The dorm room was silent, except for the steady sound of Arin's breathing.
He sat cross-legged on the small bed, the cultivation scroll laid carefully before him. The faint blue light of the night crystal overhead barely touched the room's corners, leaving everything else in a soft darkness.
Arin closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
"Flow with the breath. Dig into the bones. Find the thread of life..."
The words from the scroll echoed quietly inside him.
He breathed slower, deeper, letting each breath sink past his lungs, through his blood, through his very bones.
Minutes passed. His legs ached. His back stiffened. His mind wandered and returned, again and again.
He was not used to stillness. Not like this.
But he endured.
Slowly, patiently, he sank deeper into the rhythm of his own body.
Deeper.
Quieter.
And then — faintly — he felt it.
A thin, almost imaginary current brushing against his awareness.
It wasn't air.
It wasn't blood.
It was something else — something deeper.
Spiritual energy.
It was like mist floating inside him, barely there, waiting to be grasped.
Arin's heartbeat quickened, but he forced himself to remain calm. He didn't reach out to grab it wildly. He simply breathed, letting it swirl closer with each slow inhalation.
The mist thickened ever so slightly, gathering around a point deep in his center. It was delicate, fragile — like trying to cup water in his bare hands.
But it was real.
A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He had found it.
Not by forcing it.
Not by rushing.
But by enduring.
Outside, the night stretched on. Students in nearby rooms slept, restless or frustrated by their own struggles.
But Arin stayed seated, motionless, breathing in silence.
He hadn't broken through yet. Not even close.
But for the first time since arriving at the academy, he felt truly connected to the path ahead.
Tomorrow would be another day of training, another day of slow steps forward.
He would walk it.
No matter how long it took.
In the soft darkness of his room, Arin smiled once more — and continued to breathe.