The light did not stop.
But something… changed.
At first, it was subtle, so much that even Ares did not notice it immediately.
The energy that had been rushing toward him madly…
began to calm down.
Not because it was exhausted.
But because it had… submitted.
As if a raging storm suddenly realized that resistance was meaningless.
Ares sat without moving, and his breathing became slower… deeper.
With every inhale—
the vortex inside his dantian expanded.
Not in size…
but in presence.
There is a difference.
A difference the body feels before the mind understands it.
Suddenly, he realized something strange.
He was no longer pulling energy consciously.
His body was doing it on its own.
No…
even that was not accurate.
His very existence was pulling it.
Like heavy stars that force orbits to bend around them.
The system whispered:
[Absorption rate… stabilized.]
It paused briefly.
Then it added in a lower voice than usual:
[Peak spark reached.]
A moment passed.
A very quiet moment…
so quiet that the world seemed to be holding its breath.
Then—
all the sparks went out at once.
Not gradually.
But suddenly.
As if an invisible hand had closed the door of light.
The space around Ares opened…
and a heavy silence spread.
A weight unrelated to sound.
But to sensation.
The kind of feeling that makes the heart beat slower… without knowing why.
Even the system—
did not speak.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
Then the notification appeared.
[Breakthrough achieved.]
No light.
No explosion.
No wave of energy.
Just…
a breakthrough.
But inside the Black Hole dantian—
the exact opposite happened.
The vortex that had been spinning rapidly…
suddenly contracted.
Then—
it collapsed into a single point.
A small point… dark.
So dark that it seemed to absorb awareness itself.
For a fraction of a second—
Ares felt something terrifying.
That his heart had stopped.
Not literally…
but the sensation was real enough to make his limbs grow cold.
Then—
the pulse was born.
Only one pulse.
It emerged from that dark point…
and swept through his entire body.
No pain.
No heat.
Just raw power.
Calm.
Absolute.
The kind of power that does not need to prove itself.
Ares slowly opened his eyes.
The world… seemed slower.
Clearer.
Even the movement of dust in the air became visible.
He clenched his fist slightly—
and the air compressed between his fingers without him intending it.
He froze.
Looked at his hand.
He was not trying.
That was the problem.
The system said:
[First level reached: Spark of Light.]
Silence.
Then it added:
[But…]
It stopped.
A longer moment than usual.
[Density readings… exceeding the known range.]
A fraction of a second passed…
before a new line appeared.
[Deviation detected in spark structure.]
Deviation.
A simple word.
But the system did not use it often.
Ares sat still…
feeling calmness seep into his muscles.
A strange calm.
Not the calm of rest…
but the calm of predators.
Then the system finally said:
[The host's spark… does not radiate.]
Pause.
[It… absorbs.]
At that moment—
even the air near Ares bent slightly toward him.
A small bend…
but it was there.
If one of the experts of Eternal Ascension had been present—
their face would have turned pale immediately.
Because sparks exist for only one reason:
to produce light.
But this one—
was devouring it.
Ares breathed slowly…
unaware of a truth that had already begun to form:
He had not awakened a spark.
He had planted a seed of devouring.