TRISTIAN
Eyes closed tight.
I drew in a deep breath, feeling it expand through my chest, sinking into the pit of my core. Slowly, I began to tap into something deeper, something beyond just focus. It was instinctive, primal, as though reaching for a connection I hadn't known existed until now.
I could see it—no, feel it—the lines of energy all around me, threading through the air like veins in the very fabric of existence. It wasn't just sensation; it was a pulse, a rhythm, subtle at first, but with every passing second, it sharpened, became more real. Everything began to fall into place like puzzle pieces slowly forming a picture. Clarity.
Ufff…
I exhaled, concentrating harder, peeling back layers of distraction. The noise, the chaos, all of it fell away as if it were nothing more than fog in my mind, clearing with each deliberate breath. And now, the energy around me was no longer a vague hum; it was a stream. No, streams. I could feel them, faint at first, barely there, but undeniable. They were flowing, their paths gentle yet steady, like rivers threading through a vast expanse.
Time itself seemed to slow. Each movement, each beat of my heart, each breath I took, it all slowed down, as though the very world was holding its breath with me. And that's when I saw it—an even greater flow. This one, unlike the others, was thicker, denser, and more powerful. It pulsed through the others like a mighty current beneath a calm sea, drawing me toward the center.
Focus.
I had to block out everything else, to silence the remaining noise, and listen only to the force around me.
Uffff….
I exhaled again, more controlled this time.
My breathing steadied, becoming deliberate, and my heartbeats rang out louder in my ears, as if I could feel every beat resonating through my veins. I could sense it—feel the rhythm of life itself. The moments dragged on, and soon I found myself dropping into that rhythm, attuning myself to it, each beat, each pulse aligning perfectly with the flow of energy surrounding me. And with that, my senses heightened beyond the mundane, piercing through the haze of reality.
The energy veins—the invisible streams—became clearer, more defined, as though they were tangible things I could touch. New veins began to extend, building, thickening, and then growing even bolder. The surge was overwhelming. I could feel the power building beneath my skin, and with every breath, I began to pull it in, drawing the energy into myself, feeding off its strength, its essence.
Aether.
So this is how it feels to feel it.
The word echoed in my mind. So, this was what they all felt when they awakened—this overwhelming flood of power coursing through their very being. The more I focused, the more the energy poured in, not chaotically, but with a purpose. It all converged, flowing inwards, spiraling down toward the core inside of me. Everything around me faded—sounds, sights, sensations—until nothing existed but the energy and me.
And then, in that silence, I saw it. Myself, standing alone in that space between reality and the unknown. And before me were the two orbs. The dark-blue still glowing with that energy, the other still plain and untouched. All of the energy I had drawn was funneling toward that plain orb, flowing into it drop by drop. Slowly, steadily, the orb began to fill, swelling with power.
As the energy surged within me, a force, primal and undeniable, began to stir. It was not just power—it was me, an extension of my very soul, filling, expanding. And with each drop, the power inside me grew more profound, resonating deeper, awakening something that had always been there, waiting for this moment.
Aaah!!
I opened my eyes and immediately sensed the difference. It wasn't just my body—everything felt lighter, clearer, as if the weight of the world had lifted from me. I could feel it, almost see it. Bit by bit, the understanding was settling in. Rising slowly to my feet, the air itself felt lighter, my limbs moved with effortless grace, and in a fraction of a second, I had already gathered more than enough strength.
Before I even registered it, my body surged forward. I dashed into the garden, my movements fluid, precise, faster than they had ever been. My focus had become a razor's edge. Every detail, every shift in the energy around me was sharper, clearer than I had ever perceived before. It was as if I could see the patterns now, patterns I had only caught glimpses of in Igdeel. But now? They were undeniable.
The garden was alive.
Thorny branches sprang from the earth like serpents, striking from below, twisting out from the side, and three more lashed down from above, aiming to trap me.
But I was faster.
