felt almost like he was not moving at all. The net whipped around behind the object, but it did not let go. Instead, it continuously pulled him closer as he swung around and around. He tried to struggle against it, but somehow it was restricting his ability to properly control his energy… or maybe it was that he was unfamiliar with his new state. Perhaps both.

Either way, he was able to maintain a semblance of his defenses as he moved towards his inevitable crash. Except before he got close, another net surrounded him, slowing his angular movement. He was barely able to make out the surface below, almost invisible to the eye but becoming more clear with his energy senses. There were people there… and more than a few.

When he landed, he was still entangled by a mesh of energy holding him still… but he landed ‘softly’, his energy cushioning the impact enough. And he felt air around him, though it was thin.

“Hey kid,” came a woman’s voice from behind him. “Seems like you were a little bit lost. Welcome to the Dark Ring.”

Well. Perhaps he should have remained back on Ceretos after all… though the fact that he survived his landing meant there was still some opportunity for him to survive. “Thank you,” he managed to say politely. “I don’t suppose you could remove these?” He gestured to the nets as he tried to turn and see faces.