"Most wealthy families prefer using arcane relics to level up quickly and become the strongest they can ever be." Elandra Stormhaven, the matriarch of the Stormhaven dynasty and the one who assigned Ethan his first mission in the Stormhaven city said as she sat with Ethan in a grand hall.
"Why? Isn't it a good thing?" Ethan asked curiously.
" How sure are you that the relic will be successful? How sure are you that the relic will not later pose a threat on the wielder's body?" Elandra asked, not expecting an answer from him.
"That's why instead of training my students with those relics I use my power to train them through hard work. That's why the Stormhaven dynasty has always produced top tier Chronarchs and Scriptweavers." Elandra boasted.
"Is that why Lady Cresta is that strong already yet she is the same age as I am?" Ethan asked.
" Yes. That's one of the reasons why." Elandra said.
"Then what are the other reasons?" Ethan asked.
"Our main bloodline—the dragon bloodline. The most powerful bloodline the world has ever had. A bloodline which doesn't carry just one affinity but six affinities." Elandra said firmly.
"Six affinities?" Ethan asked in shock.
"Yes. Six. The affinities are of ice, light, darkness, time, space and dimensions and ultimate of them all said to be the lightning. It's said that the one who possesses the lightning after achieving its ultimate form could control some portion of time, light, darkness, space and dimension. Yet I haven't seen anyone possess the lightning affinity with all those affinities yet." Elandra explained further.
" Really?" Ethan asked.
" Yes and I have a fusion of two of those affinities. Space-time affinity." Elandra said again. "That's what I use in training my students. With the help of a powerful bloodline, a Chronarch or a Scriptweaver is able to surpass levels they wouldn't have been able to surpass with their normal life span."
" The phoenix bloodline only has only one affinity known as the ultimate flames." Elandra explained. " They aren't actually a part of our family but since some of the past and present members of the Stormhaven Dynasty married into the Phoenixflare Dynasty a hybrid bloodline was also formed. That bloodline is the Dragon-phoenix bloodline." Elandra said.
" Ok." Ethan responded.
" Now, I'd like us to start your training right away. You already wasted two days of your holidays. The remaining five days are going to feel almost like fifty days to you." Elandra said with a cold expression.
"Should I tell her about my Lexicon?" Ethan thought and looked at Elandra with a scared face.
"About my Lexicon…"
" Don't try telling me you haven't awakened your Lexicon. No one can have the third key with having the lightning Lexicon. Moreover, don't you forget that I'm Shawn Stormhaven's mother." Elandra said as if it was a joke.
" Huh?! You're joking right?" Ethan asked jokingly.
"You're just as they had described you. You never change even after I told you I was their mother." Elandra said with an angry look.
" I'm very sorry, grandmother. But you looked younger than I expected so I thought you were Lady Cresta's mother." Ethan said as he got down on his knees to apologise.
"Huh? You will start your training now. You'll be training your senses for now. Deadly weapons will be thrown at you from any direction; you'll have to be able to sense them and evade them to avoid your own death." Elandra said as she stood up from the couch she sat in with Ethan still kneeling.
"Own death?" Ethan's question was answered in a rather unexpected way as Elandra just stood watching her.
"The Silent Hour." Elandra said with and flicked her finger towards Ethan sending a black bubble towards him.
The instant the black bubble touched Ethan's body, he got enveloped in a black space which he couldn't measure how large the space was.
"Remember don't leak any of your lumaflux or else there will be a barrage of attacks." Elandra warned.
* * *
" What's this?" Ethan forced himself to see in the dark surroundings all to no avail.
Not even a single ray of light could be seen and then came the bad news.
Whsskk
Something had been shot at him. He could hear the sound but he couldn't perceive the actual direction it was coming from. The next second a dagger pierced him in the back.
"Ow. That hurts." Ethan complained as the pain was unbearable to him. "I guess this is not going to be easy."
Ethan stood still waiting for another sound but the attack had long struck him as another dagger had already pierced his thigh.
"Aaargghh! Ow…ow…ow." Ethan cried.
" You have to concentrate. You have to sense with your whole body the whole environment around and not by eyes or ears only. Sense the energy around you and that will help you perceive the incoming danger." Ethan heard Amatsurai say in head.
"My whole body?" Ethan asked.
" Yes." Amatsurai responded.
" I see." Ethan said as he closed his eyes and concentrated.
Another attack came and pierced his arms and another his right leg and another the left leg.
Whsskk
Another attack came in and without having to hear the sound first, Ethan had been able to move even before his ear could hear the sound of the dagger successfully evading the dagger easily.
Then two daggers flew in, increasing the difficulty of the training. But now that Ethan had come to understand more about his surroundings and the energy around him he continued dodging each of the daggers easily without sustaining any injuries.
* * *
After what felt about three hours to Ethan the numbers of the daggers seemed to have reduced to ten daggers at a time but the speed with which it flew in was incredible that Ethan had now run out of energy and was now weak with his body feeling heavier than he could move.
"I'm tired." Ethan said now unable to move at all.
To his surprise the domain around him shattered instantly and he was back in the grand hall again with Elandra staring down at him.
" See, how battered you look. You've done well being able to withstand these attacks for three (3) minutes and forty (45) seconds." Elandra praised.
" Huh? That can't be right. I've been in that dark domain for over three hours. You're telling me three minutes and forty five seconds? You are joking right?" Ethan asked in shock.
" I'm shocked how an injured person can talk this much. But it's incredible how you were able to tell time in that domain. Under normal circumstances you'll lose your sense of being able to recognise time yet you still did. Actually you're the third person who has been able to be in that domain for over three minutes and not have grave injuries." Elandra explained.
" You're still saying three minutes?" Ethan asked.
" Yes. That's the ability I was talking about." Elandra said. " In reality you've spent only three minutes but in the domain, time is prolonged. That's how I train my students. You can rest, we will continue the training later in the day."
" I see…" Ethan passed out before he could finish his sentence.
Elandra called a butler and some maids and ordered them to take care of Ethan before leaving the grand hall.
***
"Well, he is doing quite better than I expected." Elandra said standing by Cresta in a library.
" I guess so?" Cresta replied.
" You seem tense. What is the reason?" Elandra asked.
"I'm very sorry I couldn't fulfill my mission." Cresta apologised.
"So that's the reason why. Don't worry it was a mere accident, but still be more vigilant next time." Elandra advised.
" Thank you." Cresta said.
" Do you think he has the potential to become the real heart of the house instead of you?" Elandra asked.
" I don't know if that is yet. Moreover, I'm just acting as the next leader of the family for the return of the actual leader." Cresta explained.
"Yes. It's true." Elandra said.