Darious gazed at the orb with a strange expression. It was as if he were staring at something ethereal, something that did not belong to this world. Yet beneath that calm exterior, he knew the terror sleeping within it. If it were to fall with enough force, the shockwave alone could erase every living being within a sixty-meter radius… and those who survived would mutate in unspeakable ways.

  He looked at it for a moment longer, then casually grabbed it and turned to Kael.

  "Do you want to know what this is?"

  "Yes. This technique… the meditation… my power feels confusing to me. Please enlighten me, Master."

  Darious tilted his head slightly.

  "You know what happens if a normal person's femur breaks?"

  Kael swallowed. "It would be very painful."

  Darious simply said, "Look."

  Without hesitation, he raised his golden globe and struck his own leg. A sickening crack echoed. The femur snapped cleanly in two. His leg bent unnaturally, yet his face remained indifferent.

  Kael's eyes widened.

  "Master! What happened? Are you out of your mind?!"

  Darious said nothing. A faint tremor ran through his body—not from the broken bone, but from the process unfolding beneath his skin.

  His twisted leg began to straighten. A crackling sound emerged from deep within the flesh. The limb swelled rapidly, turning deep red, then purple. Veins bulged as if something alive pulsed beneath them. The air grew warmer.

  Then, just as quickly, the swelling receded.

  The discoloration faded.

  The bone was whole again.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Five seconds had passed.

  Kael's jaw dropped. To him, this was no mere technique. It was sorcery—something beyond his own power.

  Darious exhaled slowly.

  "What you witnessed is healing induced by meditation. When the body is injured, countless chemical and biological processes begin without your awareness. By channeling energy through meditation, those processes accelerate."

  He paused.

  "This entire reconstruction occurred in 5.2 seconds. Normally, it would take months."

  Kael blinked. "How much of my energy would be needed?"

  "One unit."

  Kael frowned, not understanding. Darious clarified.

  "When a normal body suffers severe damage, research shows that caloric intake increases significantly. That surplus has been estimated and converted into joules. Using the femur—the largest bone in the human body—as reference, it requires approximately twenty-five megajoules to fully heal over months."

  He looked down at his leg.

  "That energy was converted into healing output in less than 5.2 seconds."

  Kael did not notice the small metallic shurikens embedded in Darious's flesh. They had silently dispersed air and cooled the tissue, counteracting the immense heat caused by the sudden influx of energy. Even so, the atmosphere around them felt hotter.

  Kael understood the explanation, yet awe remained in his eyes. He had thought meditation could heal sore muscles… but regenerating an entire bone?

  Then a question surfaced.

  "Why don't you heal your arm, then?"

  Darious smiled.

  It was a forceful smile—one that concealed an ocean of sorrow. His eyes did not match it.

  "Some things are better left forgotten."

  The conversation ended abruptly.

  But moments later, he spoke again.

  "This orb… this is what it is for."

  Without hesitation, he pressed the green orb into his chest, lightly.

  "I will be gone for a few days," he said calmly. "Use this time to materialize your power. Follow your own path. Remember what we have done."

  He turned away.

  "You should leave. What happens next will be… unpleasant."

  Kael obeyed and walked toward the training grounds. Yet with each step, he heard it.

  The tearing of flesh.

  The cracking of bone.

  Muffled screams swallowed by the wind.

  He clenched his fists and forced himself forward.

  I hope Master will be okay…

  Back in the chamber, blood dripped steadily onto the stone floor. The green orb, now buried within Darious's body, pulsed violently. Vessels stretched and multiplied. Nerves extended. Muscle fibers grew centimeter by centimeter, knitting themselves together in a grotesque rebirth.

  He gritted his teeth.

  "When I finish this… I will make you feel pain. Real pain."

  His voice trembled—not from fear, but from hatred.

  "If hell does not exist… then I will bring it upon you."

  His eyes burned with something darker than fury.

  "I, Darious… will be your hell."

  A single tear escaped and fell onto a nearby photograph.

  In the image, he stood beside a woman and a child.