The Display of Aether

Ace's eyes quivered as his consciousness returned.

His eyelids slowly opened, revealing to him a beige ceiling.

He quickly got his upper-body up and scrutinized the room he was in cautiously.

Yesterday night, the last thing he remembered was talking to Akash about Earth.

After that, it was like his memory had gone blank, and that his entire experience had been erased.

He massaged his temples, trying to alleviate the excruciating pain he felt due to his headache.

Then, exiting the warmth of his bedsheets, he headed towards the shower.

Scrubbing every part of his body, he brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on a white tunic.

On top of the tunic, he wore a black robe to keep himself warm.

He went to grab his scabbard, but then realized he had lost during the battle with the red ogre.

Thankfully, he still possessed the spatial ring, since Leo or the divine beings hadn't taken it from him during the process of his death.

He was surprisingly calm for someone who had died, but even death didn't surprise him anymore.

Anyway, it couldn't stray him from his goal and what the divine beings expect from him.

Today was his first day of training, and he was expecting the best training he could possibly receive in the Inner Cosmos, since a Fragment of Khaos associated with omniscience, and the Celestial of Enlightenment were his trainers.

He headed towards the training grounds, which he didn't know the location of.

"Um, could you tell me the location of the training ground that the divine beings have occupied?"

He asked a maid, who escorted him towards the training grounds.

Stepping into an elevator with transparent walls, he was transported upwards at extreme speeds, eventually reaching the training ground, which was literally a cloud in the sky.

The humongous cloud, which was probably larger than the entire planet of Earth, had various areas.

Gyms, swimming pools, basketball courts, and various other things.

There, he spotted a little boy who barely looked nine.

The boy possessed dirty-blonde hair and stood there with a blank look on his face.

Using [Body Augmentation], [Aura Manifestation], and [Aether Manipulation] to reinforce his body, he jumped out of the elevator, shattering tons of glass.

Then, he cushioned his landing, which was inside of a swimming pool using those skills.

Exiting the swimming pool with his clothes completely intact because of the skills, he headed towards Akash using [Flurry Steps].

Whoosh!

A cold wind passed by and took Ace with him, bringing him right where Akash stood.

"Hi."

He said, much to Akash's shock. The latter jumped in fright before cowering.

"Uh."

Not knowing what to do in such a situation, Ace stared at Akash with an absent-minded look.

"Ah, it's just you."

"Just me?"

Ace asked, skeptical.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

"Larry."

"Ah."

Nodding his head once, he pointed towards the vast grassland present on top of the training grounds.

"Shall we begin the training?"

"Woah, look at you all impatient."

Scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, he used [Flurry Steps] to instantly arrive at the grassland.

Akash used the same skill, but was not proficient in it, since it was a random skill out of his billion-long skill arsenal.

As he arrived at the grassland, Ace and Akash parted, landing in position opposite to the other.

"There's going to be many variations of training you will encounter during our stay in the Spirit Realm. Some of those will be taught by Larry, while the others will be taught by me. We need to work on your swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, ranged combat, proficient use of your aether manipulation skill, speed, reflexes, and battle sense."

Ace raised his eyebrows as he heard those words.

"I mean, I'm not too bad.. Right?"

"You're the trashiest former A Ranker I've ever seen."

His ears drooped at the insult. However, his eyes were now filled with sheer determination to become better.

"Now, attack me with everything you have."

"But, you're weak–"

"Do you realize how many skills I possess? I could defeat an A Ranker with these skills, even if I have the mana of a D Ranker."

"You promise you won't die or something?"

"Don't worry, the Deity of Destruction will be the only divine being slayed by you."

Nodding profusely, he charged up his mana.

Since Akash had said so, he wouldn't die.

He used [Body Augmentation], [Aura Manifestation], and [Aether Manipulation], before extending his arm into a sword.

Using that extended arm, he emanated his mana.

