Chapter 16 – Learning to Control the Blades

Cedric sat under a tree, staring at the two swords beside him.

The Golden Blade and the Gray Blade—the weapons he summoned during his fight with the Blocker.

They were powerful, but they were also a problem.

No matter what he did, the swords wouldn't disappear. He had tried dropping them, walking away, even throwing them into the river. But they always returned to his hands within seconds.

"I can't carry these around all the time," Cedric muttered.

He didn't have a pouch or a sheath, and holding them constantly would make daily life impossible.

If he wanted to survive, he had to figure out how to control them.

Understanding the Blades

Cedric placed both swords in front of him and took a deep breath.

They had appeared in his hands when he needed them most—in battle.

Maybe that was the key.

He held out his hand and focused on the Golden Blade.

Disappear.

Nothing happened.

He clenched his fist, trying to will the sword away.

Still nothing.

Cedric frowned.

He closed his eyes and remembered the fight against the Blocker. The moment he summoned the swords, he had been desperate—his life was on the line.

Maybe he needed to recreate that feeling.

He took a deep breath and imagined himself in danger.

A demon in front of him.

A killing blow coming straight for his head.

Summon.

He opened his eyes.

The Golden Blade appeared in his hand instantly.

It worked.

Cedric exhaled slowly.

Now, for the harder part—making it disappear.

He thought about the moment after the fight. When the danger was gone, his body had

Cedric sat on the ground, breathing slowly. His fingers were wrapped tightly around the hilt of the Golden Blade. He knew that in order to truly master these swords, he needed to figure out how to make them disappear, not just make them fade or summon them at will. He needed to figure out how to retract them fully, to remove them from his hands altogether.

Solar Space.

That's what he had heard the elder mention before, when she spoke about the storage of energy, the manipulation of power, and how certain forces could be stored or put away in a pocket of space, a dimension, a small fold in reality where they could stay hidden, out of sight, until needed again. Cedric didn't fully understand it, but he had to give it a try.

With the Golden Blade in his hand, Cedric closed his eyes and focused. He knew there had to be some sort of hidden space where these blades could go, some kind of place outside his reach but still connected to him. The swords weren't truly part of his body—they were just manifestations of his power. They had to go somewhere when he wasn't using them.

"Retract them... to the space," Cedric whispered under his breath.

At first, nothing happened. He felt the weight of the blade in his hand, a constant reminder of its presence. The weight was real, but he had to ignore it. Slowly, Cedric tried to visualize the space he needed, imagining it as an empty void where his swords could vanish, like they were folding into nothingness.

It was hard to picture—hard to concentrate with the swords right in front of him—but he tried. He focused all his attention on the image of the blade shrinking down, becoming smaller, until it was tiny and then gone.

He exhaled, frustrated.

But then a thought struck him.

What if it wasn't about pushing the blades away? What if it was about pulling them inward?

Cedric's hand tightened on the sword, and this time, instead of imagining the blade fading away, he focused on pulling it inward, towards himself, as if it were being drawn into the center of his chest.

It was a strange sensation.

For a moment, it felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest, the energy of the blade wrapping itself around him. But Cedric didn't panic. Instead, he focused harder, imagining the blade shrinking into nothing, being pulled into a smaller space.

The blade shifted, wavered, and then, with a flash of light, it disappeared.

Cedric blinked.

He raised his hand and felt the air around him—nothing.

The Golden Blade was gone.

It worked.

His heart pounded in his chest, excitement flooding him.

The Golden Blade had vanished into a space he couldn't quite describe. He didn't know how or why, but it was gone, and that was all that mattered for now.

He let out a long breath.

He had done it.

Now, for the Gray Blade.

Cedric repeated the process, only this time, instead of a sword made of gold, the Gray Blade was a darker, more somber shape. It felt heavier in his hand, but he focused again on pulling it inward, shrinking it down into nothing.

Just like before, the blade flickered, shrank, and vanished.

Cedric stood there in silence, feeling the power shift in his hands. Both swords were now gone, hidden away in this Solar Space, whatever that meant.

He clenched his fists, trying to feel for them.

It was a strange feeling. For a moment, he couldn't feel the swords at all, but then, a strange tugging sensation brought his attention to the space deep inside him.

They were there. He could feel them, like a slight pull in his mind. He didn't know how or why, but he could sense them hidden away, safely tucked in a fold of space where they wouldn't be in his way.

"This is the way."

He whispered to himself, feeling a sense of relief.

Now, he could move freely—no more worrying about carrying heavy blades around, and no more fear that they would get in his way.

But Cedric knew this was just the beginning.

He had learned how to retract the swords, but now, he had to learn how to summon them at a moment's notice—when he needed them most.

The process wasn't easy, but Cedric was determined. He couldn't afford to fail.