Lyam was already four years old and close to turning five. He could walk, read, and write fluently; he considered himself an exceptionally intelligent child for his age. His parents' control over him was decreasing more and more, especially since the birth of his little sister, who had just turned one.
He still didn't quite know how to feel about her. He didn't hate her, but he didn't feel any attachment either. He ignored her most of the time; his mind was occupied with much more important matters.
The vast and mysterious world in which he had been born was known as Asteria. It was located in a small village on the outskirts of what the books called the Great Alliance. And what was the Great Alliance? A coalition of nations united under one purpose: to resist an unknown enemy. He had not yet discovered what that enemy was; such information was beyond his reach. But the simple fact that a global alliance existed indicated that this world had faced something terrible enough to unite entire kingdoms.
The most curious thing was its political structure. Asteria still had kings, queens, princes, and nobles, who formed a kind of council. "Outdated," Lyam thought the first time he read about it. It seemed taken straight from the Middle Ages, but the world didn't feel medieval at all. There was a strange mix of modernity and tradition: stone buildings alongside luminous crystals, paved roads and at the same time wagons pulled by beasts.
But beyond the customs, what interested him most was the ether.
According to the texts, ether was a form of energy that permeated the entire world. Every living being absorbed it naturally, but it could only be manipulated once its soul reached maturity and formed a spiritual core, which occurred around the age of fourteen. For Lyam, waiting nine more years was unacceptable. He couldn't bear the idea of wasting so much time.
After weeks of observation and analysis with Alpha, he came to a logical conclusion: that strange radiation Alpha had detected since his arrival had to be ether. It matched everything described in the books: its presence increased near magical matrices and also during the use of blessings, like when his mother healed him. It couldn't be a coincidence.
So he made a decision: he would try to master the ether.
His method was unorthodox. It seemed that there were no meditation techniques or documented scientific methods in this world; people simply waited until their souls reached maturity and then practiced by repeatedly using their blessing until they exhausted their energy, rested, and repeated the process. It was inefficient and rudimentary. If ether was in the air, if it mixed with every breath, why couldn't he learn to absorb it consciously?
Inspired by ancient terrestrial relaxation methods, he began experimenting with meditation. On Earth, meditation wasn't considered an exact science, but it was proven to help the body regulate itself and improve concentration. Lyam didn't know how to start, and since he remembered one or another fantastic story that talked about meditation, he decided to simply try—it wasn't like he had anything to lose.
Day after day, he tried all kinds of postures, breathing exercises, and even yoga techniques he vaguely remembered or that were stored in Alpha's memory. The results were null for weeks, until one night something happened. While focusing on his breathing, he felt a faint current run through his body. It was a warm and vibrant sensation, like a tiny electric spark that awakened something deep within him.
"Anomalous reading detected," said Alpha in his mind. "Sudden increase in type E-01 radiation concentration."
Lyam opened his eyes in surprise. "E-01?"
"New designation," explained Alpha. "Unknown radiation, stable behavior, direct interaction with biological tissue without apparent damage."
Time passed, and Lyam did not give up. Day after day, he continued his practice, determined to understand and master the energy Alpha had designated as type E-01 radiation. As months went by, he noticed small changes in his body. First, his endurance increased. Then, his coordination and agility improved in an almost imperceptible way. The difference was minimal but enough to spark his curiosity. If it weren't for Alpha, who precisely measured every biological change, he probably wouldn't have noticed them at all.
According to Alpha's records, every cell in his body was beginning to show a slight energy overload, as if they were tiny containers of E-01. For what purpose? Neither Alpha nor he knew. But that fact was enough to keep his determination intact. He transformed his meditation practice into an automatic process; with Alpha's help, he managed to change his natural breathing into a new pattern designed to optimize ether circulation through every cell of his body. When he focused deeply, the absorption rate multiplied several times.
That night, however, something changed.
Lyam was sitting on his bed, the room dimly lit only by the light of the three moons. Alpha was recording data while he meditated. The readings were unusual: his body was at a point of energetic saturation."Cellular level at 99% charge," reported Alpha. "Type E-01 radiation at maximum concentration. Continuation of absorption is not recommended."
Lyam frowned. He felt a familiar warmth run through his body, the same sensation he had experienced when his mother used her blessing to heal him years ago. However, this time it was more intense, deeper. This wasn't coming from the outside. It was his own body that was glowing with contained energy.
At first, it was pleasant. The sensation spread like a comforting warmth that soothed every muscle. But soon it changed. The heat became stifling, scorching. A sharp burning sensation took over his chest, and every cell in his body began to vibrate violently."Warning," said Alpha firmly. "Body temperature: 37.5 degrees and rising. Elevated blood pressure. Heart rate slightly accelerated."
