The Airien training grounds shimmered like a dream suspended on the edge of a higher existence—floating stones orbiting slow as planets, gravity bending like it forgot how to behave, cosmic winds brushing the students' forms as if whispering, "Are you ready?"
Osei was already stretching with the swagger of someone practically raised by war itself—neck cracking, shoulders rolling, muscles loose yet coiled like a predator warming up before a hunt.
Ian's blade sang the air apart with every swing, his precision frighteningly calm. Every slash was a story of discipline written in invisible ink.
Sonia leaned against a pillar, arms folded, her aura flickering through shades of glowing emerald. Determination. Pure. Sharp. She tried to look composed, but her emotions betrayed her every second like neon confession signs.
Charles and Kennedy were at the back, huddled together like two gremlins plotting a digital apocalypse.
Kennedy: "Okay, okay hear me out—if I combine this algorithm with an emotional stabilizer protocol—"
Charles: "No. Absolutely not. We do not modify anyone's emotions again. Not after last time."
Kennedy: "…Man, fine."
Jack stood with chin lifted, lightning crackling around his arms in sporadic arcs. Not violent. Not reckless. Controlled. Like clarity itself was brushing its fingers through his aura, telling him, "Stay with me."
And Henry…
He was smiling.
Too softly.
Too sweetly.
Too… quietly.
Henry, the human spark bomb, was keeping his electricity tucked close to his chest like a secret he wasn't ready to share.
Jack noticed.
But said nothing—for now.
At the far back stood Klexis, Tarren, and Noan—watching like proud yet deeply traumatized uncles.
Klexis: "Good luck with Aprexion. Seriously. The man kicked me through six metaphysical layers once."
Tarren: "And he yelled at me until my emotions learned shame."
Noan: "I'm honestly impressed they're still standing upright."
Then—
A ripple spread across the ground.
The atmosphere thickened.
Two figures appeared on the center platform—one steady and ancient like a mountain, the other precise and sharp like a cosmic arrow.
Aprexion and Kainen.
The students straightened instantly.
Aprexion's presence dropped onto them like invisible armor.
Kainen's presence lifted them like wind under wings.
Aprexion announced, voice firm enough to crack galaxies:
"You're all here at last. Now let's begin."
The students aligned automatically, instinct weaving them into formation.
Kainen let out a full laugh.
"A little on the nose…"
He winked.
"…but I admire your enthusiasm for order."
The students' collective sigh was so synchronized it could've been an Avian art.
Aprexion rolled his eyes.
"Don't encourage them."
Kainen folded his arms, grin wide.
"Oh come on—look at them. They look ready on the outside, but they're spiraling inside… in at least five dimensions."
Soft giggles echoed—Sonia's flickering yellow, Kennedy's snorted laugh, even Ian cracked a smile.
But not too loud.
Nobody wanted to get vaporized by Aprexion's glare.
Aprexion clapped his hands once.
The whole training ground trembled.
"Enough. Today, you will learn a new Universal Avian Art."
Yyvone's eyes lit up instantly.
"Ooooh, another one—it's been forever since we learned Hollow Step in the cosmic gym. Hehe—"
Aprexion raised a hand.
"This time, you will learn to integrate your inner realms with your external arts. To protect others while stabilizing yourselves."
Kainen added softly, voice carrying ancient weight:
"This technique… will save you when your clarity shatters. When difficulty emerges, this will be your compass."
The students exchanged looks.
The kind of look people give each other before stepping into a haunted house.
Aprexion continued:
"Universal techniques apply to all—no matter how different your truths are. But they manifest uniquely through each of you."
He turned to Jack.
"Jack. Avian punch."
Jack didn't even hesitate.
His fist surged forward.
Lightning wrapped inevitability.
The air buckled.
Space folded slightly.
The ground hummed like it wanted to run away.
The temple trembled.
A cosmic tremor rippled across the nearby floating islands.
Charles stepped forward next—calm, surgical.
His punch didn't crack the air.
It rewrote it.
The space around his fist flickered into lines of code—shifting, adapting, self-correcting in fractal patterns.
Osei watched this and muttered:
"We've… been taught this before."
Aprexion nodded.
"Yes. But this time, you need distinction."
Kainen clasped his hands behind his back.
"The technique you are learning is called… Swap Transposition."
Kennedy gasped dramatically.
"FINALLY! Jake Shwazz's masterpiece. Chef's kiss, actually Kate's "
Aprexion:
"…Please don't compare ancient universal arts to a man who once suplexed a star because it winked at him."
Kainen chuckled.
"Swap Transposition allows you to switch positions with anything—people, objects, attacks, even metaphysical constructs—if your clarity is sharp enough."
Jack's Analysis Eyes flared.
For a brief moment, he wasn't in the training grounds.
He was seeing through Kainen's memories.
Generations of students learning this very technique—thousands of warriors training under the same sun.
Including Traxis.
Including Elexis.
And…
His breath caught.
Valitor.
His father.
Practicing the exact motion, stance, clarity—everything.
Jack's heart tightened.
Not painfully—deeply.
Kainen felt the shift.
His eyes softened.
Though he didn't speak it aloud, the air whispered it:
"Your father learned here. You stand where he once stood."
Jack swallowed hard.
Lightning flickered behind his eyes.
Honor—quiet but fierce—settled into his chest.
This wasn't just training.
This was legacy.
