The dim light from the pulsating energy cast eerie shadows across the ancient ruins. System had instructed him to scan everything, and he wasn’t about to ignore its advice—especially after realizing that whatever this place was, it had been abandoned for a very long time.

  His vision flickered as System's interface glitched, struggling to process the information flooding in. The symbols carved into the walls were like nothing he had ever seen—complex, interconnected, almost mathematical in their structure.

  SYSTEM: [UNKNOWN SCRIPT DETECTED]

  [Attempting linguistic decryption… 0.4%]

  [ERROR: Missing Reference Database]

  [Cross-checking scanned data…]

  His fingers traced the carvings. Some patterns repeated, forming what looked like equations—possibly formulas? Others resembled anatomical diagrams, depicting something vaguely humanoid, yet different. The symbols alongside them felt… instructive.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Then, the glitching text reappeared.

  System: [Partial Decryption Success]

  [Key Term Identified: “Aetheric Organ”]

  [Key Term Identified: “Aetheric Energy”]

  Ares’ eyes widened. He read the words again, just to be sure. Aetheric? That had to be the name of the strange energy the system detected before.

  SYSTEM ANALYSIS: [UNKNOWN ORGAN LOCATED WITHIN HOST BRAIN]

  [ORGAN FUNCTIONS INCLUDE ENERGY GENERATION AND STORAGE]

  [DATA CORRUPTED—INCOMPLETE SYSTEM UNDERSTANDING]

  Ares’ mind raced. If this Aetheric Organ was inside his brain, then it meant he had been producing this energy all along. Was this why he had been able to generate fire earlier? But if that was the case… why didn’t people in his old world have it?

  The wall carvings held the answer. One particular section showed a diagram of a human figure, with a glowing core inside the skull. Arrows extended from it, branching out into different directions, with smaller symbols surrounding it. Ares couldn’t read them, but their positioning suggested different types of energy—some flowing like wind, others bursting outward like flames.

  Ares took a deep breath. This discovery changed everything. If people in this world had an Aetheric Organ, then that meant they could harness this power through training.

  His gaze returned to the pulsating energy source. The remnant Aetheric energy in the ruin was likely left over from centuries ago—possibly even from the experiments themselves. But why was it still active?

  SYSTEM: SUGGESTION [CONTINUE SCANNING SYMBOLS]

  [AETHERIC ENERGY FUNDAMENTALS MAY BE CONTAINED WITHIN REMAINING DATA]

  Ares exhaled and got to work.