Chapter 39 - New Findings.
Levi understood that he was nowhere near the Duskbound Order's league as not even the strongest known Daywalkers in the world dared to touch them.
One could say they were at the level of Solar Aegis Sanctuaries across the globe and were treated with respect by all nightcrawlers.
"Tell me more about those common senses powers." Levi inquired.
"I will teach you once you reach 5% and unlock your first weapon and innate ability. Only then will I have something to work with." Ash'Kral said, "For now, let's move on to the Void Origin Seed and see if you will show promising results."
Levi nodded in understanding and listened to Ash'Kral's explanation about what he needed to do to sense the dark energy surrounding him and absorb it.
While the process in itself was somewhat similar to what he had trained before, the circumstances weren't.
Levi soon realized that regardless of how much he focused or tried to sense the 'Dark Energy' infesting the spiritual bridge of darkness, his mind came out blank. It was like he was trying to capture something in absolute nothingness.
"Feel it, it's right there, it's everywhere."
"I am trying, but I am not sensing anything. If I can't sense it, how can I visualize guiding it to the seed?"
"Hmmm, as expected, it looks like you will need more practice." Ash'Kral said, "Alright, you can stop now."
Levi let out a long exhale in disappointment, not too pleased with himself.
"Brat, dark energy is one of the hardest sources to tap into, and if you pulled it off in your first attempt, I would have kowtowed before you." Ash'Kral chuckled.
He wasn't discouraged by Levi's inability to sense the dark energy as he knew that it was extremely challenging and required either years of hard work or impeccable attunement to dark energy.
While Levi's attunement should be much higher than humans, it was still not enough to claim him as a prodigy and allow him to sense the energy on the first try.
"Today was a great success despite this. Now, we have the feeding order for the seeds." Ash'Kral noted, "You will start with the Nine Senses seed, and after you hit the first plateau, you will move on to the Sun Seed. Simultaneously, you will keep attempting to get a feel for the dark energy and absorb it."
"Only when you hit all three plateaus will you try to break through each one by helping me evolve to Tier 2." Ash'Kral concluded, "Understood?"
"Yes."
"Good, is there anything else you want to learn?"
"Many, but for now, I just want to know one thing." Levi knitted his eyebrows, "You said before that the Duskbound Order might have been after me all along, and not my parents, due to my Radian bloodline. May I know what you meant by that?"
Levi knew if the Duskbound Order was found to have been targeting him from the start and not his parents, it would change everything. The implications would go beyond a paid assassination.
Levi always believed that his parents had been ordered a hit on them by business competitors due to his father's invention...He was the founder and inventor of the first Nightwear Stripes technology.
He was approached by many Lineager families, agencies, and business companies to purchase his technology. However, his father refused to sell it as he desired to create his own company and build it into a business empire transcending the Holy region's borders.
After rejecting everyone, his father sought out a partnership with a Lineager family in Tamara's settlement.
A partnership that would ensure a consistent flow of liquidity and support from a major family. All for the price of 49% shares of the budding company.
That's the business endeavor for which his father came to Tamara's settlement.
As one could anticipate, Levi's parents were assassinated on the night before the signing deal, turning their children's lives upside down...
After this merciless assassination, the investigation squad did everything in its power to find out who hired the Duskbound Order assassins...Even the Lineage families weren't spared.
Unfortunately, not a single lead was found, and all the primary suspects were dropped. The worst part? The Nightwere Stripes technology was leaked, and all business companies profited immensely from creating their replicas.
This erased Levi's father's legacy as the original inventor, since every company put up a figurehead designer to dodge accusations of theft.
Since all of this happened a decade ago, the news died out, and people moved on with their lives, not caring about who invented this or that.
All they cared about was to use the stripes to illuminate their surroundings, nothing more, nothing less...This left only a few people who still knew the true name of the inventor... Brian Larson.
"That's a question for you to find out." Ash'Kral anwsered casually, "All I can say is that your eyes might be more special than you think."
"My eyes? Special?"
"You don't think that your spiritual vision is so great because you have been blind for a long time, right?"
"..."
"Heh, if only life worked that way." Ash'Kral chuckled, "While being blind has helped you train your spiritual vision tremendously, a base was still needed."
"I believe that even after your eyes were stolen, your spiritual vision remained intact and grew stronger since it's tied up to your soul."
"I see..." Levi frowned.
Although Ash'Kral hadn't told him much about what made his eyes special, Levi was already convinced that something wasn't right.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be blind for a decade now without any signs of vision restoration. As mentioned before, the doctors had already tried all possible methods to restore his vision, but to no avail.
The money spent on those operations, recovery totems, and such had devoured most of the trust money left behind by his late parents.
Those failures always eluded the doctors and government until they could do nothing but give up on Levi and place an ankle monitor to keep a watch on him in case of the worst possibility.
"Whether your eyes were special or not, they aren't in your possession at the moment," Ash'Kral said indifferently, "Thinking about them won't bring them back. If you want them, you have to snatch them from the Duskbound Order personally."
"Is that something you want to do?"
"It's nothing but another reason to fuel my vengeance for what they have done to me and my family." Levi nodded coldly, "It's clear, this is no longer an issue of simple assassination, it goes deeper, and I am going to dig through this rabbit hole until I touch the bottom."
After everything that was discussed, Levi recognized that a path of hardship awaited him as his cultivation system might be complex, dangerous, and lead him on a suicidal path.
But if he managed to succeed, if he managed to pull it off despite having a 1% chance, his life would never be the same.
His world of darkness would collapse like how Ash'Kral showed him in the forest, and his strength would finally be enough to get him his vengeance and the answers he always wanted.
Why were his parents murdered? Were they the target or him? Who ordered the hit? Why were his eyes sought after? What about his true identity concerning his peculiar Radian bloodline?
Many mysteries were waiting to be solved, and Levi already had his back against the wall, forcing him on a path of no return.
"What are you going to do now?" Ash'Kral asked with a faint smirk.
"I am already cooled up."
Levi poured what remained of the cup on top of his head, causing faint steam to arise akin to cooling a sauna stone.
Then, he went to sit in the same spot and said icily, "I won't leave the apartment until I reach 5%."
"That's what I like to hear."