The days blurred into weeks as Ao settled into a routine. In his mother's arms during the day, he was dependent on her for every small need which wasn't something Ao was used to in the slightest.
Koi often kept Ao close, tending to him as she busied herself with simple household tasks. For Ao, these quiet moments were opportunities to practice focusing on the bits of spiritual energy that filled the air, drawing it to his body. Sometimes, his body would give out entirely, and he'd pass out in his mother's lap or against her chest. Yet, each time he woke, he noticed that the spiritual energy he'd gathered remained within him, as though his body had learned to hold onto it.
Living with his parents revealed much about how spiritual energy played a part in their lives. Shiro seemed to use it constantly, performing daily tasks with the spells that fascinated Ao. "Letsa" would send dirt floating into the air and out the window. Koi was different, she never seemed to conjure spells at all, which made Ao wonder if she could use any spells at all.
By night, Ao practiced tirelessly. Koi would read to him from their small collection of books, and he absorbed the words like a sponge, piecing together the written language alongside her teachings. When she went to clean or talk to Shiro, he would crawl back to the same room and attempt to apply what he'd learned about spiritual energy. His small hands hovered over splinters of wood on the floor, he moved the spiritual energy to encase them. He imagined the shapes in his mind, picturing every contour of the object until the energy conformed to its form. He began to manipulate the particles into lifting small objects, making them hover and follow his movements. So it's just as I thought, I don't know how to make the elements like they use, but when it comes to using the spiritual energy by itself. It acts as its own power source, I can control it and use it how I want, just not conjure an element that I know of. He thought.
The progress was agonizingly slow, but it was progress nonetheless.
As months passed, Ao discovered that he could form and shape the energy more deliberately, condensing it into small spheres of glowing blue light. However, when he tried to imbue it with the qualities of elements—whispy like wind or solid like stone—it refused to extend beyond his skin. The spiritual energy would mimic his intentions only in surface application, forming a protective layer around him but failing to manifest externally. Nope.. even with this much practice most I've been able to do is mimic the elements, not actually form them. And only on surface level.. this is so annoying..
Ao Instead, shifted his focus to refining control and expanding his range of his normal spiritual energy without mimicking the elements. At first, his manipulation barely extended to the edges of the bed, but with time, he managed to stretch it farther—enough to reach the door across the room.
This self-taught mastery came with a cost. Ao soon realized that the more energy he drew into his body, the hungrier and weaker he became. His body would ache, and waves of nausea would roll through him as though his body. This never happened to him before up until recently and he was becoming sick because of it, his body would be extremely heavy and he would barely be able to stay awake at times. It was only after much reading and inspection that Ao uncovered the reason.
When he reached a limit—what he later came to think of as a "bottleneck period"—This period was when his body and spiritual capacity reached their max, the body can only hold so much spiritual energy. Yet, Ao would still pull in spiritual energy despite that, which would mess up the balance his body and essence have and to make up for it. his body began pulling in not just pure spiritual energy but also negative energy. The energy he pulled in normally was pure/positive spiritual energy which strengthened him, though he was now also taking in something else which was in a much smaller margin but accumulated along with the positive spiritual energy; negative spiritual energy which clung to him like parasites, gathering at his chest and was spreading to his head and arms, which was why he felt as weak as he did.
Ao developed a method he called the "spirit cycle." By drawing in both pure and negative energy, he learned to expel the harmful particles in a controlled exhalation, purging his body of their detrimental effects. The technique required immense focus and drained his body of nutrients, forcing him to rely more on frequent nursing to make up for it. Yet, it worked. Each cycle left him feeling stronger, his body rejuvenated and his capacity for energy slightly expanded.
The discovery of this technique, coupled with what he now understood to be Respira—drawing energy into the body through breathing—allowed Ao to train longer and recover faster. He grew stronger and more capable with each passing week, though he didn't show this to his parents.
