80- Wayward Disciple

Mason had to admit he was immensely curious about the X-Men. He might have become a hero of his own, as well as a potential founding member of the Avengers, there was still something special about meeting the heroes from his last life. And with his speed, Mason could get to the X-Mansion in less than five minutes if he meant to, so the small distance was not a problem. It would actually be faster to get there than most parts of the city, since Mason could not use his speed in the city.

But while Mason did want to see Audrey as well, he did have a few people he wanted to meet in the city first. Besides, it would be rude to drop in on the mansion without any warning, so he sent a text to Audrey, telling her he would drop by in a few days.

Apparently, she had entirely forgotten their argument a while back as she called him five seconds after his text, gushing over the phone, both angry he had not contacted them for so long and happy he was back. She wanted to know everything about what he did, but he shut her down, telling her he would tell her in person, and that she should tell her professors of his visit.

He also contacted his other sister, Elena, with the intention of seeing her that very day, but she was not as responsive. While he waited for her answer, Mason decided to pay a visit to his apartment.

It and the dojo below were in about the same state as he had left them, with only a slight accumulation of dust. Mason was sure he had been charged as if he had lived there for the past six months, but with the money Doom’s lessons had gotten him, that was not a problem. He owned the place anyway, so it should not have been that expensive since no electricity or gas were used.

But while everything was the same, there was one place Mason wanted to give it a go, and that was the Gravity Room. As far as tempering the physique went, it would not be of much use, since physical training hardly did anything anymore for Mason, but it was a good opportunity to understand the Gravity Dao.

He gave it a quick test, and found himself able to go all the way up to 40g before it felt strenuous enough to train. For reference, the surface of the sun only had 28g of gravity. Mason could go even further, but he would start suffering damage if he stayed under that gravity for any extended period of time.

Still, to be able to experience such a powerful gravitational pull would doubtlessly be immensely helpful towards his training of the Gravity Dao. So much so that Mason felt tempted to sit down and spend the next few hours meditating, but he held himself back. He did have other things to do.

But as Mason exited the Gravity Room, he found someone sitting in his dojo, staring at him.

"Victor! What’s your sore-looking face doing here?! Have you come to revel in your master’s glory?"

Although Doom was masked, as always, Mason could figure his expression from his eyes alone. And he understood why Doom reacted this way, considering the way they had left things on. Doom had offered him asylum, and Mason had thrown it in his face, choosing to fight head-on instead. A decision Doom had deemed to be suicide.

Mason breaking through and returning in perfect health was a sort of slap in the face.

Doom stared, but his face did not appear to change as he commented, "Grabbing the edges of torn space is one of the stupidest things to do, but it was just to be expected with a moron like you. And Doom has no Master."

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Mason snorted, "Being so stuck up on terminology only exposes your narrow-mindedness. Master, teacher, it’s all the same. Now, tell me, why are you here?"

"What does a teacher do other than teach?"

"A lot, actually, but weren’t you the one who said the lessons were over? That Doom no longer needed his poor old master? What, you found yourself forced to come seek the help of the Honored One?"

Doom’s eyelids drooped a little, and he grumbled, "Choose your words carefully, Doom does not accept insolence so easily."

Mason smiled, not willing to drop his mocking, "It’s a matter of pride in the end, isn’t it? You have yours, I have mine. The one who prevails is naturally the stronger one."

Doom was now fully frowning, his figure tensing. "Do you believe yourself more powerful than Doom?"

Mason shrugged, "In general? No, you are one finicky bastard. Sorcerers usually are. I don’t know if I could do anything if you simply dropped me in the Mirror Dimension. But while you Sorcerers have powerful, annoying spells, you need to be fast enough to use them. So with preparation? No chance. But right, right now, in this small room with only a couple of meters between us? I can be as rude as I want."

Doom’s face instantly relaxed, his eyes becoming even more mocking. "Krahllak was not so far off calling you a hammer. Only a monkey like you would suffer from such a terrible lack of foresight. Doom shan’t lower himself to your level."

Mason chuckled, but stopped there as well, scanning Doom with his Divine Sense. He no longer needed to personally activate someone’s Three Treasures to feel them. Just as he expected, Doom had reached the Awakening Realm, being just at the cusp of the Awakening Grandmaster Realm, with his Essence and Breath Awakened.

Doom truly was a disgusting genius in everything he did.

Still, that did not stop Mason from giving his forehead a tap, after which he warned Doom, "Focus and observe."

With a single thought, Mason’s Spiritual Domain blanketed over the room, pressing down upon Doom with all its might. And with it came the power of the Gravity Dao.

The shift was so sudden that Doom’s straight spine bent, his back gaining the slightest arch, before being straightened again, Doom grumbling as it had betrayed him.

Mason kept the Spiritual Domain up, while explaining calmly, "This is the power of an Awakened Spirit, and the reason why you find yourself stuck. To learn magic and psionics, you opened your Spirit, expanding it in a way. But to be awakened, the Spirit must be whole. As such, it is believed that it is impossible for someone who has learned psionics to awaken their Spirit, much less breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm."

"It is believed?" Doom, of course, picked up on Mason’s phrasing.

Mason nodded, "Yes. Looking at the Awakening Realm in a straightforward manner, the Spirit follows after the other two treasures, seemingly requiring the same process to reach its full potential. But that is only the surface of the realm, stemming from the utter lack of Grandmasters throughout history, and the fact that they never really passed down their wisdom. In truth, this is missing the essence of the Awakening Realm."

Mason let go of his Spiritual Domain, and Doom could not help but notice the faint breath the ruler of Latveria released. He did not comment on it, though, explaining instead, "No one in the martial arts community really dares to question me to my face, but I heard a few whispers about my choice for the name of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Of how arrogant I was in calling the stage I alone attained a ‘foundation’."

Doom scoffed, "You may be a monkey, but the monkey should not mind the ants any more than the man should mind the monkey."

Mason chuckled, letting the insult pass as he was more interested in his explanation, "Obviously I did not choose the name to ridicule other cultivators. If my realm is the setting of the foundation, then the Awakening Realm is the gathering of the building blocks. These building blocks are the Three Treasures and their energies. Only by bringing them to their limit may one break said limit and start the foundation. The Awakening of the Three Treasures is, in the end, only the means to an end."

Doom showcased his genius, immediately catching on, "You mean to say, Doom should find a way to cultivate his Spirit without awakening it?"

"Exactly. The mutilation of your Spirit is not something that can be reversed, so you may as well use it. The Awakening of the Three Treasures is a process that erases the individual factor, allowing your Three Treasures to be pushed to the human limit, instead of your personal one. Push your Three Treasures to that limit, and you’ll have paved the way for your future breakthrough."