NOVEL NEXT Chapter 58: Nothing
Fenix stared at his ancestor for several long moments, the weight of Levi's words pressing against his consciousness like a physical force. The implications were staggering, impossible, and yet delivered with such casual confidence that they demanded serious consideration.
"Repeat yourself," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper.
Levi's grin widened as he took another leisurely sip of his tea. "Which part? The bit about ancient political conspiracies, or the offer to restore your mana constitution?"
"The mana," Fenix said immediately. "You're claiming you can give me the ability to channel mana."
"Not claiming - stating as absolute fact," Levi replied with the same casual authority he had used when discussing his Paragon rank achievement. "I can definitely restore your constitutional foundation. Wouldn't offer if I couldn't deliver."
Fenix felt his analytical mind struggling to process possibilities that challenged every assumption about spiritual energy systems and genetic limitations. "How is that possible? The bloodline degradation happened over generations. You can't just... reverse centuries of genetic decline."
"Can't I?" Levi asked with raised eyebrows. "You're talking to someone who reached heights no Ackerman achieved before or since, who spent sixty years pushing every boundary that others accepted as unchangeable. Trust me when I say that most limitations exist only because people haven't found the right methods to overcome them."
The confidence in his voice was absolute, carrying the weight of someone who had never encountered a problem he couldn't eventually solve through sufficient application of will and intelligence.
"But," Levi continued, his expression shifting to something more serious, "everything has a price. And I'm not sure you're going to like the terms this particular miracle requires."
Fenix leaned forward, his enhanced senses focusing completely on his ancestor's words. "What kind of price?"
"Well, that's where things get... complicated," Levi said, setting down his cup with deliberate precision. "See, restoring your mana constitution isn't like flipping a switch. It requires rebuilding fundamental pathways that have been dormant for generations, rewriting genetic patterns that have adapted to aura enhancement instead of mana manipulation."
He gestured toward Fenix with casual authority. "Which means you'd have to start from the absolute beginning. Novice rank mana cultivation, just like any twelve-year-old who awakens their constitution for the first time. All that progress you've made with aura enhancement? That stays exactly where it is. But your mana cultivation would begin at zero."
The words hit Fenix like cold water, washing away the initial euphoria of unlimited possibility and replacing it with harsh mathematical reality.
"Two separate energy systems," he said slowly, working through the implications. "Double the training, double the energy expenditure, double the complexity of technique integration."
"Exactly," Levi confirmed with obvious satisfaction at his descendant's quick understanding. "Most people struggle to master one energy system in their entire lifetime. You'd be attempting to perfect two simultaneously, which means double the effort for everything - training, advancement, technique development, even basic energy management."
Fenix absorbed this revelation while his mind raced through tactical calculations. His aura enhancement had reached Intermediate+ but its effectiveness had entered into Graduator-rank through months of impossible training under Ghost's instruction. Starting mana cultivation from Novice rank would mean operating with severely imbalanced capabilities until his mana development caught up to his aura advancement.
"The strain on your core systems would be... significant," Levi continued with clinical honesty. "Maintaining two separate cultivation paths requires energy reserves that most people simply don't possess. You'd need perfect efficiency in everything - technique application, recovery protocols, even basic life management - or risk burning out completely before achieving meaningful integration."
The warning carried enough genuine concern that Fenix felt his enhanced awareness sharpen with recognition of serious danger.
"But," Levi added with a grin that suggested he was enjoying this negotiation, "the potential rewards are beyond anything single-system cultivators can achieve. Mana and aura working in harmony create synergies that approach the legendary rather than merely impressive. That technique you developed against the avatar? That was just crude improvisation compared to what becomes possible with proper constitutional foundation."
Fenix stared into his tea cup, watching steam rise in patterns that seemed to mirror his churning thoughts. The offer was everything he had never dared dream - restoration of his family's greatest capability, access to the energy system that made Black Star possible, the chance to transcend limitations that had defined his existence since awakening in this world.
"How?" he asked finally. "How would you actually accomplish this restoration?"
Levi's smile became absolutely predatory, his crimson eyes holding depths of knowledge that seemed to encompass secrets spanning multiple lifetimes.
"Inheritance," he said with single-word finality that carried implications Fenix didn't fully understand but somehow found deeply unsettling.
The ancestor leaned back with obvious satisfaction at his descendant's confused expression, clearly enjoying the moment of revelation while maintaining mystery about the specific mechanisms involved.
Fenix felt his analytical mind churning through possibilities, trying to decode what "inheritance" might mean in the context of genetic restoration and spiritual energy constitution. But before he could voice his questions, before he could demand the detailed explanations his cautious nature required, other thoughts began surfacing with emotional weight that transcended mere tactical considerations.
He thought back to his beginning in this world - awakening in an unfamiliar body with memories that belonged to someone else, struggling to understand political dynamics that threatened everything he had inherited, facing challenges that should have been impossible for someone of his apparent capabilities. The desperate training sessions with Ghost, pushing his limits beyond what rational people would consider safe. The family trials where he had proven himself worthy of recognition despite starting from apparent weakness.
Most vividly, he remembered the expedition selection ceremony where his name had been called for temple exploration that could restore their family's fortunes or add his bones to countless others who had underestimated what such challenges required.
