The next morning, the System's Mission still lingered faintly in Arin's mind, like static under his skin.
The courtyard was quiet, morning light spilling across the stone paths. Mist clung to the edges of the training grounds, softening the outlines of trees and walls.
Everyone outside, early in the morning. Arin stretched, muscles still sore from yesterday's exercises.
Kael gazed at both of them, Arin and his friend Mira. He had thought Mira as disturbance at first. As she was not spiritually awaken like them. But if she was there, Arin's mind was there.
He looked at Arin and Mira and smiled, eyes sharp but not unkind.
"Today, we go deeper," he said. "I will push you beyond your comfort. If your fear spikes, you will feel it. If your control falters, the consequences are yours to manage."
Arin swallowed, nodding. "… I'm ready. I need to understand it fully." His hand twitched slightly, the faint glow of his aura pulsing as he tried to steady himself.
Mira stepped closer, adjusting the straps of her simple training gear. "I'll be here too," she said.
Kael's gaze shifted to her. "He will learn how fear interacts with aura. How instability spreads. You can help him manage it with support. That's why you are here."
Arin's eyes flicked between them, uncertainty and trust warring. The System hummed faintly, registering his pulse.
[system: ember energy stable — focus advised]
Kael's tone was again, calm but unyielding. "We begin with warm-ups. Breathing, core stabilization, containment of aura. Any leaks now will multiply under stress."
Mira glanced at Arin. "Sounds… intense."
Arin gave a faint smile. "It's going to hurt. But it's time."
And
They moved to the center of the courtyard. The mist thickened slightly around them, but the morning light cut through enough to see the outlines of trees and the distant walls.
Arin planted his feet, exhaling slowly. Light shimmered around him, fragile and uneven.
"Focus," Kael said. "Do not chase the edges. Pull everything inward. Stability first. Power later."
The System flickered.
[system warning: minor instability detected — recalibration advised]
Arin felt the familiar prickle along his spine. "It's... off again," he muttered, flexing his fingers as his aura pulsed. Fear crept up his chest like crawling fire.
Kael crouched slightly, voice calm. "Your aura reacts to fear. Like you said, your System magnifies it.... Growth comes at the peak of fear, but uncontrolled spikes cause harm. You know this. Control it... slowly, don't rush..."
Mira knelt, hands hovering over her small aura projection. "Show me how to help," she said quietly.
Kael demonstrated, inhaling and exhaling slowly. A soft glow traveled from his chest to his hands, held steady, contained. "Anchor your mind. Sense the energy. Don't fight it. If you have felt shadows before, you will feel it too, so Observe."
Arin mirrored him. Aura tightened around his core, flickering less wildly. Mira followed suit. Kael adjusted their posture, subtle corrections making small differences.
"Notice how calm shapes the aura," Kael said. "This is control. Chaos is only but lack of measure."
The System approved, stability climbing.
[system: calibration engaged — 88% stability]
Arin's shoulders relaxed fractionally. "It's… easier now," he admitted. Electricity-like twinges ran along his spine, subtle but threatening. "If it spikes…"
Kael nodded. "Easier only because you practiced. Next, pressure will test that control."
The mist thickened. Kael's hands moved in precise gestures. Shadows emerged, humanoid, edges shifting, multiplying.
"These react to your aura. Each tremor, each hesitation, it will exploit. Mira, your role is stabilization. Arin, your core is everything."
Arin's light flickered. Legs heavy, aura lashing outward. He forced a slow inhale, holding the light in, pulling it toward the center. Shadows hesitated, then lunged with chaotic timing.
"The shadows mirror your instability," Kael explained. "Do not react emotionally. Adjust your core. Anticipate fear before it becomes panic."
Mira extended her hands, sending small, precise pulses. Every flicker from Arin met her stabilization. One unstable ripple and she corrected it immediately.
Arin mirrored her adjustments. Shadows reacted faster than expected, splitting and merging unpredictably. One formed directly from his light's overextension, moving like a corrupted twin.
Kael circled, observing. "Contain spikes. Release bursts without losing the core. Predict panic, redirect it."
Arin's aura pulsed violently. Sweat ran down his neck. Fear teased the edges of his control. He clenched his teeth, inhaled, synchronized pulses with Mira. Each stabilizing wave slowed the shadows, distorted their movements.
"Good," Kael said. "You're learning synchronization. Fear amplifies, but it can be managed collaboratively."
The shadows paused, then split again. Multiple Arin duplicates glimmered briefly, a feedback glitch induced by fear. The System beeped harshly. Pain shot through his temples.
Kael's voice cut through the tension. "Core. Anchor. Mira, maintain the stabilizing pulse. Do not let him falter."
Arin forced calm, aura tightening, pulses following a rhythm. Mira sent precise bursts, correcting every tremor. Slowly, the shadows' chaotic dance faltered.
[system: sync drift corrected — stability 95%]
[system: anomaly detected — external influence possible]
Arin's pulse skipped. Something outside the courtyard tugged at his focus, faint but insistent. "Something's interfering," he muttered.
Kael's eyes narrowed. He had thought something would surely disturb a proper awakening. He disfused his own ember, sensing everything around.
But Kael smiled, as he would not destroy the demonic shadow, he would use it, use it to train Arin.
"....Not yet. But it is coming. That is why control matters. External influence reacts to fear, amplifies mistakes. You cannot ignore it."
Mira's hand brushed his shoulder. "We'll manage it. Together."
Arin nodded. Aura steady, muscles tense.
The shadows shimmered, reorganizing. Kael letting the shadow meld within Arin's own shadow.
Then the System emitted a sharp chime.
