Gabriel reached out his hand to touch the water, only to stop mid-way, feeling a powerful presence in his surroundings.
As he looked back, he found a young man standing behind him. The man had appeared there like a ghost, but it didn't look like he could see Gabriel.
"Alion!" Gabriel took a step to the side, observing the young man who was brimming with power.
The man didn't look at Gabriel. Instead, he just walked closer to the waterfall, walking right under it. He sat cross-legged on the rocky surface under the waterfall as he closed his eyes, resting his hands lightly on his knees. Despite the water falling with such pressure, the man didn't make even the slightest of sound.
The sound of the rushing water was almost deafening, but Alion seemed to be in a state of meditative peace despite it. The steady flow of the waterfall created an ethereal atmosphere that enveloped him like a cocoon as drops from above landed on his bare skin, cooling him off from the harsh heat outside.
Gabriel simply observed the man for a short time, wondering if something significant was going to happen in this dream. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. Even as half an hour passed, nothing of significance happened.
"Stop standing there... Your body is weak... You need more help..." After an hour passed, the man under the waterfall finally opened his eyes. "Get under the waterfall."
"You can see me?!" Gabriel exclaimed, surprised. He didn't expect the man to be able to see him. Not only did the man notice him, but he also knew that his body was weaker.
Despite his question, the man didn't answer. Instead, he simply closed his eyes again, behaving as if Gabriel wasn't even there.
Gabriel didn't get any answer, but still, he decided to follow through. From what the man said, it didn't look like he had any bad intentions. If anything, it looked more like he wanted to help him.
Gabriel took off his shirt and entered the water, getting under the waterfall near the man.
The pressure of the waterfall came crashing down on his body. Each water droplet was like a force of nature that was forcing him down as if telling him to leave if he couldn't handle this pressure.
Gabriel struggled a lot under this pressure, but the man next to him was calmly sitting as if this pressure was nothing.
Gabriel also positioned him the same way as Alion, sitting with his legs folded. Despite the heavy pressure on his body, he didn't give in. He also closed his eyes and sat in a meditative position.
The waterfall was forcing his body down as if ten times more gravity was acting on his body. However, despite all that, Gabriel didn't feel much pain. If anything, he felt as if something in his surroundings was nourishing his soul.
While Gabriel sat under the waterfall in the dream, in the real world, a mysterious yet similar energy was nourishing his body, healing all his hidden injuries from every time he got hurt for overusing his soul strength.
The pressure acting on Gabriel's body kept increasing in the dream, albeit a bit slowly. If initially, he was under ten times the effect of gravity in his dream, then with each passing hour, the gravity was increasing by ten percent...
Gabriel sat under the waterfall for seven hours, not moving. His skin had already turned slightly red, and his legs had gone numb, but he didn't try moving.
It was only when he heard Alion's voice calling him that he opened his eyes.
He slowly opened his eyes, noticing Alion standing on the ground in the distance. "That's enough for today. Leave."
"Wait, yo-" Gabriel stood up, saying something. However, before he could even finish his sentence, the dream shattered.
He abruptly opened his eyes, observing his surroundings. It was clear to him that he was back in the Emperor's room. He touched his left ear, checking for the earring, which was still there.
"That dream... What did he mean enough for today... And that waterfall... How can a dream make my soul and physique stronger...?"
Gabriel stood up, feeling a new strength in his body. He could feel that his body was stronger now compared to before. The pain was also almost gone, but for some strange reason, he still felt some of the gravity suppression.
"Is it because of the earring of strength?"
The gravity suppression he experienced from the earring was the same as he experienced under the waterfall. Even the percentage of gravity increase that he felt was almost the same as what it was when his dream broke.
To test it, he stood up. As soon as Gabriel stood up, he immediately lost his balance under the increased gravity effect on him. For some reason, gravity only affected his body, but it didn't increase any pressure on the ground under his feet.
It was as if even if he stopped on a thin floor created using the weakest wood, the increased gravity wasn't going to break the floor under him. It was just something that affected him personally and not the surroundings.
"Increase in strength, but at a cost... A worthy trade for now..." Gabriel pushed his body up, trying to find a balance so he could familiarize himself with the increased gravity on him.
Initially, he struggled to adjust to the sudden change. Each of his steps was more than ten times heavier. Even raising his hand felt like he was raising a heavy hammer. Fortunately, the pressure was still manageable.
After practicing movement for half an hour, he finally managed to familiarize himself with the change.
After handling his movement, Gabriel went for a shower right away. After the last night, his body was already covered in sweat and impurities. He took off his clothes, along with the bedsheet, and tossed all of them aside, burning both of them right away.
He also cast a purification spell on the room to clean it from the smell before he finally entered the shower.
After a long shower, Gabriel came out of the shower room, completely dressed, only to be surprised once again to find someone present in his room.
"You're finally back?" he asked. "You missed an interesting event."
"You still have time to talk about that?" The young lady who sat on the bed answered, sighing. "I came here to tell you something important."
"What happened?" Gabriel inquired. It wasn't often when he saw the Holy Priestess of Summoning with such seriousness.
"Nothing happened yet. However, the same can't be said about the future," Avilia replied. "You should leave this Empire as soon as possible. A big storm is brewing, which might swallow this Empire soon…."
