Riven began explaining the flow of energy within an immortal's body, assuming it would apply to Aiden as well. He passed through Aiden's abdomen, mentioning the qui-center, and placed a light on his forehead, marking the rei-point.
"Extend your arms," Riven commanded, and Aiden obeyed immediately.
Riven moved from his chest toward his fingertips, and Aiden felt a ticklish sensation, along with a surge of energy in his veins. "The chest is the mit-point, and the tip of your pointer finger is the sien-point."
Riven adjusted Aiden's stance, positioning his feet together, his right hand clenched into a fist behind him. His left hand was open, pressed to his chest, palm facing his right side, fingers aligned.
"This is entertaining," Caelum murmured beside Lucius. "I've completely forgotten the basics."
"Now this is the tough part," Riven said, earing a determined nod from Aiden. "You have to feel all the points I marked for you. You have to be able to feel them to control them."
"Feel them?" Aiden asked.
"Yes, feel them," Lucius said. "Like… when you mortals hold back a bowel movement because the break's still hours away."
Caelum flickered. "Great analogy," he said, earning a proud beam from Lucius. "But gross."
Aiden closed his eyes, recalling the points Riven had marked. He took a deep breath, clearing his mind until only the points remained. His abdomen responded first—a spark igniting at his qui-center, spreading warmth like a sip of hot soup on a frosty evening. He guided the sensation upward to his mit-point, where it settled in his chest, growing into a steady, comforting heat.
Hovering above him, the wisps observed in silence as Aiden accessed his points, impressed by how fast he was learning.
"He's actually doing it?" Caelum whispered, astonished. "Impressive. Took me a hundred years just to move from the qui-center to the mit-point."
"You're a fool, that's why," Lucius said. "Though it is impressive. I, myself, took quite a while getting those first steps."
"Interesting, right?" Riven said. "He's a natural. It's as if he's known how to do all of this before."
The three wisps fell silent, their minds aligning. Aiden's identity only deepened the web of questions surrounding him, each adding to the mystery. They watched in awe as he folded three of his fingers, leaving only his pointer and middle fingers together. The hand that had been at his back moved to his side, facing downward to channel the earth's energy.
"What's happening?" Lucius said, hovering closer toward Aiden. "You didn't teach him that."
Riven's expression deepened, his awe evident. "You're right," he said. "I didn't. So how does he know what to do? And why does he do it so naturally?"
A smirk was plastered on his face, as if he had expected this. From the moment they met the boy, he knew he was far from normal—out of the ordinary, with a mysterious and special identity.
The room began to hum with energy, a low, vibrating buzz that seemed to fill the air. Small objects on Aiden's table—pens, paperclips, and stray bits—began to rattle, shifting as if stirred by an invisible force. The warmth in the room grew, settling over them like a thick, heavy blanket.
Lucius flared up, his eyes locked on Aiden as the essence radiating from him caused his hair to stand on end. "Bastardsson!" Lucius exclaimed in awe.
The wisps began to flicker, their wispy forms tingling from the spillage of Aiden's essence. The tickling sensation halted them in place as they exchanged wary glances. Like lanterns sputtering on the verge of going out, they felt as though their poor wispy existence was being blown out by the wind.
"He can't control that much essence yet!" Caelum shouted. "Someone stop him!"
Riven remained stoic. "Or we can take a gamble and get our bodies back."
Caelum and Lucius exchanged a quick glance, and within a second, they came to a decision. "Riven, you're insane! Of course, he'll die first!"
"Bastardsson! Bastardsson!" Lucius called him. "Aiden! Aiden wake up!"
Aiden's eyes snapped open, and the rattling ceased. All the objects that had been levitating during his outburst dropped to the floor in a chaotic mess. The wisps, too, stopped flickering, returning to their powerless forms.
Aiden looked at the wisps, hint of irritation plastered on his face. "Why are you screaming?" he asked them. "Just when I was about to break through the sien-point."
Lucius and Caelum stared at him, expressionless. The boy had no idea he was about to obliterate everything in his path.
"You almost killed all of us," Caelum said. "That's what happened."
"What?" Aiden said. "You don't have to worry about that," he said. "I have everything under con-"
Aiden gazed at the mess he'd made—books scattered across the floor, crumpled scratch paper, and loose paper clips. His room looked like it had been ransacked by a burglar who'd left empty-handed.
"trol?" he said, his hand scratching the back of his head. "I guess I was wrong."
Riven zoomed through the room, and flicked Aiden in the forehead.
"Ouch!" Aiden grimaced. "Did you just flick me?" he asked, the realization slowly dawning on him. "Wait—I felt that! You actually flicked me!"
The two wisps took a moment to realize what he was fretting about, the realization slowly dawning in their glow. "You flicked him?! And he felt it?!"
They zoomed across the room, bumping into the smallest items they could find. Caelum attempted to grasp a pen, managing to hold it for a moment before it slipped right through his form. All their eyes were fixed on Riven.
"Thanks to the essence you spilled out," he said. "But it won't last long. Just enough to deliver a small punishment."
Aiden pouted. "But I did... okay. Why would you punish me?"
"You did nothing good," Riven said. "The first rule in wielding power is patience. You acted outside the instructions. Your arrogance could have been dangerous for all of us."
"As if you even tried to stop him," Caelum murmured from the background, earning a sharp glare from Riven.
Aiden nodded. "Right, sorry," he said. "It just felt normal. My body took over, and I couldn't help it."
Riven nodded slightly. "Letting your body take over is the worst thing you can do," he said. "Acting before thinking will only get you in trouble—we don't want another Caelum."
"Hey!" Caelum complained.
"For your punishment," Riven said, hovering over Aiden's table, "you'll light this candle without burning it. You can't sleep until you succeed."