Laws & Concepts

Ren shook out his hands, as if trying to snap the tension from his bones, then closed his eyes.

Time to finally test out his derivative.

He took a deep breath in, trying to feel the water around him.

Every ability is just Vira leaving the body in the form we've learned to control.

Aika had told him that a while back.

He inhaled slowly. And when he exhaled, he released a stream of Vira into the already-humid air.

At first, there was only stillness.

Then, the air stirred.

Bubbles of water began to form around him—suspended in the air, floating weightless and slow.

"Oh…"

That was easier than he'd thought. He decided to push it.

He shook out his body again, took in another breath, and released a large amount of Vira. A ripple moved out, spreading at least thirty feet around him.

At first, nothing.

A drop of water fell from the top of the dome. Another followed. Then another.

Then, it began to rain.

Thirty feet around him, droplets of clear water fell heavily in a perfect ring.

He smiled, then raised both hands slightly. Instantly, the rainfall stopped midair. Every droplet froze, suspended in the air, waiting.

He sent out another surge of Vira, then closed his palms into fists.

The suspended droplets stirred, converging around him like summoned stars. One by one, they drifted forward, pulled by an unseen force. They merged slowly and gracefully until a single, pulsing orb of water formed before him, hovering in the air.

From the towering curve of the dome above and the distant sides, ribbons of water streamed down at sharp, intersecting angles—like clear liquid veins converging—each one drawn toward the orb in front of him. They twisted and rippled through the air, fluid yet precise, feeding the sphere with an accelerating rhythm that made it swell larger with every breath.

Beneath him, from the cracks in the abyssal plain, more droplets surged upward, drawn into the growing mass. With each passing second, the orb expanded—swelling to eight feet in diameter, then larger still.

It rose around him, engulfing him completely, until his entire body was submerged within. Yet it didn't stop. The sphere continued to expand, swelling outward as more water fed into it—its surface rippling and pulsing as it stretched across the sanctuary, spreading steadily until it reached the section that housed the altar.

Ren drifted to the center of the sphere. He crossed his legs, floating effortlessly as if seated on invisible air.

Outside the sphere, his Vira pulsed softly, working to maintain the perfect, seamless shape as it shimmered with quiet tension.

Ren lingered inside the sphere, quietly studying the water that now encased him.

He rested his chin on one hand, thinking aloud.

"I think I kinda get how it works now," he murmured.

Pieces were starting to fall into place.

First, since he could sense water within thirty feet of him, he could manipulate it freely—guiding its flow and movement without creating any of it from his own Vira. He was simply controlling what already existed.

Second, the sphere surrounding him was massive—at least fifteen feet wide. But maintaining it demanded a constant drain on his Vira. He could expand it further by drawing more water from outside the dome, but that would only increase the strain on his vessel. After all, his vessel was still in its early stages—small, untempered, and lacking the depth needed to sustain such a technique for long. It had only been a few weeks since he'd begun growing it, and his Vira reserves, though expanding, remained limited.

Already, he could feel it—Vira burning steadily through him. Not in a dangerous surge, but like a slow leak from a cracked vessel.

'For now, I think I can maintain this size of water for a while. Maybe ten minutes without emptying my vessel.'

Third, it now made sense why they said the closer one is to their element, the stronger they become.

Creating this same volume of water from nothing but his own Vira would drain him in seconds—especially with how small his vessel still was.

'I really need to increase the size of my vessel, then.'

He frowned at the thought. It wasn't just a goal anymore—it was a necessity.

He stopped drawing in water from the dome, focusing instead on maintaining the sphere at its current size. Its surface rippled and spun in slow, fluid motion.

"I get how to control the derivative. It's basically water manipulation. But how do I use it?" he muttered.

"Water alone isn't enough. Sure, I could trap someone in a sphere like this—maybe drown a human. But would it even work on a Viran? Especially a water-affinity one?" He frowned. "They can breathe underwater… so what then?"

He tilted his head slightly as something resurfaced in his memory.

"Wait... Aika said the Path is how the soul chooses to use the derivative."

He paused.

"How do I use it like a Siren, then?"

He rubbed his chin as he began to think.

While he pondered, the whisper script materialized beside him, flickering softly into being. He didn't notice at first—still lost in thought.

Then, words began to form on the tablet:

Laws & Concepts: [???], [???], [???]

"She did say I should pay attention to the revelation I had when I first got into the resonant state. Well… it was almost impossible not to pay attention, seeing how that was the worst experience I've ever had."

A pause.

"Experience?"

He thought for a moment.

"Is the answer in that experience?"

He began to recall the events of the revelation.

"When I first opened my eyes, I was drowning. Like an invisible hand kept pulling me down."

He didn't look at the whisper script as he spoke, but a word had already appeared on it.

Laws & Concepts: [Drowning.], [???], [???]

"Then I began to feel fear," he continued. "First, that eerie song… I still haven't figured out what that meant… but then came the Siren. Oof, the Siren. It was ugly as hell. So ugly my affliction left me for a while. That thing was pure evil."

