Sera was bewildered by the sight before her. Never had she seen the concentration of red dust so high as to be visible to the naked eye. The only instances she could remember were when strong Dustborns were slain, and the red dust within their bodies spilled into the atmosphere. It only lasted for a moment before completely disappearing. Obviously, such a thing had never happened within the confines of the Cradle.

  Ning Shan was immobile in the middle of this thick cloud while this deadly substance swirled around him like a galaxy. Yet none of the red dust's lethal properties seemed to apply to him. He slowly breathed the powder in and out, the cloud growing thinner with each breath, almost as if he were taking the toxic dust within himself.

  Sera couldn't help but recoil in fright, wondering what kind of monster this man was. Even with her mask covering her face, she felt dread at the mere thought of entering this thick cloud of red. She had the mounting suspicion that she would collapse dead at its mere touch, almost as if the dust could pass through the barrier of her skin.

  While her knowledge of the dust was limited, she wouldn't take the chance. She only waited within the threshold of his room, watching as even more dust was attracted to his body, passing through the thick walls, almost as if he possessed his own gravity. All the while, the lights and all other devices that used the dust as an energy source would flicker irregularly as they were deprived of sustenance.

  Outside the window, she could see the ninth level plunged into obscurity as the hovering light went out. Some of them even fell to the ground, the sound of their crash echoing over the now silent level as people watched, stupefied at this unheard-of phenomenon.

  Only when the sound echoed did the citizens recover their minds and begin to panic as they plunged into blackness. While darkness had followed them all their lives, living only under dim lights, to be deprived of them so suddenly left them unable to compute. They could only shout uneasily while waiting for the government to restore order.

  This proved difficult as the red dust was the very foundation of the city. Anything that possessed electronics or needed energy to operate was now rendered null due to the lack of red dust. People's enhanced limbs or even life-sustaining apparatus began to fail, leaving some unable to stand while others were on the edge of death.

  Sera watched—through their apartment's large bay windows—as the ninth level came to a standstill, almost as if the city had gone to sleep. Fortunately, the phenomenon was contained to the ninth level as she could see even dimmer light further up overhead.

  However, they, too, were beginning to flicker as Ning Shan's force of attraction grew stronger. Worse still, the device that sustained the level mid-air began to falter, leading the ground below their feet to quake as it threatened to fall to the levels below. If whatever Ning Shan did wasn't made to stop, the several lower levels of the Cradle would be reduced to rumble as they fell one on top of the others.

  Unaware of the impending calamity, Ning Shan was deep in a trance-like state, absorbing the surges of red dust one breath at a time. He breathed in, bringing the concentrated red dust to his core by letting it pass through his now reconstructed qi channels as some of it was infused into his flesh. This transformed his body into something that could now use this new-found energy to empower itself.

  As for the red dust that finally made its way to his core, only a tiny fraction would be incorporated into the revolving planet's ring, as it first needed to be refined by the black lightning before integrating into it. The process was slow, much slower than he would have liked. Still, he was used to how dull cultivating could be and thought nothing of it. Simply, the fact that he could grow stronger through this method left him feeling satisfied.

  No matter how long it might take, he was slowly working toward his goal. The planet grew bigger as the dust coalesced into it, its surface even reaching the orbit of the first ring. Still, instead of integrating the ring into the planet's core, it was pushed back, its orbit growing bigger as it did the same for all four others.

  The process repeated itself multiple times, slowly growing bigger until its mass was at the apex of what it could sustain. Once it reached its limit, the cuboid planet of red dust collapsed unto itself, propelling a large amount of dust outward as it crashed into the planet’s ring, destroying them in the process. It was as if a small supernova happened within the confines of his core, yet the black lightning was ever present at the edge of his inner universe, preventing the dust from leaving his core.

  The dust crashed against the black barrier, unable to go further. Its outward momentum was transferred to an angular one as the cloud of dust began spinning ever faster until it coalesced to the centre again under its own gravity.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  The cube-shaped planet regained its form once again, although much smaller than at its peak. Still, a large cloud of dust remained as it spun on its axis before the cloud coalesced into distinct rings. However, instead of the initial five, there was now a sixth spinning at the planet’s periphery. The five-ringed planet had now become six-ringed.

  Ning Shan felt a wave of power course through his body. While slightly different than a breakthrough in cultivation, the strength increase was noticeable. His flesh had become somewhat stronger. While he was far from being able to keep up with what his mind demanded, he still felt the refreshing feeling of his slow ascension to the peak once again. Although the road to such heights would be long, the mere fact that it could be done put a smile on his face.