His mana control was above anyone he had seen before due to his dexterity, and since he currently didn't possess an artifact…

Mana extended from his hand, forming a temporary makeshift blade.

Of course, it would consume much more mana than necessary, but if he couldn't use his strongest skill, [Sword Saint], there was no point fighting.

The makeshift sword, or 'mana blade', as he called it, was directly charged using his own mana through [Mana Manipulation].

It was given energy at any given time and could not exist without mana supply at all times.

"Ah, a makeshift blade using mana. Impressive."

Akash remarked, seeming disinterested despite his words.

Ace mixed his blade with aether as well, causing it to glow purple and white.

Raising an eyebrow, Akash noticed the aether, but his expression soon turned indifferent once again.

"Are you going to come at me now?"

Whoosh!

Using [Flurry Steps], he charged at Akash, going as fast as possible.

A ringing sound reverberated throughout the training grounds, alarming everyone who was training, even in the other training grounds on different clouds.

"The First Move of [Sword Saint]."

Akash casually muttered, extending his arm to summon a lightning bolt.

Clank!

Ace's blade impacted with the lightning bolt, sending thousands of shockwaves consisting of different properties.

Ace was stunned, and was stumped.

He didn't know what his next move should be, since Vertical tear had been blocked.

"See? You used the first move of [Sword Saint], and are now completely defenseless. You have never failed while using Vertical tear, which is why you tend to be so arrogant regarding it. You need to have a backup plan. Moreover, you haven't even used the Beginner Level Mastery to reinforce your strength and speed."

As Akash pointed out Ace's mistakes, the latter's head drooped more and more.

"Now, go back."

As he said those words, a force suddenly pushed Ace, sending him back where he began his assault.

"Now, reinforce your body using [Body Augmentation] only. Then, form the makeshift blade with the highest concentration of mana, aura, and aether you can scrape up. Then, use Beginner Level Mastery. Finally, you use [Flurry Steps], but change your route midway so that the enemy cannot predict your attacks."

Ace nodded, doing exactly what Akash had told him.

He used [Body Augmentation] to reinforce his body, while using mana, aether and aura to create the blade. Then, he used Beginner Level Mastery of [Sword Saint], turning his pupils pure white. Then, he used [Flurry Steps and took off.

When he reached halfway to his destination, he zigzagged, causing Akash's prediction of his moves to falter.

But, Akash had the mental fortitude that no one could ever match. A single falter wasn't going to ruin his battle strategy.

However, in order for Ace to see that he had improved, Akash deliberately chose the wrong move in such a situation, creating a lightning bolt once again.

Crash!

The lightning bolt shattered this time, and Ace's blade halted right before it could slit Akash's throat.

Breathing heavily, Akash raised his thumb up in order to signify Ace's victory.

Ace removed the blade from his neck and tried to steady his breathing, just like Akash.

"Good."

Akash praised him for doing exactly what he told him to do.

Ace smiled faintly, but wasn't proud.

He knew Akash could have easily deflected his move and killed him with a single blow, but didn't.

He knew that his opponents wouldn't give him such chances, and that he needed more strength.

"Now, I know where we can begin our training."

Raising his eyebrows, Ace waited for an answer.

"Before we do anything, we need to strengthen your body without the use of mana. Once that is complete, we will work on battle without mana, such as swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, agility, senses, reflexes, and battle sense. Finally, we will work on external sources of power, such as mana, aura, aether, and so on. Since I don't know much about aether, it will be last on our bucket-list."

Nodding his head in agreement, Ace waited for elaboration.

"For now, pushups, crunches, sit-ups, and so on. Also, stretch your body."

Groaning, Ace stood up and began doing push ups.

He didn't want to do it, but he knew that such immaturity wouldn't suffice.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours.

Soon, it was evening already.

The Spirit Realm's sun was setting, and Ace was still doing exercises.

"Enough."

Akash said, as Ace collapsed instantly after hearing those words.

"We will start working on your body starting tomorrow. For now, I am interested to look into the aether that you possess."