[system: Shadow detected — high-risk engagement required]
Kael's voice dropped. "It begins. The training becomes the trial. Contain, stabilize, survive. Fear will spike. You must hold the core."
The shadows changed instantly, movements no longer predictable. One leaped forward with unnatural speed. Arin braced, aura flaring. Mira mirrored his pulse, stabilizing the chaos.
The largest shadow solidified, taller, broader. Its edges flickered with darkness that seemed to feed on Arin's spikes. Every pulse he sent out reflected unpredictably.
"Keep your core," Kael barked. "Predict, don't react. Mira, anchor him."
Arin inhaled sharply. Aura tightened, then flared in sharp bursts. Fear rose like a tide threatening to drown him. Mira sent waves of stabilization, small but relentless. Shadows split, merged, teleported short distances—impossible for normal training.
[system: fear approaching critical threshold — XP potential locked]
[system: anomaly detected — external influence confirmed]
Arin's heart pounded. Every pulse, every correction mattered. One misstep could cascade into disaster. The demon mirrored his fears, each flicker of panic transforming into a strike.
He blocked, countered, mirrored Mira's waves, drawing deep, controlled breaths. The demon shifted unpredictably, faster than training shadows had ever been. System warnings beeped in urgent rhythm.
"Measure it!" Kael shouted. "Control the fear, not the shadow!"
Arin forced calm, sending precise bursts from his aura's core. Mira reinforced each one. The demon hesitated briefly, then lunged again, testing the limits of synchronization.
The courtyard became a pulse of light and shadow, every movement calculated. Sweat stung Arin's eyes, muscles screaming.
Fear tickled the edges of his mind. He forced the rhythm, anchor steady, pulses precise. Mira's aura weaved around him, correcting micro-fluctuations instantly.
The demonic shadow recoiled momentarily, feedback glitch from their combined control.
Then it advanced again, edges flickering unnaturally. The System flared warnings, instability rising despite perfect synchronization.
Kael's voice cut through the chaos. "Do not stop. Anticipate. Adjust. Synchronize. Survival depends on it! "
Arin felt a twinge at the back of his mind—like the shadow was probing beyond the courtyard.
He blocked it, sent a stabilizing pulse outward, feeling Mira reinforce it. Heart hammering, aura surging, fear riding the crest.
The demon's next strike was faster, heavier, unnatural. Arin barely managed to deflect. Mira's correction stabilized him just enough to avoid feedback collapse.
The courtyard blurred with motion. Shadows split, merged, and multiplied. The System beeped violently.
[system: critical threshold — fear spike imminent]
Arin's teeth clenched. He forced focus inward, breathing shallow but steady. Mira's aura pulsed in tandem, a perfect counterweight. The demon struck again, reacting to every hesitation, every tremor.
A final lunge—edges sharper, faster, feeding on fear. Arin braced, Mira's stabilization wave meeting his core pulse. For a heartbeat, the demon faltered, its form flickering.
the demon poised to strike again, aura pulsing violently around Arin, System warnings screaming. Heart racing, synchronized control barely holding, external interference still active.
The courtyard froze for an instant, tension at its peak. Nothing resolves. Only the anticipation of the next move, the next trial.
Then, the System's voice cut through Arin's mind:
[External influence confirmed — high-risk engagement, Warning ⚠️ Warning ⚠️]
Arin's heart skipped. The shadows, already reacting to every flicker of fear, solidified further.
They shifted, sharp edges glinting unnaturally, moving faster than any training sequence he had faced before.
Kael's calm voice broke through: "This isn't training anymore....Arin, you will survive or Die...Do you hear me? "
Mira's hands hovered near Arin's aura, her gaze turning angry. "Die?...You said this would be a simple exercise!?"
Arin inhaled, centering himself. The demon-shadow mirrored his pulse, responding to every spike of fear.
Each tremor made it sharper, faster, more unpredictable. He could feel the System urging him to push, but exhaustion clawed at his body.
[System: Fear approaching critical threshold — Ember conversion suggested]
He forced his aura outward, trembling. Mira sent stabilizing waves immediately, weaving them around him in a delicate counterbalance.
For a heartbeat, they synchronized perfectly. The demon faltered slightly.
Kael ignored Mira and her stare. His focus only on Arin. The Grandson of the Holy Pope.
Kael's voice rang out sharply: "You can do it. It's in your blood Arin.
Measure fear! Control it, don't let it control you! Feel the ember, Defuse it. Arin! Do it. Defuse the Ember or you will Die!"
Mira panicked, holding arin. "kael! Do something!!!"
The shadow split, forming corrupted duplicates of Arin himself. Each one twisted his own panic into attacks.
[Attempting Ember Discharge. . ]
[.
.
.
.
.....Ember Discharge Successful]
The final strike came. Arin sent a concentrated pulse, mirrored perfectly by Mira's stabilization aura.
The demon screeched, edges distorting violently, then dissipated into harmless smoke.
The courtyard fell silent. Arin collapsed to his knees, muscles screaming, breathing ragged.
Mira supported him immediately, hands trembling as she steadied his trembling frame. Thanking the gods he was okay.
Kael stepped forward, voice calm but approving. "I knew you could do it. You survived. You endured it...you controlled it. You controlled your Ember...."
Arin's chest heaved, body trembling, mind racing. He glanced at Mira, who offered a small, exhausted smile. I can control it… but only with help. Alone, I'd be lost.
[System: Passive Recovery Engaged — Vitality Recommended]
[Congratulations!!!!
Mission Complete — Dance with the Demon]
[Fear Index: 26%]
[XP Gained: 450]
[Level:2 → 3]
[Skill:Fear Conversion,Holy Touch]
[Ember Status: High-Mid — Recovery Required]
[Congratulations!! You leveled up!!]