The clearing breathed around them: salt wind, soft grass, the distant heartbeat of waves against the cliffside. It felt detached from the rest of the academy, like a hidden pocket of stillness carved out just for them. Even the Duel Spirits seemed to settle here. Watapon drifted through the tall grass like a dandelion seed, Petit Dragon circled an old tree twice before roosting on a branch, Happy Lover hovered near Alexis as if sensing her shifting emotions.
Julian took it all in with a slow inhale. This really is the right place.
Jaden bounced once on his heels. "Okay! Since everyone's here… welcome to Slifer Red's most classified top-secret deluxe training grounds!" He extended both arms dramatically toward the empty air as Winged Egg of New Life chirped approvingly behind him.
Jasmine snorted. "It's just a field."
"It is the field." Jaden corrected. "And trust me, it loves us back."
Before anyone could question what that meant, a faint shimmer flickered beside Jaden: soft, warm, familiar. Winged Kuriboh appeared with a quiet pip, orbiting lazily around him like a tiny star.
Syrus nearly jumped out of his shoes. "H-hey! It's Winged Kuriboh!"
Alexis blinked. "I still don't understand how he just… materializes like that."
"Because he's my buddy." Jaden said cheerfully, reaching up to boop Kuriboh's nose. "And he likes this place too."
Bastion tilted his head. "He responds to spiritual stimuli, then. A Partner Spirit."
Syrus looked between Jaden and Julian uncertainly. "So… is he like your Ka?"
Jaden froze in place, then laughed.
"Whoa, no! Winged Kuriboh isn't my Ka. That'd be super weird. He's himself. A friend. My partner."
Julian nodded in agreement. "A Ka is your soul made into shape. Your deepest self. A partner is a separate entity. They choose to stand with you."
"Oh." Mindy said slowly. "So Ka equals… soul monster? And a partner is like the monster equivalent of a best friend?"
"That's… actually not wrong. More like a reflection of your deepest self, though." Julian admitted.
Winged Kuriboh let out another soft chirp, as if proud of her.
Jasmine folded her arms. "Alright then, if Winged Kuriboh isn't your Ka… why haven't you manifested one?"
The breeze stilled. Even the spirits paused, drifting closer as if they sensed the weight of the question.
Jaden rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… because Koyo told me not to."
That earned a different reaction. Not shock, but something close to reverent hesitation. They all knew Koyo Hibiki was Jaden's mentor. Everyone in the academy knew. But hearing Jaden say his name so casually, in this context, made the air shift.
"Your mentor specifically instructed you against it?" Bastion asked, voice respectful. "From someone of his caliber, that's… meaningful."
"Yeah." Jaden's voice softened. "He said my Ka would be too strong for me as a kid. Too wild. Too unfiltered. He didn't want me trying until he could guide me through it."
"And now?" Mindy asked gently.
"Now he's asleep." Jaden said, avoiding the use of the C-word. He did not appear to be sad, just plainly sincere in a uniquely Jaden way of being. "And even though I want to do it… I feel like… I shouldn't. At least not until he wakes up. It was important to him, so I want him to be there with me."
Winged Kuriboh brushed Jaden's cheek with one tiny wing, comforting.
Julian watched quietly. He remembered flashes. Not memories of this life, but of a life before, the one he could never confess:
Jaden laughing in the face of world-ending spirits. Him containing a shadow capable of devouring worlds. Fusing himself with the very essence of a being like Yubel, an existence so powerful and volatile it could tear souls apart.
If that was what slept inside Jaden, if that was his Ka… Then Koyo Hibiki's caution was not just wisdom. It was mercy.
'Waiting is the safest thing he could do.' Julian thought.
Aloud, he only said: "You're honoring him. That matters."
Jaden's smile returned, softer now. "Besides… it's not like I'm alone."
Winged Kuriboh floated upward as if summoned by the words, bumping affectionately against Jaden's cheek.
Mindy tilted her head. "So how did you two meet? Was it like Julian and the Reject Well spirits?"
"Nope!" Jaden said brightly. "Totally different story."
Bastion raised a brow. "Different how?"
"Well…" Jaden rubbed the back of his neck. "Winged Kuriboh used to be Koyo's partner. Before he got sick."
That landed heavier than expected. Alexis's breath caught. Jasmine blinked. Syrus made a tiny sound of awe.
"So he entrusted Winged Kuriboh to you?" Bastion asked.
"Kinda!" Jaden said. "He asked Kuriboh to watch over me years ago. And Kuriboh… just never left."
Mindy blinked slowly. "So… was he Koyo's Ka?"
Jaden froze like he'd never considered that before. His eyes widened. Not with fear, but something gentler. Something almost hopeful.
Julian stepped in before the thought could settle too deeply. "Probably not."
Jaden looked at him, expression flickering with something raw. Julian held his gaze. "Ka are reflections of the soul, while partners choose us. For all that you told me about the two of them, the second seems to be the case."
For a second, Jaden looked relieved, but a bit disappointed. Like the concept of a real part of his mentor's soul being at his side the entire journey was a marvel to behold.
Before the emotion could deepen, Winged Kuriboh twirled once in the air, chirping a firm and decisive "Kuri, kuri!"
Jaden blinked. "…Really?"
Another kuri, equally emphatic.
"What did he say?" Syrus whispered.
"That he wasn't Koyo's Ka." Jaden translated softly. "Just his partner. And before that… he belonged to someone else entirely. Someone who asked him to look after Koyo. And then Koyo asked him to look after me."
A hush fell over the group.
It wasn't heavy. Nor sad. It was… warm. Threaded with quiet meaning.
"So there's a whole chain." Jasmine murmured. "A lineage."
"A legacy." Bastion corrected, voice gentle.
Julian froze. Not outwardly, no one looking at him would see anything more than a thoughtful pause. But inside, something cold and electric threaded down his spine.
A lineage…?
Winged Kuriboh. Koyo Hibiki. Coming from someone else entirely. The idea struck him like a chord plucked in perfect resonance.
No way… right?
Because in the anime he remembered. The world where he'd watched all these events play out before he ever lived them… Winged Kuriboh's first partner wasn't some nameless spirit-adept, nor the previous world champion.
It was Yugi. Mutou Yugi, The King of Games. Partner to the Pharaoh. The duelist who stood at the center of a millennium of fate.
A lineage from Yugi, to Koyo… and finally to Jaden?
The thought was absurd, but… it was terrifyingly plausible. He felt Nightmare-Eyes stir faintly beneath his skin, sensing the spike of tension.
So that's also the case here? A mirror close enough to touch the real? Close enough that legacies echoed through different lives, different timelines, different incarnations?
He swallowed, the wind brushing past him like a whisper.
If Winged Kuriboh belonged to Yugi originally, and was passed not on a whim like in the anime, but as a proper guardian to someone with potential that really would need it help… Then Jaden was even more special that he already was.
Julian forced his breathing steady again.
No one noticed the momentary stillness. No one noticed his eyes shift, just barely.
And the thought… That impossible, dangerous thought settled at the back of his mind like a seed he could not unthink.
Winged Kuriboh drifted back to Jaden's other shoulder, nestling there like a small, steadfast guardian.
Jaden let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding: oft, grateful, almost reverent.
The moment held, brief but luminous, before the wind stirred again and the clearing resumed its quiet rhythm around them.
Alexis exhaled slowly. "So… before we get ahead of ourselves… how do we even begin?"
Julian stepped forward, letting the wind slide over his skin, letting his inner sense open just slightly. Nightmare-Eyes stirred within him: a deep, slow coil of awareness, calm but powerful.
"We start…" Julian said. "By learning to feel your Ba."