Eyeing him suspiciously, Ace stood up, struggling to maintain his balance.

"Here, drink this."

"What is this?"

Ace asked as he inspected the purple potion that had just been given to him.

"What do you think it is? Healing potion, duh."

Ace quickly chugged it down after finding out its name. Then, he wiped the moisture off of his lips and asked what he had to do.

"First of all, augment your body with aether."

As soon he said those words, Ace used [Aether Manipulation] to augment his body.

As soon as he did, Akash approached him and began poking it.

Surprisingly, his body felt extremely stiff. It felt like not even Akashic Records would be able to pierce it.

"So that is aether, huh?"

He remarked on the extent aether could interfere with his body. It was to the point that even people two major ranks ahead of him might not be able to pierce his body.

"Now, form two spears floating on each of your shoulders. I want the spears to be as detailed as possible."

Ace was perplexed by the request.

He could control aether, but shaping it while it wasn't even connected to his body was impossible, even for most S Rankers.

Well, even E Rankers could do it, but only S Rankers could provide detail and have as much power as needed.

"What? Don't look at me like that, do it!"

"Uh, I don't know how."

Facepalming, Akash quickly channeled his mana and disconnected it from his body.

Then, the two blobs of mana floated towards his shoulders and stopped behind and above them.

Following that, the blobs quickly started to take form and in less than a millisecond, they had turned into extremely detailed spears that even blacksmiths couldn't create using materials.

Soon, two white spears of pure mana floated above both of Akash's shoulders, portraying him as King.

Since he hadn't infused any elemental property, even though he had the means to, the spears were completely white.

Ace's eyes widened as he realized that the control of mana was higher than he had ever seen before.

He wondered if this control was higher than SSS Rank.

"Woah."

Akash smiled proudly, as if a dad showing his skills to his son.

"Ah, I've been wondering something."

"Yes?"

"What Rank is above SSS Rank?"

"The EX Rank, which demigods possess."

"Demigods?"

"We'll talk about that later. There's no point in you knowing."

"Ah, I see. Anyway, what's above EX Rank?"

"According to my system, it is the Sovereign Rank, but people without my system would know them as Deities."

"So Deities are at the Sovereign. What about Celestials?"

"Celestials are at the Emperor Rank."

"These ranks are created by you, right? Like, the system and its ranks were created by you. Does that mean you can control my strength?"

Akash pondered over whether to tell Ace about his irregularity.

However, he quickly decided against it since it could stunt his growth, knowing that he's 'special' and all.

"I can't control the amount of strength you possess, but I can remove you from the system, which will turn you into a regular human."

Nodding once, a thoughtful expression emerged on Ace's face.

"Now, try doing what I did using aether."

"But, I can't!"

"Try it or I'll remove you from the system."

Intimidated by the threat, Ace quickly formed aether which was disconnected from his body, bringing the blobs up to his shoulders.

"Now, turn them into spears."

The blobs began to change rapidly, eventually turning into two sticks.

"They formed an equilibrium. What do I do now?"

"Make the sticks thinner, concentrating most of the aether at the tip."

The sticks became thinner, and eventually, one small blob appeared on each tip.

"Shape that blob into the tip of a spear."

The blobs quickly turned sharp at the front, forming a perfect spear.

"Now, add details."

"I can't. The spear will break."

Akash sighed as if having expected this to happen.

"We'll work on aether control as well."

"Hey guys!"

Suddenly, a voice entered their ears. A very childish once at that.

"Larry!"

Akash called out, using [Blitz Step - EX] to instantly appear before him, causing ripples to form in the atmosphere.

Ace didn't understand why Akash would be so excited to see Larry…

'Wait, is that ice cream?'

He spotted three cones of ice cream in his hand and shook his head in defeat.

It seemed like the Akashic Records and the Celestial of Enlightenment were just children, even though they had lived long enough to have millions of descendants.

