The red core, attacked by the blue, roared to life, bubbling within itself and expelling red particles in all directions. The majority attacked the blue core and it, in turn, expelled more particles.
Waves of pain rolled through Ray and he fell off the couch onto the floor. His muscles spasmed and rippled under his skin.
He felt the world around him become deathly cold, then plunge into an unbearable heat.
Despite the pain, Ray reached out for his fridge, 'Water.' Then the world became Sub-Zero again.
He curled up into a ball and lost himself in the pain.
Eventually, clarity and relief washed over him. Ray blinked slowly as his body stopped shaking. He reached for the corners of his eyes and wiped the tears off them.
He sat up and leaned his back against his couch. 'What. Was. That?'
All the times he had tried cultivation were bad but this… this was brutal.
Ray stilled his shaking breath and pressed weakly against the couch cushions. He lifted himself on it and crashed like a sack of potatoes.
He closed his eyes and the twin cores came into view.
They both seemed to have lost their allure, instead more dull and smaller than before. Ray's face paled.
"No, no, no! This can't happen to me!" His eyes flickered to the TV and the memory of First Light's story flashed through his head.
Ray's blood pressure shot up and he gripped the remote, hurling it at the TV. The screen smashed and his breathing became heavy.
Yet he still wasn't satisfied.
Pushing against his body's protest, Ray stood to his feet and kicked the coffee table across the living room.
His leg pulsed from the contact and he winced as he placed his weight on it but right now, he didn't care.
"It's not fair!" Ray screamed into the empty house, "Why do the rich and entitled deserve to have everything given to them?"
"While those like me get bullied, have no parents and get core poisoning."
His shoulders slumped and he sat on the couch, "It just isn't fair."
He swallowed the lump in his throat, "Damn it."
Ray eventually stood up, wincing as he rested his weight on his right foot. It was definitely sprained.
"Just what I need, now those idiots will be able to get me." He limped to the coffee table and picked it up.
His eyes drifted to his TV and he sighed, "I guess no more TV for me." He could always get a job and actually earn money but that was something he planned to do later on, preferably after he graduated.
'I mean, I'm just 16, I should be partying and having fun instead of thinking about jobs and a non-existent future in cultivation.'
Ray moved to the TV and picked up the glass shards littering the floor. He filled his hands with as many as he could carry and dumped them in the kitchen.
Moving around the house was a hassle. Every misstep sent a jolt of pain through him.
"I'll put some ice on it but first, I need to clean the mess and get rid of the TV." The last thing he wanted was a deep cut to go with his sprain.
Ray limped to the TV and gritted his teeth, placing his weight on both legs.
He pulled the TV off the wall and dropped it on the floor.
His eyes drifted to the wall where it had been suspended and he paused. A small section of the wall—a rectangle—seemed detached from the rest of the wall.
The gap was barely noticeable and this tugged at Ray's curiosity, "I mean it's meant to be found… why else would it be hidden?"
Ray knocked on the rectangle and a hollow thud echoed through it.
A small smile spread on his face, "Hahaha. I knew it."
Ray ran his fingers along the edges of the rectangle. The seam was almost invisible—he'd never have noticed it if the TV hadn't come down.
He pried his nails into the gap and pulled.
The panel came away easily, like it was meant to be opened.
Inside was a small space, maybe a foot deep. And in it sat a single item.
Ray reached in and pulled it out.
A journal. Old, leather-bound, the pages yellowed with age.
He opened it to the first page.
[To whoever is with this…
If you're reading this, you probably have more questions than answers. I did too, once.
I have discovered another method of building a core… a Reverse Cultivation Technique.
If this was handed to you, then you must be quite exceptional to be entrusted with my life's work but if you found this— I guess, I was found out and gotten rid of.
Honesty is one of the few things I value so a final warning. Rid yourself of this book for it will attract more danger than boon.
But if you wish to take the risk, the rewards are forever bountiful.]
– S.L
Ray's heart pounded against his ribcage, his fingers shook as his mind replayed everything he had read.
He understood the words but the implications were far too vast. Assuming he still knew how to read, he had found a promising but unknown cultivation technique.
'Based on what this S.L person said, this will be dangerous and attract unwanted attention. From who or what is unspecified.'
Ray looked into the empty space, 'But more importantly, what was something this dangerous doing hidden in my house?'
His eyebrows furrowed, 'Did mom or dad know about this? The landlord? Or was it placed by the previous tenant or the one before that?'
There were too many questions but none of them would be answered just by contemplation, so he turned to the next page.