"The Ba." Bastion repeated, thoughtful. "Our internal spiritual reservoir."
"Yep!" Jaden said. "And everyone's is a little different. Like a fingerprint, but glowy."
Julian allowed a small smile. "That's… a trademark Jaden way to put it. But not inaccurate."
He motioned for them to form a loose circle. "Your Ba is part of your soul. The way you connect to it depends on who you are. Some people approach it by listening. Letting it come to them."
"Passive sensing." Bastion murmured, already cataloguing.
"Others…" Julian continued, "Approach it forcefully. Actively. They chase it. Pull it toward them."
Syrus blinked. "So which one is better?"
"Neither." Jaden said immediately. "It's like duel styles. Some people swarm. Some people control. All that matters is: does it work for you?"
Julian nodded. "Jaden uses an active method. He chases his Ba like it's a game of tag."
Jaden grinned, fully unashamed. "And eventually it lets me catch it!"
Julian added, "For him, urgency becomes clarity."
"And you?" Alexis asked.
Julian inhaled once. The breeze pushed gently at the tall grass, bending it in waves.
"I quiet everything that isn't the Ba." he said. "I remove noise, distraction, emotion, thoughts… Everything is thrown as fuel to the flame, until only one thing remains."
Jasmine stared. "You… erase everything else?"
"I make space for it." he corrected gently. "All worries, fears and obstacles disappear, and only when I'm in that perfect clarity, the answer reveals itself. When the world inside me goes still, the only thing left is unmistakable."
He didn't explain why that mattered for someone whose nature was Illusion. That silence was the only way to avoid drowning in phantom images, and any other noise would make impossible to differentiate the myriad of forms his essence could take on. He didn't explain the danger in too much chaos within a soul like his. They didn't need to know.
Bastion tapped his chin. "So some pursue by force, others by emptiness. Both seem… metaphysically reasonable."
Jaden beamed. "Exactly! Everyone's different. That's what makes this fun!"
"What matters is that the Ba is part of your soul. And your soul behaves like you do. Jaden chases, I refine. One of you may listen. Another may coax, or command, or follow. Finding your own method and your own vibe is paramount."
Alexis looked at her hands: determined, frustrated and hopeful all at once.
"Exactly." Jaden spread his arms wide. "So! We try all of them. See what sticks."
Mindy raised a hand tentatively, almost afraid. "Um… what if nothing sticks?"
Julian met her eyes. "Something always does. Because your Ba is you. You're not summoning something foreign. You're recognizing something familiar."
Winged Kuriboh fluttered into the center of the circle, turning a slow spiral. The spirits of the Well drifted closer. Watapon spinning like a cotton ball caught in the wind, Petit Dragon perched atop Bastion's head, Haniwa appearing silently at Alexis's heel like a clay guardian.
"See?" Jaden said. "They're already helping."
"It's because the place is calm." Jasmine murmured. "Like it's easier to breathe here."
Julian nodded. "That's why we start with sensation. Close your eyes. Breathe. Then…"
He lifted his hand slightly.
"…Listen."
Jaden didn't speak loudly. He didn't raise his voice. He simply let the word be.
But as it left him, something else left with it. A flare.
Not a visible light, not a ripple in the air… but a concentrated burst of soul-pressure that rolled across the clearing like the echo of a heartbeat too large for human ribs.
Julian felt it hit him before he even processed what it was.
A warmth, a pull. A command, not intentional, but instinctive, the spiritual equivalent of gravity asserting itself. And for an instant, Julian was no longer in the clearing.
He was inside himself. Or rather, inside the space inside himself.
A vast, dark expanse. Empty. Silent. In a grey-scaled shape of his own training ground.
And in the middle of it, in place of the Ba he usually coaxed into clarity, a flame burned. Not his. Not the cold, meticulous stillness he crafted from discipline.
This was bright, fierce, joyful. Jaden's flame.
And what struck him hardest, what made something cold bloom low in his stomach… was the sheer scale of it.
Julian had grown stronger. Much stronger. The continual assimilation of Jinzo's energy had expanded his reserves, sharpened his senses, thickened the weight of his aura until he could feel it humming at the edge of his skin even now.
By all rights, he was operating several tiers above a normal first-year would muster if trained. Honestly, above even most third-years.
And yet… Standing before the flare of Jaden's spirit, he felt like a candle staring into a star. Not a difference of degree, but of nature.
Gentle Darkness or not, destiny or not, whatever force slept inside Jaden was vast enough that even at rest it eclipsed Julian completely.
'If this is him barely trying…' Julian thought, awe and unease braided tightly together. 'What happens when he learns how to truly use it?'
Julian breathed in sharply as the world snapped back around him.
The wind, the grass. The students sitting in a loose circle.
All of them already falling naturally into the meditative exercise, pulled into stillness by the resonance of Jaden's flare even though they had no idea what had just happened.
Even the spirits of the Well had gone quiet, drifting like petals on a slow current.
Julian blinked once, twice, grounding himself.
That wasn't deliberate, it wasn't an attack or an attempt to dominate. It was simply who Jaden was. A spiritual giant who didn't yet know he towered over mountains.
Julian shook his head slowly, still feeling the phantom heat of the flare under his skin.
He leaned sideways toward Jaden and whispered, voice dry: "You know… when you tell someone to listen, maybe don't shout it with your soul."
Jaden blinked at him, confused. "Huh?"
Julian raised a brow. "That flare was strong enough to yank me under with the others. You ordered the room to meditate, Jaden. Including me."
Jaden's eyes widened in delayed realization. "Wait, seriously?! I didn't mean to…"
"Oh, I know." Julian smirked. "Which is what makes it even worse."
Jaden scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Sorry…?"
Julian exhaled, half-laugh, half-sigh. "Don't apologize for having power, mate. Just get better at aiming it."
Winged Kuriboh bobbed apologetically over Jaden's shoulder, as if offering its own tiny sorry.
Julian waved it off with one hand.
"It's fine," he said. "Just… warn me next time you plan on spiritually punting me into my own subconscious."
Jaden snorted. Quiet, trying not to disturb the others, but undeniably delighted.
And his attention could finally turn into the others and their own path and evolution.
Jaden's flare settled over the clearing like a warm tide, lingering even after the force of it had withdrawn. The entire group was in a profound trance. Julian inhaled slowly, centering himself once more, letting the echo of that brightness dissolve. And when he opened his senses, he did it not with the eyes of his body, but in that quiet inner aperture he had learned to carve open, his Ba expanding outward in a clean, neutral wave.
Not an attack or a push. Not even a suggestion. Just a steady presence.
Nightmare-Eyes stirred beneath the surface of his consciousness, awakening like a great beast stretching its limbs, curious rather than hungry. A ribbon of cool, shadow-laced perception unfurled from Julian's center, overlaying the brightness of his Ba with a second layer. Something deeper, sharper, capable of parsing meaning as much as feeling.
And then he felt them. All of them. As distinct as different chords in an instrument.
When Julian widened his awareness, Nightmare-Eyes did not simply "sense" the others.It entered the architecture of their meditation.
Not intrusively. Its nature right now was not one of domination but decoding. Meaning came to it like gravity to mass. Where Julian's Ba brushed each aura, Nightmare-Eyes slipped deeper, perceiving the structure beneath the feeling.
Syrus's insecurity wasn't merely trembling energy. It appeared in Julian's mind as a half-formed spiral, rotating inward, momentum wasted by self-collapse.
Bastion's overthinking wasn't just rigidity. It became an overlaid lattice of equations, some correct, some misapplied, all preventing the natural flow from slipping through the gaps.
Mindy's buoyant warmth appeared as a softly inflating sphere, unfocused, drifting without anchor.
