Tale of the Creation of the Heavens

Tristan had reached his goal of arriving alive in the region of the misty peaks.

With each step, his feet sank into the soft snow. Cold winds swept past him, making the hairs on his body stand on end. The higher he climbed, the more intense the cold became. Although his body reacted with discomfort to the hostile climate, his mind, on the other hand, was as calm as it had always been.

It didn't snow in the marquisate where he was born, so this was his first time encountering snow in this world. Tristan couldn't remember how long it had been since the last time he had seen snow, but his mind bore many scars from unpleasant experiences in this kind of environment. He remembered the pain of dying, feeling every part of his body freeze. A shiver ran down his spine at those memories. Tristan rubbed his hands together to recall warmth and banish those bad thoughts.

With his focus restored, he decided to use the time walking under the sunlight to learn more about his cultivation.

He extended his right arm and flexed his muscles. Drawing the essence of Light from his core, he guided that energy with his will to his arm. The fibers of his flesh grew and swelled, becoming as thick as a finger. With a thought, his muscles moved as if several snakes were wrestling within.

Tristan was practicing his ability to control his body, a natural trait of Light cultivation. The greatest challenge of using this ability was that each part of his body responded differently. Because of this, his progress was slow. Not knowing its full potential, he hadn't placed much value on this power of Light. However, after needing to control his heartbeat to deceive the Feng brothers, he began to see it in a new light.

Currently, all he could do was control small parts of his body and bend his limbs into unnatural and strange shapes.

'Who knows what I'll be able to do when I unlock its full potential?'

After a few minutes of practicing and thinking about the future, he decided to tackle another important task. Tristan remembered the strange, supposedly enchanted object he had obtained from the fire snake's death.

The creature's spine was the only thing that remained intact from its body, and for some reason, Pandora's Tower had called it a seed.

Owning a magical artifact could mean the difference between life and death. As soon as he had time, he tried to activate the enchantment in the spine. Unfortunately, all his attempts ended in failure.

Because of this, he planned to find a safe place to search for information about it in his Divine Fragment.

'I hope I don't need to fulfill absurd conditions to make this work.'

***

On a snowy mountain, two girls wearing yellow kimonos were surrounded by a pack of white wolves. They were short, and their childlike appearance revealed their young age.

Four wolves, much larger than normal, bared their sharp fangs at them. They circled around the girls, preparing to attack. There was a slight, abnormal tremor in their eyes. The creatures were clearly agitated, as if under the influence of some substance.

A strong wind made their dark brown hair sway. It was tied on each side with a cloth, one wearing red and the other black. This was the only thing that distinguished them, as they were so alike it was as if they were each other's reflection.

With their backs turned to one another, each trusted that her partner could handle the enemies she couldn't see, while their thin swords pointed at the wolves.

For a moment, the girls and the beasts stared at each other in deadly silence, until one of the beasts flexed its paws and lunged at the one with the black cloth.

Seeing the creature approach, Xiao Ning tightened her grip on her sword. Her hands trembled slightly, but she gathered her courage to face the challenge.

In the blink of an eye, she moved the energy from her core to the blade of her weapon. The air responded to her energy, and a yellow wind swirled around her sword.

[Blade of Ethereal Wind]

With a horizontal swing of her small arms, her blade struck the creature's shoulder. Normally, such a small cut wouldn't have caused much damage to a being of that size. However, the blade was enhanced with the essence of wind, turning a small cut into a brutal wound.

A howl of pain echoed through the air. Blood gushed from the wound on the beast's body, staining the white snow red.

"Are you okay?" her sister, Xiao Mei, asked.

"Yes, don't worry."

"Good," she said with relief. "Stay strong."

With the first wolf's initiative, the other three followed suit and attacked as well.

Two wolves tried to attack Xiao Mei together. Her hands were much steadier compared to her sister's.

The creatures attempted to bite her, displaying excellent coordination. But they weren't fast enough to hit Mei, who was using the power of the wind to move her body swiftly across the battlefield.

She stopped near the side of one of the beasts and propelled herself forward with her sword aimed at the monster's belly. When her blade pierced the enemy's body, multiple wounds appeared around the spot she had struck.

[Ten Feather Slash]

The second wolf tried to attack her from behind, but she leaped several meters into the air. When she landed, her body barely sank into the snow beneath her.

[Feet Light as Feathers]