When the two weeks finally ended, master and disciple went their separate ways.

Kober returned to his training grounds, his spirit alight with determination. He knew his newfound strength was not a gift to be taken lightly. The foundation of his Astral Rebirth Path of Power needed to be refined, every step built with patience and care before he could take the next leap toward evolution.

His potential now reached toward the ArchDeity rank, a realm once beyond his imagination, and he felt both gratitude and obligation. He owed it to his master and to himself to reach that glorious height.

Cain, meanwhile, remained suspended in the skies above, his crimson robes drifting softly in the winds. A strange light flickered in his mind. It wasn't pain or weakness; on the contrary, it felt… liberating. As though a taut string, long anchored in the depths of his consciousness, had finally snapped.

For a moment, he simply closed his eyes and breathed.

It was as if a weight he had never noticed had been lifted. He had made things right with his disciple, fulfilled a duty long neglected, and in doing so, something within him had been restored.

"Addressing all bonds… freeing the mind and will from their burdens, allowing heart and ego to rise without hindrance or regret."

Cain murmured the words softly to himself. A meaningful light shone in his eyes as understanding dawned. It was a profound sense of enlightenment, power gained not through force, but the peace born of resolution.

It was an insight he had never sought, yet one that resonated deeply with the Ego Eternal Path of Power, his most sacred pursuit. There was no proof that his realization would lead to advancement, but Cain trusted intuition above all else. He had the time and the freedom to explore this truth.

His thoughts turned naturally to another figure from his past: his own master. The one who had guided him when he was merely a young Wave Warrior. The man who had saved his life more times than once.

Cain's gaze drifted to the distant horizon, and without hesitation, he vanished in a ripple of light.

He appeared above a sprawling forest, ancient trees rising like pillars into a sky of gold and silver. Below, a lone figure walked along a quiet path, his pace slow but steady. The man appeared to be in his seventies: hair white as frost, back still straight, his blind eyes glowing faintly with inner light.

Cain's expression softened, though a trace of confusion crossed his face.

That man was Zarak, his teacher, the one who had first opened his eyes to the Ego Eternal Path of Power. But what puzzled Cain was his appearance.

A couple of centuries had passed since their time together in Aether, yet Zarak's age shouldn't have touched him. When last they parted, the old master had already ascended to the Divine Transcendence Realm. Such beings lived for millennia; age should not have marked him so heavily.

Cain focused his perception, extending his awareness like threads of light, and understanding came.

Zarak's cultivation indeed had regressed, now at the Peak of Divine Transformation, yet his presence radiated something entirely different. His Alter-Ego and soul force shone with unmatched purity and brilliance.

It was not hard for Cain to realize what had occurred.

Back in Aether, Zarak's comprehension of the Ego Eternal Path had already been among the highest in the world. But when he entered the Everstrife Empyreal World, his horizons expanded, and he saw the flaws that riddled his foundation. Like many who had ascended from lesser worlds, his path, while profound, had been incomplete.

Most cultivators, when faced with such a realization, used treasures or divine tools to mend their limitations. The Scarlet Leviathans, for instance, were one such tool, potent enough to fix virtually any weakness through sheer might. But Zarak… had chosen another path.

When the great war between the Scarlet Kingdom and the Imperium of Time ended, Zarak made a decision few in existence would dare. He shattered his own cultivation and began again from the mortal realm.

It was an act of almost suicidal courage. To abandon power hard-won over centuries, and risk death by age, only for the chance to walk the true path untainted. Even among the greatest warriors of the Scarlet Kingdom, few would have followed such a path.

And yet, in less than a decade, Zarak had not only regained his former rank but transcended his old self entirely. His soul now pulsed with a strength purer than any Cain had ever witnessed, and his Ego Wave was even mightier.

He had passed through the Nine Heavens Ego Destruction Tribulation, the same ordeal that Cain himself had endured, and emerged radiant.

Cain could sense it clearly: the man before him had achieved something few would ever comprehend. Without relying on treasures, with nothing but his own will and understanding, Zarak had reforged his destiny.

A smile spread across Cain's face, the rare, genuine kind that came from deep respect.

Without grand announcements or displays of might, he descended quietly, his feet touching the forest floor beside his old master.

Zarak turned toward him with a knowing smile. "If it isn't the grand Scarlet King himself," he said in a voice both gentle and amused. "How fares His Majesty these days?"

Cain almost laughed at the teasing tone. Even an ArchDeity would tremble before the Scarlet King, yet before this man, Cain felt no need for titles or reverence. For the heart of one who dared to fade into nothingness in pursuit of truth could not be shaken by power or pride.

"I am well," Cain replied softly, the corners of his lips curving. "May I walk with you?"

"Of course," Zarak answered, and the two began their slow journey through the forest.

There was no ceremony, no dazzling exchange of divine energy. Just master and disciple, walking side by side beneath the vast canopy, their conversation drifting between memory and silence.

They spoke of the old days, of Aether, of battlefields long vanished, of dreams once deferred but never forgotten.

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