  He opened his eyes, only to find Sera with her back against the wall opposite his own room. The sturdy wall had slightly caved in above her head while she was slumped to the ground, seemingly unable to rise. Her head hung down as her two hands firmly gripped her mask.

  Ning Shan rose as he frowned. From what he remembered, she should have been gone a few hours prior. Had she already returned? If so, he should have noticed her arrival. Was her presence so minute that he hadn't detected her, or did she possess some means to hide he wasn't aware of, or was something else at play?

  Thinking back on it, Ning Shan had no recollection of the passage of time. Usually, he would remain aware of all his surroundings despite being in closed-door cultivation. So much so that none could approach him without being repelled by the might his own consciousness exuded through cultivation. His divine sense would usually permeate the world around him, making all sudden attacks fail to produce lasting consequences.

  In this case, however, Sera had been able to reach much closer than others had ever been. Was it because he saw her as non-threatening? He firmly believed that wasn't the case. Was there something else?

  Suddenly, the light in their apartment came to life, bringing a dim light to the darkness. Only then did Ning Shan finally realize that something was wrong. Looking out of a nearby window, he saw darkness hang over the city before a curious apparatus began levitating, rising above it before emitting a slight light, restoring the city's semblance of life.

  Something was amiss, and nothing proved it more than when he cast his gaze onto a nearby building. Its facade had crumbled slightly, almost as if an earthquake had shaken the earth, causing pieces of its exterior to detach and fall to the ground, leaving their remnants on the streets.

  The same could be said for the city's inhabitants. Most looked overhead hesitantly, dread evident in their eyes. Despite the light having been brought back, they stood motionless as if awaiting something more to come. It was only when unmanned drones began patrolling the sky as they descended from the level above that a semblance of peace was slightly restored.

  Some began to rush toward their residence as if trying to estimate the damages, while others stood in place, still shaken by what had just happened. Still, what caught Ning Shan's attention was the same building across the street that had initially caught his attention.

  Its broken facade was slowly repairing itself without any outside interference. The shattered pieces of its exterior rose from the ground, sliding themselves into the same recesses they originated from, only to be seamlessly repaired, leaving no traces of their broken state.

  Using the dust to enhance his vision, Ning Shan could see the red particles dance within the air as they clung to the debris, making them rise from the ground and attaching them to the building. It was almost as if the particles had come to life, moving on their own, almost as if they possessed a shared consciousness, allowing them to move in unison and perform complex tasks.

  Does this city have the means to control the red dust?

  As he pondered, he sensed a groan coming from behind him. He abruptly turned, only to see Sera shake her head before holding it with both hands, almost as if trying to resist the throbbing of her skull. Ning Shan bent down before her, looking into her red eyes, only to see them dazed and confused. He waited for her to come to before voicing his doubts.

  “What happened to you?” he asked, yet his tone was much colder than Sera would have liked. She couldn’t help but retort despite the pain assaulting her.

  “Isn’t it all your fault?” she said, her eyes now closed as she fought the pain. “You better pray the government doesn’t discover what you just did, for both our sake.”

  She finally opened her eyes, only to see the confusion on Ning Shan's face. She remained stunned but sighed as she rose to her feet with Ning Shan's help.

  "Do you really not remember?" she asked, only to see Ning Shan shake his head, waiting for her to elaborate.

  She began to explain what had happened since she had left their apartment: the flickering lights, the unstable devices, even the level threatening to fall, but also the cloud of red dust that orbited around him, so much so that it was visible to the naked eye.

  “What happened after that?” he asked.

  “I didn't know what to do as I didn't want to make things worse, so I waited," she said as she took a seat on a nearby chair. "Suddenly, you showed a smile on your face, and then the cloud of dust exploded, spreading outward as it created a wave of compressed air. I only had enough time to grasp my mask as it crashed into me, lifting me off my feet and propelling me into the nearby wall. Fortunately, it only cut my breath off and made me lose consciousness, allowing the medicine present in my mask to do its job."

  “If so, why haven't the windows been destroyed by the explosion?" he said as he looked through them, only to see what resembled glass was still pristine.

  “I’m sure they suffered some damage, but the city is always quick to repair itself,” she shrugged. “That’s not the least of our problems here...”

  Her gaze was grim as she removed her mask once she ensured it was safe. She looked toward Ning Shan as if trying to say something but hesitated. Yet, Ning Shan had an inkling of what she meant to say.

  “You think that by following the damages, they might be able to find its epicentre?” he asked, yet he already knew the answer.

  “Indeed,” she replied, slightly frantic. “They should be on their way as we speak.”