"The 'Newbie System' was a crutch, Master. A translation layer between your primitive mind and the cosmic truth," Crul's voice resonated not just in his ears, but within the very marrow of his bones. "Observe."

Suddenly, the world around Ethan dissolved. The sunrise, the sleeping women, and the rooftop vanished, replaced by a boundless, blinding white expanse.

"This is the God Realm" Crul explained. "A conceptual space that no mortal should access until they reach the first Immortal stage. However, with your lineage, we can simulate it. This place is not 'elsewhere'—it is everywhere around you."

The image flickered. The rooftop returned, but the white space remained as a tiny, perfect cube hovering just above Ethan's palm.

"In this space, you possess absolute sovereignty. This power awakens once a cultivator surpasses the Spiritual Core stage—a phase known as [Spiritual Soul Awakening]. It is here that you stop following the laws of the world and begin to manipulate them. Let me show you. Extend your hand."

Ethan obeyed. As he reached out, a small, jagged crystal of deep, translucent purple manifested in the air. It pulsed with a rhythmic, heartbeat-like glow.

"This is an Amethyst Crystal," Crul said. "It is a transcendental evolution of the spirit stone. This is what you previously knew as 'Lux Points.' Every point you have ever earned in this world, every drop of effort, is equivalent to just this one tiny stone. Currently, your core has synthesized two of them."

Ethan stared at the pebble. It felt heavier than a mountain.

"These crystals are your fuel. Anything you wish to manifest consumes them. Lord Amethyst became a titan because his race is one of the few in the multiverse capable of secreting these stones. While your crystal is precious, it is not the pinnacle. Above it sit the Celestial, Void, and Infernal Crystals. Those are the Three Primal Tiers."

Crul's voice grew solemn. "Lord Amethyst built his entire home world upon a vein of Amethyst Crystals the size of a mountain range. That single geological fluke made him nearly immortal among his peers. Now... imagine an object. Anything."

Ethan focused. He imagined a simple ball. The crystal in his hand flickered, and a physical, rubber ball appeared. He imagined a knife; the ball warped into a shimmering blade. He imagined a pistol; the weight shifted, and a fully functional firearm sat in his grip. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet shattered a nearby vent.

"Is this... is this real?!" Ethan gasped, his eyes wide.

"It is absolute reality, Master. Your will now dictates the laws of creation. If you can conceive it, you can forge it. But the cost... the cost is the law you cannot break."

Ethan felt a surge of intoxicating arrogance. If he could create anything, why wait? He closed his eyes, reaching deep into the memories he had inherited from the Amethyst legacy. He saw a Feral—the massive, star-crossing bio-machine that Lord Amethyst used to scout the galaxy.

He gritted his teeth and forced his will into the space before him. "Manifest!"

The world didn't bend; it snapped.

A sound like a dying star filled the air. Before a single atom could form, Ethan was slammed onto the concrete. Blood erupted from his eyes, his nose, and his ears in a horrific spray. He let out a strangled, gurgling scream as his nervous system felt like it was being scorched by lightning.

[Master! Stop!] Crul's voice was a violent command.

The pressure vanished. Ethan lay in a pool of his own blood, gasping, his vision swimming in red.

"I don't know what you tried to forge," Crul said, her voice unusually sharp. "But if you lack the Amethyst energy, the void will take the cost from your own flesh. You tried to create a Feral? A single Feral requires ten thousand Amethyst Crystals. You have two. Do not try to run before you can even crawl."

Ethan let out a jagged, painful roar, clutching his head. "M-motherfucker... you could have told me that... before! God... it hurts like hell!"

"From now on, everything revolves around these crystals," Crul's voice echoed as Ethan wiped the blood from his chin. "I can recalibrate your HUD to display the cost of an object before you attempt to manifest it. This will prevent another... catastrophic miscalculation."

Ethan groaned, pulling himself up against a ventilation pipe. "And what about the points? The system?"

"I can maintain the 'Lux' unit for your mental comfort, but it is fundamentally inefficient," Crul explained. "One Amethyst Crystal is equivalent to one billion Lux points. The currency is so diluted because the objects of this world are fragile—mere toys compared to cosmic power. Once you leave this planet, the cheapest star-faring gear will cost ten crystals minimum. That Cold Steel dagger you favor? Creating one from nothing costs a single stone. But a Master-forged Cold Steel blade? That's ten stones. Quality has its price."

A cold sweat broke out across Ethan's brow. Just moments ago, he felt like the undisputed sovereign of the world; now, he felt like a beggar holding two coins in a galactic treasury. The blow to his ego was more painful than the internal bleeding.

"Fine," Ethan spat, his eyes sharpening with a new, hungrier ambition. "Get rid of the Lux units. I don't want to think small anymore. If I'm going to be a God, I need to look at the world in stones."

[Understood, Master. Recalibrating...]

The interface in his vision flickered, the millions of points disappearing and being replaced by a simple, terrifying [2.0] in the corner of his eye.

[Now] Crul continued, [the power you extract from these mortals is limited. Their essence is shallow. To advance, you must master your new sight. Activate the full power of your Amethyst Eyes.]

Ethan gathered his remaining spiritual energy, channeling it into his optic nerves. As he snapped his eyes open, the world didn't just look different—it looked solidified. The morning breeze froze in place; the dust motes became stationary sparks.

"This is your Spatial Domain," Crul whispered. "The ability you've used subconsciously is now at the level of a Spiritual Soul Awakening master. Within this range, you are the law. Right now, there is nothing but air in your domain, so the cost is negligible. But if you were to trap a Core-stage cultivator? The cost to hold them would drain you until they were either crushed or you ran dry."

Ethan marveled at the frozen world, but Crul's next command pulled his attention inward.

"Now... look at your chest."

Ethan looked down, his gaze piercing through his skin and muscle. Near the center of his sternum, where his spiritual core pulsed, thin, translucent lines began to manifest. They were like glowing spiderwebs, spreading outward across his ribs and down toward his stomach, flickering with a faint, rhythmic purple light.

They weren't just veins; they looked like a blueprint being drawn onto his very soul.

"What are these?" Ethan whispered, watching the lines grow more defined with every heartbeat.