A distant night-moan fading away.
Cold wind before sunrise.
The soft scrape of shifting stones.
Arjun slowly opened his eyes.
Darkness still filled the cave, yet a thin thread of light was already peeking through the narrow crack.
Night was ending.
He remained motionless for several breaths, then eased the tension from his body.
A faint vibration still lingered inside him after the night’s cultivation, as if his blood now flowed a little faster than before.
He drew a deep breath.
The night had not been easy.
The roaming horrors outside, the nocturnal spirits, and the unseen presence of the dark had all conspired to keep him trapped in this tiny shelter.
But he already knew that with morning he would have to step out again.
The figure in the north-east.
The glow.
The mystery.
Everything was pulling him.
Arjun stood up.
First he warmed his body—rolling his shoulders, bending his knees, turning his neck.
Then he opened the small bundle tied at his waist.
From it he drew his rusted short dagger and strapped it to his thigh.
Next came the black iron nail, his most trusted possession.
Finally he took out a small packet wrapped carefully in cloth.
The soft rustle of unfolding fabric.
He removed the cloth with extreme care, studied what lay inside, then wrapped it again and returned it to his pack.
Arjun closed his eyes.
Took several deep breaths.
When he opened them again, his gaze was colder and far more steady than before.
He was ready.
He began clearing the stones from the cave mouth.
The scrape and slide of rock.
The moment the last stone was removed, the dim light of outside poured in.
Arjun peered out once.
No one.
Nothing at all.
Only the broken walls of the ruined city, collapsed roofs, and silent streets.
He swept the surroundings with his eyes, then stepped outside.
The ground was still damp, but the clouds were beginning to thin.
The red rain had weakened.
A grey brightness was spreading across the sky.
He moved forward swiftly.
Toward the place where he had seen the mysterious figure the day before.
### Chapter 2
**The Still Figure**
He advanced carefully—stopping, listening, then continuing.
There was caution in his steps, but no fear.
He studied the scattered ruins.
Morning light fell strangely on the shattered walls, as if someone had cast a faint glow even across the face of death.
Birds flew overhead.
Arjun’s eyes locked onto them.
The soft flutter of wings.
His lips were dry.
The birds were alive.
That meant food was nearby.
He could have caught one right then, yet his attention remained fixed on the place where the violet light had fallen.
He quickened his pace.
Broken walls of abandoned houses occasionally served as cover.
He moved like a hunter—quiet, crouched, swift.
At last he reached a small rise overlooking the spot where he had seen the person the previous day.
Arjun lowered himself flat against the ground.
With extreme care he looked down.
And saw the same thing.
The person was still there.
Exactly as before.
Clean clothes.
Normal skin.
Body sitting upright.
Utterly motionless.
The sight struck Arjun deep inside.
No living human could remain exposed through the night in this ruined city.
And if the man were already dead, the twisted creatures of this world would long ago have torn him apart.
Yet here he was.
How?
Arjun held his breath.
He did not move.
Time passed.
It felt like the first hour.
Then the second.
He remained there until noon.
The sun climbed high, yet the figure stayed as still as a statue.
A soft whisper of wind.
At last, after a very long wait, Arjun picked up a small stone and threw it far.
*Tap.*
The stone struck the figure.
The person suddenly twitched—then toppled sideways with a heavy sound, like a sack of bones collapsing.
And in that same instant—
Where the figure had been sitting, a violet radiance burst forth.
Arjun’s eyes lit up.
This was the light.
The one he had been searching for.
A rare expression crossed his face—curiosity, not greed, but a spark of hope.
Without thinking he leapt down.
The sound of rapid running.
He sprinted toward the glow with everything he had.
His feet cut through earth, broken stone, rubble, and dust.
Then he snatched up the shining object and immediately turned back the way he had come.
Everything happened so fast that the place seemed emptied in a single heartbeat.
He ran more than a hundred feet before stopping.
Then he looked at what he held in his hands.
It was a beautiful, long, slender gem.
Violet light flowed from within it.
Its surface was so pure that not a single speck of haze clung to it.
Yet something soft, like a feather, seemed to drift inside.
Arjun’s heartbeat quickened.
He glanced behind him.
The clothes of the figure that had been sitting there began to tear.
Its skin started turning green-black, as if the removal of the violet light had revealed its true form.
Arjun unconsciously tightened his grip on the gem.
Then he ran hard toward his cave.
Running footsteps.
Quick breaths.