The whisper script rippled again—then another word appeared.

Laws & Concepts: [Drowning.], [Dread.], [???]

"A hand came out of its mouth. Then it smashed me.

Though… now that I think about it, it didn't feel like a hit.

It felt more like crushing depth—like gravity itself was pressing down on me. Not the hand."

A final ripple. One last word etched itself onto the script.

Laws & Concepts: [Drowning.], [Dread.], [Depth.]

He sighed.

"I still don't get it. How is that supposed to help me use my derivative?"

He opened his eyes slowly—

and froze.

"…Huh?"

The whisper script now glowed in full:

[Drowning - As a Siren, the water listens to you alone. You command the laws of drowning. You decide who is worthy to breathe—and who must forget how. You can trap any beneath the surface. And you can drown even those above it.]

"What…?" The word slipped out before he could stop it.

[Dread - As a Siren, you control the laws of dread and the concepts of fear within your domain in their finality. As long as there is water around you, you can instill dread in anyone, bypassing all laws and defenses.]

[Depth - As a siren, you control the laws of depth—the very laws that govern the deep ocean. This allows you to mimic depth and manipulate pressure even in shallow waters. This also means that you can manifest the abyss in any depth.]

[The path of a Siren is one of horror. A Siren's power is shaped by the Abyss—a place of Drowning, Dread, and Depth. As long as there is water, you can invoke, distort, and command these three Laws and their Concepts.]

Ren blinked, then read each line again, slowly.

A wicked smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"This. Is. Insane."

He began to process everything he'd just read.

"So as long as there's water," he whispered, "I control the laws and concepts of drowning, dread… and depth."

His eyes widened.

"That means I can decide whether someone breathes underwater or not…"

He swallowed hard, the realization sinking in.

"And if this is real, if I can invoke dread, then I can negate the effect of the affliction in water Virans—the one that prevents them from feeling fear..."

A wicked grin spread across his face.

"This is… wicked."

Then he frowned slightly, thoughtful again.

"Wait..." he gasped, eyes widening again. "If we all have laws we can command and distort based on our derivatives... then that means—are there Virans out there whose laws could completely nullify or negate our abilities, just like mine does?"

He swallowed, eyes narrowing as the thought settled in.

"If our power is more than just controlling the element… then just what kind of laws are out there? And how many laws can one Viran govern at a time?"

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

He shook his head, as if trying to shake the thought away.

"By the way, how do I even invoke these laws?"

He paused, thinking.

"There's no way to test Drowning or Dread while I'm alone… so let's try Depth."

Still seated midair inside the sphere of water, he raised his hand.

Nothing happened.

He pushed out Vira again.

The sphere only rippled—gently at first—then swelled outward, growing slightly larger.

"Huh…?"

He scratched his chin.

"Am I not doing it right? I want to change the pressure inside this entire sphere. Right now, it's shallow enough that someone could still feel okay inside, sure… but it says I can invoke or distort laws. So…"

His head tilted slightly.

Then, it clicked.

"Wait. The current law of depth is this: the deeper you go, the more unbearable the weight. Pressure increases because of the water stacked above—the crushing mass pressing down."

A long pause.

"So… if that's the law, then I don't need to invoke it. I need to distort it."

He rubbed his chin again, slower this time.

"In other words… I need to reverse and rewrite it. A new law, just for this sphere, that says: the shallower the water, the greater the weight. But the weight shouldn't come from this sphere. It should come from the ocean above the dome."

A slow smile crossed his face as everything clicked into place.

He drew in a deep breath, then released a focused pulse of Vira.

"The Law of Depth."

The moment the words left his lips, the sphere shifted. The clear water darkened—deepened into a rich, ocean blue.

He didn't feel anything different—except that his Vira was burning faster.

"Huh?"

He frowned.

"Does it not affect me?"

He poured out more Vira. The water darkened again—blacker now, shadowy. The kind of black that only existed in the abyss, miles beneath the sea. Even the surface dulled. The light above faded. Everything dimmed.

Until—

He heard it.

A low, groaning creak echoed through the water.

The sanctuary behind him—partially encased in the sphere—shuddered. Fine lines splintered across the altar's surface. A crack echoed in the stillness.

Ren floated still, eyes wide.

That confirmed it.

It worked.

Also, the laws he altered… didn't affect him.

'Is it because I'm the source?'

But another realization hit harder.

'Shit… shit… shit'

His vessel was nearly empty.

Turns out, changing laws cost far more Vira than simply moving water. It made sense. He just hadn't expected it to drain this much, this fast.

With a quick release of will, he let go of the entire construct.

The sphere collapsed into rain.

Water crashed down around him, drenching the dome floor. He landed lightly, but clutched his chest as nausea surged in his gut.

But then, just a few moments later, the nausea began to ease.

He stood up thoughtfully. The fact that his nausea had faded meant his Vira was replenishing.

And that's when it hit him—

While in his resonant state, he was absorbing Vira at more than twice the normal rate.