Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 76: Chapter 76 — Inspiration

Chapter 76 — Inspiration

Victor stood silently at the end of the cave.

The statue stood before him beneath the soft glow of the luminescent stones.

For several seconds, he simply stared.

Samal.

Or at least, that was who Victor now believed the statue represented.

The figure stood with a flame held in one hand and the upside-down flask symbol in the other. Its expression was calm, almost distant, as though the man carved into stone had been looking beyond the cave and toward something far greater.

Victor slowly stepped closer.

His footsteps echoed softly against the stone.

Moonlight remained behind him.

Victor stopped a few feet from the statue and studied it again.

There was something strange about seeing it here.

Not because the statue itself was unfamiliar.

Victor turned toward Moonlight.

"Why is this statue in the cave?"

Moonlight looked at him.

For a moment, she seemed confused by the question.

"I don’t know what you mean."

Victor frowned.

Moonlight glanced toward the statue.

"The statue has always been here."

Victor looked back at it.

Always been here.

That answer didn’t explain anything.

His attention returned to Samal’s face.

The longer he stared at the statue, the more something inside him began to stir.

Victor’s expression changed.

The feeling was faint at first.

Almost impossible to notice.

But the longer he stood there, the stronger it became.

Something pulled at his mind.

Calling him forward.

Victor didn’t say anything.

Moonlight watched as his expression slowly became distant.

Then, without warning, he began walking toward the statue.

Moonlight blinked.

"Victor?"

He didn’t answer.

Victor stopped directly in front of Samal’s statue.

Then he lowered himself to the ground.

The moment that familiar sense of inspiration returned, excitement rose inside him.

He remembered what his previous experience had done for his spirit power.

If this statue could offer him another opportunity...

He wasn’t going to waste it.

Victor quickly settled into a cross-legged position.

He closed his eyes.

And began cultivating.

Moonlight stared at him.

For several seconds, she didn’t move.

They had been walking through the cave together moments ago.

Talking.

And then suddenly, Victor had stopped speaking, walked toward the statue, and sat down.

Moonlight glanced toward the statue.

Then back at Victor.

Confusion appeared in her eyes.

She knew enough about cultivation to understand one thing.

You didn’t interrupt someone while they were cultivating unless there was a very good reason.

So she waited.

Minutes passed.

The cave remained quiet.

The pale glow of the luminescent stones illuminated the ancient walls and the paintings they had passed.

Moonlight remained where she was.

At first, she simply stood there.

Eventually, she sat several feet away from him.

Moonlight looked at Victor for another moment.

The cave was quiet enough for her to hear the faint rhythm of his breathing.

Victor looked different when he was completely still.

Without the constant alertness that usually rested behind his eyes, the tension had faded from his face. His dark hair fell naturally across his forehead, and beneath the glow of the luminescent stones, Moonlight noticed something she hadn’t seen before.

A faint purplish hue hidden within his black hair.

It was subtle.

Something she probably would never have noticed beneath ordinary light.

Moonlight looked away after a moment.

Then she closed her own eyes.

If Victor was going to cultivate, she could cultivate while waiting for him.

Spiritual Energy slowly gathered around her.

The cave became silent once again.

Moonlight eventually opened her eyes.

Victor was still sitting in the same position.

Her brows slowly came together.

She had lost track of how much time had passed.

Victor was still cultivating.

Moonlight slowly stood.

This time, worry began to settle inside her.

Victor hadn’t moved.

She had grown up hearing stories of Samal.

She had walked through this cave before.

But she had never seen anyone react to the statue like this.

Finally, she made a decision.

She needed to find Oheema.

Moonlight quickly left the cave.

By the time Moonlight found Oheema, nearly a full day had passed since Victor had first sat down before the statue.

The matriarch was inside her residence when Moonlight arrived.

Moonlight quickly explained what had happened.

Oheema listened carefully.

Her expression slowly became serious.

"You said he began cultivating immediately?"

Moonlight nodded.

"The moment he saw the statue."

Oheema fell silent.

That was strange.

She had lived in the village for many years.

Long enough to understand the history of the cave better than almost anyone still alive.

Nobody had ever stood before Samal’s statue and suddenly begun cultivating.

Still, Oheema didn’t immediately panic.

Long periods of cultivation weren’t unusual for powerful cultivators.

She herself had spent days cultivating.

There had even been periods in her life when she had remained in meditation for months.

Cultivation could be unpredictable.

But Victor’s circumstances were different.

He hadn’t entered the cave intending to cultivate.

He had been speaking with Moonlight one moment.

Then the next...

Something had drawn him toward the statue.

Oheema slowly stood.

"Take me to him."

Moonlight immediately nodded.

The two quickly made their way through the village.

When they entered the cave, Victor was still there.

Exactly where Moonlight had left him.

He sat before the statue with his legs crossed and his hands resting calmly against his knees.

His breathing remained slow.

Steady.

His expression was completely peaceful.

Oheema slowed as she approached.

Moonlight stood beside her.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Something about the situation bothered Oheema.

Not because she believed Victor was necessarily in danger.

But because she couldn’t understand why this was happening.

The statue had stood in that cave for generations.

Countless people had looked upon it.

Countless members of the tribe had prayed before it.

Yet Victor...

Victor had arrived and immediately entered meditation.

Moonlight looked toward Oheema.

"Should we wake him?"

Oheema’s expression hardened.

"No."

Moonlight looked back toward Victor.

"But what if something is wrong?"

Oheema remained quiet for a moment.

Then she shook her head.

"If nothing is wrong, interrupting him could be worse."

Moonlight listened carefully.

"Cultivators sometimes experience moments of inspiration."

Moonlight’s eyes widened slightly.

"Inspiration?"

Oheema nodded.

"A sudden realization. A moment where something becomes clearer than it was before."

Her eyes remained on Victor.

"If that is what he has experienced, then interrupting him now could cause him to lose it."

Moonlight looked toward Victor again.

Oheema folded her arms.

"Whatever is happening... he needs to see it through."

The cave fell quiet.

Moonlight stood beside the matriarch for several seconds before nodding.

"I understand."

Oheema looked toward her.

"Stay with him."

Moonlight nodded.

"And don’t interrupt him unless his condition changes."

Moonlight looked back toward Victor.

"I won’t."

Oheema gave the statue one final look.

Then she turned.

Moonlight watched her disappear down the cave.

Soon, she was alone again.

Victor remained completely unaware of everything happening around him.

His consciousness was somewhere else entirely.

Moonlight returned to her place nearby.

She sat down.

For a moment, she looked at him.

Then she slowly closed her eyes.

And began cultivating once more.

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