Invincible Earth! : Volume 1
Chapter 17: Rebirth

The pod and the man immediately reappeared in what seemed to be a small laboratory.

In the middle was another pod in which a golden glistening liquid was flowing calmly even though there was no force from outside causing the movement.

Even the pod was unique. It was an Egyptian casket, with the god Horus on the lid. The lid was laid to the side. The whole casket was 10 foot long and 4 foot wide.

The Castellan immediately flicked his finger twice, making Lance float into the casket with the first flick and sealing the casket with the lid with the second.

Lance was presently dreaming about running behind sheep. He had wanted to count the sheep to fall asleep, as he felt very tired in the place he was in. But, the sheep from his head had popped out and started running away.

Suddenly, he felt a golden radiance covering his body inside the dream. This was a different shade of gold from the ball in his dantian. The latter was a dazzling gold whereas the former looked more like molten gold.

After it completely covered him, he found himself back in his body. He could feel a numbness throughout which felt comforting. Scared, he checked his dantian to see a dim block of energy. The good news was that it seemed to be recovering at a visible pace.

Somewhy, he felt that this was the feeling one would have if they were in their mother’s womb. His whole body was being rebuilt, tissue by tissue and fibre by fibre.

After just 30 minutes, he found himself gaining back control and full sensation of his body.

All the fat was gone. Although he couldn’t see himself, he knew it was so. He could somehow accurately envision himself in his mind.

His body was now that of an elite martial artist’s. His favorite martial artist back on earth had always been Bruce Lee, but he had always thought that a little more muscle would have looked better. Well, that was his body now. There were no bulging muscles, but each and every inch of his body was detailed as if it were sculpted by the hand of a godly sculptor.

The body looked like it had both the explosive power of a tiger pouncing on its prey but also the agility of a cheetah chasing the galloping gazelle.

Without even testing it, he knew that he had grown many times stronger.

Even his brain seemed to be functioning faster than it had been before.

He felt himself being truly reborn, both in body and mind.

Before he could revel in the feeling, Lance felt himself being lifted up from the liquid as the lid automatically opened. He took in his first breath in what felt like years.

Now that he was outside and breathing, he wondered how he had been breathing inside the solution.

A broad back came into his view as he was set standing on the ground. The back seemed as if it carried unfathomable weight but still stood strong and straight.

“Get dressed and then we can talk.“, a deep voice said.

Lance hastily covered his private parts with his hands as he realized he was naked.

…

Lance looked around and saw a pile of clothes lying in front of him. He hastily put them on feeling snug in the soft fabric. He was wearing a loose white shirt and pajamas.

The Castellan turned around and said,“Hello Lance. I am called the Castellan. I adopted this name because I take care of my castle that is IE. Initiates like you are the building blocks which keep my castle safe and prevent it from withering away. This is why I did not hesitate to use the ambrosia that I have been collecting since the last 20,000 years.”

“Thank you for saving my life.“, said Lance as he bowed. The man in front of him looked like he had been through the vicissitudes of time. Such an image demanded respect first and foremost.

Second, he had felt first-hand the effects of the miraculous liquid. Although he had no idea how bad his condition had been, he knew from his memories that he had been very close to never waking up again. The incredible solution had healed both his mind and body. True to its name, it seemed to be the drink of the gods, famed to be able to provide immortality or eternal longevity to the ones who partook of it.

The Castellan smiled seeing this. True gratitude was always a good thing to see in growing seeds. It meant that there was more of a chance of the seed honoring his/her debts.

“Take a seat. We can handle the matter of the ambrosia later. First, lets talk about what happened in the test.“, he said gesturing behind Lance.

Lance turned around to see a sofa appear out of nowhere. He decided not to question it as to someone capable of healing him, making things appear magically should be no problem.

The man also took a seat in front of him in another plush sofa. “Tell me everything, beginning from the pre-mission planning.” A glass of wine appeared in his hand as he looked at Lance with interest.

Lance thought for a bit before beginning to speak. He described each and everything in as much detail as he could. The man occasionally nodded but never talked. Only the part where they had decided the plan garnered a small smile.

