Elder Cultivator

Reaching a tremendous breakthrough during a time of crisis was a time honored tradition among cultivators… and Anton thought that it was about time for that to be done away with. The lower realms, at least, did not need to be associated with such things. It could already be seen in the names they chose.

Assimilation and Enrichment versus Augmentation and Domination expressed quite different ideas. The Scarlet Alliance in the upper realms was not the origins of Augmentation or Domination, of course. They merely accepted the names as already established. There was nothing wrong with that, but names had meaning… and Anton didn’t want to start off on a bad foot.

He didn’t want to be an emperor, or a god. What would even be the point?

Besides, having killed a Domination cultivator, the latter felt especially arrogant. It was just asking to be proven to be nothing more than an old and powerful mortal.

Given the ideas of cycles and tying things back together, ‘Mortal’ almost fit. But Anton didn’t like it because it was still missing something. Many people, in fact.

There was no chance Anton would have reached his current level based solely on his own talent and insight. What brought him high were the people he knew… and people he didn’t. When Anton had first learned about devotion he hadn’t been entirely enthusiastic, but it was impossible to get away from. At some point he had decided he merely had to be worthy of what was coming his way, and that meant paying it back to those who shared their devotion- even if it wasn’t directly. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It hadn’t actually required any changes in what Anton actually did, just his attitude. He wanted to make the world a better place, and his definition of the limits of said world merely expanded as time went on. He wasn’t some sort of benevolent force, he was merely paying people back for what they did for him. Sometimes his efforts came before the devotion, but he had no reason to have such a limited concept of cooperation that he should be bothered by that.

A new stage would have to have a name. Since Domination didn’t fit and merely calling it More Enrichment or something was a bit lackluster, Anton discussed with other Enrichment cultivators first, consulting on what common factors they could see in the next stage. Out of his discussions with Devon, Lev, and even some others on different paths, a single word stood out.

Unity.

Everything Anton understood drove him more towards that, and the others understood the same thing. The Great Queen was in agreement on that matter, and even Nthanda who did not follow the path of energy cultivation agreed that it was appropriate- even for herself, should she reach a certain level of power.

It was likely possible to forge a path that ended up at a different end goal using natural energy, but Anton simply didn’t see one that would be worthwhile. Becoming one with people, places, or a concept was the ultimate goal.

The only way the word might be imperfect was that the cultivators would also be imperfect. It was a concept to strive for, but it might never be reached fully.

-----

Leading up to the date of his advancement, Anton did relatively little. He thought to visit important places from his past, but decided against it- not because his past no longer mattered, but because if it truly mattered so much, the connection should still be with him.

There were very few places he had memories that he could not relive through his connection to a local star. He could look down upon Ceretos, narrowing in on Brogora and then Dungannon. National borders had faded after planetary unification, and most of the population wouldn’t remember a time when Graotan was separate from anything else around it.

Anton looked down upon empty fields. The town had been rebuilt, abandoned, and built again several times over the course of what was nearly a millennium. Some people had tried to venerate the area as Anton’s birthplace, but few even knew of the connection. It wasn’t secret, but that didn’t mean it was well known.

Now, there were layers of history atop a few remaining pieces of what had once been the town Anton knew- and he was quite content with that. He had moved on, taking with him his memories of the places and people. The fact that the fields were currently empty of intentional growth did not bother him, as the area was brimming with natural energy. Wild plants grew tall and strong, unneeded as a source of sustenance for the surrounding. People were fed and healthy even without making use of that plot of land.

Neighboring systems. Those further afar where his greatest disciples first bound their home stars. To the east, a few stars curving between the Shining Cooperative and the Adamant Federation, then back around the border of the lower realms. Finally to the west, the extreme end of his roaming, most of which had yet to be colonized to any extent.

His thoughts flickered between all of them in mere moments. He was able to take in his stars as a whole, the people around them or that would be around them. Some of those people were paying close attention to their stars, because even if Anton would have liked his advancement to go by unnoticed, it really wasn’t feasible. ṛ

-----

The first time Anton had comprehended power on the scale he was aiming for it had been a flash of inspiration borne from need. He couldn’t entirely get away from strife, even as he was enjoying a time of peace.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The need to stop Sudin had been so great that Anton would have gladly given up himself. Instead, he’d likely received far more in the end. It was fortunate that he’d been close enough at the time to touch upon Unity, or what he would eventually mold into that.

Taking a cross section of the lower realms as viewed from either above or below would reveal a pattern in Anton’s stars that had at first been coincidental. A vaguely curved or oval shape had reminded him of a bow, and linking to his stars his power had chased Sudin along the Tides of the World into the upper realms, rendering him asunder with spectral energy.

