It had been a total of five years since we began training. My body hadn't exactly aged, though Ysevel said that it could be due to me reaching my maturation point. I did put on a decent amount of muscle, as Krozz often sent food that was high in nutrients, probably hoping I wouldn't have my forearm crushed again the next time we met.
Still, we had all learned a lot during our training, but reaching the halfway mark meant that we only had five years left to prepare for our final fight.
Do you really think we'll be ready by then? I asked Kalia through our connection, as she already knew what I was feeling. No, but are we ever truly ready for any challenges we face? Kalia replied with a sideways tilt of her head. She's got a point, you know, Ysevel chimed in. I know she does; it's just a lot of pressure, I admitted.
Ysevel gave me a warm smile in response. Our connection through the Wraith realm meant I didn't have to explain everything in such great detail, as both she and Kalia could both feel exactly what I meant, just how I could feel their emotions as well.
It also meant there was little privacy in terms of my thoughts, but I tried my best to keep things between Ysevel and I to a minimum, mainly for Kalia's sake. The three of us learned how to manage our internal emotions within reasonable limits, though there were occasional waves of emotion that came through the Wraith realm from my mother, Ren, and Aurae at times.
Those, however, were often muddled with the interference from the dome's effects, so none of us could really tell what they were in great detail.
After dinner, Kalia summoned Ysevel and I to the far side of the dome, away from Athar and Irun, who decided they wanted to work on Athar's spells a bit more before turning in for the end of the cycle.
"Please, sit down in any way that is comfortable for you to meditate in," Kalia gestured in front of her. Ysevel and I sat cross-legged, while Kalia sat on her ankles beside us at the apex of our little triangle. "What are we doing here?" I asked without trying to be rude. Kalia cracked her neck and placed both of her hands on top of my core.
"Thoma, you've become proficient enough in the third stage of mana manipulation that I think it's time Ysevel and I helped you reach the fourth," she said bluntly, catching me off guard. "Now? We're going to do that right now?" I asked, surprised by the suddenness of it all, prompting her to remove her hands temporarily.
"I think spending four years with every waking breath in the third stage is plenty for you to break through to the fourth, don't you?" she replied with a chuckle. "Probably? I mean, I know how it's supposed to look, but maintaining my third stage is difficult enough as it is," I replied with an obvious lack of self-confidence.
"You're actually closer than you realize," Ysevel began, getting a nod of agreement from Kalia. "You see, with all the time you've already spent familiarizing yourself with how your body moves in its third stage, it's only a matter of sharpening your senses a bit more," she said plaintively.
"You make that sound easier than it is," I retorted with a light-hearted chuckle. "She's right, Thoma," Kalia said, catching me by surprise. "The fourth stage is exactly as she described it, though instead of pushing the mana only to your muscles and bones, you're pushing it into your core as well," she continued.
"But wouldn't that affect me as a whole? My personality might change drastically, and I'm worried I might lose my fantastic sense of humor," I said sarcastically. "No, it won't. If it were going to, we would have seen signs of it when you were constantly using your third stage," Kalia replied bluntly.
"So that's what you meant when you told me that you were conditioning me to use it. It wasn't just so I could wield it throughout the day, but you were also looking for any side effects in the process," I spoke my thoughts aloud, hoping I was right.
When the two of them nodded simultaneously, I finally understood what Kalia had meant when she first told me that maintaining the third stage would be necessary.
The fourth stage isn't just achieved; it's earned instead, I thought, allowing the feelings that came with my understanding to seep through our connection.
"There it is," Kalia said with a smile. "Took him long enough," Ysevel added with a chuckle. "Wait, you mean you could have told me that years ago?" I pouted as the two of them giggled like children beside me.
"Yes, we could have, but it would have stunted your growth as a warrior and as a person," Kalia began, finally calming back down. "It's a lot like when you first learn to swing a sword in the way that it's different when you try to replicate it for yourself," she said plaintively as if giving a lesson to a small child.
I guess to her, I am a small child; by comparison, I thought briefly to myself.
"Every movement, thought, and muscle used will always be different from the person you're observing as an example. It's important that you find your own way of achieving a similar result, as it will never be identical to the example you're given," she concluded, giving me a shrug.
With those words, I felt something new falling into place within the deepest reaches of my mind.
"So it's not enough to imitate, but I have to understand the fundamentals of what is happening for myself to avoid making a mistake," I muttered, getting a nod of approval from her. "That's what you meant by earned and not achieved," I continued with a light chuckle at my own idiocy. "Now you're truly seeing why I had you maintain your third stage for so long," Kalia said.
"That's also why she had me briefly show you what the fourth stage looked like all those years ago," Ysevel added with a warm smile. "It wasn't to give you the answer but to prompt you to start looking at things differently in terms of mana manipulation. Remember what Sabura said about perspective?" she asked.