When he got to the part where the bullet slowed down, the man suddenly stood up. Lance paused but he immediately sat back down and motioned him to continue.

After he was done, the Castellan sat in silence looking into space twirling his goatee.

After a minute or so, he stood up and walked to Lance. Lance stood up but the Castellan asked him to sit down and took his right hand. It looked to Lance like he was checking his pulse.

After a moment, the Castellan sat back down. Another silence ensued which Lance didn’t dare break. Instead, he looked around.

The Castellan finally spoke after another minute. His face held an expression of deadly seriousness.

“If I am not wrong, you have the rarest Intrinsic Nature in all of humanity:The Wish.”

“If I am not wrong, you have the rarest Intrinsic Nature in all of humanity:The Wish.”

Lance heard the words, but he decided to wait for the Castellan’s explanation before jumping to conclusion. The “rarest” part had already caused his heartbeat to rise. He was finally going to replace his IN!

“This IN is both a boon and a bane. In all of my time, I have seen countless initiates. Only 972 of them had an IN in this category. Of those 972, only 3 are alive today. All 3 of them have reached the highest level known to us. They stroll between galaxies to meet their friends and have lunch. Entire star systems with multiple planets like the Earth are under their governance. With a flick of their finger, a star can be extinguished.”

Lance’s eyes opened wider and wider hearing the explanation.

“Don’t get excited yet. The rest perished even before reaching legend. I have been alive for hundreds of thousands of years. Every year, there are batches of thousands of initiates. You can imagine how rare the IN is in the first place. Then, multiply that rarity by the probability of dying and being forgotten with time.”

Lance tried to mentally calculate an approximate figure but his mind hurt.

“The chance is infinitesimal. This is why it is called a bane. With any moderately talented initiate with an average or above average IN, the chance of reaching Legend with hard work is 0.0001%. That is why legends are said to be one in a million. As for you, no matter how much work you put in, the odds are against you.”

“What is my power? Why is it so hard to reach Legend with it?“. Lance couldn’t help but interject. His excitement was being squashed under the Castellan’s foot and he was feeling desperate. On the other hand, his determination only rose. 3 people had done it. So would he. No matter what it took, he said to himself.

Unknowing to Lance himself, the mission had changed his mindset. The men and women willing to sacrifice themselves had awakened in him the spirit to protect. And the spirit to grow strong enough to be able to do so. What had once been a directionless goal was now becoming forged in the fires of tenacity.

“Pardon me for getting ahead of myself. Allow me to first give you an idea of what the IN actually is.“, said the Castellan. He didn’t seem to be displeased due to Lance’s rudeness.

Lance nodded and sat back. He had leaned forward before desperate for the answer.

“This is my favorite phrase which explains INs the best: Intrinsic Natures dictate the aspect of nature that one is most connected to. Your friend Darius is connected to the aspect of the Earth. Your friend Entsy is connected to the aspect of “Storing, amplifying and releasing vibrational energy into kinetic energy.” A lengthy aspect, I know, but INs are seldom simple. Your other two friends Yu Yan and Yu Ying are connected to the aspect of “Electrical field manipulation”. I believe you must be seeing a pattern.

Each and every aspect is a part or sum of parts of a concept which drives the universe. The goal of cultivation is to reach a state where your connection with the aspect or the concept qualifies you to use as much of the natural energy in the universe as you want. Theoretically, you could become one with a concept and live for eternity along with it. The air that you breath in might contain an infinitesimal part of a being who had enough of a connection with the concept of air to assimilate themselves into it. They would exist as long as air did anywhere in the universe. At the same time, they could choose to take the form of a human and do whatever they want, as almost an infinite amount of natural energy is at their beck and call.

An intrinsic connection with an aspect lays the path towards this state.

Now, coming to your nature. The “Wish” nature means that provided you grant the energy, anything you wish for will happen.”

Lance was puzzled again. With major effort, he had somehow managed to wrap his head around the goal of cultivation as stated by the Castellan. He had even dreamt briefly of being immortal and living as many lives as he could:one of a businessman, one of a mafia leader, one of a elite sportsman, etc. etc.

But the last part just threw him askew again. Anything he wished for would happen? What the heck?