Shun decided to answer their questions after breakfast.
Once breakfast ended, Toki and Luna, accompanied by Shun, headed outside the village walls, while Sophie, Rai, and her sister Anna wandered through the vast fields stretching from the hill to the plains.
Shun asked with an uneasy smile, "Do you know about spiritual pulses?"
Luna raised her hand as white ash swirled around her body. "Yes, spiritual pulses originate from the heart of a person's soul."
"Everything has its own spirit—" Toki continued lazily, yawning, "—which contains a spiritual cycle flowing through the body."
Shun raised his arms enthusiastically. "Exactly. You're doing fine, and this shows what you're lacking, little minds."
Toki replied coldly, "The little mind is you. My muscles are enough."
Shun said, "Stop pretending, boy. You won't last even a minute. Now, I have a question for you two: do you see anything around me?"
Neither Luna nor Toki could see anything, which prompted Shun to guide them, as they were unaware of the true potential of spiritual pulses. He planned to let them see it once they were ready.
They engaged in discussion, with Shun explaining the different types of spiritual pulses he knew.
Shun cracked his fingers. "There may be other types, but I only know these."
Glancing at his hands, Toki thought, "I think I awakened it five years ago, before being shackled."
Shun asked Toki's age. "Thirteen," Toki replied. Shon's curiosity flared—why had he been restrained, and why were his pulses partially suppressed?
Shun performed one of his techniques that allowed him to see spiritual pathways.
He looked at Luna and was astonished—she had no heart. All he saw was white light surrounded by rainbow-colored crystals.
Turning to Toki, he saw a reflection similar to what he saw in Luna. Toki's heart resembled a beast or a ticking bomb; its colors were dark, leaking a chaotic black-and-white aura.
According to Shun's analysis, Luna had no intent; in other words, her personality was unclear.
Toki, on the other hand, seemed to have endured a psychological war, disturbed and reserved with his emotions.
Shun was impressed and astonished at the same time. Calmly, he said, "Let's try leveling up. You'll be my opponent in this duel, Luna!"
"It's an honor…" Luna replied, stepping toward Shon. "Shall we start now?"
Shun waved his fist to the right. "Listen carefully. The first and most important levels you must master are Flow and Encapsulation."
Luna and Shun stared at each other intently. A massive aura surged from them like a whirlwind, creating powerful winds that swept across the terrain.
Toki focused under extreme pressure. Shun's aura was light blue, while Luna's was a gradient from white-gray to sky blue.
Shun explained, "This is Flow. It's when your spiritual aura surpasses the limits of your body and manifests into reality, and also—"
"—through it, you can take shape, like an elemental."
Shun gathered half the surrounding aura in both hands and pulled it quickly, sending branching blue lightning that vanished in seconds.
Meanwhile, Luna lifted her palms gently, transforming her aura into ash, floating like a gigantic whale.
Toki watched, recalling the day Sophie used her spiritual pulses.
Luna dashed forward, shaping the ash into a massive compressing form, her features cold.
Shun blocked Luna's strike with an electric field swirling around him. "This is Encapsulation, the second level. Impressive!! You encapsulated your tools instead of your cells?"
Luna replied sarcastically, "So what?"
"Unfortunately, it won't help much unless you increase its density," Shun said, guiding Luna upward.
Despite wearing a dress, Luna moved gracefully, forming a rope with a spear at its tip. She gripped it firmly and threw it at Shun.
Shun became threads of light in the air and ran after Luna, hands above his head, with many giant threads surrounding them.
Luna spun quickly, pulling herself down with the rope, then rapidly formed a set of broad swords connected with chains.
Shun suddenly appeared ahead as she accelerated and aimed a strong knee strike, but Luna blocked it with one of her gray swords.
She recoiled slightly from the force.
Shun, flying in the sky, said, "What happened to you? I haven't used even 0.3% of my power!"
Luna dissipated into ash. Shun scanned every angle, but found no trace—no shadow, no sound—making it difficult.
"I think I caught…" Luna appeared behind him with a wide grin, swords surrounding him.
Shun grabbed her right arm and flipped over her, whispering, "Don't worry."
Luna pierced herself with three swords orbiting her. She was impressed by Shun's cleverness; his body was unaffected by the lightning charge.
