Matilda, the housekeeper of the Jeffersons, had brought him his supper.

It was at this point that Aiden realised that he had been standing with his back a bit bent, his head tilted and leaning forward as if listening for something, and a face that was completely scrunched up in tension.

All in all, it was the perfect time to have someone send him to the mental asylum

Seeing this weird pose, Matilda came forward with visible concern in her eyes.

‘Of course she’d think I’ve gone mad. Considering how I’m standing, it would have been a miracle if she would have thought otherwise.’

“Didn’t I just tell you that you are fine? Do you doubt my diagnosis?," Denzel spoke up in his mind once again.

“OH shut UP for once!!” Aiden shouted indignantly.

 Matilda furrowed her brows, “Uh what?”

“OH nothing nothing. I was just talking to myself. Don’t mind me. Anyways thanks for bringing me my supper miss Matilda. I’m feeling perfectly fine." Aiden hurriedly spoke up to clear the misunderstanding.

“Oh…well if you say so," Matilda said with a suspicious hint to her tone as if she still thought Aiden had lost a screw in his head.

Matilda, aged 34, had probably been the only one who had treated him as a human being in the house. She was like a sisterly figure in his life, although not so generous, but without her, Aiden probably would have never learnt any values or even built up his character. She was the one who had taken it upon herself to teach him.

Needless to say, the Jefferson’s did not specially like Matilda’s soft attitude towards their ‘work boy’, but considering that she managed all the miscellaneous affairs of the house, they would be quite inconvenienced if they were to suddenly fire her.

After she left, Aiden sat down cross-legged with his meal in front of him. The faint light of the candle in the dark fell on the meal, making it look more unappetising than it should have normally been. But then again, this was something that Aiden was used to. Little ever changed in this life of his anyways.

Speaking of changes……

‘Denzel, just what do you want from me?’ By this time Aiden had understood that Denzel could read his mind and he need not shout or talk to thin air like a madman. And apparently, others couldn’t hear Denzel too.

“What do I want? Simple. I want you to rise to  greatness.”

‘What kind of god gets bored and does such stuff? And rise to greatness? Are you still on that? Listen, you said it yourself, I’m a below average nobody. How do you expect me to rise to greatness? And also, what kind of god gets bored and does such stuff?’

Denzel replied with a matter-of-factly attitude, “Cultivation.”

“Cultivation?”

“Sigh. It seems that even my overestimation that you were below-average, is a huge overestimation in itself.”, Denzel shook his head and started explaining. “Cultivation. To define it in simple terms, cultivation is the act of drawing in and storing spiritual energy inside your body and ultimately raising your level of existence step by step.”

At this point Aiden was listening intently. If there was anything that he was good at, it was learning. Despite the carefree attitude that he usually had, Aiden had always loved learning new things. It was a pity that he had never really got the opportunity to do so under the Jeffersons, and the only type of teaching he had received had come from matilda.

“Let me start by explaining the concept of spiritual energy. Throughout the ages, spiritual energy has been called by many names : chi, qi,, internal energy, mana, zhenqi, spirit, life force and so much more. But essentially it is just energy. 

Energy is not just restricted within living beings. It’s present all around us, in the air, in the earth, in stones and so on. However living organisms have the capabilities to store and utilise this energy without allowing it to dissipate. In the place where I grew up, it used to be called mana. So for the sake of convenience let’s just stick to that.”

“And the energy that flows through our body has guided passageways for its flow. Just as your blood flows through your blood vessels, arteries and veins; the spiritual energy in your body flows through a network of what we standardly call meridians. The network of meridians in one’s body is quite important. In fact, one of the main reasons that some creatures have a higher starting point in their cultivation, is because their meridian network is more aligned with nature thus making it even easier for them to cultivate.”

‘You said that by cultivating we raise our level of existence. What did you mean by that?’, Aiden asked curiously.

“Hmm, have you heard of creatures called dragons or demons or angels?”

‘Yep.’ Aiden replied. Matilda had told him plenty of stories about them. 

“It can be said that mortal humans are extremely inferior lifeforms compared to them. Raising your level of existence is, in a sense, a process of ascending the food chain and reaching a state where you can stand beside them and even tower beyond them in terms of power, lifespan, disposition and so on. A higher lifeform automatically compels the energy in the body of a lower lifeform to be in complete subservience when in the former’s proximity. In fact as I told you, these lifeforms have a higher starting point because of their meridians. The amount of power it would take a human, 200 years to achieve, angels are simply born with it. A baby dragon can ravage an entire human city, just seconds after being born.”

“Wait 200 years? Humans don’t even live that long.”, Aiden remarked.

“OH ho ho, the lifespan of cultivators far exceeds that of mere mortals. As you reach higher realms on cultivation, your lifespan continues to increase, and you find that a hundred years is in fact an extremely short period of time.”

After pausing for a moment as if contemplating, “Well you’ll understand it all properly when we get there. For now I’ll explain to you how you can start cultivating and everything else that you need to do……”

‘Hold on!’ At this point Aiden interrupted him, ‘To be honest this is still a lot to take in. But let me just clarify this. If I cultivate and agree to go with you, will I be freed from this hell hole I’m living in?’

“Freed from here? Bwahhahahahaha”, Denzel burst out laughing leaving Aiden in confusion.

‘What’s so funny?’ He asked peevishly.

“Nothing nothing.”, Denzel’s laugh slowly died down, “It’s just that the matter you have mentioned is the least of concerns. Given a month’s time, you’d even be able to destroy this entire house with a punch.”

Suddenly the disposition of his voice changed. It felt as if Denzel’s voice was something ancient, something powerful that had withstood the test of even time itself. Hearing it, Aiden’s primal instincts compelled him to run away. Every cell of his warned him that if the voice wished him harm, there was no force in the entire world that could save him.

“I, Denzel Rathwig,” , Denzel started, “am the Supreme God Monarch of the hundred and twenty fifth era of the universe.  I am the one whom the universe itself chose as its successor. I am the one who bore the will of the heavens for more than 5000 years.” 

With every word, his voice grew louder and it felt as if thunder were rumbling inside Aiden’s head, 

“I rose from a humble town in the world of the norse gods to rise to the peak in less than 80 years. I am the one who can overturn the fate of entire galaxies with a single thought. In the face of a single frown from me, countless planets tremble in apprehension. With a flick of my fingers I can create or destroy even the most powerful of star systems. I am the one who has comprehended every single law of nature and before whom, even the very law of causality* is but a mere plaything. Even the proud emperor of the pureblood dragons had no choice but to be a mere tamed beast under my feet.”

“Aiden”, his voice boomed as Aiden could clearly feel the regal authority, “You are a mortal I’ve chosen to take to guide. If you heed my words, you shall gain the power to dictate the fate of innumerable galaxies and your power will be second to none. However,” Aiden felt cold sweat trickling down his neck, “If you fail to achieve proper power, the seals I’ve placed on my will in your mind will slowly come undone, and soon your body will become unable to hold it. Within a few years the immense power inside you will become too much for your mortal existence to handle and your mind, body and soul shall be obliterated without a single remnant.

SO WILL YOU PROVE YOURSELF WORTHY OF MY GUIDANCE OR NOT?!”