Jasmine's calmness took the shape of settled sediment, evenly distributed, able to support weight but hesitant to rise.
Alexis… Alexis was a taut wire vibrating past its limit: too sharp, too forced, the emotional equivalent of a violin string one twist away from snapping. Her aura strained forward and inward at the same time, collapsing under its own urgency. She was a stormfront, pressure gradients pulling in multiple directions, the visualization so intense Julian felt the ache of it behind his eyes.
And Jaden, even without meditating… A bright wildfire, now held in a loose leash of self-control so he didn't accidentally launch the entire group back by simply existing too strongly.
Nightmare-Eyes parsed it all rapidly, breaking each spiritual signature down into tendencies, vectors, pressure points, bottlenecks.
Not with words. With truth.
Julian exhaled. "Alright. Let's sort this out."
The two of them worked as the one entity they actually were. Julian received the translated impressions like sketches drawn on the inside of his skull. Clean, elegant diagrams made of instinct and essence rather than ink. With the proper alignments, Julian proposed corrections, informing his partner to convey the intel in the best of his abilities.
"Here." Nightmare-Eyes suggested without speech, nudging the image of Bastion's lattice so that one misaligned "equation" flickered.
"There…" In Syrus's inward spiral, a point where momentum could be redirected outward with the smallest pulse of confidence.
"Find buoyancy, navigate your internal sea." In Mindy's drifting sphere, indicating where stability could partially replace wandering with some degree of control.
"A bit more weight here, pile it up." in Jasmine's sediment, showing how grounding could be harnessed, not only expressed.
And in Alexis… Nightmare-Eyes showed not a fix, but a truth: that the pressure had to decompress before any correction could hold.
Julian inhaled. He understood. All of it.
But knowing the problem wasn't the same as communicating the solution. They were too deep in meditation to hear him. If he spoke, it would be muffled noise. Even Nightmare-Eyes's voice appeared to not be enough.
So he used flare instead.
Not Jaden's overwhelming blaze, but the opposite:
A thin, precise filament of Ba, threaded outward like a single line of ink across water. Nightmare-Eyes aligned with him, refining the signal so that what he projected carried shape, not force.
When this filament touched Syrus's inward spiral, it vibrated. Subtly, delicately, and the spiral loosened, cracking the self-imposed inward drag. Syrus didn't think. 'Julian helped me.'
Instead, the shift manifested as: 'Oh… maybe if I let it out just a little…' His own mind, his own "insight."
Mindy's drifting sphere tightened slightly when Julian's filament traced across its outer layer.
'Right… focus. Concentrate.' Her "idea."
Jasmine's grounding sediment compressed gently where Julian nudged it, not suppressing it but giving it contour.
'So that's the direction… steady, but not static.' Her "understanding."
Bastion's lattice… Julian didn't undo it; he only marked one misaligned line, like tapping a formula on a chalkboard. Bastion's mind seized the correction instantly.
'Of course. This rule doesn't apply here. Spiritual flow is non-discrete…' His "epiphany."
And Alexis…
Julian's Ba brushed her storm gently. Not with instruction, but with permission.
She's not listening, Julian realized. Or rather… She's listening to the wrong thing.
Emotion, not instruction. Fear feeding pressure. Pressure feeding urgency. Urgency strangling flow.
He shifted the tone of his aura slightly. Less directional, more soothing. Not softness, but space.
But the flare Jaden had used was still echoing in her, amplifying latent drive she wasn't ready to metabolize.
He lowered his energy even further, making his Ba broader instead of sharper. Still no effect.
'Not yet. She needs time.' He decided.
She wasn't failing. She was overclocking.
Nightmare-Eyes pulsed in agreement. A deep, silent rumble inside his spiritual field. The beast's nature was information, comprehension, disassembly into truth. And it offered him silent feedback: fragmented impressions of each aura, parsed like diagrams only he could read.
With time and patience, some success was made. The pressure didn't break, but it ceased tightening. Enough for her to breathe.
'Maybe… slow down first…' Not a breakthrough, but the first correct step. One of her own accord.
Julian felt their adjustments ripple back toward him once more. Tiny harmonics of spiritual alignment, absorbed in real time by a Nightmare-Eyes that updated and refined the diagrams in his mind in real time until the clearing around him felt like a map of several developing souls, each gradually shifting toward coherence.
Jaden sensed it happening even before anyone woke. Julian saw his realization flicker across his aura.
"You're doing half my job." Jaden whispered, amused.
Julian didn't deny it. Nightmare-Eyes purred with quiet satisfaction beneath his skin.
He didn't open his eyes. "I'm not trying to. They just need fine-tuning."
"Yeah, but that's the thing. Most people can't 'fine-tune' someone else's Ba, even by accident." Jaden murmured.
Julian smirked softly. "Well, not everyone is a human spiritual bazooka. Some of us need to show excellence in other areas."
Jaden snorted… and then, muttered something under his breath. Something so quiet no human would hear it. "…It's not like what you're doing is normal either. One week of training and you're more precise than I am. And it's not like I've been the best teacher."
The words weren't accusatory. They weren't self-deprecating, just honest.
And Julian felt them. He felt the warmth, the earnestness, the complicated tangle of admiration and guilt and pride. Nightmare-Eyes caught the sound like a whisper through fabric, translating it perfectly.
Julian didn't answer. He didn't need to.
He simply let his Ba radiate quiet reassurance. His way of saying 'You're doing fine. Better than fine.'
Then he refocused in the rest of the group once more. Mindy's Ba fluttered again, this time steadier. Good.
He sent a pulse. Acknowledgment, encouragement… and Mindy unconsciously aligned to it, her aura smoothing in shape and tone.
Jasmine deepened even further, like a stone settling into its proper place. Julian smiled faintly. She would likely excel in shielding work once trained properly.
Bastion fought himself for a moment. Julian could feel the gears grinding in his aura as instinct and logic wrestled for dominance. But then, slowly, a new pulse escaped him: Less structured, more natural. Still logical, but in a different wavelength to his usual train of thought. 'Like the realm of complex numbers for math.' he remembered, recalling a previous conversation the two of them had in the week before. Julian nudged that instinct, and Bastion responded.
Syrus… His advancement was the gentlest to adjust.
Julian enveloped him in a neutral cushion of Ba. A silent permission.
You can, you may. You're allowed. And Syrus's aura quivered, gained momentum and finally extended outward in the faintest ribbon, no thicker than a breath.
For him? That was enormous.
Alexis, once again, returned to her state of overdrive. Her energy was a storm trapped in a cage. When Julian touched her Ba again, it jolted like static. Sharp, frustrated, panicked beneath the surface. Pushing outward too fast, contracting too fast. Like someone drowning in urgency.
He softened his Ba further, reminding in the flare of his imprint of the lesson she already grasped before. A silent, but strong reminder through his spiritual field.
She resisted it a firsrt. Not him, but herself. Still, he gave her space. Her own desperation in being good, in achieving the necessary level to bring her brother back was her downfall…
Sometimes presence was the lesson. Sometimes failure was preparation. It looked like her path would have to be the hardest.
Time stretched. The breeze moved.
The spirits drifted lazily, wings and ribbons of light passing through grass. The clearing hummed quietly with the chorus of six souls learning to speak their own language.
Julian stood in the center of it all, neutral and steady, calibrating constantly. Tightening an instinct here, widening an aperture there, cooling excess heat, softening excess fear, trimming the jagged edges of overthinking, reinforcing the roots of confidence when they surfaced.
And gradually, one by one, they stabilized.
Not perfectly, not fully, but enough that each of their Ba signatures finally began to shine in their true shape instead of the frantic, uncertain noise from earlier.
Jaden eventually whispered, "Okay… I think they're ready."
