The Human Path

Chapter 11: Transformation

"Koren, who performed the harmonization ceremony for you when you turned 10, was it Kafai" Asked Chief Ipnak, as the two were walking.

"Um yes." Replied Koren with some hesitation, he didn't like it when he had to lie to people who were good to him.

"Did he tell you why we attempt harmonization only after our 10th birthday?" asked Chief Ipnak as he came to a stop.

"No, Grandpa and I only trained in the basics." Said Koren as he remembered his grandfather.

Koren was born with wind, not earth. His Grandfather tried his best to teach him, but it was very difficult for him to make progress, due to the lack of wind spirits in the desert.

"As you know, harmonization is the process when we are accepted by the spirits and we welcome the spirits into our Spiritual Core. The more spirits we can fuse, the higher our harmonization. Our spiritual cores are very fragile, and only when we turn 10 years old, are they mature enough to attempt fusion." Said Ipnak as he started walking again.

"But what is harmonization, why does it allow us to fight someone with a higher level. The truth is, harmonization increases our ability to control the elements, as well as our capacity to hold spiritual power. That is why someone who's level is higher will almost always win." Said Ipnak.

"We humans lack the proper resources to cultivate in the spiritual path, in the Raavi empire, children who cultivate the spiritual path have troves of spiritual shards at their disposal, they are able to cultivate faster than you can imagine." Said Ipnak in a pitiful tone.

"Harmonization provides balance and control, while level provides power and versatility.

However, this only exists till level 10, because after reaching level 10, we get the opportunity to harmonize again. Our spiritual cores expand and transform, allowing us to reach the incarnation realm" said Ipnak, as his body started to grow, and his skin started to get a grainy texture, like sand.

"During the incarnation realm one must make a choice, and choose a spiritual beast shard. The shard is not used for cultivation but for fusion. It fuses with the spiritual core of the cultivator, allowing them to harness all of the spiritual beasts gifts as their own. I chose the sand badger, giving me a thick sand Armor, sharp claws, an extremely strong sense of smell underground, along with unrivaled speed in the sand." said the Chief as his whole body grew thicker, his nose elongated, and two dark streaks appeared over his eyes and cheeks.

Koren was shocked, the chief had completely transformed into a monster. Koren now understood why the chief brought him away from the others, such a sight would most likely frighten the faint of heart like Enri.

"The incarnation realm is not a secret, but it is rare in the Goliath desert. Your grandfather's incarnation was the iron scaled Mammoth, an extremely rare spiritual beast." Said chief Ipnak with clear regret in his eyes.

"However, 14 years ago, the sword keeper came to him for help. Me, the other chieftains and your grandfather decided to hide him from his enemy, but we failed. The enemy managed to track us down, and killed the sword keeper. However your grandfather managed to secure the sword, but he was severely injured, his incarnation collapsed. In the end we managed to kill the enemy, but one of the village chiefs also died." Said Chief Ipnak, his voice full of sorrow and regret.

"You managed to reach level 5 at such a young age, I have no doubt you will reach level 10 before Haruki, perhaps even earlier than Sappa." Said the village chief as he started to get smaller, and all the changes disappeared one by one, until he looked like a regular desert human.

Koren, had never seen a human transform like this, and the idea that his grandfather was also capable of a similar feat made him feel as if he didn't really know his grandfather all too well.