Aprexion's voice snapped the moment back:
"Prepare yourselves. Swap Transposition is not gentle. It exposes your inner realm. If your clarity wavers—your position will warp before your consciousness does."
Yyvone:
"That sounds… horrifying and exciting."
Sonia:
"Great. So we're risking our souls again. Classic Tuesday."
Ian steadied his grip on his sword.
Charles typed invisible equations into the air.
Kennedy stretched like a cat preparing for chaos.
Osei rolled his shoulders like the universe was about to punch him and he planned to punch back.
Jack inhaled softly, lightning sparking along his arms.
Henry…
Still smiled.
Still didn't meet anyone's gaze.
His electricity remained hidden behind his ribs—quiet, deep, trembling like a storm refusing to escape.
Jack noticed again.
But kept his focus.
Aprexion stepped back.
Kainen lifted his hand.
And the world grew silent.
Then—
"Begin."
And the training of their lives unfolded.
Aprexion lifted his hand with the same calm finality a judge uses before delivering a verdict.
An arrow shimmered into existence between his fingers — sleek, translucent, carved from pure Avia.
He drew it back and fired upward.
The arrow pierced the empty space above the pillar where a roof should have been, humming with intent as it stuck into the stone.
Aprexion turned, cloak shifting with a stern breeze only he seemed to feel.
"Switch places with the arrow."
Every student stiffened.
Kainen, leaning on his staff like a man who'd lived a thousand lifetimes too many, grinned sideways.
"Jack. Henry. You two have already tasted a little of this, haven't you?"
Jack's lightning flickered in quiet acknowledgment.
"Yeah. My dad used it when I needed him most."
Henry shrugged with that lazy, secretive smile of his.
"Even in ghost mode, the guy was way too chill."
Kennedy clapped his hands together.
"Well then! For those who haven't had a supernatural father apparate into their personal crisis — shall we?"
Aprexion exhaled like someone preparing for disaster.
"Great… the living canvas volunteers. Perfect."
Kennedy faced the arrow.
He stretched his neck, wiggled his fingers dramatically.
"This is a piece of cake. Hollow Step's harder than this."
Kainen nearly choked on his own laugh.
"That's what everybody thinks."
Aprexion cut in sharply.
"You don't just look and switch, Ken. You feel it. Become indistinguishable from the object. Let your identity dissolve and reform."
Kennedy shut his eyes.
And for a moment, the training hall dimmed.
From the center of his forehead, an image of the arrow flickered — raw imagination spilling out of his inner realm like paint leaking through a canvas.
Sonia gasped softly.
"Oh wow… our inner realms really are gonna get exposed with this technique."
The others nodded, entranced by the projection.
Kennedy inhaled deeply.
Opened his eyes.
Locked onto the arrow.
Aprexion's eyes widened.
"Wait—Kennedy, you have to—"
Too late.
There was a pop.
A ripple.
A brief distortion of reality, like the universe blinked.
The arrow was now in Kennedy's original spot.
But Kennedy?
Not on the pillar.
He fell.
He yelped — but hollow stepped at the last millisecond, saving himself from both broken bones and eternal humiliation.
Soft laughter bounced around the hall like friendly ghosts.
Kennedy scratched the back of his head, cheeks pink.
"Okay, yeah, maybe I was a liiiittle reckless."
Aprexion dragged a hand down his face.
"I was about to tell you that you need to imagine the surroundings as well. Not just the object."
Jack nodded thoughtfully.
"Probably why you placed the arrow there. It forces us to understand the whole space, not just the target."
Aprexion pointed at him, relief in his tone.
"Exactly."
Kainen stepped forward, voice gentle but ancient.
"The image is one thing. The environment is another. If you switch blindly, you may appear in a place meant to erase you."
Charles folded his arms, gears turning.
"So it's merging… but precise. Not random."
Both teachers nodded.
Ian flashed a proud grin.
"Precision is my middle name."
"Your middle name is 'problem,'" Sonia muttered, earning a few snickers.
Osei raised a hand.
Unlike the others, his voice wasn't cocky — it trembled slightly, weighed by sincerity.
"Question."
He stepped forward.
"What if the environment isn't known? Like… what if you know the object, but not what's around it? How do you not… y'know… die?"
Silence spread.
Not fearful.
Respectful.
Aprexion and Kainen exchanged a look.
That was the real question.
Kainen spoke first, his tone lower, heavier.
"When you upgrade the Swap Transposition, space stops being a barrier. Your imagination becomes vivid enough to sense — no matter the distance."
Aprexion continued, voice like a blade.
"Your inner echo projects outward. It touches the object and scans the area around it. Like sonar. Like awareness. Like instinct."
Charles snapped his fingers.
"Ah! Like my mental projection rune. That's… insanely cool."
Kennedy nudged him.
"Nerd."
Ian cracked his knuckles.
"And once you can swap with people and concepts themselves, location doesn't matter at all, right?"
"Correct," Kainen replied.
"But," Aprexion added sharply,
"the same projection that helps you can expose your inner realm to high-level opponents… and Ghouls."
The temperature dipped at that word.
Henry finally looked up — just briefly — but enough for Jack to notice something flickering behind his eyes.
Something heavy.
Something chosen.
Ian stepped forward, blade humming lightly.
"Well then… let me be the test rat. Shall we?"
The others shifted.
A quiet gravity filled the hall.
They were training for more than survival.
They were preparing for a war that was already walking toward them.