Julian exhaled softly, letting his aura retract to a quiet glow rather than an active guide.
"Most of them, at least." he retorted, looking with affection and pity to the dark blonde girl.
One by one, the students stirred.
Not abruptly, more like surfacing from warm water, the world bleeding slowly into shape as the breeze pulled at their hair and the sound of distant waves rethreaded itself into awareness. Eyes fluttered open. Shoulders shifted. Someone exhaled a breath they didn't remember holding.
Jasmine blinked first. Then Mindy. Syrus stirred with a small choke, confused, like he'd woken from a nap he didn't mean to take. Bastion came out of meditation as though clicking out of a calculation window, blinking at the sudden light. And Alexis… Alexis opened her eyes sharply, tense, almost startled, like she'd been yanked back from a dead sprint.
Julian took in the collective expressions. And then he checked the time.
"…Huh."
"What?" Jaden leaned over his shoulder.
Julian tilted the DuelPad for everyone to see. Alexis's eyebrows shot up. Mindy's jaw dropped. Syrus let out a tiny squeak. Even Bastion made a noise not normally found on his usual measured behaviour.
"Two hours?" Jasmine sputtered. "There is no way…"
Julian lifted a hand. "I assure you, there was indeed a way."
Jaden grinned, hands behind his head. "Told you this place has good vibes."
"Good vibes…" Julian echoed dryly, "Is one way to describe kidnapping our consciousness."
Jaden scoffed. "Hey, you were the one guiding everybody inside the trance."
"I was correcting your metaphysical mess, matee." Julian countered. "You were the one who punted me into my own subconscious."
Syrus blinked. "Wait… wait, guiding? What do you mean guiding? Our insights… those moments where things suddenly clicked…"
"... felt organic." Jasmine added. "Like we figured it out ourselves."
"Yeah." Mindy agreed. "Like they came from inside."
Julian gave Jaden a look. Jaden made a face like don't-pin-this-on-me.
"Well." Julian said, rubbing the back of his neck. "That would technically be me."
Five heads snapped toward him.
"You?!" Alexis demanded, leaning forward. "How?!"
Julian lifted both hands, surrendering. "Relax. I didn't go snooping inside anyone's head. Nightmare-Eyes just… sees patterns. You all left spiritual footprints big enough to read once you stopped resisting your Ba. And once I understood the patterns, I could notice what each and every one of you needed and well… nudged."
"Nudged." Bastion repeated, incredulous. "Are you telling us that what felt like internally generated theoretical revelations were actually…"
"Julian's cold and calculated conclusions." Mindy supplied.
Julian shrugged. "Shared custody."
Alexis stared. Her lips parted, closed, then parted again. He wasn't sure if she was pissed at him of at herself. In his mind, the words shouted without him even extending his mind to grasp. 'You're telling me my breakthrough wasn't even mine?'
"Oh no, that one was definitely yours." Julian said quickly. "I just… Helped you stop strangling your own Ba long enough to have it. And you needed the calm and clear mind to hear my intent and follow its line."
Alexis flushed, clearly considering that her question was obvious due to her face, ignoring the influence of the nature of his Ka. She turned away with a huff that wasn't fooling anyone.
Jaden clapped his hands sharply. "Okay! That's enough mental Olympics for one day."
"What?" Syrus whined. "We just started!"
"You just meditated for two hours, buddy. That's enough for your first day."
Syrus froze. "…Oh."
"We should stop here for today." Jaden continued. "You guys made a ton of progress, Julian's puppeteer bit made you take about three days of progress in a couple hours. But pushing past this point when your Ba isn't conditioned yet? That's how you puke on the astral."
Julian exhaled, amused, but he caught the flicker in Alexis's gaze. The thin thread of urgency tightening again, the impatience under her skin. So, he stepped in before she could unravel herself further.
"We're stopping." Julian said gently. "But that doesn't mean we're done." He lifted his DuelPad again, turning it so all could see the time once more.
"Look. It's almost evening. Nobody realizes how draining Ba work is until the bill arrives. Remember what happened to me when I got spent. I guarantee, you don't want that happening to you." His eyes were directly looking at Alexis when he said that.
"But since I can already feel Alexis trying to argue with the laws of metaphysics…" He glanced at her, smiling faintly when she bristled but didn't deny it. "We can cover theory for today. No more spiritual exertion."
Relief, mixed with frustration, mixed with relief again. It was quite a reaction that crossed Alexis's face.
Bastion straightened eagerly. "A theoretical framework would be quite useful, actually."
Mindy nodded. "Yeah… I mean, I still don't totally understand what we're doing when we do it."
"And what else we can do." Jasmine added.
Julian gestured for them to gather in a semicircle.
"Alright. Crash course. Ba 101. No practical application until tomorrow, but the concepts will help you understand what's coming."
Jaden plopped onto the grass like a pleased cat. "Oh boy, here we go. Julian-lecture mode."
"Better than 'do the thing with the thing' and 'feel that way and go boom', dude." Julian pointed, to which Jaden just laughed.
"Let's start simple." He touched the air in front of him with two fingers, flicking lightly. A faint ripple of Ba flared. Barely visible, but perceptible as pressure.
"You've already learned the first ability: sensing. Feeling other auras, recognizing emotional texture, spatial presence, intensity."
Syrus nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Like… I could feel Alexis was… kinda stormy."
"Rude." Alexis muttered.
"But accurate." Jasmine said.
Julian continued. "That's instinctive. You don't need to teach a baby how to see or hear. It's a sense. But you can refine it, learn how to look for stuff you're searching for in an effective way. How to extend and refine those senses so they yield better responses passively, like the reflex of an F1 driver. Being able to perceive danger before contacting it could be the difference between leaving a dangerous place or properly getting reinforcements and getting trapped into a harsh situation. It's also useful as a social thing, as people's aura usually mirrors their inner feelings."
Jasmine tilted her head. "So, like emotional intuition, but… dialed up?"
"Not intuition." Julian corrected. "Resolution. Think of it as switching from standard definition to 4K or 8K. You're not guessing what someone feels. You're seeing it, translated through their Ba."
"That sounds like cheating." Mindy whispered, half-impressed, half-concerned.
Julian shrugged. "Only if you use it to cheat. Mostly, it's for safety. Spirits, duelists… everyone has a signature. Learning to read it means learning when something's wrong before the 'wrong' bites you."
Syrus raised a tentative hand. "So… is that why I felt like my stomach dropped when we were walking up the ridge earlier? Because Alexis was… uh—stormy?"
Alexis shot him a glare hot enough to boil water for the repeated comment.
Syrus flailed. "N-no! I mean… emotionally stormy! Not stormy-stormy! Like… not violent! Uh… not that you couldn't be violent if you wanted to! I mean…"
"Dig deeper, Syrus." Jasmine advised.
Julian sighed sympathetically. "He meant well. And yes, that's part of it. You weren't reading the emotion itself, but the pressure of her Ba. That kind of intensity broadcasts. Most duelists do it unconsciously."
"That's why Zane feels like a glacial planet with a ring of knives orbiting it when he's dueling?" Mindy said thoughtfully.
"That's… surprisingly accurate. You would call it a 'game-face'." Julian admitted.
Bastion adjusted his glasses. "Is auras mirroring emotion a one-to-one relationship? Or is it interpretive? Could two people perceive the same aura differently?"
"Good question." Julian said. "From what I noticed, it's both. The aura is objective. But your interpretation can vary based on your own Ba affinity. For example: Jaden reads people through light. I read them through tension patterns. Jasmine might pick up emotional sharpness. You…" he pointed at Bastion "... probably register aura shifts like… data anomalies or something."