The pain intensified. Lyam wanted to stop, but his body wouldn't respond. His breathing, which had been calm and controlled, turned chaotic. He tried to open his eyes, but the room was spinning around him. A current of energy flowed inside him, and he felt as if his very soul was being pushed toward an invisible limit."Heart rate: 158 beats per minute," announced Alpha. "Irregular respiratory rhythm. Energy instability increasing. It is recommended to stop the process."
Lyam clenched his teeth. He couldn't move. He couldn't scream. The energy swirled inside him like an invisible hurricane. Each breath seemed to draw in more E-01, and his body could no longer contain it. Within seconds, he went from warmth to a total burning sensation, as if he were being consumed from within."Alpha…" he thought with difficulty. "I… can't… stop it…"
Just as Lyam said that, he felt as if something inside him shattered, and at the same time, something new was born from the broken pieces. The sensation was strange, indescribable, almost unnatural. But he had no time to analyze it, because a new surge of energy enveloped him completely. At first, it felt as though he were submerging in a pool—the contact was refreshing, pleasant, as if warm water gently surrounded him. However, that sensation grew. Soon he was no longer in a pool but in an infinite ocean.
He could feel the pressure of that immaterial sea on his body, a weight that didn't crush him but held him. It was as if he had sunk into an abyss of pure ether. His breathing slowed, his mind expanded, and in an instant, he opened his eyes.
He was sweating, agitated, gasping for air. But alive. Everything he had experienced had been so real that, for a moment, he thought he was drowning. However, he understood: what he had felt was the ether itself. For the first time, he didn't need to measure it through Alpha—he could feel it. It flowed within him, coursing through every fiber of his body."Alpha... I can feel it..." he whispered, still trembling."Confirmation," Alpha responded. "Updating data, confirmation that E-01 radiation is equivalent to what is known in this world as ether."
Lyam fell silent. If he could feel ether directly, that could only mean one thing. His blessing had awakened.
There were no books that explained exactly what happened at that moment. Blessings were described as "divine gifts," boons granted by the essence of the world. The only thing all texts agreed upon was that when a blessing awakened, its bearer would simply know. It was an instinctive knowledge, an impulse that could not be taught.
And that was what Lyam was feeling. It wasn't information, nor memory. It was as if it were something instinctive, something engraved within him from birth—like when a baby knows it must drink from its mother's breast, it was the same feeling. He closed his eyes and let that instinct guide him.
His gaze shifted toward the floor. The faint moonlight projected his shadow on the wall. An irrational idea crossed his mind, a sensation that didn't come from thought but from the soul itself. His shadow... for some reason, that was connected to him.
Slowly, he extended his hand toward it. The darkness trembled. It wasn't an illusion. The shadow moved like a dark liquid, responding to his will. A cold shiver ran down his back."Alpha... I think I..." he began to say but stopped.
The shadow rose from the floor and enveloped him. His body began to fade, blurring like ink spilled in water. He didn't feel fear, only awe. He could feel it: his body wasn't disappearing... it was being absorbed.
Or rather, swallowed by his own shadow.
The sensation of being swallowed by his shadow was something completely new. However, it wasn't unpleasant. It was as if, in some way, he had always been waiting for it. Lyam couldn't see anything; everything around him was absolute darkness, but he could feel. He knew he was still in his room. It was as if he could sense all the things around him—or rather, he could feel the shadow of everything that surrounded him—and in fact, it reached quite a distance. He was sure it even surpassed what his eyes could normally see, and the most interesting thing was that the walls didn't seem to block this new sense.
However, in exchange for that sense, Lyam had lost all the others; he couldn't feel anything except the shadows. It was a rather complex and difficult state, since he couldn't even feel his own body.
He tried to move, but his shadow didn't respond. He had to concentrate with all his strength until, finally, he managed to move it. When he did, he touched another, larger shadow—one that was cast by the wardrobe. At that moment, an overwhelming sensation enveloped him: it was like peering into an endless valley, unfathomable, an abyss of darkness that invited him to fall. He knew that if he took a single wrong step, he could lose himself forever.
Fear overtook him, and suddenly, he was expelled from his shadow. He opened his eyes and found himself in the real world, lying under his bed, panting and covered in cold sweat.
Everything had been so strange that even Alpha remained silent, processing data without being able to provide an explanation."Unprecedented phenomenon," the metallic voice finally said. "Lack of known parameters. Impossible to determine the body's location during the event."
Lyam took a deep breath. Not even the most advanced artificial intelligence on Earth could understand what had just happened. Had he crossed into a different plane? Or had he simply ceased to exist for an instant?
Thus began a new stage of training for him. Thanks to the breathing method he had developed, his body was capable of recovering ether quickly. That allowed him to experiment without completely depleting his reserves. He was determined to understand his blessing, which, without a doubt, was related to shadows.
