As the evening persists, the two enjoy a hearty meal with Basmet complimenting Genryu's culinary skills and overall talent. Genryu isn't very used to compliments and tends to become very bashful whenever Basmet overly praises him. The evening is soon filled with laughter and the unfortunate issues from earlier in the day begin to feel distant in the minds of the pair. After the meal concludes, the two tidy up the dining table before cleaning their dishes, once this concludes Basmet yawns loudly stating "This old man needs his rest." before smacking his lips. "You should go, I'll finish up the remainder of the work," Genryu replies as he continues to scrub the remaining food from the bowls. "If you're sure... Good night my boy." the old man says while waving as he shuffles to his room to turn in for the night. After Basmet returns to his room, Genryu finishes the remaining housework before deciding to head outside.
After everything that's happened today, nothing would feel more comforting than just spending some time outdoors. He treks around the side of the house, searching along the walls for the sturdy vine draping down. He gives it a good tug to test its stability before using it to grapple upward, scaling the side of the home. Once he reaches the roof of his home, he searches around for a good place to perch before plopping down. He lets his legs dangle off the edge of the roof as the evening winds blow through his hair, he leans back to get comfortable and watches silently as the sun retreats over the horizon, inviting the night to take its place. There aren't many things more beautiful than a peaceful sunset on an island such as this one and it's important to treasure these little moments Genryu reminds himself.
As everything becomes quiet, the lights from the village can clearly be seen from the roof, he wonders what it might be like down there, what life might be like if he had been born to a more traditional family or life for that matter. He stops himself, knowing that there isn't much point worrying about the what-ifs right now. He pulls his legs up off the edge and brings them closer to his chest, and he rests his head on his knees. He takes a moment to recall the feeling from earlier, whatever could have triggered that light to appear. He attempts to control his breathing: inhale for four seconds, hold it for six, and then release it for seven. He thinks about that moment, how peaceful it was, how good it felt to be creating something. Then suddenly, his hands begin to display the same bright energy as before, clear and tangible. As he scans his entire body, he discovers that he's completely enveloped in the same light which can be seen clearly under the night sky.
"So this light... is linked to my feelings?" He says aloud, "that's the only thing that makes any sense" he continues. As he sat on the roof, he continues to experiment with this new ability, he attempts to control his breathing once more and thinks about different emotional stimuli. He begins to test his theory; first, he thinks about Basmet and how much he means to him, using strong emotional connections to test his new ability. He's able to conjure the same bright light as before, with no significant changes in power or luminosity. He then attempts this with negative stimuli as well, thinking about his bullies, but there aren't any visible changes either. The only thing that he can infer at this point is that emotional stimuli seem to be the trigger of his powers, yet it doesn't actually have any impact once they're activated, or at least that's the best that he can surmise from his experience.
He closes his eyes and tries to gain an understanding of what the energy feels like, the light begins to become brighter around his hands eventually transforming into an orb of energy floating in between his hands. He can feel the tingling sensation on his fingertips, but as he opens his eyes, the orb diminishes before he has the chance to witness it, he does gain a deeper understanding of the sensation. He thinks to himself, "I wonder what I could do if I truly understood my power", but he decides that might be a question for another day as he slowly stands and heads over to the vine before rappelling down and then heading back inside.
His mind is abuzz thinking about the possibilities of what he could do with these gifts, the excitement outweighed the fear at this moment and he felt like he could do anything he wanted. People are afraid of what magic can do, but if he can master these gifts maybe he can show them, not only that there is nothing to be afraid of from him, but that he's capable of protecting people not hurting them. As he considers this as a possible option for his future, a subtle hue of light radiates around his body, a tiny glimmer that is hardly noticeable, as he smiles, preparing for bed. He lays down and thinks about what kind of person he wants to be in the future, his eyes become heavier as he begins to relax in his bed. He slowly drifts off hoping that his dreams will be filled with positive things and that he can one day make those dreams become his new reality.
Slowly, Genryu becomes hyper-aware of his surroundings, it feels reminiscent of swimming in a sea. This feeling makes him uneasy, while attempting to open his eyes, there's nothing to be seen, it's like the world around him has lost all shape, sound, and color. He tries to collect his bearings as he floats around in this inky blackness; after some time he begins to notice a unique noise, a rhythmic thumping in the distance. He starts to swim or walk toward the noise, he can't quite tell in this space, the thumping grows louder and more thunderous as an obscured object is slowly revealed. The closer he gets, the more defined the object becomes, The object coming into view appears to be like a statue or sculpture. The exterior seemed to be jagged or crudely designed, as he sails closer, the sound waves begin to reverberate through this abyss and cause tangible waves of energy to be released from the object.
A feeling of uneasiness builds, as he looks at the intricate details of the object, it appears to be almost lifelike. It's almost as if someone was trying to crudely animate misshapen boulders by forcibly melding them together. As his body drifts to the front of the massive object, he notices, its eyes as they ignite with fiery energy. The creature begins to rise rearranging his body, stacking the jagged stones one atop another before erecting itself. The creature stands in the blackness, now towering over Genryu and staring downward with a gaze that feels as though it is peering into his very soul. It releases a bellowing roar that produces a dense sensation within Genryu's chest causing him to slump over. He grabs his chest tightly, and as the pressure increasingly builds all around him, the force that this creature exudes is almost impossible to bear, as if it's trying to suffocate him. It takes a single step toward the young man, but as he does Genryu awakens and suddenly springs up in a cold sweat gasping. He quickly searches around him for the creature but cannot find him, as he is about to rise from bed to inform Basmet of the intense dream he had just experienced, the ground begins to quake causing him to fall to the floor.