A Better Name and a Worse Idea
That afternoon, while the others remained on the main training grounds learning to channel support through their Resonance Linkers under Luminel's merciless supervision, Caelan led Sparky away from the central clearing and deeper into the quiet grove bordering the training fields. Mist hung between the trees in thin silver ribbons, sunlight slipping through the leaves in broken shafts, and the distant shouts of the others faded until only birdsong and the occasional crack of training equipment could be heard. Sparky followed eagerly, though the little Voltkin kept glancing at Caelan as if expecting some explanation for why they had abandoned everyone else.
Caelan stopped in a small clearing and turned toward him.
"You wanted me to train you."
Sparky's ears lifted.
"Yes."
"And yesterday we worked on what happens when someone gets through your electricity."
Sparky rubbed one shoulder where the defensive course had repeatedly demonstrated exactly that.
"I remember."
"Today we're trying something else."
Caelan knelt and placed one hand against the earth, allowing his ki to settle before drawing it upward again. Enhancing his own body was instinctive. Every cultivator learned to flood muscles, bones and reflexes with ki until reinforcement became as natural as tightening a fist. Caelan could strengthen weapons with it as well, form barriers, release blades and shape the energy in dozens of different ways. Enhancing another living creature ought to have followed the same principle.
At least in theory.
Sparky stood straighter.
"What do I do?"
"Try not to explode."
His ears dropped.
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
Caelan raised two fingers.
Ki gathered around them.
He sent a thin stream toward Sparky, carefully controlling the flow rather than simply flooding him with power. The energy touched the Voltkin's body—
—and scattered.
Caelan frowned.
Sparky twitched.
"Ow."
"Bad?"
"Like being poked with a very angry needle."
Caelan withdrew the ki.
"Again."
The second attempt was slower. This time he tried to guide the energy along Sparky's limbs, following the natural flow he could sense inside the Aetherkin.
For a moment, it almost worked.
Then the ki slipped away again.
Sparky shook himself.
"Still angry needle."
Caelan sat back.
"Interesting."
"I preferred it when you said training would hurt."
"This is training."
"That doesn't make it better."
Caelan ignored him and thought.
He could reinforce another cultivator because their bodies possessed structures designed to circulate ki. Sparky did not. Whatever energy moved through an Aetherkin was not behaving like human meridians, and forcing ki inside him was apparently rather like trying to pour water into a sealed jar by yelling at it.
Sparky's ears drooped.
"Maybe it doesn't work."
Caelan did not answer immediately.
Then his gaze sharpened.
"Maybe I'm doing it wrong."
He rose.
"I don't need the ki inside you."
Sparky tilted his head.
"What?"
"I can reinforce armour without turning it into part of my body."
Caelan lifted one hand.
"I can wrap energy around something."
Understanding slowly appeared on Sparky's face.
"Oh."
"Exactly."
Caelan took a breath.
This time he did not attempt to push power into Sparky.
Ki flowed outward.
It spread over the little Voltkin's body like a second skin, beginning around his shoulders before sliding down his limbs and gathering around his paws. The energy remained Caelan's, controlled from outside rather than forced into a body that rejected it.
Sparky froze.
The aura brightened.
His fur lifted beneath it.
Tiny sparks of electricity danced through the ki and, rather than disrupting it, began travelling along the surface.
Sparky's eyes widened.
"Caelan."
"Hm?"
"I feel..."
He disappeared.
Caelan blinked.
A tree shook ten metres away.
Then another.
Then Sparky shot past him as a red-and-blue blur, skidded across the clearing, hit a patch of damp earth, recovered somehow, and immediately launched himself back in the opposite direction.
"I'm FAST!"
Caelan smiled.
Sparky jumped.
His ki-covered paws struck the ground.
CRACK.
A shallow crater appeared beneath him.
Sparky stared down.
Then up.
"I'm strong too!"
"Don't get carried away."
Sparky sprinted toward a fallen log and struck it.
The log rolled several metres.
Sparky turned around slowly.
"Caelan."
"Yes?"
"This is amazing."
Caelan maintained the flowing mantle around him.
"It isn't free."
He could already feel the additional drain. Not severe, but constant. Maintaining precise control over another moving creature required considerably more attention than simply reinforcing himself.
Sparky bounded back.
"How much stronger am I?"
"I don't know."
"I feel ten times stronger."
"That is almost certainly excitement talking."
"Ten times."
"Probably not."
"Twelve."
"That's not how estimates work."
Sparky grinned.
The electricity running through his body began mixing naturally with the ki mantle. Sparks crawled along his legs, accelerated by the reinforcement around them.
Caelan noticed.
"So you can still use your own power through it."
Sparky fired a small electrical discharge.
The bolt struck a tree with enough force to blacken the bark.
Both stared.
Sparky slowly smiled.
"Again."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because now I know it works."
Caelan released the enhancement.
The mantle disappeared.
