Kaden sat on the floor of the training room, breathing in and out slowly, trying to center himself and focus.
It was hard… So hard.
He just couldn't do this, no matter what he did it wasn't working.
Giving up, he let himself break his concentration and open his eyes.
He looked around the room and saw that all the other ADF members were still at it, none of them had given up like him.
"Something the matter, Kaden?" Damien had seen him looking around and come over to see what was up.
"It's just… I can't concentrate," Kaden replied.
"Hm," Damien scratched his chin in thought, "What's distracting you?"
"Uhm, well, a lot of things," Kaden sighed, "As soon as I sit down, my mind just keeps leapfrogging from one thought to the next, and my body gets jittery. It's like I just can sit still."
Damien just chuckled, "And here I thought there was a serious issue. There's an easy fix for this."
"Really?" Kaden asked, not entirely believing Damien's words.
"Naturally," Damien nodded, "If you have too much energy and can't relax, don't you simply need to burn some of it off?"
"…" Kaden felt almost stupefied, how had he never thought of that before?
"It seems you understand. Why don't you go take a run around the city for an hour to burn some of that energy, I will instruct you from the beginning when you return," Damien said, smiling.
Kaden agreed, getting up and leaving the training room to go for a run.
*****
Once more sitting in the training room, Kaden was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat.
Everyone else had already left while he was on his run, it was just him and Damien who remained.
"So let us start from the beginning," Damien sat in front of Kaden, explaining the principles of cultivation.
"In truth, cultivation is a lot like meditation. First, we must bring the body and mind into a tranquil state. We do this by following the principles of meditation. Close your eyes now and listen to my voice."
Kaden slowly closed his eyes.
"Good. Now, control your breath, make it slow down. As you breathe in, let the air flow through you, filling up your lungs and rejuvenating your body. Hold it in for a second, then release it slowly."
Kaden felt his body grow more and more relaxed, his breathing a bit more subdued.
Damien waited for him to breathe in and out a few more times before continuing.
"Once the body is at ease, your mind will be able to relax too. When you feel ready, clear your mind, let your thoughts dissipate."
Feeling completely relaxed, Kaden let his thoughts evaporate, clearing his mind until it was like a blank canvas, empty of all thoughts and distractions.
"Very good," Damien immediately noticed the change in him, "Now turn to the center of your stomach, seek the ball of energy that resides within, the point from where your Aether originates, your core. You will know when you have found it."
Kaden searched within himself, looking for that signature feeling he always got from Aether.
His senses were drawn to a stream of energy passing through his body. He latched on to this stream, following it to it's point of origin.
It took him to the center point of his stomach, right below his navel. And there, he found it.
A small blue ball, pulsing with energy. It gave off a radiant glow of blue light, and it had the very familiar signature of his Aether.
"I found it," He whispered almost reverently.
Damien's eyes were shining at this point, this was perfect. Now it was time for the final step.
"Reach out and touch it, feel it's energy wash over you."
Kaden let his senses travel further towards his core, until he was on the very precipice. He reached out and made contact, immediately feeling overwhelmed from the stream of energy running through him.
Touching the core was akin to touching god. It was the center of his very being, the point from which all Aether inside him originated and traveled through.
"Take control of the core, direct the energy, let it spin counter clockwise."
It took all his focus as he tried to make the core spin. It was barely budging, like a round heavy rock that took a tremendous amount of effort to get rolling.
He kept trying, directing all of his concentration towards the task.
Slowly, very slowly, he began to see results. A sliver of the energy started to move, and that made it a bit easier.
The whole core soon began to spin, slowly rotating in a counter clockwise circle.
Sweat was starting to drip from his forehead, his eyebrows completely scrunched up in concentration.
It felt like eons had passed, but he kept going and so did the core. It kept rotating, little by little, until it finally completed a full rotation.
And then…
It was like a tremendous change had taken effect.
There was a sudden sense of suction as the core transformed, appearing instead like a blue vortex, greedily sucking in energy.
He didn't let that break his concentration, but kept going, continuing to direct his energy towards making the core spin.
The Aether energy kept flowing, being sucked in by the vortex. He could feel it as the Aether entered his body, filling him up.
His whole body was starting to tense up, and he began to feel exhausted from the sheer expense of energy. But he knew he had to keep going and didn't let himself give up.
A minute passed, then two, and then three.
It was only getting harder and harder as he grew more tired, it was simply too taxing to continue.
He couldn't keep it up any longer, and as soon as he let go for one second, the entire vortex collapsed and the sucking sensation disappeared immediately.
His eyes opened, grinning madly.
"I did it!" He felt immensely proud, he had actually done it.
"Well done! Very well done!" Damien was just as excited, watching him with a cheerful expression.
Kaden just kept smiling, breathing raggedly and covered in sweat.
It hadn't been much, and he wasn't able to go for long, but he had done it. Finally.
After so long, he had cultivated for the first time, and he could already feel the difference.
It was minor, very minor, but his Aether quantity had clearly grown by a small bit.
The feeling filled him with hope and excitement. Just this small change had a significant meaning to him. Now he would be able to cultivate regularly, growing stronger bit by bit.
"Let us end here for today, you're too exhausted to continue," Damien said.
Kaden felt a bit disappointed, but he knew that Damien was right. It had taken so much out of him just to get the core spinning, if he had to start over now it would be impossible. He simply didn't have any more energy to try again today.
"Tomorrow, there will be another training session. In the evening," Damien's face fell, "In the evening we will prepare for the attack."
Kaden's eyes widened, "The attack? Already?"
"I'm afraid so, we will be joining the soldiers in the defense of the city," Damien nodded solemnly.
"But people aren't ready! Not in the slightest, I mean, nobody knows anything," Kaden was flustered trying to get his point across.
"I know, and I don't think it's a good idea either. But a representative of the City Administration came by after everyone had left and you were out running. We have no choice here, all we can do is prepare as best as we can."
"I… see," Kaden hung his face, looking down at the ground.
Pretty much all the new ADF members were beginners just like him. A few had experience, but the vast majority of them knew nothing at all. If they were sent out to defend the city this early, they would simply be slaughtered.
Now he understood why other people looked so much down on them for joining. They weren't wrong, it really was a suicide mission. An incredibly stupid one.
They needed more time, but if the City Administration didn't want to give them it, there was nothing he could do.
He would just have to do his best to prepare for what was to come, at least Damien had given him some warning.
"Trust me, I wish there was a way we could do this differently, but I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done,"
"I know, I don't blame you," Kaden said.
No, he didn't blame Damien, not in the slightest. The man had seemed like a very undependable person at first, but he knew better by now.
The man was a great teacher, already having succeeded in teaching him something he had spent months failing at. If there was anyone he trusted to do his best to get them ready, it was him.