"I do." Bastion murmured, startled that Julian had nailed it so precisely.
Julian continued. "But here's the important part: sensing isn't just about people. It's about spaces. Locations. Atmospheres. Danger has a signature. Peace has a signature. Trauma leaves fingerprints that linger for years if undisturbed."
Alexis's grip tightened around her arm.
Julian caught it but didn't call it out, his voice only softened slightly. "That's why this matters. Sometimes you don't have time to analyze. Sometimes you only have a heartbeat's warning before something snaps."
Jaden chimed in for the first time, lounging back on his elbows. "Think of it like duel instincts turned up to eleven. You know that feeling right before your opponent springs a trap? Same thing, but for… life."
Mindy raised her hand halfway. "Can it tell when someone's lying?"
Everyone turned to Julian.
He hesitated. Then: "Yes. And no."
Jasmine arched a brow. "Cryptic."
"Auras don't change for lies." Julian explained. "They change for emotion. Shame, guilt, fear, confidence, excitement. If someone lies but doesn't care about the lie, nothing shifts. If someone tells the truth but feels anxious, their aura spikes even though they're being honest."
"So it's like… reading the heart, not the words." Mindy said quietly.
"Exactly."
Syrus leaned forward, earnest. "And the more we train sensing, the more… precise it gets?"
Julian nodded. "Eventually you'll feel footsteps before they land. You'll know someone's mood before they speak. You'll pick up danger before it arrives."
He glanced instinctively toward Jaden.
"And some people, like the insane prodigy here, can sense someone's potential before they ever duel."
Jaden grinned like a cat caught with feathers in its mouth. "Not my fault people shine."
Alexis folded her arms. "And the drawback?"
Julian blinked. "Drawback?"
She leveled him with a look. "Everything has a drawback."
Julian sighed. "Fair enough. Oversensitivity. If you don't learn control, strong emotions, yours or someone else's, can overwhelm you. Crowds become exhausting, if you don't know how to narrow the flow of information. Anger becomes radioactive. It's like having every emotional volume knob in the world turned to max."
Mindy winced. "That sounds awful."
"It can be." Julian agreed. "Getting a flashbang on your face is also bad. But with practice, you learn to filter at the same time you get better in sensing, so it's always balanced. You narrow your senses to what matters. You'll get there."
Alexis absorbed this, something steely settling behind her eyes. Not desperation this time, but focus. Julian exhaled inwardly. Good.
This was the version of her who would survive the places they needed to walk.
Bastion lifted a hand hesitantly. "One more question: can sensing ever be… active? As in, projecting a search outward instead of passively receiving?"
Julian smiled. "That's advanced. But yes. It's called extending your field. It was what I did to grasp your inner inner intel. We'll learn it later. For now, just let your Ba feel the world, not push at it."
Jaden nodded sagely. "Baby steps."
Syrus snorted. "Says the guy who throws people into their own subconscious."
"Hey." Jaden shrugged. "You survived."
"Not like it was your merit." Julian muttered.
Jaden shot him an unapologetic grin.
And despite everything, Julian returned it.
"Beyond sensing, there are several core skills everyone can develop. First: Shielding. A basic Ba barrier. This is what keeps you from being spiritually shoved around by aggressive entities. Or overly enthusiastic Slifer prodigies."
Jaden gave a guilty shrug.
"You won't manifest a strong one immediately." Julian said, "But you'll start conditioning the instinct for it tomorrow."
"Is it like putting up a wall?" Mindy asked, tentatively miming a little box around her face.
"More like putting up a selective barrier." Julian corrected. "A wall blocks everything. Shielding blocks only what your Ba recognizes as harmful. Ideally, it lets neutral or positive energy flow through."
"So… a filter?" Jasmine tried.
"A selective membrane." Bastion reinforced.
Julian nodded. "Exactly. Except instead of filtering liquids or data, it filters intent."
Alexis leaned forward slightly. "How does your Ba know what's harmful?"
"It learns." Julian replied. "Your Ba is you. It grows with you. At first, shielding will be clumsy. It'll be too weak to protect you, block too much or focus on the wrong thing. It might block harmless auras, or fail to block something subtle."
Syrus winced. "Like Jinzo?"
Julian paused. "Jinzo wasn't subtle. But yes, if you'd tried shielding without practice, your shield would be torn apart. You would've still gotten flattened."
"Like a pancake." Jaden echoed helpfully.
"Thank you, Jaden."
"Anytime, man."
Bastion raised a hand. "Is a shield always active? Or does it require conscious effort?"
"Both." Julian said. "A good shield is instinctive, but not constantly draining. Think of blinking. You don't think about doing it, but you can choose to blink on command."
"So you're saying shielding is… blinking with your soul." Syrus said slowly.
Jasmine patted him on the shoulder. "Sweetie, that's a bit bizarre."
Alexis frowned thoughtfully. "And once you learn it… it stays? You don't have to constantly retrain it?"
Julian hesitated, then nodded. "Yes and no. The basic instinct stays. But stronger shields require conditioning and intent, like building muscle memory. The more you practice sensing and stabilizing your Ba, the easier shielding becomes."
"So when you faced Jinzo…" Mindy ventured, "You had your shield up?"
Julian gave a small, sad smile. "Yes, but not on that level. Jinzo wasn't something a normal human-built shield could have stopped." said Julian, glaring at Jaden. The group remembered him ignoring completely the harmful spirit like he wasn't even there. "But my Ba reacted instinctively to keep me functional enough to fight back. So I got enough time to reinforce the shield and put up an active defense for myself and you all. And Nightmare-Eyes…" He exhaled. "Let's just say my partner eats danger for breakfast."
Watapon, perched on Julian's shoulder, squeaked proudly. Petit Dragon zipped in a circle like applauding.
Jaden casually translated: "They said he's being modest."
Julian elbowed him gently. "Stay out of my fan club."
"No promises."
"Wait…" Jasmine said slowly. "Active defense? That's… different from shielding?"
"Very." Julian replied. "Shielding is instinct. Reflexive. It's your Ba throwing its arms around your core and yelling 'duck!' Active defense is you making a conscious effort to protect yourself and parry the strike."
Mindy blinked. "Metaphysically?"
"Preferably."
Bastion leaned forward, fascinated. "So your Ba has both defensive and counteractive applications?"
Julian nodded. "Think of shielding as a passive perimeter. It absorbs impact, redirects force, keeps you upright. But active defense is when you push back with your Ba. When you don't just protect your spirit, but shape its response."
Alexis's eyes narrowed in thought. "Like stance versus parry."
"Yes," Julian said, pleased. "Exactly that. Shielding is stance, an active defense is a parry. They're related, but not the same."
Syrus raised a hand halfway. "So… you used both against Jinzo?"
Julian let out a breath. "I didn't have a choice. Jinzo's presence was so overwhelming that if I'd relied only on instinct, I would've collapsed before the duel even began. Shielding was necessary to buy me time to make the active defense. It kept me conscious. But the moment he started feeding on the arena, flaring his direct intent at me, the pressure was like..."
He hesitated. How to describe it without terrifying them?
"...like being in a burning room." he settled on. "Shielding keeps you from choking, but unless you push the flames back, they'll still close in."
Syrus paled.
Jaden, who had been quiet for once, nodded. "Yeah. Jinzo was a lot. Even for me."
"He was nothing to you." Julian muttered.
"Spiritually!" Jaden corrected. "Not physically! Physically he was… Okay, yeah, he was nothing. But spiritually he was loud."
Winged Kuriboh bobbed like he agreed.
Julian sighed. "Anyway. I didn't have the raw power to push Jinzo block Jinzo away from all of you. But Nightmare-Eyes did. So I lent my energy to him, and he extended it outward like… like a second skin, devouring Jinzo's intent and strengthening his own shield."
