Chương 120: B2 Chapter 13: Wings of Fire

The next morning, we went through the usual practice, only with Master Kaius joining us, not that he provided any instruction or show all the things he could teach me. He just stood there watching, as if some world-splitting debate was running through his head. After the ominous revelation the previous evening, we hadn't talked much about the Prime Seed at all, other than everyone agreeing to keep it a secret. Decidedly, Master Kaius was oathbound to speak no more about the subject than what he had already shared.

Even to whom his oath was kept under wraps.

"Is there a good reason why you haven't taught him the Phoenix visualisation method yet, Ashlyn?" he asked once we were back in the kitchen for breakfast. Mum eyed Father without answering.

"A visualisation method?" I asked, cocking my head.

"Is it like the black void that absorbs all my thoughts during meditation?"

"Similar," the elder said, "though the ones we're speaking of are related more to the Soul."

"Well, Jinn is teaching him the sword-forging method—the method you taught Jinn—and a couple of short sessions of it already exhaust Ari to practise another method. Besides, what I can teach is but mere fragments of the original visualisation method." Kaius shook his head.

"You're running with the impression that the sword-forging is any more complete than that," he said.

"At least with the Phoenix, there was a chance of obtaining the complete method." His gaze shifted from Father to me.

"The sword-forging method is miraculous, no doubt about it, but it was incomplete and barely scratched the edge of soul-forging. The creators of it... they had not exactly known what they were shaping. Then after their passing, hundreds of masters refined the forms, pushing the sword arts to reach the pinnacle of what was possible. However, despite a couple of millennia passing, all the conclusions all the masters and grandmasters came to was that the only way to cultivate the soul was through scarring it.

Sword forging does not quite empower the soul—it weaponises it." I frowned and could not quite agree with the last statement. Swordsmanship was not a mere tool of violence; there was a beauty to it. I saw it in Father's sword dance—when every wisp of wind danced with him, when droplets of water coalesced on his blade, when the land shaped under his step, or the fire of heaven showed glimpses of Sunbreak. Perhaps most did not see it beyond all the acts of violence.

Or perhaps I did not understand what empowering the soul exactly meant.

"The Star Phoenix's method was one of the few vaunted visualisation forms remaining in the realms, and it would not be wrong to call it instrumental for conventional shapers."

"Fine," Mum said, serving the meals. It was a simple breakfast with fresh bread, eggs, and oak milk.

"You don't have to reason with me too much. It's not as though I wasn't thinking of teaching it to him at all."

"But," the elder interjected, "I'm guessing there is a 'but'."

"Well, as you said, it is an exalted visualisation method," Mum said, "coming from a being so high in power that our minds could not even begin to encapsulate its strength. It is the type of being that has had schemes running for millennia. Blighted Hell, the Oracle is supposedly young for a transcendental being, yet the decade-old safeguarding task she gave me had me and my family fighting an undying daemon at the end of it. Tell me I'm mad to harbour reservations about these beings."

"You are not mad," Master Kaius said.

"Perhaps it would have come easier if you had grown up religious."

"How do you keep yourself rational, Master Kaius, knowing there are things out there you could never understand?" The elder gave her a deep glance.

"Ashlyn, you've known me for a long time, how many times have you seen me and thought that old chap has grown senile?" He laughed.

"And who said never being able to understand them? On some rare good mornings, I feel like I do, and soon all that sweet goodness turns bitter. It is the knowledge of them that has me running—acting irrationally all the time. Regardless, the Star Phoenix will have mechanisms going on in the background, millennia past our existence. However, even for a being of her exalted realm, she could not go against free will. Besides, I have it on good authority that she favours a female vessel."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, being the only ignorant addition to the conversation.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with," Master Kaius said curtly. He turned his eyes towards Mum again.

"So, are you going to teach him, or do I have to jog my memory?"

"You know the method?" Mum asked, incredulous.

"Not as thoroughly as you, perhaps, nor have I cultivated it much. Now that I think of it, it will be better if you teach him." Although I did not fathom a sizable chunk of their conversation, it gave the impression that a visualisation method was invaluable. So when Mum asked if I could make up some time for another, I did not think twice before agreeing to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"There's little to no benefit in the short term, unlike your sword-forging. It isn't even all that necessary at early stages."

