Waking up and final steps

Leo clawed his way back to consciousness through a fog of pain. His eyelids felt welded shut, and his mouth tasted like rusted metal. When he finally managed to open his eyes, three blurry figures loomed over him.

"The boy lives," Old Water's voice came first, unusually gentle. "I truly thought you'd die for sure, child."

Leo tried to speak but produced only a dry croak. Old Water pressed a cool cup to his lips, and he drank greedily.

"Easy," Old Wind cautioned. "Your body is still recovering."

As his vision cleared, Leo saw the three ancient spirits gathered around his bedside, their expressions a mix of concern and something else—respect, perhaps?

"What... happened?" Leo managed.

Old Stone grunted, arms crossed. "You nearly killed yourself is what happened. When you imploded that golem's core, you almost did the same to your brain."

"The connection between caster and spell is delicate," Old Wind explained. "The power you channelled was far beyond your limits. The backlash nearly liquefied your mind."

Leo attempted to sit up but fell back with a groan. Every muscle in his body protested the movement.

"Kids these days," Old Water muttered, shaking his head.

"How long was I..." Leo began.

"Two weeks," Old Stone answered bluntly. "Would have been longer without our intervention."

Leo's eyes widened. "Two weeks?"

"We've been taking turns sustaining your life force," Old Wind said. "Even with our combined efforts, your recovery was... uncertain."

"The earth element responded to you in ways I haven't seen in centuries," Old Stone admitted grudgingly.

"Rest now," Old Water instructed. "Your training will continue when you're fully recovered."

"Training?" Leo asked weakly.

Old Stone's weathered face cracked into something resembling a smile. "You survived my test, boy. That means you've earned the right to truly begin."

Two weeks later, Leo stood in the cavern's center, his strength finally returning. His muscles no longer ached with each movement, and his connection to earth magic felt deeper, more intuitive than before.

Old Stone circled him like a predator assessing prey. "You're not leaving here yet, boy."

Old Water and Old Wind exchanged knowing glances.

"Before you leave this place," Old Stone continued, "before I entrust you with the knowledge I've guarded for centuries, you must master two spells from my legacy."

Leo straightened his posture. "What spells?"

Old Stone's eyes gleamed with ancient power. "Diamond Skin and Earth Escape. Techniques few living mages even know exist."

"Diamond Skin?" Leo repeated.

"A defensive technique that compresses earth beneath you into diamond, creating an impenetrable armor." Old Stone rapped his knuckles against his own chest, producing a sound like striking crystal. "It can withstand attacks that would reduce mountains to rubble."

Leo nodded, already calculating the mana requirements. "And Earth Escape?"

"When cornered, a true earth mage is never trapped." Old Stone stomped his foot, and the ground beneath him liquefied. He sank into it like water before emerging across the cavern. "You enter the earth itself, moving through it at tremendous speed. Both techniques demand perfect mana control."

"These aren't mere combat techniques," Old Wind explained. "They're survival mechanisms that have preserved old stone lineage through countless catastrophes."

Old Stone approached Leo, holding out a simple wooden box. Inside rested a dimensional ring—an artifact capable of storing vast amounts of items and knowledge in a pocket dimension.

"Everything I know—spells, techniques, histories forgotten by the world—all contained here. Master these two spells, and it's yours."

Leo stared at the ring, then back at Old Stone's severe expression. "How long do I have?"

"As long as necessary," Old Stone replied.

Leo approached the Diamond Skin technique with confidence. After mastering many apprentice spells and surviving a battle with a golem, how difficult could one more spell be?

"Begin by compressing the earth beneath you," Old Stone instructed, demonstrating with casual ease. The ground beneath his feet crystallized instantly, gleaming facets catching the cavern's dim light.

Leo nodded, planted his feet, and channeled his mana downward. Nothing happened.

He tried again, pushing harder. The earth merely trembled.

"Pathetic," Old Stone muttered. "You're treating diamond like common stone. It requires much more than this."

Days turned to weeks. Weeks to months. Leo's frustration mounted with each failed attempt.

"You must compress the earth perfectly," Old Water explained during one of Old Stone's absences. "Think of rearranging the very structure of matter."

Three months in, Leo could barely produce a cloudy quartz-like substance that crumbled at the slightest touch.

"Perhaps we overestimated the boy," Old Wind remarked to his companions when they thought Leo was sleeping.

"He survived the golem," Old Stone replied. "There's something in him."

Six months passed with minimal progress. Leo's dreams became filled with crystalline lattices and molecular structures. He practiced until his mana reserves emptied daily, collapsing into exhausted sleep only to begin again at dawn.

"The problem isn't your power," Old Stone finally said after watching another failed attempt. "It's your understanding. You're trying to force the earth to become something else. Diamond isn't foreign to earth—it is earth in its purest form."

This insight shifted something in Leo's approach. Instead of imposing his will, he began to feel the natural tendencies of the element, guiding rather than commanding.

At the one-year mark, Leo produced his first true diamond—a small, perfect crystal that formed beneath his palm.

"Not bad," Old Stone acknowledged grudgingly. "Now do it faster, larger, with less thought."

Six more months of relentless practice followed. Then, on a day like any other, Leo felt something click into place. The ground beneath his feet transformed instantly, a perfect sheet of diamond spreading outward.

"Now, bring it to you," Old Stone commanded.

This part came naturally. The diamond flowed upward, conforming to Leo's body like a second skin, gleaming and impenetrable.

Old Stone circled him, tapping the diamond surface with a critical eye. "Adequate." he said.