Leona, still shaken by the realization that Aurae had been hearing her inner monologue the entire time she's been here, felt embarrassed at the fact, but did as Aurae instructed. She sent her consciousness back into the Wraith realm and observed her instructor perform the same movement she had just moments before, creating the small dagger that rested gently in her hand.
Knowing it was her turn, Leona beckoned the mana again and watched as the scarlet tendrils answered her call, forming a dagger similar to Aurae's in her hand. It was a bit less refined, but still a satisfactory result. As she stared at it momentarily, she noticed Aurae's presence grew more intense, feeling a warm sensation in her core, which she could only attribute to encouragement.
"I'm right here," Aurae's voice echoed throughout the translucent valley they were in. Feeling more confident than before, Leona searched for the lines between the Wraith realm and Kavrass. As she searched, the familiar feeling of dread began to stew within her, but after a nod from Aurae's translucent form, she began to allow her consciousness and the mana she'd gathered to follow it back into the Real.
Hearing the sounds of the birds chirping in the distance let Leona know she was, in fact, back in the Real, though there was something in her hand that wasn't there before. Cautiously glancing down at the strange weight in her hand, she could feel the dagger emanating wraith mana, as its phantasmal form had mostly solidified in her hand.
"I-I've done it!" Leona gasped as her eyes widened. She began to chuckle nervously, fearing she'd somehow lose her hold over it, but it remained present in her hand. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Aurae smiled, closing Leona's fingers around the dagger.
"I don't know how to thank you, since I don't understand what you did," she blushed as Aurae patted her hand gently. "I didn't do anything other than let you know that there's nothing to fear. You did the rest," she said warmly before standing up.
"Bernar, Leona has something to sh-..." she paused, immediately conjuring a shield of violet and scarlet mana to protect against the incoming shockwave that resulted from his and Ren's training. Thorn, Nenvalur, Thorsen, and Gwili all stood by and watched, raising their hands up to their faces to shield them from the dust.
"You're still holding back, Ren. I know Kalia taught you more than that," Bernar chuckled as Ren, surprising everyone, held a subtle smile on his face. "You're right, she did," he replied, immediately vanishing from sight and appearing behind him in less time than it took to blink. Bernar nearly failed to react to the pommel strike aimed at the back of his head, feeling it graze the corner of his pointed ear as he got out of its way.
Grabbing Ren's wrist, he threw him over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground, causing Ren to cough and gasp for air. "You fight like Thoma, too. How the hell did you learn all that from them in just a few days?" Bernar asked, his eyes glowing a bright scarlet through the dust from the impact.
"How did you even react to that?" Ren sputtered as he struggled to get to his feet. Bernar outstretched his hand like he had to Gwili, but Ren gestured to let him know he was fine, and got back up on his own. "Beginner's luck, I guess? But you still didn't answer my question," Bernar shrugged, prompting Ren to scoff and shake his head.
"I don't think I'd call it that, but there's something I have to teach you before I explain how I learned all of that," he grinned, prompting Bernar to raise an eyebrow. "Aaand that would be?" he asked, rotating his wrist around as if hoping he would continue to speak. "Well, I think Leona should be present for that part, but to put it simply, I read the memories in their cores," Ren replied with a subtle smile, causing Bernar's eyes to widen in surprise.
"That was a good fight, Bernar. You've still got some fundamentals to work on as far as your Wraithborn abilities go, but from what I could see, that shouldn't take too long," Thorn began, interrupting Bernar before he could speak as he took a step forward. "Thanks, but I still can't quite get the hang of the odoruki technique. I feel like there's something I'm missing regarding it," he sighed.
"To be fair, I haven't quite gotten the hang of it either. While I don't need a dagger to pinpoint a location anymore, I still use that fundamental as a basis, but I'm not as fast as Ysevel," Ren admitted. "Looks like we'll have to figure that out together, then," Bernar grinned, but immediately noticed Aurae's scowl just over Nenvalur's shoulder. "What? Is there something on my face?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Just the blissful ignorance of the ass-chewing I'm probably about to get," Bernar sighed, immediately moving over to where she was. "I take it you enjoy making it difficult for others to concentrate?" Aurae asked calmly as he approached. "No, that was ju-..." he cut himself off, noticing the scarlet dagger in Leona's hand and widening his eyes in both excitement and surprise.
"Holy shit, you did it!" he rushed over to her, being cautious not to touch it in case she lost control over the mana. "I did, but it's mostly thanks to Aurae's help," she said with a downtrodden smile that he immediately noticed. Before her head could fully tilt forward, he used a curled finger to pull her chin back up so she could look at him.
"It's incredible progress, my love. Please don't be so hard on yourself," he began softly. "You've only just recently come into this world of mana manipulation, and I'm so proud of you for coming as far as you have," he smiled, glancing down at the dagger momentarily before back at her. "Hard to believe that when your eyes are scarlet rather than golden," she chuckled weakly.
"You'll get there in no time, especially if Aurae's here to help teach you. She, uh, has a way with teaching that I still struggle to comprehend," he said, giving Aurae a knowing nod. Thank you for not saying anything more than that, she smiled, returning the nod. It's not my place to, he sent back.
"Even so, I still feel a bit at a loss for words with this," she said, holding up the scarlet dagger that was much more stable than the first time she'd managed to bring even a small orb into the Real. "Progress is progress no matter how slow," Bernar said as if quoting something from a book, causing her to chuckle. "Where did you learn that? I didn't know you read books," she said playfully.
"It wasn't from a book. Well, it might have been, but I didn't read it; Thoma did," he said with an embarrassed smile as he scratched the back of his head. "It was something he used to say when I was teaching him how to create his own spell. Even with a sealed core, that little shit still managed to surprise me," he said warmly, as if recalling a distant memory.
"I'll remember that," Leona said, obviously considering her own situation. "And we'll be here to help you along the way. Always," Aurae chimed in warmly. "That is, of course, unless you don't want me to help you," she continued, noticing Anwill approaching the three of them. "I think you understand my position better," Leona replied quietly and nervously.
"I'm glad to see you've made some good progress, Leona," Anwill began, greeting her with a bow. "Thank you, Anwill. How are the others doing?" she asked, returning the gesture. "Thorsen and Gwili have asked Thorn and Nenvalur to help them reach the next stages of mana manipulation, though I don't suspect it will take as long now that they've taken the Authority," he replied briefly.
"That's good to hear," she said with a proud smile as she observed the two of them talking with Thorn. They seemed to be asking him all sorts of questions, though she couldn't hear what they were saying. "What of Neko and Marte?" she asked, looking back at Anwill.
"Those two are making excellent progress, though I feel Marte might reach the second stage before Neko. I swear, those two have been constantly in competition since I started training them," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Reminding you of anyone?" Bernar asked wryly. "Yes, actually," he replied with a tilt of his head.
"Even so, I must admit, I never expected this gift Erumon gave us to be so effective. Even Siraye's team has been training in earnest since their return yesterday, and I suspect they'll be asking me to help them reach the fifth stage soon enough," he said almost tiredly, causing Bernar to reach out and pat him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Thorn, Ren, Nenvalur, and I will be there to help soon," he said encouragingly.
"Not soon enough," Anwill scoffed, giving him a wry grin.