The Aether coursed through me, and with a thought, I channeled it. I focused it into specific points, concentrating it into denser clusters. The energy surged within me, enough to let me react faster than the twigs could move. The attacks became more violent, more relentless. It was as if the garden itself had grown enraged, like these branches weren't just acting on instinct but were aware of me. Furious. Each time I moved closer to the center, the garden responded, the intensity of their attacks rising in kind.
And the garden was no small patch of earth. It spanned acres—seven, at least—teeming with plants that moved with a singular purpose, a malicious intent.
They weren't just plants. They were soldiers. An army. Foot soldiers, determined to protect something deeper within. And when I finally managed to slip past their synchronized attacks, it became painfully clear. The real disadvantage wasn't their numbers or their strength. It was me. My novice nature. I had only just begun to grasp the Aether, to control it, but an all-out assault? I was far from ready.
A thorned vine snapped around my ankle, curling tight with a force that took my breath away. Before I could react, it yanked me upward, hurling me through the air with a savage swing. The world blurred as I spun, my body helpless against the momentum.
And in that instant, I knew—I had to break free. Or this would be the end.
Channeling the Aether, I focused it into my hand, shaping it just as I'd seen him do before. It coalesced, solidifying into the form of a blade—sharp, ethereal, waiting for the next strike. My body swung with the momentum of the spin, and as I whirled through the air, I locked my sight on its stem. The moment aligned perfectly. With a sharp flick of my wrist, I hurled the blade, watching as it shot straight toward its target. The connection was precise, severing the vine's hold. It released me instantly, and I dropped, bracing myself. My feet found the ground, the impact jarring but controlled. I took off immediately, half-limping, half-sprinting as the branches around me responded with a renewed fury.
The air grew thick with their rage. My strike had only fanned the flames, like throwing oil into an already blazing inferno. They roared, a cacophony of snapping and rustling, as if the entire garden had been awakened and was intent on consuming me whole. The branches twisted and curled, crawling over one another like predators circling their prey, their movements deliberate, violent, and relentless.
But I was not without a plan.
I concentrated the Aether, pushing it down into my legs, weaving it through my joints and spreading it across my ribcage, adjusting it carefully to synchronize with my breath. My lungs expanded effortlessly, my muscles becoming fluid, flexible. The control felt instinctive, natural, as if I'd been using this power for far longer than I actually had. With the energy coursing through me, I maneuvered past the twigs with ease. My movements were quicker, more agile, slipping between the gaps of their attacks.
And the blade—it wasn't dense or overwhelmingly destructive, but it was efficient, cutting through the thicket as I slashed through with each step. It hummed in my hand, a simple extension of my will, not meant to obliterate but to clear a path. And for now, it was enough.
The branches clawed at me with wild ferocity, but I was ready, bending and twisting in ways I'd never thought possible, carving my way forward.
Three Kilometer!!!
Limp, Jump. Blade slash!!!!
The distance between me and the tree shrank to two kilometers, but its presence was already suffocating. Its immense size dominated the landscape, a silent sentinel towering over everything around it. Yet, what unnerved me wasn't just its size—it was the Aether pulsing from it. The energy it exuded was overwhelming, dark, and insidious, twisting the trees nearby as if they were mere extensions of its will. They bent unnaturally toward it, manipulated by an unseen force, obeying the commands of something far greater than them.
There, hanging from one of its thick branches, was the fruit.
A single, solitary fruit—a vivid, glowing purple orb against the darkened canopy, its skin almost pulsating with life. Surrounding it were leaves, shimmering in a faint pale green light, their glow unnatural. Every fiber of my being screamed that this was not normal, not something that should exist in any natural order.
I pushed forward, closing the gap to half a kilometer, my breath steady, my senses sharp.
Then, the air changed.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
The ground trembled lightly beneath my feet, and as I stared ahead, the path before me transformed. The twigs that had been scattered across the ground and intertwined in the trees began to move—slowly at first, like serpents waking from a deep slumber. They curled, twisted, and gathered together, fusing with each other until they formed something far more menacing.
A beast.