"Having the ability to change your perspective is paramount to growth," I quoted the sage, feeling a smile beginning to grow on my face. Kalia and Ysevel both regarded me warmly, and I could feel a sense of pride coming through our connection from both of them.
"Thank you. Both of you," I said with genuine gratitude. "No need to thank us. I'm sure I speak for both of us that we're proud of how far you've come," Ysevel began. "Now, let's see what you're really made of," Kalia concluded. I could sense both her excitement and anxiousness to begin, as I was sure it was mirroring my own.
She placed her hand above my core once again, as Ysevel's eyes shone brightly with scarlet mana when she quickly re-entered her fourth stage. "I'm going to act as a conduit to help temper the movement of mana within your core, it will be your job to harness it," she began, her eyes glowing like Ysevel's once more.
I closed my eyes and reached into the Wraith realm, seeing both of their forms in much greater detail now than when I first stepped into the realm. I could see the mana flowing into their forms in constant flux as though they were perpetually casting a spell.
Since I was already in the third stage, Kalia's form shifted slightly as she prompted the mana flowing around my form to coalesce around my core. Wordlessly, I focused on the sensation of it as it began to break through the barrier between my core and the rest of my translucent form.
I immediately felt a surge of power coursing through my body, causing me to lose focus momentarily as I opened my eyes to look down at my chest where Kalia's hand was. "Focus. Put your hand on her core. Do it now," she said, bringing my attention back to what we were doing in the time it took her to snap.
Doing as she requested without another word, I placed my hand over Ysevel's core and felt the movement of mana that she willingly pulsed throughout her body and back towards her core.
Back in the Wraith realm, I reached out and placed my hand over her core as well, but something struck me as odd. There was no pulsation of the mana in her translucent form, only a warm sensation around my hand as it got closer, prompting me to open my eyes again in the realization of what was actually happening.
"Ysevel, you're…" I trailed off as the backlash from my lack of concentration caused the mana in my body and core to burst, knocking me out of my seated position. By the time I realized what had just happened, I was flat on my back and clutching my chest as the air left my lungs. "Thoma!" the two of them said in unison as they rushed to my aid.
"Breathe! Breathe!" Kalia said urgently, prompting me to focus as hard as I could on that simple task. With a gasp, I pulled as much air into my lungs as I could, forcing me to start coughing as a result. "What happened? Are you alright?" Ysevel asked, cradling my head.
"Y-you're almost…" I managed before darkness took over me as I passed out in her arms.
I didn't know how much time had elapsed since losing consciousness, but I could tell it wasn't a small amount, judging by the way Athar and Irun were stuffing their faces full of Krozz's food. My vision was blurry, and I felt an ache in my chest that vividly reminded me of the first time I interacted with mana as a child.
"What happened?" I wheezed weakly, trying to sit upright. My armor had been stripped from my body, and a moist towel fell from my forehead into my lap. "Holy shit, he's alive," Athar's alternate voice said from the side of the runic table, breaking Ysevel out of her meditation just a few meters away. "Thoma!" she said, abruptly opening her eyes and moving towards me.
"Are you alright?" Kalia asked, following Ysevel's lead. "Y-yeah, I think so," I said, still rubbing my core. "What was that?" I asked Kalia. "You lost focus, though why you did is still a mystery to all of us," she replied bluntly. "Shit, I feel like I just got a kick in the chest from Celer," I said, recalling the size of my horse's hooves.
"How long was I out?" I asked. "Three cycles, nearly four. We were beginning to worry you wouldn't wake up anytime soon," she said, her eyes welling with a single tear. "If it's of any consolation, she took excellent care of you," Irun said with a tinge of jealousy in his voice while he and Athar walked over. "I'm just happy I didn't wake up staring at your beautiful face," I retorted sarcastically.
"Aaaaand he's back," Irun said, throwing his arms in the air as if he'd given up. "It's not like we didn't take turns making sure you weren't going to die," he continued, giving me a frustrated look. "You should know better than most that wouldn't have killed me," I said, struggling to sit upright. "Would it?" I asked Kalia.
When she didn't immediately reply, I felt my stomach drop.
"Oh, shit," I muttered, understanding the severity of what happened. "You came close, but if I hadn't been there, it just might have," she added in a grave tone. "What did you see?" she asked, immediately shifting the conversation. "What do you mean?" I asked, not hiding my confusion at all.
"Before you nearly departed from the mortal plane, you were trying to say something about Ysevel, but neither of us could make out what it was," she said, kneeling down beside my bedroll. I took a moment to try to gather my thoughts before I answered, furrowing my brow as I dug through the scattered memories.
"I think Ysevel might be on the cusp of reaching the fifth stage," I said, shocking everyone who'd come close. "H-how do you know that?" Ysevel asked, moving in closer with a confused look on her face. "The way your mana felt reminded me a lot of how my mother's did when she and Aurae removed the seal on my core," I replied, knowing that wasn't going to be enough.
"What do you mean?" Kalia asked bluntly.