Sparky immediately sagged.
"Oh."
Caelan stretched one shoulder.
"Draining."
Sparky shook out his paws.
"For you or me?"
"Mostly me."
Sparky looked thoughtful.
Then his grin returned.
"So we train until you can do it longer."
Caelan sighed.
"That was unfortunately the correct answer."
Sparky remained quiet for nearly a minute afterward, which was unusual enough that Caelan eventually looked over.
The Voltkin stood upon a small rock, examining himself.
Then he looked at Caelan.
"I've decided something."
"That sounds dangerous."
"My name."
Caelan raised an eyebrow.
"What about it?"
"Sparky is too cute."
Caelan stared.
Sparky put both paws on his hips.
"I've been talking to everyone."
"That was your first mistake."
"Clark sounds like a proper name. Alex sounds dignified. Ryu sounds strong. Tesla sounds intelligent."
From somewhere far behind them came the faint sound of Tesla sneezing.
Sparky continued.
"And I'm Sparky."
Caelan's mouth twitched.
"It suits you."
"Exactly!"
"That wasn't an insult."
"It sounds like something somebody names a pet."
Caelan folded his arms.
"So what do you want?"
"A warrior name."
Sparky stood taller.
"Something powerful."
"Of course."
"Honourable."
"Naturally."
"Something people hear and immediately think, 'That Aetherkin is incredibly dangerous.'"
Caelan considered him.
Sparky was barely taller than Caelan's knee.
"That may require more than a name."
"Caelan."
"Fine."
After spending a month around the children, Caelan had picked up bits and pieces of their language, expressions and naming habits—particularly because Haruto, Renji and Shun tended to explain things whether anyone had asked or not.
He rubbed his chin.
"What about Daiki?"
Sparky thought.
"No."
"Stormfang?"
"Alex would laugh."
"He would do it politely."
"That's worse."
Caelan thought again.
Then snapped his fingers.
"Raikōmaru."
Sparky's ears rose.
"Raikōmaru."
He tested it.
Again.
"Raikōmaru."
Then louder:
"RAIKŌMARU."
Caelan nodded.
"That one?"
"What does it mean?"
"Raikō carries the idea of a lightning flash. The rest makes it sound old-fashioned and dramatic."
Sparky's eyes became enormous.
"That's perfect."
Before Caelan could stop him, he jumped onto the highest nearby rock, planted his paws dramatically and raised his head toward the trees.
"FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, SPARKY IS GONE!"
Caelan covered his face.
"I AM RAIKŌMARU!"
A bird fled the tree above him.
"THE LIGHTNING WARRIOR!"
His back paw slipped on moss.
Raikōmaru vanished behind the rock.
THUD.
Silence.
Caelan walked over and looked down.
A small paw rose from the grass.
"Still majestic."
Caelan laughed.
"Very."
Raikōmaru climbed back up with what dignity remained to him and brushed leaves from his fur.
"It still sounds good."
"It does."
Caelan's expression became suspiciously thoughtful.
"There is one problem."
Raikōmaru froze.
"What?"
Caelan had learned enough from Haruto to know perfectly well what the suffix actually meant.
That did not prevent temptation.
"'Maru' can also mean something rather unfortunate."
Raikōmaru's eyes narrowed.
"What kind of unfortunate?"
Caelan leaned closer.
"Poop."
The little Voltkin stopped moving.
Completely.
"...What?"
Caelan maintained a straight face through considerable effort.
"So technically—"
"No."
"—Raikō-poop—"
"NO."
Raikōmaru grabbed both sides of his head.
"You let me shout it!"
Caelan finally lost the battle and started laughing.
"I thought you wanted honour."
"I DID!"
"Very traditional."
"I'M CHANGING IT."
"You lasted two minutes."
Raikōmaru paced across the rock in horror.
"What if everyone hears?"
"They already heard you shouting."
Raikōmaru stopped.
His face fell.
Caelan nearly laughed again.
Then Raikōmaru straightened with grim resolve.
"Fine."
Caelan raised an eyebrow.
"I'll keep it."
"You will?"
"Yes."
He puffed out his chest.
"Raikōmaru the Thunderstorm."
Caelan nodded solemnly.
"That fixes everything."
"It does."
"Definitely."
Raikōmaru pointed a paw at him.
"If you tell anyone the other meaning, I will electrocute you."
"Understood."
What Raikōmaru did not know was that Caelan had invented the entire second meaning.
Caelan decided this information could safely remain undiscovered for a very long time.
The following morning, everyone gathered on the main training field with considerably more energy than they had possessed the day before. The children stood beside their partners in a loose line while their Resonance Linkers glowed faintly at their sides. Haruto had Ryu beside him. Renji stood with Alex, Misaki with Sakura, Shun with Tesla, Airi with Flora, Daichi with Clark and Yuto with Michael.
Caelan stood slightly apart with the newly renamed Raikōmaru.
