Chapter 6 – The First Step

Ariel exhaled slowly, his gaze fixed on the flickering mana lamps above. The silence in the chamber was absolute, save for the soft hum of energy thrumming beneath the surface of reality. His master, the woman who had lectured him on the nature of power, watched him with the same unreadable expression she always wore.

"Begin what exactly?" he finally asked, his voice quiet.

His master didn't react immediately. She simply studied him, as if weighing something unseen. Then, she raised a hand and gestured toward him. "Your first lesson. Feel the power within you. Bring it forward."

Ariel frowned slightly. "And how do I do that?"

"Close your eyes," she instructed. "Do not force it. Do not reach for it like you would grasp a weapon. Power is not seized—it is awakened."

He hesitated, then did as he was told. Darkness swallowed his vision, but the world around him remained vivid. The hum of mana, the still air, the weight of expectation pressing against his skin. He focused inward, reaching for something that he knew was there—something vast, something hidden.

The silence deepened, stretching endlessly, pressing against his thoughts. His breath slowed, and he became acutely aware of the rhythmic thrum of his heartbeat, the faint stir of energy just beyond his reach. It was like standing at the edge of a great abyss, sensing the enormity of what lay beneath but unable to see its depths. The air around him felt thicker, heavier, charged with something old and indistinct—as if his very presence had stirred an unseen force.

Ariel reached further, not physically but with something else—his intent, his will. It was like reaching into water, expecting solidity but finding only shifting currents. He strained, stretching his awareness outward, trying to grasp what he knew was there.

Nothing.

A void of emptiness, swallowing his efforts whole. Doubt crept in, tightening his chest. Was he doing it wrong? Was there even anything to reach for?

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, unnoticed.

Nothing happened.

He furrowed his brow, concentrating harder, trying to push deeper into himself. The silence stretched. Still, nothing.

His master's voice was calm but firm. "You are forcing it. Stop thinking. Stop trying. Listen."

Ariel clenched his fists. How was he supposed to listen to something that wasn't there?

A long moment passed before he sighed, relaxing his hands, his breathing slowing. He let the silence settle, let his mind drift without direction. For the first time, he simply... waited.

Then—

A flicker.

It was faint, like the whisper of wind through leaves, barely perceptible. A pulse deep within him, like something shifting beneath the surface of a still lake. Cold and distant, yet undeniable.

His eyes snapped open. "I felt—"

"Again," his master interrupted.

Ariel swallowed and tried once more. He closed his eyes, let himself sink into the silence, and reached—not with force, but with awareness.

The pulse came quicker this time, stronger. The flicker of something vast and waiting, just beyond his grasp. He focused on it, trying to bring it forward, trying to—

It vanished.

His concentration snapped like a frayed thread. He inhaled sharply, frustration curling in his chest. His fingers twitched at his sides.

His master remained unmoved. "You will not grasp it on your first attempt. Nor your second. Nor your tenth. Do not expect to control something you have only just begun to recognize."

Ariel's jaw tightened, but he remained silent. He wanted to argue, to demand answers, but something in the way she spoke made him pause.

"Power is not given," she continued. "It is cultivated. A Legacy is not some force to be commanded—it is an extension of the self. It will not obey you unless you first understand it."

He exhaled through his nose, forcing the frustration down. "So what do I do?"

"You try again. And again. Until you no longer have to try."

Ariel pressed his lips together but nodded. He closed his eyes once more. This time, he did not seek control. He simply listened.

The flicker returned, steady this time. He did not grasp for it. He did not reach. He simply acknowledged it. And in that moment, it remained.

His breath hitched. His fingers trembled slightly, his skin tingling with something he could not name.

His master's voice was quieter now. "Good. That is your first step."

Ariel opened his eyes, exhaling slowly. The flicker had faded, but it had not disappeared completely. It was still there, waiting. He glanced at his master, something shifting in his chest. A flicker of something else. Understanding.

Hours passed in silence. The elder would come and go, but Ariel remained, his mind locked in quiet determination. He refused to leave, refused to surrender to frustration. Each failed attempt only reinforced his resolve. He reached inward, again and again, the flickering pulse of mana teasing at the edges of his awareness.

And then—

Something shifted.

The pulse grew steady, no longer fleeting, no longer just a whisper in the dark. It coursed through him, cold yet invigorating, wrapping around his senses like a current flowing through his veins. A shiver ran down his spine as his breath hitched. This time, it did not fade. It lingered, responding to his presence rather than retreating into the void.

Ariel exhaled slowly. For the first time, he could feel it—his mana, his power, waiting beneath the surface, ready to be shaped.

It was... beautiful. A soft, ethereal glow radiated from his skin, as if moonlight itself had awakened within him. The light was not harsh or blinding, but gentle—luminescent silver tendrils that pulsed with an unseen rhythm, ebbing and flowing like the tides beneath an unseen celestial force. It shimmered across his hands, his arms, wrapping him in a spectral aura that felt both familiar and foreign. He could feel the energy coursing through him, not wild and untamed, but serene, as if it had always been there, waiting for him to listen. 

A sense of relief settled over him. He had done it. The first step had been taken.

The elder stood watching, her gaze steady, yet something had changed. A flicker of something unreadable crossed her features—approval, perhaps, or understanding. And then, for the first time since their meeting, a faint smile appeared on her face.

Ariel was uncertain of what to make of this. The quiet acknowledgment in Selene's gaze, the subtle shift in her demeanor—it was unfamiliar, yet not unwelcome. He let the moment linger before finally breaking the silence. 

"You never did tell me your name"

She studied him for a moment before responding.

"Selene."

Ariel nodded once, the name settling in his mind. "Thank you, Selene" he said quietly, the words feeling foreign on his tongue, but sincere.

This was only the beginning.