Along the way a strange sensation overtook him.
His fatigue seemed to lessen.
Something new was filling his body.
The longer he ran, the lighter he felt.
Even the burn of his old wound was fading.
It was impossible.
He had already run far beyond the distance he could normally manage without rest.
Yet the energy inside him was not depleting—it was increasing.
Along the way he even caught a bird that had been about to take flight in surprise.
At last the cave stood before him.
Arjun slipped inside without slowing and immediately sealed the mouth with stones again.
The sound of stones closing.
Then he sat down.
His breathing was rapid, but his eyes were fixed on the gem.
### Chapter 3
**The Neelmani**
He placed the violet gem between both palms.
Light spread through the small cave.
Even the walls were dyed in its color.
Arjun studied the gem carefully.
What is this?
he asked himself softly.
He ran a hand over his wound.
The wound had almost completely closed.
He stared in stunned silence.
Where blood had still been seeping the day before, only a faint pink mark remained.
No burn.
No pus.
No rotting.
It was like a miracle.
Arjun’s eyes widened.
So this gem was not merely a shining object.
It could heal.
It could restore energy.
And perhaps… something more.
His curiosity deepened.
He turned the gem over in his palm.
Then a thought rose.
If it is this powerful, is it even possible to hide it?
If anyone in the outside world saw it, it could be taken from him.
Arjun did not delay.
He set the captured bird on the cave floor and bound its beak with cloth so it could not cry out.
Then he drew his dagger and decided on a small experiment.
The bird trembled.
Arjun slowly pressed the Neelmani against its small wound.
A faint struggling sound.
Within moments the air around them stirred.
The flow of vital energy changed rapidly.
The gem began drawing power from the entire area.
This energy was far more intense than anything that had come during his earlier cultivation.
The bird thrashed.
The surge of power in its body had suddenly become excessive.
Arjun tried to restrain it.
The bird flapped and leapt, its strength now unnatural.
Arjun’s hands hardened.
Only with great difficulty did he manage to hold the creature down.
After a struggle it finally quieted.
Only then did he remove the gem.
He stared at it for a long moment.
His conclusion was clear.
This gem was not merely a healing artifact.
It drew vital energy.
It strengthened the body.
It could connect any living being to the flow of cultivation.
And then Arjun made his boldest decision yet.
Without hesitation he pressed the same gem into his own wound.
A deep breath.
A pain-filled groan.
A sharp wave of pain tore through his body.
He clenched his teeth.
The gem sank into him.
The wound began to close.
A vibration raced through his entire frame.
Suddenly vital energy from every direction began pouring toward his body.
So fiercely that his skin took on a faint greenish tint.
It was cold.
Extremely cold.
The influence of corrupt energy began sinking into his veins.
But this time Arjun was ready.
He immediately began the Ocean and Mountain Mantra.
Deep, rhythmic breaths.
The moment his breathing stabilized, the energy entering his body began to divide.
The polluted portion separated.
Only pure vital force flowed into his meridians.
Soft *pop… pop… pop* sounds echoed inside him, as though old dams were breaking one after another.
His body grew warm.
Then light.
Then more powerful.
He fixed the image of the goblin firmly in his mind once more—that terrifying, powerful form—and vital energy continued pouring into him along with it.
Time lost all meaning.
As the gem drew energy at full strength, impurities began leaving Arjun’s body.
Black, foul-smelling sweat poured from his pores.
A sharp stench filled the cave.
Yet he did not stop.
Slowly his muscles hardened.
His spine steadied.
His breathing became deep and easy.
And then—
He opened his eyes.
His vision had sharpened.
Even inside the dark cave he could see everything clearly.
A faint violet gleam lingered in his eyes.
He looked at himself.
At his palms.
Then clenched a fist and threw a test punch.
A sharp crack of air splitting.
The speed of the punch was so great that the air itself seemed to scream like a whip.
Arjun froze.
He raised his left arm again.
The small black spot on it was now clearer.
It was the Corruption Mark.
And it was the first step of his advancement.
His breathing was still rapid, but excitement shone plainly in his eyes.
He understood.
He had advanced in cultivation.
He was no longer merely a boy fighting hunger.
He was a cultivator.
And this violet gem was only the beginning of his journey.
A soft wind from far away.
Arjun looked toward the cave mouth.
Outside it was still day.
Yet inside him a new night had not fallen— a new sun had risen.
And he also realized that the mystery of the north-east still waited there.
Still waiting for him.