Luminel hovered before them.
His spear rested casually across one shoulder.
"You've learned the fundamentals."
Daichi glanced toward the others.
"That sounds suspiciously positive."
"It won't last."
"There it is."
Luminel ignored him.
"You understand basic reinforcement, barriers, recovery, tracking and enhancement."
His eyes moved across the group.
"You've trained your partners' Juvenile bodies."
Then his smile appeared.
"Now you're going to fight."
Everyone straightened.
Haruto grinned.
Ryu's eyes lit up instantly.
Renji stepped forward at almost the same moment.
"Finally."
Alex sighed.
"You two truly are incapable of hearing the word 'fight' without becoming children."
"We are children," Haruto said.
"A technicality."
Luminel raised one hand.
"I will be the opponent."
That quieted them.
Daichi stared at the basketball-sized fairy.
Then remembered watching that same basketball-sized fairy fight Eidon.
He stopped looking reassured.
"I'll suppress my strength."
Luminel twirled the spear once.
"I'll remain slightly above whatever you can currently bring against me."
Haruto cracked his knuckles.
"Then let's—"
"No."
An invisible force struck him.
Haruto flew backward.
At exactly the same moment Renji tried to move.
He joined Haruto.
Both landed in the grass.
Ryu stared.
Alex sighed.
Luminel had not visibly moved.
"You two are not first."
Haruto sat up.
"Why?"
"Because you wanted to be."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It does to me."
Luminel's gaze moved down the line.
"Daichi."
Daichi froze.
Clark's W-shaped smile widened.
"Oh, excellent."
Daichi stared at him.
"Why are you happy?"
"We get to fight him."
"That is precisely why I'm unhappy."
Luminel pointed toward the arena.
"You're first."
Daichi adjusted his glasses.
"Haruto and Renji seemed very enthusiastic."
"They did."
"It would be cruel to deny them."
"I am prepared to live with the guilt."
Daichi looked around desperately.
Nobody rescued him.
Clark bounded forward.
"Come on!"
Daichi followed considerably more slowly.
When they reached the centre of the field, he turned toward Luminel.
"So we're fighting in Juvenile form?"
Luminel gave him a flat look.
"No."
Daichi relaxed slightly.
Then realized that answer was probably worse.
"You will use everything available to you."
Luminel pointed toward his Resonance Linker.
"Enhancements. Barriers. Recovery."
Then toward Clark.
"Evolution."
The Linker at Daichi's side pulsed.
Everyone understood the difference by now. Clark had not naturally grown into his Adult stage. If he had, the change would have been permanent. Ordinary Aetherkin evolved when their bodies, experience and power genuinely reached the next developmental threshold, and they remained there unless enough power was forcibly drained from them to cause regression.
The children's partners were cheating.
Their Resonance Linkers could force an Aetherkin up one stage before those natural conditions had been fulfilled.
Which was why the transformation eventually ended.
Daichi looked down at Clark.
"So Adult."
"At minimum," Luminel said.
Several Virtue Sigils glimmered faintly among the group.
Luminel's gaze moved toward them.
"And if a Sigil answers strongly enough, use it."
Airi touched her own instinctively.
The Sigils were different from the Linkers. The devices could force one temporary stage jump. The Sigils were the only things they possessed capable of breaking that limit—feeding vastly greater resonance into the bond and allowing a partner to leap two stages when the conditions aligned.
Haruto's expression tightened for only a moment.
He remembered exactly what an uncontrolled double jump could create.
Gravefang had been Elite.
Luminel continued without dwelling on it.
"Your goal here is not to prove how impressive your Juvenile partners are."
He raised his spear.
"It's to learn how to fight with the power you'll actually rely upon when something tries to kill you."
Daichi swallowed.
"Right."
Clark grinned.
"I like this lesson."
"Of course you do."
Daichi raised his Resonance Linker.
Light began gathering around Clark.
Luminel lowered his spear.
Daichi's knees suddenly looked much less reliable.
"I'm better at defence, you know."
"I know."
"Healing too."
"I know."
"Those are useful things."
"Very."
Daichi waited.
Luminel smiled.
"Today you learn what happens when defence has to attack back."
Clark flexed his enormous black claws.
"That sounded cool."
"It sounded painful," Daichi muttered.
Behind them, Airi raised one fist.
"You've got this!"
Renji folded his arms.
"Try not to embarrass our school."
Daichi turned.
"That is your encouragement?"
"Yes."
Michael gave Daichi a gentle wave from beside Yuto.
Tesla nodded once.
Alex offered a dignified, "Best of luck."
Ryu shouted:
"HIT HIM!"
Daichi closed his eyes.
"Wonderful."
Then he opened them again.
His Linker flared.
Clark crouched beside him, playful expression sharpening as the forced evolution began to answer.
Across the arena, Luminel waited with his spear in hand.
The match began.