Mindy's eyes widened. "A shared shield?"
"Sort of." Julian said. "More like I became a bridge. Nightmare-Eyes took my active shield and layered his own over it. My Ba handled the human part of making the protection, his handled the monster-level threat and shaped it to protect all of you."
Jasmine looked thoughtful. "So without him…"
"I could protect myself, but not you guys. All of you would've collapsed." Julian finished simply. "I'm good, don't get me wrong. But I was faltering on energy and had only a week of training."
"That gave you a year of knowledge." Jaden pointed. "Wierdo!"
Julian laughed, but the group fell silent. Not fearful, but sobered.
Then Alexis spoke, voice low but steady. "So what you're saying is… shielding keeps you alive at the start, it buys you time to not faint. Active defense keeps you alive after things get really bad."
Julian met her gaze.
"Yes."
"And both are necessary."
"Both are necessary."
Jaden scratched his cheek. "Yeah… that tracks. Shielding stops you from getting launched into a tree. Active defense stops the tree from getting launched into you."
Everyone stared at him.
Jaden blinked. "…What? That happened once, with a plant monster spirit."
Julian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course it did. Only you, man."
Bastion, adjusting back into academic mode, cleared his throat. "Then for us, learning shielding is phase one. And active defense is... "
"Phase two." Julian confirmed. "At least in that regard. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But eventually, yes. You'll all learn how to push back."
Mindy looked uneasy. "Push back against… what?"
Julian hesitated.
Nightmare-Eyes shifted faintly in the air behind him. Unseen, but felt.
"Against anything that tries to overwhelm your Ba." he said quietly. "Spirits. Auras. Emotional blasts. Pressure. Malice. Fear. Anything that tries to swallow you before you can stand on your own feet. It's a mandatory skill for someone wishing to go into a scarred environment or a disaster waiting to happen."
He didn't need to clarify what he was talking about, everyone understood it. Alexis's hands clenched. Jasmine inhaled sharply. Syrus swallowed. Mindy shivered. Bastion's eyes sharpened with determination.
Jaden just smiled softly, a warmth behind it that wasn't loud like his usual brightness, just quietly proud of them.
Julian let the moment settle before he softened the tension with a small, careful smile.
"But don't worry. No flaming entities, malicious spirits, or electromagnetically deranged machines today. Tomorrow, you're just learning to listen to your Ba and feel when it starts to brace. That's all."
Syrus exhaled dramatically. "Oh thank god. I thought we were fighting something."
"Oh, you will." Jaden said cheerfully.
"WHAT?!"
"Eventually."
Julian shot him a look. "Stop terrorizing them."
Jaden shrugged. "Can't make promises."
Winged Kuriboh chirped in agreement.
Julian turned back to the group. "Anyway. Shielding is your anchor. Your baseline. Without it, all other techniques fall apart. But once you learn it, truly learn it, you'll stop being tossed by every wave of Ba you encounter."
"And start standing your ground." Alexis finished quietly.
Julian nodded.
"Exactly. And by the way, he's not wrong. You will fight something. Just in a controlled environment. An emotional flare from us." thinking a bit more, he added. "Probably from me. As you saw, Mr. Decade-of-Experience here still has a control problem."
Jaden placed a hand dramatically over his heart.
"Ouch. Deeply wounded. Mortally, even. Ten years of spiritual wisdom… dismissed like that."
Julian shot him a flat look. "You caused a metaphysical concussion."
"On accident!"
"Still counts."
Jaden threw his hands up. "Hey! That was… Okay, maybe not my best moment, but it worked! Everyone got really focused."
"You accidentally hypnotized five people for two hours." Julian deadpanned.
Jaden brightened. "Productively!"
Winged Kuriboh chimed agreement.
Syrus blinked. "So that… tunnel-vision feeling wasn't just meditation? You actually pushed us into it?"
Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "Ehhh… 'pushed' is a strong word. I nudged, like Julian did to help you. Too strongly, by accident."
Jasmine squinted. "How do you accidentally nudge five people into a trance?"
Julian gestured at Jaden. "You're looking at the answer."
A few laughs scattered through the group, tension easing. The clearing felt lighter again, less like a mystical dojo and more like a strange but comforting classroom.
"That's called a flare, is our next ability to discuss. But, before anyone panics, shielding is what prevents that from happening when you don't want it to. You'll learn how to keep someone else's Ba influence from sweeping you up."
Mindy exhaled in relief. "Good. Because if every strong aura drags us around like that, I'm transferring schools."
Alexis shot her a look. "No, you're not."
Mindy clung to her arm. "Then I'm clinging to you forever. Protection buddy system."
"You picked the right one." Jasmine murmured.
Bastion still looked deep in thought. "If shielding is instinct-driven, does that mean it's influenced by personality traits? For example, someone cautious would naturally form tighter barriers, while someone openly emotive might project a more permeable shield?"
Julian blinked.
Then nodded slowly. "That's… actually correct. As anything regarding spiritual nature, shields tend to reflect the shape of your inner self. A person who trusts easily might create open, flexible barriers. Someone guarded might form rigid walls that are strong but slow to adjust."
All eyes drifted, without meaning to, toward Alexis.
She stiffened. "What."
"Nothing." everyone said at the same time.
Julian hid a laugh, knowing that this was a product of the situation, not of her own nature, then continued. "But the trick isn't matching your shield to your personality. The trick is learning when to override your default response. A flexible shield is great until something tries to break through. A rigid shield is strong but brittle under constant stress."
"So basically…" Jasmine summarized, "We're all maladapted disasters until we learn how to balance it."
"That's it." Julian said.
Mindy raised her hand timidly. "Can a shield block emotions?"
"It can try." Julian admitted. "You can block influence, but not the feeling itself. Your Ba isn't there to numb you. It's there to keep external energy from overriding you."
Alexis narrowed her eyes. "So you're saying a shield won't help if someone emotionally destabilizes you."
"No." Julian said gently. "But it will keep someone else's emotional blast from turning yours into a landslide. Shielding doesn't make you less human, it makes you less hijackable. If you change your mind or end up affected by it, it will be as a natural response."
Jaden nodded knowingly. "Trust me. It's super handy when some spirits accidentally scream feelings at you."
Winged Kuriboh fluttered excitedly above his head.
"What happened?" Syrus asked.
Jaden shuddered. "Once got hit with a Love Eruption from a whole flock of Happy Angels. I almost died."
Julian deadpanned. "Emotionally?"
"Socially. Imagine me confessing to all everyone in the class in the span of less than an hour."
The group laughed, imagining the scene. It was a good sound. Tension lifting, just enough to breathe.
"All of the girls? Geez." Syrus laughed, taking a tear from his left eye.
"All of the living beings. Girls, boys, spirits. Everything."
Julian let the moment sit before continuing.
"Tomorrow, you'll start conditioning the instinct for shielding. Not by building an active shield itself yet, that takes time, but by learning to recognize the moment your Ba prepares to defend you and following along."
"And how do we do that?" Bastion asked.
Julian spread his hands. "You'll listen. Your Ba reacts milliseconds before your brain registers danger. Once you learn that cue, you'll be able to form shields before you consciously need them."
Mindy blinked. "So like… spiritual reflex training?"
"Yes…" Julian said. "Exactly."
Alexis straightened slightly, the competitive spark igniting again. "If it's reflex-based, I can do it."
Julian met her gaze steadily. "Yes, you can. But not by force. Shielding responds to understanding, not aggression. If you try to muscle through it…" He trailed off meaningfully.
Jasmine supplied. "She'll explode."
"She will not explode." Julian corrected.
