Death... and me

Roan obviously didn't understand what he meant by that. "I haven't cultivated it, so I don't know what could be wrong with the energy."

Kihin nodded in response, telling him, "No problem. The technique I want you to test isn't the one I showed anyway. Instead, it's a modified version I created based on something I found during exploration at the Ruins of Yaz."

"Yaz? Is it in the Huring Country?" Roan asked.

Kihin laughed in response. "Hahaha! Of course not! There shouldn't be a single inch unexplored in our Huring Country anymore by now. The Ruins of Yaz is in another continent instead. The last time the portal to the Wesbin Continent opened, I was one of the lucky cultivators selected to go there."

Roan knew about Wesbin. It was one of the continents neighboring Huring, just like Lanqueas and Jhiod.

Kihin continued, "As part of the activities allowed for us, self-exploration was one of them. We just had to be back at the portal before it closed. Of course, my group had already left the Sacred Land knowing exactly where we were going." Kihin didn't mind telling these things to Roan as Roan was restrained by the Soul Binding Contract...or so he thought.

Kihin ended his explanation there, though. "Anyway, all you need to know is that I was able to create a new version of the Starlight Body Cultivation Technique thanks to the findings we had there. I'll give that for you to take a look."

However, Roan immediately stopped Kihin, saying, "No need. I'll cultivate the original version first."

"What?!" Kihin was taken aback. "Why would you do that?"

Roan then explained, "I need to understand how the original version worked before I can understand whether your changes were good or not."

Kihin couldn't help but warn Roan, though. "Are you sure? Once you start cultivating it, you will have to select the star you connect to. You can't change your choice anymore after that."

Roan, of course, saw it in the cultivation technique. "I know. However, the issue isn't the selection of the star, right? The issue is Starlight Energy itself. With that being said, I don't need to really change it anymore. I can use the same energy for your version later."

Kihin pondered over it for a bit and had to admit it made sense. "Alright then. However, don't complain to me if something goes wrong." Kihin then turned around, preparing to leave. "It will probably take some time for you to take the first step, so I'll head back and cultivate. Come out and tell the workers to call me back once you're done." Kihin finally left after that.

Roan was fine with that. He then sat on the couch and began to run the Starlight Cultivation Technique. One needed some specific materials to refine one's body in order to break through the stages of a body cultivation technique. However, Roan wasn't going to break through any stages. He just had to take the first step to prepare the body to receive the Starlight Energy. He could think about the materials another time.

'First, I need to open my meridians and empty them of Divine Energy. After that, I need to stop the flow of Divine Energy coming out of my dantian, or else I would never be able to clear the meridians. Soul Power seems to not intervene with the process. However, since my Soul Power and Divine Energy are fused, I'll have to stop that as well.'

Roan concentrated and went even further. He used his Dark Element to get rid of the Divine Energy in his meridians much faster. Naturally, his body was immune to his own Dark Energy, so there was no pain or damage.

'Alright, now I need to connect myself with the star... This is the weird part. From what is described in the manual, I have to first feel the Starlight in the air. Starlight is always present, be it day or night. Even if the light itself can't pass through the atmosphere, Starlight Energy definitely can do so. The problem is...'

Roan remembered the next step in the manual, saying,  'The Starlight within oneself shall serve as a guide to help one perceive the Starlight outside.'

'The Starlight within oneself? Does that mean everyone is born with Starlight already present in their bodies? Then again, it might be a characteristic of the Realm of God's living beings. There's no guarantee that I have it as well. The manual also says that it's useless to ask others as everyone perceives their own Starlight in a different way.'

Roan decided to wipe out all thoughts from his mind. This was the first time since he started to cultivate that he didn't have Spiritual or Divine Energy running in his body, so it somehow felt empty. However, that was exactly the feeling Roan was trying to achieve.

No thoughts, movements, Divine Energy, nor Soul Power, only his breathing and the beat of his heart. If there was anything else within his body, this would be the perfect state to feel its presence. If that didn't work, then Roan's first theory might be right.

Time passed without Roan even noticing. One minute, thirty minutes, one hour, two hours...the longer he stayed like that, the more he could feel his body. He was within his own mind world, and everything was dark. That didn't bother him, though. Darkness had always been by his side, even in the other half of the universe.

*Tinkle...*

Suddenly, Roan felt like something shone in that world. It was there, and at the same, it wasn't. It was something that no other person could tell other than Roan himself. It wasn't exactly bright. If anything, the dark world in his mind was brighter than that. It was more like that shining point in his previously empty mind world was bending that light around it.

Roan knew that he had found what he was looking for. With that, he could 'see' and tried to reach out to it.

*Shua!*

When Roan touched that dark spot, the world around him transformed!