The cave was silent, yet inside Azril's body, a storm was raging. The Umbra essence he had forcibly absorbed was no longer mere energy it was a fire attempting to incinerate its physical vessel from within.
Azril tried to crawl, dragging his trembling body toward a corner of the cave. His breath came in gasps, each lungful of air feeling like he was swallowing glowing embers.
"I can't... do this anymore..." he whimpered.
In the dim corner of the cave, his eyes caught a brilliant light, as if something were calling out to him. With the last of his fading strength, Azril reached for the tree roots sprawling across the cave walls.
Azril pulled himself forward slowly, his knuckles turning white as he bore the weight of his own body, until finally, he reached the source of the light.
Azril sat cross-legged in an uneven posture. He felt that if this energy were not released, his heart would explode.
"Out... Get out!" Azril whispered with desperate emphasis.
Instantly, the star-speckled black energy erupted wildly from the pores of his skin. Deep blue light and pitch-black shadows enveloped his small frame, slamming into the cave walls until they vibrated.
The pain was agonizing, as if his muscles were being pulled in every direction. However, moments after the energy surged out, the majority of it surged back into Azril's body at an even higher speed, as if his body had become a magnet for the power.
Wushhhhh!
The sound of a powerful whistling wind rushed from his pores as Azril attempted to calm the wild energy. A miracle occurred: the energy overflowing from Azril's body actually fertilized the cave floor.
Exquisite plants never before seen in the outside world began to grow rapidly around him, blooming in a matter of seconds.
At that moment, a massive shift occurred within his energy structure. Azril managed to break through the limit. Azril ascended to: Step 1 Star-Crust Veins: Late Stage.
"My body... feels warm and comfortable," Azril murmured softly. He touched his chest. "There is something flowing like a river inside here. I feel... stronger."
Azril did not yet know the terms "Star Ascendant" or "Step," but he knew his fear had lessened slightly because of this new power. Azril stood up, trying to venture deeper into the cave. The cave that had once looked terrifying now appeared like a magnificent underground palace.
Subtle energies drifted around him like bright deep-blue fireflies, dancing to welcome his presence. However, the further he walked, Azril found only an expanse of frozen, eternal crystals.
Feeling there was no other way, Azril decided to leave. He stepped back out into the endless desert sands of the Sanctuary. Azril walked aimlessly, following only his instinct to keep moving away from the threat of the Umbra.
Azril's steps halted in the middle of the desert when he saw something strange lying on the sand. An ancient object radiating a heavy aura. It was a Relic: The Epoch-Crusher Scales.
"Scales?" Azril muttered innocently. His curiosity overcame his fear. Azril approached, then slowly extended his hand to touch the cold metal of the scales.
ZAP!
The moment his skin made contact with the relic, reality around Azril shattered into pieces. The space of the Sanctuary vanished, replaced by a twisting corridor of time.
In the blink of an eye, Azril found himself standing in the middle of a boundless Cosmic expanse. Thousands of planets hung in the dark sky, rotating in silent harmony.
The relic Azril held slowly faded, turning into particles of light and disappearing from his grasp. Suddenly, a thundering voice echoed from the center of the Cosmic expanse. A voice full of authority, yet carrying an unbearable sorrow.
In the distance, atop a mass of cosmic energy, stood a man. The figure was majestic, radiating a pressure that made the stars themselves seem to bow. On his shoulder rested the relic scales that Azril had just held.
His robes billowed in the cosmic wind, and his long black hair cascaded down to his feet.
The man laughed, but his laughter sounded like a stifled sob.
"Hahahahaha... For her, I have searched as best as I could!" the man's voice shook the dimensions.
"Even after I walked the path of Universal Resonance, I still could not find her! I have searched for you in various ages! I crossed eras, went to the past, navigated the cosmic seas, even explored entire star systems... but why?! Why can I still not find you?!"
The man stared blankly at his own hands. His magnificent authority crumbled under the weight of profound loss.
"What is this title for? What is this power for if I cannot protect you?! I... I, Azril, The Ancient Echo, was not even capable of protecting you..."
The man turned his head. His gaze was incredibly sharp, as if he could see through millions of years of time, staring directly at the trembling little Azril.
That gaze was the look of a sovereign who looked down upon all ages, yet within it was a burning longing.
A moment later, the cosmic space began to close. The light of the planets faded, and the corridor of time collapsed.
Bruk!
Azril fell, sitting back down on the sands of the Sanctuary. His breath was ragged; cold sweat drenched his entire body. Azril stared at his hand that had held the relic.
"Why... is his name the same as mine?" Azril whispered with teary eyes. "Why did his face... his voice... feel so much like me?"
Azril stood frozen in the middle of the silent desert. Massive questions began to haunt his mind. "Is that me when I grow up? But why does he look so sad? His voice... it sounded like a very deep longing."
Azril looked up at the grey sky of the Sanctuary. For the first time, Azril didn't just want to go home, but he also wanted to know: Who was that figure? And if that was indeed him... I don't want to become like that, I just want to go back to my mother, Azril said within his heart.
Was Azril destined to become a figure filled with such sorrow?
With a mind full of questions, Azril stood up again. His journey was no longer just an escape, but the beginning of a search for identity that spanned across space and time.