Mindy raised a hand. "Spiritually explode?"
"No one is exploding!"
Jaden grinned. "I dunno. Alexis has strong main-character energy. If anyone's gonna accidentally nuke the clearing, it's her."
"Jaden…" Alexis warned.
He put his hands up, laughing. "Hey! I'm rooting for you!"
Julian stepped between them, amused but trying to herd the conversation back on track.
"Look. Shielding isn't about power. It's about clarity. When danger hits, you need your Ba to know what to protect without panicking. You'll get there. All of you will."
The five digested that quietly. Before the silence could stretch, Mindy blurted. "And the… other thing?"
Julian blinked. "What other thing?"
"The thing you mentioned before." she said. "Emotional flare. You said shielding keeps us from being swept by someone else's Ba… so flare is the part where we… sweep back?"
Jaden perked up. "Oh, that's a fun one."
Julian opened his mouth to answer, then noticed something.
The light had changed.
Shadows had stretched long across the clearing; the golden warmth from earlier had cooled into an almost dark sky. The breeze carried a little more chill, a little more sea-salt bite, the sun already barely visible toward the horizon beyond the cliffs.
He checked his DuelPad.
His eyebrows went up.
"…Huh."
Jaden leaned over. "That bad?"
"Depends." Julian said. "Do you consider almost three hours of Ba work and theory on your first day 'bad' or just 'criminally irresponsible'?"
Syrus made a strangled sound. "Three?!"
Mindy's eyes went wide. "No wonder my brain feels like mashed potatoes."
Jasmine flexed her fingers slowly. "I thought my arms were numb from sitting. It's my soul that's tired."
Bastion adjusted his glasses, blinking as if he'd only just remembered his body existed. "That would explain the mild headache…"
Alexis frowned. "We still haven't covered flare properly."
"We will, and even more things." Julian said. "Tomorrow. If we try to cram it in now, you all will pass out mid-sentence."
"I won't." Alexis shot back automatically.
Julian glanced at her. "You should."
She bristled, but he held up a hand before she could argue.
"Look…" he said, turning back to the group. "You've done more today than most people ever do without a partner dragging them into danger. Like Jaden told you, two or three days of foundation to sync with your own nature was rushed into two hours of deep trance. Jaden and I are responsible for it, in our own regards. But that was as efficient as it was tiring for you."
"But we still don't know all the abilities." Syrus protested. "Let's at least keep with the theory thing. What others are there?"
"Oh, there's still flare, perception, talking to spirits, vitality, resistance…" Jaden pointed, excited.
"Jay, stop." Julian cut in gently. "You'll learn it all, guys. And I'm also on that track. But the fastest way to wreck your progress is to treat this like cramming for a test. This isn't memorizing card texts. This is rewiring how your soul reacts to the world. Your Ba is already exhausted."
As if on cue, Watapon sagged comically on his shoulder, making a soft, deflated noise. Winged Egg of New Life nestled into the grass, looking as if it might fall asleep.
Winged Kuriboh floated downward until it rested on Jaden's head like a mildly sleepy hat.
Jaden pointed up without looking. "Exhibit A."
Julian smiled faintly. "Exactly. So, here's the deal: today was learning to contact your Ba and theory about some abilities. Tomorrow we work on shielding, beginning to manifest your spirit and show you flare in practice without putting you guys into meditation. We can also talk about the theory of other abilities. But remember, that all will come together once your Ba stops tripping over its own feet."
Mindy sighed. "Do our feet get less trippy soon?"
"Yes." Julian said. "In exchange for being able to tell when a hallway wants to kill you."
"Comforting." Jasmine muttered.
Alexis's eyes flickered with frustration. "We don't have time to go slow."
"Going too fast doesn't give you more time." Julian said quietly. "It just burns the time you have left. Want to hit the infirmary like I did, get a mandatory rest for days without training because you went too far?"
That hit a little too on the nose.
Alexis's gaze flinched away, jaw tight.
Jaden pushed himself up with a groan, stretching his arms over his head. "Alright! Teacher number two says class dismissed."
"Who's teacher number one?" Jasmine asked.
"Obviously me." Julian and Jaden said at the same time.
They glared at each other for half a second and laughed. Mindy snorted. Syrus hid a smile.
Bastion stood up, dusting off his pants. "We should probably eat before curfew. Even Ra students require food before our dorm closes the dinner window."
"Slifers too." Jaden added. "Slifers especially."
Mindy got to her feet and tugged Jasmine up with her. Syrus stretched, wobbling a little as he stood. The Reject Well spirits began drifting lazily in the direction of the dorms, like a tiny parading cloud.
Alexis didn't move. Julian noticed. He let the others start filing out before he said, casually, "Head back ahead of us. I'll lock the training grounds."
"This place doesn't have a lock." Jaden pointed out.
Julian stared at him. "That was metaphorical."
"Oh. Right." Jaden grinned. He looked at Alexis, then back at Julian. Some understanding flickered there. "Cool. I'll see you tomorrow."
Mindy's gaze darted between Julian and Alexis, curiosity sparking, but Jasmine gently steered her away.
"Come on." Jasmine said. "If we leave Syrus unattended he'll walk into a tree."
"I won't!" Syrus protested. Then almost tripped over a root.
Bastion caught him with one hand and smiled. "Proving their point doesn't help your argument."
Soon, their footsteps faded down the path, voices thinning into the distance. Even the spirits drifted after them, with only a few lingering. Watapon refusing to leave Julian's shoulder, and Petit Dragon circling lazily overhead.
The clearing quieted, the ocean's distant roar taking up more space. Alexis still hadn't moved.
Julian let the silence rest a moment before he broke it.
"You know you scared your Ba today."
She stiffened. "…Excuse me?"
He stepped closer, but not so close as to crowd her. "You were trying so hard to control it that it thought it was under attack. From you."
Her head dipped slightly, hair falling forward. "I have to try."
"I know." he said. "That's the problem."
She shot him a look. Sharp, wounded, defensive. "You don't get to tell me not to care."
"I'm not." Julian replied calmly. "I'm telling you that pushing yourself until you snap isn't the same thing as caring. It's sabotage dressed as effort."
Her hands curled into fists. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one whose brother disappeared into that place."
"No." Julian said. "I'm the one who nearly killed himself dragging a well full of duel spirits out of a hole without knowing how to carry them."
That stopped her. She stared at him.
He shrugged slightly. "Different context. Same stupid impulse."
Alexis looked away again, lips pressed thin.
Julian lowered himself to sit on one of the flatter stones at the edge of the clearing, patting the spot next to him in invitation. He didn't force her.
It took long, brittle seconds, but she came.
She didn't relax. Not yet. Alexis Rhodes didn't know how. Her spine stayed straight, shoulders squared, as if tension were the only thing keeping her together.
The sun had dipped low, orange melting into violet. The ocean breeze threaded through her hair, brushing gold strands across her cheek. When she finally lifted her face toward the horizon, the fading light carved her in quiet fire.
And Julian's heart stuttered. Gods. She was beautiful like this. Not the polished Obelisk leader and prodigy, but the determined, aching and fiercely loyal girl underneath.
Dangerous, whispered something inside him. Not now. Not yet. Your duty comes first.
He forced his thoughts back to the conversation.
"Do you know what my Ba was doing before Nightmare-Eyes stepped in against Jinzo?"
She frowned. "Trying to shield you?"
"Drowning." he said simply. "It was trying to hold up everything at once. Me. The Well spirits. The arena. My opponent. You guys in the stands. It couldn't identify what to protect. So it tried to protect everything, and nearly collapsed under the weight."
She blinked, slowly. "That's… familiar."
"Yeah." Julian said softly. "It is."