Every step of his journey had been motivated by the same driving force - the absolute refusal to let those who depended on him suffer because of his inadequacy.
Abigail's trusting smile flashed through his memory with perfect clarity. Her small hands gripping his arm as she whispered prayers for his safe return from dangers she couldn't fully comprehend. The way her eyes had shone with pride when their uncle announced his selection for the expedition that would either elevate their family or eliminate him permanently.
She believed in him with the kind of absolute faith that only came from knowing someone would sacrifice everything to protect what mattered most. That faith had driven him through months of impossible advancement, through trials that had claimed the lives of everyone who attempted them, through repeated death and resurrection in pursuit of techniques that shouldn't have been learnable by someone with his limitations.
Now his ancestor was offering him capabilities that could transcend every assumption about what those limitations actually were.
The risks were staggering - dual cultivation paths that could destroy him through sheer energy expenditure, techniques so complex that failure might mean permanent damage to his spiritual foundations, challenges that would make his previous training seem like comfortable preparation by comparison.
But the potential rewards...
Access to mana constitution meant access to Black Star. The ability to channel spiritual energy would unlock techniques that had been theoretical knowledge rather than practical capability. Most importantly, dual cultivation mastery would provide him with advantages that single-system opponents couldn't match through conventional development.
He could become strong enough to protect not just Abigail, but everyone whose survival depended on the Ackerman family's restoration to political relevance.
Fenix looked up from his tea to meet Levi's crimson gaze directly. His ancestor's expression held patience mixed with anticipation, clearly understanding the internal struggle between caution and desperate ambition that was playing out in his descendant's consciousness.
The flame of possibility that had been kindling throughout their conversation suddenly blazed into full conflagration as Fenix's decision crystallized with absolute clarity.
"Let's do it," he said, his voice carrying the weight of commitment that transcended mere words and entered the realm of sacred oath.
Levi's smile widened into something that held approval, satisfaction, and perhaps a touch of pride for descendant who was willing to risk everything in pursuit of strength sufficient to protect what mattered most.
"Now that," the ancestor said with obvious pleasure, "is exactly what I was hoping to hear."
He set his tea cup down with deliberate precision and leaned forward, his crimson eyes taking on an intensity that hadn't been present during their previous conversation.
"Since you've committed to this insanity, let me explain exactly how we're going to accomplish the impossible," Levi said, his tone shifting from casual banter to something approaching professional instruction. "The method I mentioned - inheritance - involves using Black Star to fundamentally restructure your spiritual foundation."
Fenix felt his enhanced awareness sharpen with sudden focus. "Black Star? But I don't have access to that technique. The bloodline ability has been sealed since—"
"Since you lacked the mana constitution necessary to channel it properly," Levi interrupted with a dismissive wave. "But that's where being dead and living inside a Life weapon has its advantages. I can temporarily grant you access to the technique through direct spiritual connection, though the process will be... intense."
He gestured toward Fenix with clinical precision. "Your body is currently clouded with impurities that have accumulated over generations of genetic decline. Think of them as energy sediment that has settled into your mana pathways, blocking the receptors that would normally allow constitutional awakening. Black Star's devouring properties make removing those impurities a walk in the park - the technique will consume them like they were never there."
The explanation made theoretical sense, though Fenix could already anticipate complications. "And the hard part?"
Levi's expression grew more serious. "Kick-starting your mana core formation. See, clearing the pathways is simple destruction - Black Star excels at unmaking things that shouldn't exist. But creation? That requires precision, timing, and perfect understanding of energy flow patterns that took me decades to master."
He paused, studying his descendant with eyes that seemed to catalog every detail of his current development.
"If I can successfully initialize your mana core during the window of opportunity that follows purification, then the rest becomes relatively straightforward," Levi continued. "Your Ackerman genetics will handle the constitutional development naturally once the proper foundation is established. But if I fail to achieve core formation during that crucial moment..."
"Back to square one," Fenix finished, understanding the implications immediately.
"Worse than square one," Levi corrected with clinical honesty. "The purification process will leave your spiritual pathways in a state of temporary chaos. If core formation fails, you could lose some of your current aura capabilities while gaining nothing in return. The risks aren't just about wasted effort - they involve permanent damage to your cultivation foundation."
The warning carried enough weight to make Fenix reconsider his hasty decision, but only for a moment. The potential rewards still outweighed the dangers, especially when the alternative was accepting limitations that could cost him everything he was trying to protect.
"How confident are you in the success rate?" he asked.
Levi's grin returned, carrying the same casual arrogance that had marked his earlier claims about impossible achievements. "Confident enough to stake my reputation as the family's greatest cultivator on it. Though I should mention that you'll be the first person I've attempted this technique on, so we're venturing into experimental territory."
"First person?" Fenix felt his analytical mind focusing on implications that suddenly seemed far more dangerous than theoretical. "You've never actually performed this procedure before?"
"Not exactly, no," Levi admitted with cheerful honesty that did nothing to inspire confidence. "But I spent the last several decades of my life researching constitutional restoration methods, and the theoretical framework is absolutely sound. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? You're already talking to a dead ancestor inside a magical weapon - clearly, impossible things are well within your comfort zone."
The casual dismissal of potentially catastrophic consequences made Fenix question whether his ancestor's confidence was based on genuine capability or simply the reckless optimism that came from having nothing left to lose.