"It is for Prime Seed," Master Kaius interjected. That made everyone at the table do a double-take.

"Without a good visualisation method, a Prime Seed will have a hellish time to sprout—if it even sprouts at all." Now Mum had more urgency to teach.

"I need to make some preparations."

"Before you do," I asked, "can you tell me what this method is all about? What benefit does it bring? Wait—does it relate to the insane white flame that you exploded against the daemon?"

"It was golden flame," Mum said, "and yes, it is a little adjacent to the visualisation method."

"As for the benefits," Master Kaius continued from her, "in the beginning, all you have is a little sharper instinct and essence efficiency, but..." The elder began counting on his fingers.

"Once you grow adept in it, your essence regeneration will rise astronomically, as will your channelling capacity and fire and light affinity. But do not mistake it for any common affinity—you'll have affinity for true phoenix flame and its essence subtype. Oh, did I mention the self-healing capability? It will not be as remarkable as a regeneration gift, at least not below Fable Class, but it will still have you in better form after taking some heavy hits than a common shaper."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. All that ability sounded a little overwhelming. The sword forging did have its advantages once I grew a master of it, but even then, this still felt astronomical.

If there really were as many benefits, it must hold to reason that Mum had refrained from teaching it to me—granted that I had only advanced to Noble Class a few weeks ago, and with more than half that time spent harbouring internal injuries that made it difficult to practise. But the Mum I knew would have had me practising the self-healing ability instead of sword forging every time.

"Curious," I said, shooting a tentative glance at Mum and Master Kaius.

"How long will it take for me to relish all these benefits?"

"Depends on your ability to comprehend and experience, lad. I'd say a good decade of practice should be enough for the introductory method." I swept a quick glance between him and Mum, unable to suppress a groan. So until then, I'll have to make do with a bit of essence efficiency? I guess I can't complain. If I understood right, without it my Prime Seed might not even advance. Besides, even without those benefits for a long time, I'd still appreciate some more attribute points.

With that, Mum went to make the preparations. We were all told not to disturb her. She said it would take a few hours, as there was no way to teach the visualisation method other than teaching it to yourself. I waited with bated breath until she presented me with a canvas in the evening. It bore an image of a pair of golden, burning wings—too bright to make out any individual features or feathers, if there were any.

"You have read stories of old masters getting enlightened in the way of water by meditating under a waterfall," Mum said, hiding a smile.

"Well, now you get to live that experience."

"So, that is your preparation?" I cocked my head.

"You drew that just now?"

"The Wings of Fire," Mum nodded.

"The original one is back at Vasher. I did have one replica lying around, but I gave it to Emi when she needed it, and now it is with Rose. We couldn't quite travel there to retrieve any of them on short notice, could we? So we'll have to make do with an imitation."

"Well, I have seen both," Master Kaius cut in, "and I would say this is quite impeccable." Mum smiled weakly, tousling my hair.

"The method is not quite as agonising as sword forging, but it is tricky to learn. All I can do is present you with the tool. The comprehension will depend on your Will and affinity." I gave a steady glance at the image and collected myself from being fooled too early, as I still had some questions that needed answering.

"So, the technique is kind of like a family heirloom?"

"Most good ones are," Master Kaius said.

"Some vaunted grandmaster or mythic figure creates them, and we mortals fall to protect them with our lives as if they were ours to begin with."

"The Wings of Fire was an inheritance of the Amadeus family for millennia," Mum said, voicing not a single trace of pride.

"Over the ages, there have been few others who got to learn the method."

"How did they inherit it?" I could not help but ask.

"As you said, it comes from the Star Phoenix—a higher being."

"I'm not quite certain about the details. The Amadeus family is as old as it gets. An ancestor of ours did something to receive the good grace of the Star Phoenix. The details are lost in the fog of time."

"Enough with the talk," the old man said pressingly.

"Just know that anyone in the world would salivate over getting even a crumb of this method, despite never having the ability to learn it. So take it with grace that your mum has been one of the few rare talents to earn this opportunity for you." So another thing I have to keep secret. Man, am I growing fat with all this secrecy. Without wasting more breath, I sat down before the painting.

