Chapter Six: Training by the Strongest

Kane started training Luthen to control his power the next day at the safe house.

"Soul energy is like fuel with a fuse. If you use too much of it at once, you are no different from a bomb with one-time use. Burning too much of it at once may also damage your body."

"That's why I kept blacking out. And the headaches."

"Exactly. The trick is to keep it flowing in a controlled manner like a stream. To master this, you must first master your soul. Your emotions. Be in control."

"Form your energy into a ball. Focus it." He continued.

Luthen tried focusing his energy into a ball. It started forming and swirling calmly and then violently till–

"Null." Kane said, easily dispersing the energy.

"It is not so easy. How do you focus yours?" said Luthen after trying for the 41st time

"I focus my energy through my sword–"

"And words. I saw that. Gives me the creeps. How'd you do it?"

Kane looked at his hand and clenched his fist.

"Years of training. I awoke earlier so I was a danger to people around me. I–" He cut and sighed.

"It is different for everyone. You can't do it like that. Just keep trying. It'll come." He said and went inside the safe house.

Luthen finally formed a ball of soul energy after trying for two hours.

Already? Kane said. Not surprising though. He is not ordinary.

"I did it. What next?" Luthen asked.

"You should take some pride in your achievement. Those unlike us can take months to master this. Anyway, this is the basic control you'd need for now."

"Basic?" Luthen queried.

"There are levels of control. At its height, you can release soul energy from any part of your body. Any. You can try that on your own later."

"Next is to try channeling it to your Aspect. Space." Kane told him.

"This?"

Kane could clearly see and feel ripples in space coming from the area around Luthen's hand.

Creating spatial disturbances around an area of the body. Kane thought. I am seriously confused as to who is learning here!

"How'd you do it?" Kane asked

"I was trying to control my soul energy when this kept happening after I created the energy ball." Luthen replied

"So you did it on instinct?"

"Yeah. I think."

"How do you use this offensively though?" Kane asked

"Uhm…I do not know? How do you–"

"Figure it out."

"Nice lesson.'' Luthen said sarcastically as Kane turned his back on him.

He had to spend the rest of the day working on it.

*******

Luthen was practicing combat with Kane and was steadily increasing his offensive power. Meanwhile Sophia pored over every bit of info she could scramble, trying to plan their next move. A month after Luthen's and Kane's first lesson, She called them together.

"I have been figuring out our next move and I still have nothing. I do not know what our next plan is" She said with some frustration.

"There's little to no info on the secret activities of the Church." She told them what she had concluded.

"Who are they really?" Luthen said. Sophia and Kane looked at him. Sophia looked especially surprised. Kane's face was blank, like always. However, his look now carried a bit of disappointment.

"You really do not know?"

"I heard when you said they were responsible for the explosion. I just rolled along 'cause, well, you both knew them."

Well, you could have asked! Sophia thought. I thought he was angry for the death of his friend. She sighed.

"The Church is a group of religious cultists that believe we are reincarnated in the form of the Seven Prime Evils and hence demons among men. Unnatural, basically. Hence they seek to wipe us out. It was all okay till they found out we actually existed. They are also called cloaks because of the long, black cloaks they wear."

"They did not know we existed?"

"Shards have been out of world politics and knowledge for centuries. We are myths and legends now. Many still do not believe we exist."

Voyne excluded. And the Great Nobles seem to believe him for some reason. She thought.

"I called this meeting because I wanted any of us to share any information we have with the group and brainstorm together."

"They must have a way to locate Shards" Kane said

"Of course! That's how they knew that Luthen was a Shard!" Sophia started

 "Uhmm…That's a good one. It is bad news really." Sophia said.

"We can use that to our advantage. Find the rest." Kane added. There was a pause.

"I need to ask something. I need to check on my family. I haven't seen them in more than a month. Also I need to see Maron's grave." Luthen's emotions were stirred. Unlike before though, there was no soul energy emission from him due to his advanced control. The last month's work had paid off.

Sophia sighed. She did that a lot more often, along with thinking.

"I knew you would soon ask that, so I got the location they are being held at. I must first warn you though that it is most likely a trap and that you shouldn't go as you might be killed and this would be all for nothing. You do not have anything to worry about. They are been treated well, on my orders."

"Here's the location. Consider not going–" She tried to dissuade him.

Luthen wanted to say something but Kane beat him to it

"He should go. It is better that way. He can clear his head and may get some new information out of that."

Sophia doubted that. She wondered why Kane wanted him to go.

"Well, we need information. A lot. I'll try to go back to the Circle to see what I can gather."

She stood up to leave. There was a lot to do.