Chapter 2: The Unknown Path Part 3 Adrian remained inside his room long after the strange vision disappeared. The image of the dark house. The lonely soul trapped inside. The endless hatred that refused to fade. Everything remained in his mind. But something else occupied his thoughts. His own cultivation. The Originless Immortal Core. The more he observed it... The more he understood one truth. This was not a treasure. It was not an inheritance. It was not something left behind by another existence. It was a possibility. A beginning. A foundation waiting for him to create something new. Adrian closed his eyes. Inside his consciousness, the Originless Immortal Core quietly existed. Unlike the cultivation system of Aetherion's previous universe... It did not contain a fixed path. There was no predetermined realm. No ancient manual. No final destination written in advance. That realization shocked him. Aetherion's old path had been powerful. It had allowed him to become the strongest Immortal Emperor. But even that path had limits. Because every system created within a universe was still connected to that universe. Every law. Every realm. Every definition of immortality. Everything was eventually affected by the existence that created those rules. Aetherion had reached the highest point of that system. And then he discovered the truth. Even immortality could be a form of imprisonment. A being that could live for millions of years was still controlled by time. A being that could revive through reincarnation was still controlled by the cycle of death. A being that could manipulate fate was still part of fate itself. That was why Aetherion fought. Not because he hated existence. But because he wanted something beyond existence's control. True freedom. Adrian slowly opened his eyes. "So the path I need..." "Is not the path Aetherion walked." The room was silent. He looked at his own hands. These hands were not the hands of an Immortal Emperor. They were weak. Human. Fragile. But they were his. And that was enough. "I don't need to become Aetherion again." "I need to become Adrian Voss." A strange feeling appeared within the Originless Immortal Core. As if it had responded to those words. The energy inside it moved slightly. Not because Adrian had power. But because he had made a choice. A path could not exist without a will to walk it. The first principle of his cultivation began forming. Not domination. Not destruction. Not becoming a god. But freedom. A freedom beyond all chains. A path where existence itself would no longer have the authority to define him. Adrian did not know how far this path would lead. He did not know whether such a path was even possible. But he knew one thing. If the universe could create chains... Then there must be a way to exist beyond them. ... The next evening. Adrian finally decided to visit the place from the vision. The haunted house. He did not go because he wanted to prove his strength. He did not go because he wanted to fight. He went because he wanted to understand. This was the first mystery of this universe. And unlike Aetherion's battles against cosmic laws... This was a mystery created by an ordinary human soul. The location was in another neighborhood. Far enough that most people rarely visited. The house had been abandoned for years. Locals avoided it. Rumors surrounded the place. Some said strange voices could be heard at night. Some said people who entered had nightmares for several days. Some said a shadow appeared near the yard. Most people simply called it... A haunted house. But Adrian knew something else. The problem was not the house. It was the soul attached to it. ... When Adrian arrived, the sky was already dark. The air around the house was colder than the surroundings. A normal person would feel uncomfortable. A sensitive person might feel fear. But Adrian felt something different. He felt emotion. A heavy emotion that had remained for years. Hatred. Deep. Unresolved. Painful. He stood outside the gate. For a moment... He remembered his old self. Aetherion would have destroyed the problem immediately. A threat was a threat. An enemy was an enemy. But Adrian was different. He stepped forward slowly. "Let's see..." "What happened here?" The moment he entered the yard... The temperature dropped. The darkness around the house moved. Something noticed his presence. A voice echoed from inside. A voice filled with resentment. "Leave..." Adrian stopped. The voice continued. "Leave this place..." "Everyone leaves me..." "But they deserve to suffer..." The air became heavier. The hatred intensified. Adrian looked toward the darkness. He did not see a monster. He saw a soul. A soul trapped inside its own emotions. And for the first time... Adrian understood the difference between his old path and his new one. Aetherion had learned how to destroy countless enemies. Adrian needed to learn how to understand existence itself. He took another step forward. "I am not here to fight you." The darkness became silent. "Then why?" The voice asked. Adrian looked into the darkness. "Because you have been trapped here for too long." The hatred around the house suddenly erupted. The wandering spirit appeared. A figure created from pain and anger. A ghost born from hatred. And the first supernatural being Adrian encountered in this universe... Had finally appeared.