She swallowed, jaw clenching. "If I don't push, nothing changes. If I wait… nothing happens. Atticus stays gone."
"And if you snap." Julian asked gently, "What happens then? What happens if you collapse before you get there? Who goes into that dorm with you when you can't stand?"
Her breath caught. He didn't press. He just waited.
"I don't have the luxury of being weak." she said, quieter now.
"You don't have the luxury of breaking." he countered. "There's a difference."
She stared at the ground. "So what am I supposed to do? Go slow? Take my time? Pretend it's not urgent?"
"No." Julian said. "You're supposed to train in a way that actually gets you where you want to go."
She gave a short, humorless laugh. "And what does that look like, according to the great Ba expert with a whole week of experience?"
"Looks like not burning out on day one. Like respecting the limits of what your Ba can process in one sitting. Looks like building stamina instead of sprinting until you tear something important. Of listening to it instead of scaring it. Your spirit wants to help, it wants your brother back just as much as you." he stopped to think for a bit, then adjusted. "I stand corrected, not as much. It IS you. But you're repelling everyone in your attempts to rush, even yourself. Trying to run before learning to walk or to stand up will only make your life harder. The others are not rushing like you, and therefore they had a lot more of success. Your impetus is holding you back instead of helping."
She exhaled through her nose, somewhere between a scoff and a sigh.
"I'm not saying your urgency is wrong." Julian said, voice softer now. "I'm saying the method you instinctively reach for. Grind harder, push more, never stop… That's the thing that almost killed me, wanting to hold the world above my shoulders. And I'd really rather not watch it try again with someone I care about."
She looked at him sharply at that last word. He didn't flinch. It wasn't a confession, not entirely. He knew that averting the subject away in that direction would be improper for both of them right now. She needed time before that… and her brother back, hopefully.
"I know the stakes are different for each of us." Julian continued. "For Syrus, this is about not being left behind. For Bastion, it's about curiosity and structure. For Mindy and Jasmine, it's loyalty and not wanting you to walk into danger alone. For Jaden…" He paused. "For Jaden it's just Tuesday, he does that for a bloody living."
Despite herself, she huffed a laugh.
"But for you..." Julian said, "This is a lifeline. You're here because every second you don't move forward feels like losing him all over again. I get that, I respect that. It's why I'm here instead of telling you to forget it like everyone else." He turned then, finally meeting her eyes dead-on.
"And it's why I'm telling you: I'm not going anywhere. I told you I'd help you go after Atticus, and I meant it. I will stand beside you until he's back. Until this is done. However long it takes."
Her breath hitched.
For a second, something unguarded flickered across her face. A raw, aching gratitude quickly buried under layers of control.
"You can't promise that." she said hoarsely.
"I already did." Julian said. "And I'm stubborn like that. Jaden and I have that in common."
She looked away, blinking a bit too fast.
Silence settled between them again, less heavy than before.
The sky deepened into indigo; a first star blinked into existence above the ocean. Down by the dorms, faint lights were beginning to turn on, warm squares cut into the growing dark.
"So." Alexis said at last, voice quieter. "What do I do tonight?"
"Nothing." Julian said. "You eat. You rest. You let your Ba recover, or tomorrow you'll be trying to build on quicksand."
"And tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow…" Julian said. "You show up. You listen. You try again. Not by forcing. By listening to why your Ba is flinching. By giving it permission to move without treating it like a disobedient machine."
She smoothed her skirt over her knees, thinking.
"You're saying I need to trust… myself." she murmured. "Not just the goal."
"Pretty much." Julian said. "You can't drag your soul by the hair to where you want it to be. You have to bring it with you."
She let out a small, shaky breath that might have been a laugh.
"I'm not good at that." she admitted.
"That's why we're training." he replied.
She looked at him again, eyes clearer now, though the determination still burned there. Tempered, not diminished.
"Alright." she said. "I'll… try. Your way. At least for now."
"That's all I'm asking…" Julian said. Then added, because he knew her. "I'll plan the quickest way to grant you the results you want in an efficient manner. And when you forget and start trying to bulldoze through again, I'll remind you."
"How?" she challenged.
"I'll bench you," he said simply. "Like I will tomorrow if you show up looking like you stayed up all night practicing in secret."
Her mouth opened to protest. Then closed again, slowly as she read his expression.
"You'd really do that?" she asked.
"Yes." Julian said. "Because I promised to help you get your brother back. Not to help you fall apart faster. In the proper plan to make you as strong as possible in the shortest time, what you need now is rest."
She studied him for a long moment.
Then, finally, she nodded.
"Okay."
He stood with her, offering a hand without thinking. She took it without hesitation. Her fingers tightened, not desperately, but deliberately.
When she stepped closer, the space between them went warm.
"…Thank you." she murmured, voice thin but sincere.
Before Julian could reply, she leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
It wasn't bold, it wasn't planned. It was instinct: raw, honest, and full of fear and hope in equal measure.
Julian froze, breath caught in his throat.
When she stepped back and turned, she looked startled by herself, but didn't retract it.
"Goodnight, Julian."
He managed to find his voice. "…Goodnight, Alexis."
Alexis hesitated, just long enough for the moment to hold its breath, then turned to follow the path back toward the dorms, the spirits drifting after her like soft lanterns of light escorting the lady home.
She took only two steps. Julian's body moved before he could second-guess himself.
His hand reached her first, light on her arm. Then he drew her gently back into him, his arms slipping around her stomach from behind in a protective, grounding embrace.
Alexis startled, breath catching, her body going still against his. Not tense, just surprised. The ocean breeze carried strands of her hair back against his cheek.
For a heartbeat, neither spoke. Then Julian lowered his head slightly, his lips near her ear, his voice barely above a whisper meant only for her and the wind.
"If you push too hard again…" He murmured, warm breath brushing her skin. "…I'll pull you back. Every time. I won't let you break while we get him back. You have my word."
Her eyes closed, lashes trembling. Not with weakness, but with the fragile, aching sincerity of someone who had carried too much alone for too long.
"And I'll trust you." she whispered back. "Even when I… forget how."
Julian tightened his hold just enough for her to feel the promise in it. Steady, patient, unwavering.
"Good." he said softly. "Because I'm not planning to let you fall, Crownless King's sister. You have a crown of your own to uphold in the future."
A surprised breath escaped her. Half laugh, half something gentler, warmer. And in that small, unguarded sound, something in her aura finally eased, no longer coiled tight around fear and urgency, but loosening, opening.
Slowly, reluctantly, Alexis lifted his hands from around her.
When she stepped forward, it wasn't a retreat. It was simply because the moment had to end somewhere, or it would have swallowed them both whole.
The last light of dusk brushed her face as she turned slightly, and Julian caught the faintest flush rising along her cheeks: delicate, involuntary, unmistakable.
Her stride, always confident, now faltered just once, a soft break in rhythm before she found it again. Not weakness, just someone newly aware of the space behind her, of the phantom arms that had been there moments before still lingering in her body.
She didn't look back, but her voice reached him, quiet and sure:
"See you tomorrow, Julian."
He watched her silhouette descend the path toward the dorms, the spirits drifting after her in small, glowing waves, like fireflies drawn to the piece of her that had finally untangled.
The phantom warmth of her back against his chest lingered long after she was gone. Julian let out a slow breath, steadying the rush in his pulse.
Not now. Not yet. Not until you bring her brother home.
And once again, the path ahead carried a clarity he hadn't expected. Not a destiny forced onto him, but one he chose: deliberate, steady, real. It felt like the beginning of something that could wait, but not fade.
And for now, that was enough.
"See you tomorrow." he murmured into the quiet clearing, as if sending the words after her.