With time and much training, Lyam discovered some interesting things about his blessing. The first was that he could use his ability to move around; for that, he had to use the shadows of objects. But entering each shadow was like walking on a tightrope—he had to be careful, or he could get lost, and something told him that if he got lost, he would be lost forever. In addition, he could move outdoors, but only for a few minutes. If he didn't find another shadow to merge with, he would be expelled. Lastly, entering the shadow of a living being was too risky; it wasn't just like a tightrope—it was moving, and when he walked, it felt as if gravity had increased hundreds of times.
Another surprise Lyam discovered was that his shadow could store inanimate objects, though doing so consumed a large amount of ether. This ability was the one that fascinated Lyam the most, and therefore he used it as much as he could. He didn't understand it—he didn't understand how it worked—so he could only marvel at it.
For his part, Alpha tried to gather data, though without success. According to all scientific logic, a shadow was nothing more than the absence of light, a projection caused by the interruption of a body in front of a light source. However, in this world, that didn't seem to apply. Lyam's shadow reacted like a living entity, an extension of his being.
Lyam had turned six years old. Since awakening his blessing, Lyam had not stopped studying it. It was one of his bad habits—when he became obsessed with a particular subject, he wouldn't stop until he found the cause of the problem—and this happened with his blessing. The problem was that despite his effort, in the end, he couldn't understand anything, or at least not the origin of the blessing.
Instead, his control over ether increased as a side effect of his experiments. With every breath, more ether entered his body, and his cells seemed to improve their absorption capacity, which ultimately led to a significant increase in his physical strength.
Alpha, for his part, used Lyam's cells as an experiment, realizing that ether functioned as a catalyst for several changes—we're talking about changes at the genetic level, DNA editing to enhance certain characteristics. For example, he was able to strengthen Lyam's cells in his own way, which manifested as a more efficient and leaner muscle mass. He could even alter the color of his eyes and hair, although Lyam preferred to keep them the color he was born with—jet black.
While Alpha played with his genetic information, Lyam couldn't help but remember his time on Earth, when he was offered funding to work on a genetic enhancement project—in short, to create super soldiers. He refused; he didn't like to get involved in that kind of work. Yet here he was, watching Alpha carry out his own genetic reconstruction project.
During the night, Lyam decided to test something new. Using his shadow, he slipped out of the house and headed toward the outskirts of the village. It was midnight, and most of the lights were off. However, thanks to the modifications Alpha had made to his perception, the darkness was no obstacle."Are you sure this will work?" he whispered as he looked at the trees."Correct," Alpha replied. "According to my calculations, your body is in proper condition for the experiment. There is no risk of internal damage if you maintain control of the energy flow."
Lyam nodded. What he planned to do was simple in theory but potentially dangerous. While his body seemed to adapt to his training method, Alpha had detected a hidden danger: his cells seemed to have entered a state of ether overload. Not only did his cells appear to contain ether, but the space between them as well. And while they could disable the breathing technique and stop meditating, his body would still absorb ether passively. So, what they were trying to do now was release the excess ether stored within his body.
He stood in front of a tree and took a deep breath. The first step was to concentrate the ether accumulated in his body and channel it toward his fist. It sounded simple, but unfortunately, it wasn't—at least not what he was trying to do. Controlling ether to make it enter his body wasn't too complicated, but the ether inside him seemed somehow fixed to his cells and within his body; moving it from there was the problem. For that, Lyam and Alpha had reached a conclusion: to use his soul.
And the question was, what was the soul? If we go by terrestrial concepts, the soul doesn't have a specific meaning; it can have a different definition depending on culture, religion, or belief. Though they all seemed to have something in common—the soul was that immaterial essence that kept us alive. However, in this new world, the situation was different, because the soul could be felt—or at least that's what Lyam thought. He knew his soul was there. He couldn't explain it—not yet, he hadn't found the words to do so—but the fact that he could feel it wasn't a lie. Now he just needed to find out how to use it.
For that, Lyam tried to concentrate, to remember the first time he felt his soul—or what he called a soul—which was the day his blessing awakened. Then he struck the tree."Attempt number one, failed," Alpha said in his mind.
Lyam took a deep breath and tried again."Attempt number two, failed.""Attempt number five, failed.""Attempt number ten, failed."
The count went on, but Lyam didn't give up. His knuckles had even begun to bleed from the constant friction against the hard wood, but he ignored the pain and continued.
At some point in the night, when Lyam had stopped keeping track of Alpha's count—which was already in the four digits—he felt something different. His fist became wrapped in a faint blue layer, and seconds later, a sound echoed as he saw his fist leave a mark on the tree's trunk.
Lyam stood still for a few seconds, staring at his trembling hand. Then he smiled. Not because of the strength of the strike, but because of what he had just achieved."Energy transfer confirmed," said Alpha. "Controlled release of type E-01 radiation through muscle tissue. Structural damage to the object: significant."
Lyam laughed softly, a mix of surprise and satisfaction. He had found an entirely new way to use ether. No one—not even the oldest texts—mentioned the possibility of channeling it without a magical matrix or a blessing.