2

Five years later (Onari: age 5)

Onari found out very quickly that his life was somewhat odd and not what he had expected. Sure, his family was nice. He and his mother had a very high standing in their community, and Yasaka cared for him immensely. But still, his life was kind of lonely.

He didn't have a father. Or, at least, his sperm donor wasn't involved in his life at all. His family was just him and Yasaka. And Onari often found himself feeling isolated since his mother was a busy direct subordinate of gods and goddesses.

The other Spirit Beasts, or Youkai as they were called here, were dismissive of Onari. He had been born without the signature tails of a Kitsune. Everyone had been expecting Onari to be another nine-tailed fox like his mother. Instead, he was a no-tailed fox.

Onari paid the rumors and side-glances and disdain no mind though. He could feel that he wasn't far off from breaking through to the first realm of cultivation, the Initiate's First Stage. Once he did, he knew he would show all of his doubters and critics how wrong they were about him.

That was another thing. Onari had quickly discovered that this world was very different from his previous world. Cultivation here only existed in the basest of concepts. His tutors had told him stories of high level cultivation masters within the Chinese pantheon, but they seemed to be the exception, not the rule.

This world was also much more advanced. The technological and societal advancements had shocked Onari at first. He was only just getting used to the change. He had to admit though, the internet was a wonderful invention. The amount of time he had spent consuming media or just reading would have already made him a scholar in his old world.

Still, Onari was glad his small family was about to get a bit more color added to it. There was only so much 'culture' he could consume before he became a degenerate and started enjoying NTR or something worse. Onari shuddered when he thought about the levels of depravity the internet could truly reach.

Yasaka was pregnant again, and she was rapidly approaching her due date. Once again, she had used a sperm donor. She vehemently refused the idea of another man in her life. She only had room for one man in her heart, Onari.

To say Yasaka was a loving mother would be a drastic understatement. Even with all her duties, she still always made time for Onari whenever she could. She never missed an opportunity to tuck him into bed, share a meal with him, or even just cuddle with him on her lap while she filled out paperwork.

Onari could safely say that he loved his mother and everything she did for him more than anything else in this world. She never looked down on him for his tail 'disability'. She cared for him, spending time and effort on him that could have gone to the Shinto faction. She did her best to shelter him from the predation, posturing, and politics that came with being the son of a faction leader.

The difference between his mother and the rest of the Shinto faction showed like night and day when Onari thought back on how he was treated by others. Even his mother's Tengu servants were at best dismissive, and at worst, actually hostile. They knew how to hide their hostility. Yasaka's famous protective streak made that a necessity.

But hiding their hatred and scorn for Onari just meant his detractors had to grow crafty and subtle. A decently large group within the Shinto faction also disagreed with Onari being Yasaka's successor. He didn't mind. He was used to not being the family heir. This would just give him more chances to dote on his new younger sibling.

The due date soon came, and Onari was left alone while his mother was in labor. He knew this was done on purpose. This was the first time an attempt at isolating him actually had an effect on his mindset. He wanted to be with his mother, supporting her, but instead he was in a guarded room on the other side of the facility.

Onari took a shaky breath as the indignation of being kept from his mother in her time of need hit him again. He vowed that someone would pay for this impudence. He channeled his righteous anger at the lack of face he had been given back into his cultivation and meditation.

He was close. He could feel it. His internal Qi suffused his entire body with each cyclic breath he completed. He could feel his Qi start to take in the natural energy of the world and change its nature into his own personal Qi.

This internal Qi and the Qi transformation were the true essential basics of the Initiate's realm. An Initiate was able to feel their own Qi and take in Qi from the outside world without harming themselves. Initiates did not have a central Qi Core at this stage, so their internal Qi was spread throughout the physical body.

The Initiate's realm was the first step in a cultivator's journey to surpass the heavens. In Onari's previous world, it was seen as the bare minimum a person must have achieved to be considered a real cultivator. This also meant the Initiates, especially First Stage Initiates, were at the very bottom of the cultivation food chain.

Almost no one in Onari's previous world would have celebrated breaking into the First Stage. To celebrate such a simple achievement would be to admit that you found it difficult. This would mean the death of a cultivator's face if their peers were to find out.

Of course, Onari did not subscribe to that way of thinking. For him, reaching the Initiate's realm was difficult. It was an achievement. He was a former cripple; someone who was only able to break free of the chains that bound him through literal death and rebirth.

Finally reaching the Initiate's realm was Onari's ticket to a true beginning. He may have been late by other cultivators' standards, but he was finally starting his journey to surpass his cursed mortality.

Unknown to Onari, the trials and tribulations he went through just to reach the First Stage were refining his cultivation in a profound way. He would not yet be a diamond, but the pressure necessary was already there. All he needed was the flames of cultivation to finish his transformation.

Onari's breathing grew even more steady and smooth. His Qi cycle followed his breath. There was no loud bang or tribulation lightning or anything else that would signify that something had changed. All of a sudden, Onari just instinctively realized that he was now a First Stage Initiate.

To the outside world, it seemed as if nothing had changed. Only a select few individuals noticed the shift in the world's Natural Laws, Balance, and Fate. In a stroke of profound fortune for Onari, most of the beings who noticed the slight shift didn't pay it any mind. There were bigger things in the works at the moment.