Calmly, she said, "So that's what you meant—I didn't encapsulate properly. That's why my attack didn't affect you… that."
Toki, observing the fast aerial battle, felt weak, a half-confused smile on his face.
He thought to himself, "I won't tremble in place again, and I won't die helplessly like that."
"Are these spiritual pulses…" he murmured, barely able to follow the fight between Shon and Luna. "…This is insane!!"
From a distance, anyone would see a massive ball of ash in the air, lightning striking inside it, scattering sparks of intense heat and ash into the sky.
In a nearby village, Marcy Marta stood by her window, pausing as she stared at the sky, feeling an ominous chill in the weather.
Back with Toki, Luna, and Shon, the battle continued—rapid attacks, clever maneuvers, and strong wind-generating parries.
Luna created an ash tsunami. "Don't tell me you're satisfied. Don't you have something you're hiding?"
She surged atop the waves toward Shon, who was ready to counter.
Shon laughed lightly. "Phase three… combining Encapsulation and Flow, with spacetime design or generation."
Luna advanced directly toward Shon, surrounded by massive chains like anchors.
She wrapped herself with a large portion of her aura and struck directly at his neck.
A look of surprise appeared on her face—Shon hadn't anticipated the strike. He smirked as the anchors pierced him and blood sprayed into the air.
"Well done," Shon clapped. "Now let's see how long you can last."
He raised his hand to the sky, gathering all surrounding lightning into a central orb. Luna's expression showed shock but she remained composed.
Toki ran toward them, while Shon pronounced a name: "Flood… of the Branching Sky Ruins…"
In an instant, his aura spread around them. Darkness veiled their eyes.
Suddenly, they stood in a sky filled with islands and gray, dry rocks, with electric fields striking violently.
They had clearly been separated from their previous location.
Shon sat on a throne atop a high mountain. "This is called spacetime generation, and I have now created my own space. Show me what you've got."
Toki felt both suspicion and urgency, waiting for the right moment to intervene.
Luna struggled to adapt to the harsh conditions, her body faltering and resetting each time.
She focused her aura, surrounding herself to maintain her form. Closing her eyes, she felt a spiritual current flowing through her body, gradually forming elegant invisible clothing from head to toe.
She formed a long, finely crafted sword. "Encapsulation allows damage to original pulse users and physical bodies."
"Truly fascinating!!" Shon snapped his fingers, turning the ground beneath Luna into electric waves.
Intense lightning strikes bombarded her. The storm shook the area… Luna redirected the attacks with her sword with complete focus. Toki ran, trying to get closer.
Rocks shattered chaotically, forcing Toki to use aerial rebound. He jumped high, removed his shoes, and moved among scattered rocks while Luna passed by at supersonic speed.
Shun remained seated, directing thunder at Luna with his fingers.
Luna unleashed a barrage of chains, approaching him, taking advantage of Shun's lightning bursts.
Shun praised her directly. "Congratulations!! You've properly mastered these two phases."
Toki flexed his right arm and punched a broken mountain rock before Shun could restrain Luna.
She swung her sword back with all her strength, maintaining her spiritual flow.
Shun flipped the space upside down, turning his hands into sharp knives. Just before impact, Toki intervened, tossing the scattered mountain at them.
He grabbed Shun's hand and Luna's sword hand, saying firmly, eyes sharp: "Stop. Your excitement has gone too far."
His body took heavy damage, hearing his ribs crack, while part of Luna's swing penetrated space. Without Toki's intervention, Luna would have been in danger.
Shun clapped. "So you've finally woken up, Toki!"
Toki replied coldly, "Was this part of your plan?"
Astonishingly, Toki's body healed remarkably, steam rising from him.
Shun restored the space, and they returned to their previous location.
The duel had lasted only seventeen minutes. Luna tried to check on Toki but was utterly exhausted from losing focus.
Her surrounding aura broke, and her clothes melted like glass. Before she fell, Toki caught her.
"Thank you, Luna. I understood your hints," he murmured with a generous smile, supporting her on the soft grass. "Sorry for the delay."
===
To be continued...
——
Simple Explanation:
Spiritual pulses are like a star sending its rays into space (the aura).
Flow = the free current of the aura,
Encapsulation = its solidity, forming a shield or tangible tools
.