Aksai was eager to start on the Aether cultivation path after getting the last piece of the puzzle from New Dawn.
He carefully reviewed the instructions one last time. This new and improved Aether Wisp Awakening ritual was a delicate process, and precision was paramount.
Taking a deep breath, Aksai reached into his storage ring and retrieved a collection of Aether crystals. Each crystal shimmered with a faint, otherworldly light, pulsating with latent energy.
“Hmm. I’ll use the top-quality Aether crystals in my possession. I shouldn’t act frugal when it comes to establishing my foundation.”
He placed the crystals around himself in a precise pattern, following the Aether formation described in the shard. The arrangement formed a geometric design, each crystal acting as a node in a larger, intricate web.
Next, Aksai selected a particularly sharp Aether crystal, which he would use as a makeshift pen. He dipped it into a pool of liquified Aether crystals, using it as ink to draw the complex Aether runes that would complete the formation.
Aksai’s hand moved with neutral-link-powered automated precision, tracing each symbol with care. The runes glowed softly as they connected the nodes, forming a cohesive circuit of energy around him.
If one were to look at this formation from a vantage point, it would look like a magic circle that pulsated with purple and white lights.
With the formation complete, Aksai closed his eyes and extended his Spirit Sense, binding his consciousness to the Aether formation. He felt a gentle hum as the formation came to life, resonating with his own energy. The connection was solid and unwavering, a testament to the accuracy he had achieved using the neural link fabric.
“Now for the final step in this ritual.”
From his storage ring, Aksai then produced a vial containing an Aether-imbued concoction. The liquid inside shimmered with a vibrant, almost intoxicating glow.
He uncorked the vial and downed its contents in one swift gulp. The taste was strong and fiery, reminiscent of vodka from his previous life, burning as it went down his throat.
Aksai’s mind buzzed with a sudden rush of energy, and he quickly closed his eyes, focusing on his meditation. He sat in the middle of the Aether formation and started meditating.
As he delved deeper into his meditation, time seemed to lose all meaning. Aksai felt that he was surrounded by the darkness for what seemed to be an eternity and a brief period at the same time before he was pulled into a special place.
He felt as if he were drifting aimlessly, his body weightless on the surface of an endless sea. The water beneath him was a deep, cerulean blue, perfectly mirroring the sky above. There was no sun, moon, or stars, just an infinite expanse of blue.
Aksai’s eyes remained closed in this ethereal, mysterious space. He willed them to open, but they resisted at first. It was as if his consciousness was not ready to look at this place and check it out.
After all, Aksai wasn’t a native of Acarnis. As such, the process wasn’t as smooth as it was for the aboriginals of Acarnis using the traditional Aether Wisp Awakening ritual. However, Aksai and even the otherworlders seemed to have expected this. That’s why they had developed special concoctions and Aether formations to act as helping hands.
Gradually, as the effects of the Aether-imbued concoction and Aether formation intensified, Aksai’s eyelids grew lighter. Slowly, he managed to open his eyes, squinting against the soft light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
“So this is my Mind Palace,” Aksai murmured to himself, marveling at the apparent emptiness of the place. He found it peaceful here for some reason as if he was inside a safe abode. However, he had to say that the place looked deserted.
“Damn. Nothing apart from the sea and the sky? Am… am I that boring?”
Aksai scrunched his nose in annoyance. He had expected something grandiose. But his Mind Palace reflected his personality at the time, which was bland and without multiple colors.
Aksai was someone who preferred long-term calm over rapid progress after all. Despite his achievements in all forms of fields, he wasn’t a loudmouth. His personality was that of a giant tree that grew in silence without letting anyone aware of its existence.
As such, his Mind Palace was bound to reflect his current shade of personality and his emotional state. However, Aksai’s surprise and disappointment didn’t last long. He felt that this place reflected his steadfast heart, which was unbothered by the outside disturbances.
“This… this place is an eye opener. I should come here often to check up on myself,” Aksai smiled to himself as he looked around.
He was sure that the Mind Palace would develop as he progressed on his Aether cultivation. However, he had decided to actively retain peace here in the future so that he would not be influenced by the intense emotions.
“I… I should start.”
Aksai stopped floating and made an effort to stand. To his surprise, he found that he could step on the water as if it were solid ground. He stood up, feeling the cool, gentle waves beneath his feet.
Aksai attempted to use his Spirit Sense, hoping to explore his Mind Palace more thoroughly. However, he quickly realized that he couldn’t access it here.
His Spirit Sense was muted, unable to extend beyond his immediate surroundings. This place, his Mind Palace, was in its most elementary form, a blank canvas awaiting his influence.
This was the first step in the new and improved Aether Wisp Awakening ritual. Aksai understood that the version of himself present in the Mind Palace was nothing more than a manifestation of his consciousness.
There were no artifacts or concoctions to help him inside the Mind Palace. Here, he had to rely on his own abilities and instincts without the aid of external objects. This part of Aether cultivation hadn’t changed even with the new method.
Aksai then sat down cross-legged on the water and concentrated. He waved his hands and produced many streams of water from the endless sea. These streams took to the skies and converged in the air, forming a sphere.
Unlike Spirit cultivation, there were no complicated mantras, tantras, or hand signs involved in the process. Inside the Mind Palace, an Aether practitioner was only limited by their own experiences, imagination, and beliefs.
Using the guidance provided by the AetherTech shard, Aksai started shaping the sphere that levitated above him, absorbing all the water he offered via multiple streams. Soon, Aksai began to feel the Aether energy in the water, and his body started to sense the abysmally low Aether energy in his surroundings as well.
Aksai should have been happy that he started to sense the Aether energy, marking the official beginning of his Aether cultivation path.
However, at this point, he was busy shaping the Aether Sphere, which began to look like a cocoon with time.
This was the answer New Dawn had found to resolve Aksai’s problem of practicing mind cultivation in Dadangar—an Aether Wisp that would keep evolving as he progressed in his Aether cultivation path.