As I reflected on these abilities, I began to realize that most of the Pathway Abilities were meant to manipulate the very elements that aligned with each person's affinity. Those on the Divine Pathway, like myself, could shape and control these forces, bending them to their will. The strength of each ability was proportional to the understanding one had of their affinity. Time, space, and dreams—they were not just abstract concepts; they were part of me now, intertwined with my essence, my core. With them, I could reshape the world around me, but with that power came the responsibility of control.
As I grew in mastery, I would unlock even greater facets of these forces—greater control and deeper understanding. But for now, I knew I had to tread carefully. The more I wielded, the more I would need to understand the true cost of these abilities.
I focused on the final set of runes—Soul Abilities. These abilities were linked to personal growth, enlightenment, and the depth of one's connection to their affinities.
Dream Blade: Steal the dreams of the fallen or those you've defeated in battle. Take their dreams and desires and make them your own. With this blade, you can channel their power, drawing strength from their unfulfilled potential. Their essence becomes your conduit, granting you immense power. But beware—each dream you claim comes at a cost. The more you take, the more you risk losing your own.
Just as I finished reading, the area around me began to collapse once again. The brilliant hues of the Aether Realm faded into nothingness, and I felt a sudden pull, as though being yanked through a vast, unseen current.
When the world around me finally settled, I found myself standing before the monolith once more, my hand resting on its surface. The room was silent, eerily so, and for a moment, it felt as if no time had passed at all.
I looked around the room and quickly realized I was either the first to exit the trial or the last. The space was utterly empty, save for one figure—Ms. Athena. She stood there, her dark, piercing eyes fixed on me as if trying to assess the changes wrought by the trial.
"Welcome back, Samuel," she said, her voice calm yet carrying a note of curiosity. "Congratulations on completing your first Aetheric trial. You took quite a while compared to the others."
She glanced at her watch, an almost imperceptible glimmer of approval in her piercing gaze. "Six hours and seven minutes, to be exact—and you were the first to enter."
Her tone was neutral, but something about how she said it hinted at the significance of the time spent.
"Yeah, it was truly a nightmare," I said, my voice heavy and filled with exhaustion. "I need some fresh air, so please excuse me." With that, I turned and made my way up the winding stairs, the cool air outside calling to me as I stepped out of the shadows and into the night.
The bridge, hanging above the massive chasm, felt trivial now. I sat in the middle, letting my feet dangle over the edge as the wind whispered below. I wasn't ready to go back to the dorm yet. I was so accustomed to the darkness that the faint glimmers of light around me felt more intrusive than comforting.
I just sat there beneath the moon's reflection, feeling so small. On the outside, I might look fine, but inside, I felt broken—like the appearance of my soul, fractured in ways no one could see. The pain from the trial still lingered deep within me, even though I had escaped it. It was as if the chains that once bound me were still there, lurking in the shadows, ready to reach out again and take hold. The sense of freedom was fleeting, like I was always one step away from being dragged back into that darkness.
In the absence of everyone, I broke down on the bridge. I wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point, I felt the tears running down my face. The silence of the night was deafening, and in that solitude, the weight of everything I had been holding back finally came crashing down. The pain, the fear, the exhaustion—all of it spilled out, and I let myself feel it for the first time in so long. The tears felt like a release, a brief moment of surrender to all the hurt that had built up inside.
Pov: Athena
I watched Samuel leave, my eyes lingering on his retreating figure. My hand instinctively reached for my watch, checking it once more to see if the number had shifted from 1. It hadn't, thankfully.
To spend so much time in the trail space... I couldn't imagine what he must have endured, yet he hadn't succumbed to chaos. How had he held on to his sanity?
I remembered my first trial, though it felt like a lifetime ago. Yet, like all trials, it never truly faded. The memories lingered at the edges of my mind, sharp and unrelenting.
Endless illusions. Familiar whispers. Betrayal from those I trusted most. My trial had been a seamless deception, so real I hadn't even realized I was in it. Every choice I made only tightened the noose, each revelation cutting deeper than the last.
When the illusion finally shattered, I was left raw. The Nexus had stripped away my trust and forced me to stand alone. I emerged stronger, yes, but never the same.
The faster one returned to the material universe was often seen as an indicator of a weaker pathway—or a less demanding trial. The longer you endured within it, the more it spoke of your resilience, the depth of your potential, and the strength of the pathway you were destined to walk.
Now, as I watched Samuel, I couldn't help but wonder—what had he faced? Whatever it was, he had survived. Born anew.
Locking the door behind me, I stepped out of the classroom, letting the cool air hit my face. It had been a long day, but I wasn't about to let the whispers of the other teachers get to me. They could believe whatever they wanted—I had bigger things to focus on. If they thought I was unfit to teach Class 1-A, fine. Let them.
I wasn't interested in their judgment or their petty drama. I had things to do. So, I decided to take a walk, to clear my head. The last thing I needed was more of their pointless chatter. If I stayed out long enough, I'd avoid it altogether when I returned to my quarters.
I cast an illusion over myself, blending seamlessly with the environment as I made my way down the path.
Reaching the bridge, I saw Samuel sitting at its center, his shoulders slumped, his figure steeped in quiet solitude. In that unguarded moment, when he believed himself truly alone, he looked so broken, so lost. It didn't feel like my place to intervene—the last thing I had wanted after my own trial was company.
So I watched him, shrouded by my illusion, as he sat there in his moment of despair. His face, once emotionless, now betrayed the turmoil within.
On this starless night, he let his emotions run wild—his hands trembling slightly as he clenched them into fists, his head bowed as if under the weight of the world. It was raw, unfiltered, and profoundly human.
From the moment he emerged from the trial, I could feel the aetheric energy clinging to him, wrapping around him like a protective veil. It wasn't just residual energy—it embraced him, almost reverently, as though he were its favoured son.
I wasn't sure what Pathway he had attained—most people kept that information to themselves. Though I tried to study the ambient aether surrounding him, its presence was vast yet unrecognizable. The energy clung to him like mist, swirling with hints of potential, though its intensity was already beginning to fade, receding like the tide.
For newly Awakened, their affinities often lingered around them for a time, like an afterimage of the trial they had overcome. The aether, still raw and untamed, would gradually settle, saturating their aetheric core fully. Whatever his Pathway was, it had clearly left its mark, though deciphering the specifics of his affinity in this fleeting moment proved difficult.
I could sense more than one affinity radiating from him—most likely two, perhaps even three. Two of them seemed to resonate with each other, their energies weaving together in seamless harmony. The third, however, felt... different.
In the months to come, I would witness what he was truly made of, the depths of his potential. But before that, there was something I needed to do—I would reach out to an old friend, his mother.