With a smile on his face, Ace used [Flurry Steps] to reach Larry and grab the ice cream cone out of his hand.

"What were you guys doing?"

"Training. I got to see aether for the first time, and it was so cool!"

Akash began his monologue about their entire day, not stopping for a bit even to lick his ice cream, which had melted in his hand.

However, contrary to a minute ago, he tossed the cone and the melted ice cream aside, causing it to disintegrate.

"[Disintegration - SSS]?"

Larry asked, and the response he received was a quick nod.

"Wait, I realized something. Can't Akash just pass on skills to me?"

"You're an E Rank, Ace. Your body will burst before Akash could count to 3."

"But he gave me two skills in the previous timeline."

"Yeah, and what rank were you? The skills were only carried back to your regression due to them being bound to your soul due to them being given to you by a Fragment of a Primordial."

"Ah."

Returning to the training grounds, Larry asked Ace to show the biggest display of aether he could perform.

Ace agreed and stood before him on the grassland.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course! I'm a Celestial."

"Alright."

Ace replied as he channeled the aether throughout his body.

He, of course, felt no resistance to the aether whatsoever, unlike other people.

As the aether flowed throughout his veins, it concentrated on his hand, causing it to glow bright purple.

"I'm about to begin."

He warned as he compressed tons of aether inside of his hand.

The aether boiled, waiting to be unleashed upon the divine being standing before him.

"3."

"2."

"Just begin already!"

Larry rudely interrupted his countdown, but Ace had already shot the aether.

Shhhh!

The aether turned into a beam and darted towards Larry, causing a streak of purple to remain in the atmosphere.

The beam neared Larry, who was already prepared.

Larry put his hands up, waiting to block it.

"[Tank - A]."

He calmly said as the purple beam extinguished on the place of impact immediately.

No shockwaves.

No bits and pieces flying everywhere.

The aether had completely disappeared.

"That's it? That was your strongest move using aether?"

Ace was dumbfounded by what had just occurred. His mouth opened and closed several times but unfortunately, no words came out.

"Well, that's disappointing."

His head drooped as he walked towards Akash, licking his ice cream like a child.

To be fair, he did look like an 8 year old child.

As Ace fell on his knees, he had one thought in his mind.

'No, I can't be this weak.'

He had always excelled during his time in Academy 07, and had not noticed how weak he was compared to other, stronger foes.

Humans and beasts were the only foes he had encountered during his entire life.

He didn't even have a chance to fight the Deity of Destruction, because he knew he couldn't.

An A Ranker, which was considered one of the weakest in the Conscientious Rankings.

He believed that regression would solve it since he knew how to become stronger.

However, the speed of his growth along with the right procedures were unbeknownst to him as he had always lived on Earth.

He bit tongue as hard as possible, causing blood to flow out of his mouth like a fountain.

Not bothering to stop the bleeding, he stood up once again and faced his enemy, who was licking his bubble gum flavored ice cream.

Gathering aether and concentrating it in his right hand, he pointed his palm towards the Celestial of Enlightenment.

'I can't… lose here.'

Those were his last thoughts before a beam larger than a house emerged from Ace's hands.

Akash and Larry's eyes widened as they didn't even have time to react.

Larry, however, used his skill, [Tank - A], once again.

Bam!

Creak!

The aether made impact with his barrier, but didn't extinguish.

The aether caused shockwaves larger than houses to emerge from the place of impact, causing Akash to be swept away as collateral.

He was tossed aside as Larry actually had some trouble blocking the attack… from an E Ranker.

Of course, the skill Ace used was Rank ?, and the skill Larry used for Rank A, but compared to the ranks set by Akash, the rank difference was 10 major ranks…

"How the fu–"

Akash didn't get the opportunity to finish that sentence as winds blew again, tossing him farther than he had already gone.

Only then did they finally look at the person who had caused this mess…

Ace Ambrosia, the star that had emerged on the planet, allied with Akash, Earth.

He was unconscious.