"A visualisation method," Mum explained, "at least the good ones, tries to incorporate the aether into your soul, forging a balance between your aura, soul, and the essence that permeates it."

"That is where the sword forging fails mostly," Father interjected.

"It is arguably the finest at aura resonance, fishing out the hidden potential that nobody knew was there. However, it is quite elementary in incorporating the vast aether."

"With the two methods, you will receive the best of both worlds," Master Kaius added, "but keep in mind, both of them are incomplete, and neither are direly essential to your path—if you do not know the road you're taking."

"Visualise the image in your mind," Mum said again.

"Once you begin to see the details, you'll know you're on the right path." I eyed the wings that seemed to swirl in the image, burning with the power of a sun. A few more seconds passed, and I did not even have to gaze at it anymore. The vast image was in my mind, sizzling through my soul and body like hot air. It was arduous to make out any details—the flames blazed gloriously, so bright and brilliant that my Will evaporated trying to encapsulate it whole.

The method of learning it was not as practical as the sword forging, nor was it as uncomfortable. Minute by minute, attempt by attempt, I pained to grow nearer to the method, failing to paint the same picture in my mind. However, with each failed attempt, I saw something new. I might not have seen the wings in their entirety, but slowly and reassuringly, I could paint the whole picture. To my surprise, my aura and essence reacted to my visualisation.

Not to my benefit, no—they almost worked against me, as though they despised the very idea of what the image depicted. That was where the practicality began, I guessed. In sword forging, I had to beat my aura to forge it stronger, and here it was no different. I just wasn't quite sure if I would succeed as easily as I had with sword forging. The Wings of Fire were only a small part of the actual method. The image here was merely an imitation Mum had created.

However, the image came from an exalted being that a mortal mind could not encapsulate. Time stretched by, and I slowly began to comprehend that my essence or aura did not detest the image—it detested the idea of change. With the visualisation, the image became as impressionable as the ones carved in the Mythic Sanctuary. All thoughts escaped my mind as the process required more and more of my attention and Will.

Soon, time lost meaning as all I saw was the golden flame swirling in the shape of wings, drifting through the empty void. The deeper I went, the clearer the image became, until finally only the flames remained—flames that burned to oblivion—as I woke up with a start. [A way of soul forging initiated: Wings of Fire I (0/100).] It was dark. Night had fallen, and a glance towards the clock on the wall revealed that more than a couple of hours had passed since I had entered the visualisation.

My parents and Master Kaius were now sitting on the couch. All their gazes turned towards me as I awoke.

"Your expression suggests it's a success," Master Kaius said without preamble, while Mum scurried to hand me a glass of water.

"Well, the spell gave me a Way, though there isn't any progress in it yet."

"Excellent," Master Kaius clapped his hands once.

"Now, I can leave with a proper state of mind." I blinked.

"You're leaving?" What about all the things Mum promised you'd teach me? It was good that I merely thought it, as even to my mind it sounded ridiculous to ask that.

"Your parents and I were just talking about it. As it happens, one of my young friends seems to have got into a pickle. But it's good to see that I am not the only one eager to teach and learn." I was about to ask how he got the news, but then remembered he had his ritual magic letter thingy. The elder patted me on the shoulder.

"Your mum and father are as good as any instructors you will ever get. I'm glad I do not have to tell you to appreciate them. As for what I'm going to teach you," his gaze turned to my parents, "you all will be in Klearon in the coming weeks for the provincial tournament, no? How about you make it a little earlier? It will give Arilyn a broader prospect to know what he'll face, and I daresay you all need a good holiday after everything you've been through."

"That doesn't actually sound so bad," Mum said.

"We also have a handful of tasks left to complete that could only be done in a central city like Klearon."

"Excellent. Send me a message when you get there. I have an inkling I won't be far from Klearon at the time." Master Kaius only had a few belongings, which helped with a fast exit, although he still packed some fresh meals for the night. With the odd stick in hand, the old man strode away, giving an uncharacteristic salute towards me. It was only after his figure faded that it came to me.

"Will he even get a carriage at this hour?" Father shrugged.

"Well, for all the years I've known him, he's never had trouble making his way anywhere."