Luis took a deep breath tired from using his aura. Luis could already tell what his dad meant using aura with the Aura Conduit Disk always felt rigid but using aura this way felt more fluid he was able to use it with more ease.
["That should be enough for now"] Noah's voice spoke through *Flameborn Connection*. ["How did that feel? It was more fun than just focusing on a disk right?"]
Luis nodded. ["I've been using the disk for a while, so this was more fun."]
Noah chuckled. Then a thought struck him Luis probably didn't have another Aura Conduit Disk since he would leave it in his room. With a flick of his wrist, a flame appeared in Noah's hand, the flame started to hardened and change shape until it started to become a circular shape until it started to look like the shape of Aura Conduit Disk and then it started hardening, glowing with a deep red hue.
Luis's eyes widened in surprise. ["How did you do that?"]
["It's made using a blessing I have called *Smithing*."] Noah held the disk up to Luis, letting Luis inspect it. ["It's not from the Phoenix blessing, but from another beast a four legged, eight armed creature that forges anything into weapons. It could even shape elements like water, though it took longer to make them durable."]
Luis ran a finger along the surface of the disk, feeling a slight warmth from it.
["I used a lot of aura while making this one so it won't break easily. When you infuse your aura, the red color will dim where you focus it. When you've practiced enough it will break completely. When that happens, I'll just make another one for you."]
Luis gripped the disk tightly and looked at it thoughtfully. ["Thanks, Dad."]
After a moment of silence between them Luis spoke again. ["Dad… what are we going to do now? Where are we going?"]
Noah answered his expression softening. ["We're heading to Wrift Caverns. It's at the edge of the kingdom. The Xoliti Clan will set up barriers so we won't be detected."]
["And after that?"]
["We're still discussing that. We have some plans, but we need to finalize them."]
Luis nodded, digesting the information. Noah reached out and ruffled his hair. ["I'm going to keep talking with the others."]
["Alright."]
["In the meantime, you should talk to Mira and Rico."]
Luis blinked. ["Mira and Rico?"]
["Yeah, I called them over. I'll be back when Kael and Lira wake up."]
[Bye kiddo] Noah turned and left after saying that leaving Luis alone with his thoughts. He looked to his sides to see the twins sleeping beside him their breathes filling the quiet place.
A few seconds after Noah left Mira and Rico arrived.
Luis's eyes immediately flicked to them. Both Mira and Rico looked way more mature from when he had seen them as a kid with them now being 23 years old. Mira hadn't changed much, her hair had changed to be red hair catching the soft glow of the cavern. But Rico… Rico was almost unrecognizable. He had once been lanky, standing at six feet tall, but now he was broad-shouldered and athletic, his presence much more imposing than before.
Rico grinned. "What's up, Luis? How you doing?"
"I'm fine."
Mira gasped. "Oh my god, you looked so cute sleeping together!"
Luis frowned slightly at that, but before he could respond, Rico chuckled. "Aren't you tired? Don't you wanna sleep more?"
Luis shook his head. "No, I just slept. I feel fine… I don't know, though. It feels like I slept for a long time, but I can't really tell in here."
Mira tapped her chin before snapping her fingers. "Wait, I'll ask my mom."
She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them with a nod. "We've been here for five hours. We should be out of here in another five."
Luis tilted his head. "Did you use *Flameborn Connection* to talk to her?"
Mira smiled. "Yeah. That was my eleventh blessing. Pretty useful, right?"
Luis blinked, then said, "Shouldn't we be talking using that so Lira and Kael don't wake up?"
Mira and Rico froze before looking at each other in embarrassment. They both nodded sheepishly, as if realizing they had been making an obvious mistake.
["Well,"] Rico finally said through *Flameborn Connection*, ["we came here to check on our cute little Luis. Our parents are all busy discussing what to do next with everyone else."]
Mira's expression softened. ["Luis, your dad told us what happened."] Her voice was gentle, careful. ["We know he talked to you about it, but if you need anything, just ask us, okay? We know how it feels to lose close friends."]
Luis remained quiet not really knowing what to say and just nodded his head.
Mira continued, ["We never told you, but we lost three of our older siblings. And Luis, you're like our younger brother. We'll help you with whatever you need."]
Luis swallowed, then nodded. ["Thanks… but I know what I want to do. I want to grow stronger."]
Rico smirked. ["Well, we're here, aren't we? We're both at the Master tier. Just ask us whatever you want to know. We remember what it was like going from Adept to Advanced it wasn't decades ago for us like it was for our parents. It was only eight to ten years ago. We can help you more."]
Luis smiled. ["Thanks."]
A brief silence settled between them before Mira hesitated, then asked, ["Luis… if you don't mind, I want to ask you something. Were Lira and Kael with you at the end? Were they awake?"]
Luis shook his head. ["They weren't awake."]
Mira exhaled her expression contemplative. Then she looked at him seriously. ["Luis, your dad told us to let him know when your siblings wake up. But… I think it would be better if you lie to Kael and Lira."]
Luis frowned. ["Lie?"]
["Tell them that Taran was fine. That Isabella was able to heal him, but he couldn't come with the Phoenix Clan, so he's still at the village."]
Luis looked down at his siblings in thought
Mira continued softly, ["It won't change the fact that Taran will always be in your memories. But Kael and Lira are young. They don't need to experience something like this yet. I don't know what your parents will decide, but if they want them to learn about loss… it's better if it happens in the future."]
Luis thought about it. Slowly, he nodded. [" I think the same. I'll tell Dad that I said that to them."]
Mira smiled. ["Okay. Now, do you want to tell us how you feel about being stuck at this stage? What's the hardest thing for you right now?"]
Luis glanced down at his hands, tightening them into fists.