Now Anton had formed what he considered to be another wing of a bent bow along with a nocked arrow. Artists could argue about the accuracy of the exact placements of the stars in his constellation and whether it truly fit a proper bow, but the thing that mattered to Anton was what he thought. And it was one thing to him. Certainly better than most ‘shapes’ people thought they saw in ‘constellations’ of a handful of stars that weren’t within a hundred lightyears of each other.

A bow was still a symbol of violence, even when used for its most basic form of hunting out of necessity. Anton wouldn’t be able to completely get away from that, but he didn’t intend to… because it was also a threat. Just not to anyone in the lower realms.

Anton tried not to keep those waiting in suspense for too long, but as he ramped up his intake of power days passed by in an instant. Then a week.

Every star within Anton was activated together, and more than just drawing upon their power he connected them. However, he didn’t wish to connect them merely as sources of power, balls of plasma of differing sizes, densities, and power. Instead, he was stitching together the concept of their existence, and the life they provided to those around them- or that they could provide.

Maheg was excited. Anton could tell that, but he could also tell that the star was keeping itself in check. Rapid changes in stars were anything but good. Even tearing the corruption out of a star had left it unstable for a number of years. Said corruption was still being monitored on its way to a distant grave in the second-nearest black hole, a lengthy journey.

Each star was different. Normalizing their size and power would be a waste, but there was something Anton could learn from each- and connecting them could also connect the people around them. That was the hope, and Anton felt the people around them beginning to feel the changes.

Taking the devotion that was flowing towards him, Anton tied the streams into each other. He wanted each and every person to look at their stars and think about how others were looking at something similar. Everyone except Aipra, perhaps- though he thought to offer them the opportunity to have a star, should they feel safe coming into the outer layers of the world.

Power flowed into Anton and through him. No doubt he would be growing stronger as his access to energy increased, but it wasn’t for him. He was simply a medium of connection.

It wasn’t easy. After nearly a thousand years of cultivation, Anton thought he could go for a thousand more before being truly comfortable with what he was trying. But in that thousand years, what would happen to the world? What opportunities would people miss?

Anton was sweating. He was sweating, and he was smiling. He loved work, and he loved having a purpose. He wasn’t the only one. He had thousands- tens of thousands- working with him to monitor the stars, making sure the connection wasn’t going to harm them somehow. Then there were billions and trillions more who were aware on a lesser level that something was happening.

The people would not be connected to each other directly. Anton knew his style wasn’t suited for such a thing, and he would leave that to the hiveminds. Being a step removed was likely a good thing for most people. Unity and connection was available, but individuality still had to be respected.

Anton was on fire, both his passions and actually. Tiny paws reached out to stabilize him, Three Squeaks aiding him from Aipra. Varghese also joined from In’istra, calming the fires of power within Anton. And finally, the best specialist of the bunch, the only one with real experience being a star. Maheg nudged Anton from inside, powerful but gentle.

The flames flowing through his various connections circulated and grew, but Anton grew larger than his stars- one hundred and ninety-seven in all. He created within himself a distance, not of separation but of room to grow. Within that space, he would be able to add further stars… and provide for the wants and needs of the people connected. Anton was certain of that as he felt the flames fade into something resembling a cozy hearth.

The needs of the people were about what Anton expected. Safety and security- well accounted for, but yet imperfect. Opportunities to grow individually or as a community. And a desire Anton was aware of, but had avoided wrestling with because he was powerless in that area- a desire for connection to those who had gone to the upper realms.

All of that was simply the first wave, the strongest overlapping needs. Others slowly arrived from the various people in the shelter of the stars… and from some of the stars themselves.

Lifespans of millions or billions of years, depending upon the size of the star, meant they had few urgent needs. Indeed, having personally observed these stars Anton hadn’t found any problems with them or he would have already tried to help. But with the various connections, small things began to become clear. And while very few things would be an issue for thousands or millions of years yet, it was better to act much sooner than that.

And he would, as he settled into Unity. Anton was tempted to test out his new power… but he had no target for violence. The upper realms were generally a problem, but provoking more conflict wouldn’t be helpful. He’d instead prefer to let themselves weaken themselves with another attempted invasion. They might not, of course, but it wouldn’t be too late to change his mind when something was happening.

More constructively, Anton thought he could shore up some stars that were a bit imperfect, like Poriza’s. He was the reason it was a proper star, and thus also the reason it was imperfect. Small imbalances might lead to more in the future. But as a human, sizing up a star was already an accomplishment he’d never thought he would have achieved. He had no immediate successes from the advancement still stabilizing inside of him, but the potential for nearly limitless activities was there within him- and able to be seen by others.