I sat in the clearing behind our house, the one where the river curved like a silver blade. Morning frost bit at my skin, but I didn't flinch.
Today wasn't for comfort.
Today was for power.
"Start from the beginning," I said aloud.
Three presences stirred around me.
Nyssara's warmth gathered in the air like the scent of blooming vines. Solara's shimmer pulsed above me, weightless and calm. Aelira danced somewhere behind my ear, clicking her tongue impatiently.
"Still so formal," Aelira huffed. "You've known us for years now, Igris. You could at least say 'please.'"
Nyssara chuckled. "Let him focus. Today is important."
Solara simply pulsed once—acknowledging. Waiting.
And then… Raven emerged. Her form unfurled silently beside me, tall and regal, her hand resting on my shoulder like a crown no one else could see.
"Igris," she murmured, "the world revolves around three pillars of power… but it is Essence that supports them all."
The Three Energies – As Taught by Spirit
Nyssara stepped forward first.
She raised a finger, and flowers bloomed through the frost.
"Magic is will + soul," she began. "It exists because your thoughts carry weight when your soul gives them shape."
She created a floating ring of water and shifted it into a glowing serpent.
"It is the most versatile—but also the most fragile. Strong imagination and emotional clarity fuel its power. Without both, it collapses."
She flicked the spell, and it dissolved into mist.
Solara glowed brighter, her light steady.
"Aura is strength + mind," she said. "It is breath. Flow. Tension. Discipline. It sharpens the body like a blade—and burns through hesitation."
She extended a palm, and a shimmering barrier of gold enveloped me. I felt my body react—stronger, faster, more aware.
"It's not magic. It won't bend the world. But in combat, it is life."
She paused.
"And death."
Aelira appeared next, floating upside down with a smug grin.
"Spirit Energy—or anima, as the ancients called it—is a fusion of soul and body," she said. "It's tied to your spirit beast. Yours is me."
She spread her arms, and ghostly foxfire shimmered across the grass.
"It is passion. Instinct. Wildness. Summoning, undead, soul-forging, even bloodline manipulation—it all lives here. Dangerous stuff. But glorious."
She winked. "And only awakened ones like you can use it freely."
I stood, absorbing every word.
And then… Raven stepped in front of them all.
"Yet none of those are what you are."
She raised her hands, and the world shifted.
Colors faded. Sound dulled.
I was still in the forest—but now I saw it differently.
The trees were outlines. The spirits shimmered like glass. The air hummed.
"This," Raven said softly, "is the layer between layers. The code behind the spell. The blood beneath the aura. The root of the soul."
"Essence," she whispered.
"It is what gods use to write reality. What the Eternal Record stores. What immortal beings become."
I looked down at my hand—and saw veins of shadow-glow, flickering like circuits beneath skin.
"Why me?" I asked.
"Because you aren't meant to borrow power," she said. "You're meant to become it."
Father's Arrival – Grounding the Divine
The moment shattered.
My father's voice called from the treeline.
"Enough whispering to ghosts, boy. It's time for aura drills."
Raven vanished with a smirk.
I followed.
We trained until my bones ached.
Aura breathing. Physical conditioning. Endurance. Pain tolerance.
"No shortcuts," he said, again and again.
"Power doesn't mean anything if your body can't wield it."
And I believed him.
Because every time I felt my limits strain, I saw a bit of truth flicker at the edge of my vision—a golden light for aura, a shimmer of flame for magic, a pulse of foxfire for spirit, and a shadow in my reflection that watched everything.
That night, as I lay in bed, I heard Raven's voice once more.
"You are the fourth pillar, Igris. The bridge. The storm that balances the others."
I whispered back, "Then teach me to carry it."
Her shadow fingers brushed against my cheek.
"I already am."