At only five months old, Ao felt that it was best to hide his capabilities, at least until he figured out the normal age and customs of which magic is meant to be learned, let alone when he's supposed to be able to walk or speak. Due to Spirit cycle, he was able to strengthen his legs to support his weight, effectively walking. Though, he resisted the urge to walk or crawl too quickly in front of Koi and Shiro. He didn't want to be abandoned or killed due to being seen as a monster or a threat for growing too fast, nor did he want them to know about his unique consciousness at his age, not until he had answers for himself.
His body, though still small, adapted to his training. The bottlenecks became less frequent as he carefully managed his growth, balancing the intake of energy with the amount his body could handle. He knew he was playing a dangerous game, pushing his body too hard could possibly have it destroyed so he was cautious, but the rewards were too great to ignore so he kept taking in more spiritual energy as he used it just as quickly, this helped not overload his body but also increased his spiritual capacity at the same time. Mostly when the negative spiritual energy was more like poison to his body and essence, if he took in too much, it would be fatal, so he needed to be careful.
The process of expelling negative spiritual energy from his body using Spirit cycle provided Ao with relief, though it was far from perfect. His headaches used to be throbbing and almost unbearable, at times he almost cried because of how badly it aches. But now it only comes occasionally and not as painful. However, the pain always spiked whenever he witnessed someone using a spell he hadn't seen before. Even seeing Shiro use a spell without saying so, which gave Ao hope that he could learn how to manifest his element without knowing how to speak.
Expelling the negative energy itself was an unpleasant, slow ordeal. Ao had to focus on Spirit cycle pushing the energy out through a specific part of his body. Being a baby, he chose the most natural exit—his bottom. This made diaper changes for Koi a challenging experience. His excrement carried an overwhelming stench and was often a deep mix of red and brown. Yet, despite the unpleasantness, Ao always felt significantly better afterward.
One quiet evening, Ao decided to take a chance. As Koi passed by the extra room, he let out a cry. The sound immediately caught her attention, and she hurried over. Since Ao almost never cried or made much noise, both Koi and Shiro treated these moments with extreme care. When she entered the room and looked at him, Ao pointed toward the shelf, gesturing toward a specific book.
Koi tilted her head in confusion. She said something in a soothing tone, of course he didn't understand her, but he guessed she was asking if that's what he wanted. He nodded eagerly, his tiny hands clasping against the air.
Walking into the room, Koi reached for the book—a thick manual on the fundamentals of spiritual energy. This was the very book that had helped Ao make significant progress in understanding what he knows now about spiritual energy so he wanted it badly, hoping he could learn more since he didn't finish the book in the slightest. Koi found it strange, amusing even, that Ao always chose this particular book over storybooks or tales meant for children. She had no idea that he could read—or at least comprehend fragments of the text—but she indulged him nonetheless.
Settling down with Ao in her lap, Koi opened the book and placed it in front of him. Ao immediately flipped through the pages, stopping at a section he didn't recognize. His tiny finger smacked the page as if marking it, his dark blue eyes lighting up. This has to be it, he thought. I remember almost every part of this book, word for word, up to this and everything after. It must be about negative spiritual energy.
Koi watched him with a brow raised, finding it cute. She didn't understand why her infant son was so fixated on a dense manual about spiritual energy. Most babies his age barely interacted with anything outside of toys or soft books. Yet, here he was, engrossed in a guide. Still, she didn't question it.
When Ao slapped the page and turned to her, babbling insistently, Koi laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll read it to you." She lifted him into her arms, letting him rest against her chest as she began reading aloud from the unfamiliar section of the book.
Ao listened intently, even though the words were meaningless to him for now. He knew that if she repeated this section to him every night, as she had done with other parts of the book, the patterns and meanings would eventually become clear.
What struck him most wasn't just her willingness to indulge him, but the sheer joy she seemed to derive from doing so. No matter how many times he demanded the same book or the same passage, she never once hesitated or seemed annoyed. Her bright smile and soft voice made even the most tedious tasks seem like she was reading it to him for the first time every single time she read.
She was always so patient and caring, as far as he could tell, she simply loved spending time with Ao. He hated to admit it, but she was starting to get closer and closer to him.