The twigs melded into a hulking form, towering over the landscape. Its body was a twisted mass of sharp branches and gnarled wood, its limbs thick and jagged. The twigs shaped themselves into what resembled muscles, coiling and flexing with each slow, deliberate movement. It was massive—easily ten times my size—and radiated a primal, raw power that caused the very air to thicken with tension.
Two glowing pits of pale green light, set deep in its head, locked onto me. Those eyes, if they could be called that, were empty yet alive, brimming with an ancient, malevolent intelligence. The Aether surrounding it crackled with violent energy, distorting the air around its towering frame.
This wasn't just a creature of wood. It was a sentinel, a guardian molded by the tree's will, its sole purpose to obliterate anything that dared draw too close. It was a living barricade, a monstrous force of nature, and with each slow, rumbling step it took, I could feel the earth beneath me tremble.
Its presence was overwhelming, casting a shadow so immense that even the trees around it seemed to bow in submission.
And it stood between me and the tree.
Waiting.
Angrrrrrr!!!!!
The roar from the beast is deafening, a primal cry that reverberates through the air with such force that it pushes me back. My body reacts instinctively, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end as the overwhelming energy of this new threat presses in. My hands ignite with a flash of Aether, twin blades materializing in my grip as I spring forward, rushing headlong into a frontal assault.
"The bigger they are…" I mutter under my breath, twisting mid-air to dodge the creature's massive hand as it crashes down. The force of the swing is enough to shake the ground beneath me, but I stay focused, angling my aura blade toward its head in a swift arc. The blade connects, slicing through, but the wound is shallow—a mere surface cut. The creature barely flinches.
"Damn! What a think skin...Right you are just made of branches but..." a swing so hard. but I manage to defend it slightly, but...
Before I can recover, a bud shoots up from the ground, its speed blurring as it aims for my hand with enough force to crush it. But I've already anticipated the attack, surrounding my body in a protective layer of Aether. A shimmering green cloak envelops me just as the strike makes contact, deflecting the blow. I land with a sharp grace, my feet barely touching the ground before the beast lunges, its massive branches swirling toward me in a furious storm of motion.
I'm caught.
The branches twist and tighten around me with brutal strength, constricting like iron chains. Each second that passes, I feel the pressure intensify. My bones creak under the strain, threatening to snap as the beast tightens its grip. But it's not just trying to crush me—it's trying to consume me, its branches digging in deeper, pulling me toward its core.
In desperation, I make a split-second decision. Channeling the Aether, I shift it, convert it—what had been a simple flow of energy becomes something raw and volatile. I need more than just defense; I need an attack. The idea comes like a flash in my mind, reckless but my only shot. I focus every ounce of stored Aether inside me, concentrating it into a single, destructive pulse.
And then I release it.
The force surges outward in an instant, a violent eruption of energy that blasts through the beast's grip. The Aether spills from me like a torrent, crackling with the intensity of a storm, ripping through the creature's body. It roars in agony as the explosive power detonates from within, tearing it apart from the inside out. In a matter of seconds, the massive form of the twig monster collapses, shattered into fragments of wood and debris.
I land on my feet, the impact soft yet deliberate. Around me, the air crackles with the residual energy of the unleashed force, electrical currents flickering in the air like arcs of lightning. They swirl around me, a tangible aura of destructive power that disintegrates anything that dares come close. I bend slightly at the knees, narrowing my focus, drawing the remaining Aether inward, concentrating it into my legs.
With a final burst, I propel myself upward, launching into the air in a flash of speed, the electric force propelling me like a bolt. I soar high, then drop down gracefully, a mere meter from the base of the tree.
"What a show!" Rhazmir voice comes from above the tree, "you did better than I thought." He throws me the fruit, "I trust that you have finally realized how to effectively use Aether?"
I look across my body.
"It's still the beginning but for a person who had just awakened to do what you did is rare,"he sounds encouraging so I just take it, "That is the first stage, Aether sense and manipulation, for the second stage," he snapps his finger and we are at the top, not the very top but I can see the port at a far distance, "the next level it's for you to find your nature. In five days find out what and where you fit best,"