The morning sun, now higher in the sky, cast long, dancing shadows across the garden. The air hummed with the gentle buzz of insects and the distant chirping of birds, a symphony of life Elias had always taken for granted.
He sat cross-legged on the cool grass, facing Aina, his small body still thrumming with the residual ache of yesterday's reinforcement drills. He had understood Flow as the universe's fabric, a grand, cosmic tapestry. Now, Aina intended for him to feel the threads.
"Now, you will learn to perceive it," Aina stated, her voice calm, yet carrying an undeniable weight.
"To feel the hum of the world. Close your eyes, Elias. Clear your mind, and feel the silence." She paused, her gaze unwavering. "Then, reach out with your Flow. Let it brush against the Flow of the world."
Elias closed his eyes, taking a deep, steadying breath. He tried to clear his mind, to push away the lingering thoughts of aching muscles and Aina's stern lessons. He focused on the silence, the absence of his own internal chatter. He pushed his Flow outwards, a tentative, almost invisible tendril of energy, trying to connect with something, anything.
He waited.
Nothing.
He felt nothing but the warmth of the sun on his eyelids, the faint scent of jasmine, the gentle rustle of leaves in a breeze and the faint pang of hunger as his stomach grumbled. He tried again, pushing harder, willing his senses to open, but the world remained stubbornly opaque to his Flow. Frustration, a familiar companion, began to prickle at the edges of his concentration.
'It's just… nothing. Am I doing it wrong? Is there nothing to feel?'
He took another breath, remembering Aina's earlier words about focus. He tried to find that elusive "silence" again, to quiet the analytical part of his mind. He pushed his Flow outwards once more, more gently this time, less like a probe and more like a soft touch.
This time, something shifted. A faint, almost imperceptible whisper at the very edge of his awareness. It wasn't a sound, but a sensation, a fleeting impression of something vast and intricate. He almost had it, a shimmering, indistinct presence. He strained, trying to grasp it, to pull it into focus, but his concentration wavered, fractured by the effort and the lingering fatigue and hunger. The whisper faded, slipping away like smoke through his fingers. He gasped, his eyes flying open in frustration. He had almost touched it, almost felt it.
Aina's gaze was on him, unreadable as ever. She said nothing, but her presence was a silent command to try again.
Elias closed his eyes, gritting his teeth and forced his mind to absolute stillness, pushing every thought, every sensation, every memory, into a distant corner. He found it – a profound, resonant silence within himself, a quiet void. From this void, he extended his Flow, not as a probe, but as an open, receptive sense.
This time, the connection was undeniable.
A torrent of sensation crashed over him, overwhelming, blinding. It wasn't a roar, but a symphony of countless, overlapping vibrations, each one a unique pulse of energy. It was like trying to touch every individual grain of sand on a shore at once, or hear every conversation in a bustling city simultaneously. His head throbbed, a dull ache behind his eyes, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He felt the pervasive "presence" everywhere, a shimmering, chaotic tapestry of energy that threatened to consume him.
'It's too much! How can I hear one whisper in this roar? How can I see one spec in this blinding light?'
He struggled, on the verge of retreating, when Aina's instruction echoed in his mind: "Do not try to feel everything at once. Focus on the smallest thing. A single leaf. A blade of grass. Feel its life. Feel its Flow. Slowly,one at a time."
He forced himself to filter, to pinpoint. He focused on the nearest blade of grass, just beneath his hand. Slowly, agonizingly, the chaotic symphony began to dissolve. A distinct, faint vibration emerged from the grass, a gentle, rhythmic pulse, like a tiny heart beating. It was warm, vibrant, utterly alive. He could feel the Flow coursing through its delicate structure, a miniature river of energy.
Then, Aina's silent command:
"Compare it to the stone."
He shifted his focus to the stone that was an arms reach where he sat. It took more effort, but he found it – a duller, more static presence. It was cold, ancient, a slow, heavy thrum compared to the grass's vibrant warmth. It was Flow, yes, but different. Denser, perhaps, or simply less active.
He moved his perception, guided by curiosity. A buzzing insect nearby. Its Flow was a rapid, erratic flutter, like tiny, frantic wings. A bird perched on a branch above. Its Flow was a steady, strong current, a more complex pattern than the insect's. He could differentiate the vibrant, flowing energy of a healthy rose from the faint, almost dying whisper of a wilting petal. Everything had its own unique texture, its own frequency and intensity.
Then, Aina's voice, a silent challenge in his mind:
"Now, feel my Flow."
He focused on her, sitting still just a few feet away. Her Flow was unlike anything else he had perceived. It was incredibly powerful, vast, a two dense rings of energy, yet meticulously controlled, contained within her slender frame. She had both Flow and Anti-Flow circulating within her,neither overlapping the other,a sign of her masterful control of her energy.
As Elias continued to gaze, pushing his senses further, the individual Flow signatures began to coalesce. The overwhelming chaos resolved into a constant, underlying "hum" or vibration that permeated everything. It was no longer a cacophony, but a subtle, resonant thrum, the constant, low-frequency symphony of existence. He realized that his own Flow, and his Spirit-Domain, were merely a part of this larger, universal Flow, albeit a highly concentrated and unique one. He was connected to everything, a single note in the grand cosmic song.
He gazed deeper, drawn by an insatiable curiosity, pushing his nascent senses beyond the familiar, beyond the garden,the manor and even going into the city beyond the manor gates,lingering a bit before pushing further,into a forest a few miles away from the city.
And then he found it.
A distinct energy,an ominous Flow . It was profoundly cold, a draining void that sucked at the warmth of the ambient Flow. It felt fundamentally wrong, a discordant note in the world's hum, like a festering wound on the world around it. It was unlike anything he had sensed before – not the cold control of Aina's Flow, but pervasive malevolence. He instinctively tried to concentrate on it, to understand its nature, drawn by a morbid, terrifying curiosity.
As he focused intensely on this malevolent energy, a chilling sensation washed over him. He felt a profound, terrifying sense of being noticed by it. It was like an unseen, ancient eye had suddenly turned its gaze directly upon him, a predatory awareness that sent ice through his veins. He was exposed, vulnerable, and utterly, horrifyingly seen.
Aina's composed demeanor shattered. Her eyes widened.She moved with terrifying swiftness, instantly at his side. A Flow-infused firm touch landed on his shoulder, a jolt that was both painful and strangely grounding. It was a shock, but not of electricity; it was a precise, controlled burst of Flow that safely defused his own over-extended Flow, severing the terrifying connection.
Elias gasped, his eyes wide open, disoriented and trembling. He was sweating profusely, his small body shivering uncontrollably despite the warmth of the day. He looked utterly terrified, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"What did you see, Elias?" Aina asked, her voice tight with a rare, undisguised concern.
Elias struggled to articulate, his voice shaky, barely a whisper.
"I… I don't know… but it was… something evil. So cold. So wrong. What was that?"
Aina's expression hardened, a flicker of self-reproach in her eyes.
"I should have told you about this. But we are within the manor, and I did not think it necessary." Her voice dropped, becoming grave, delivering her warning in a single, impactful word.
"Malevolence."