"What I saw during my awakening?" Adrian repeated Visie's question but with a confused tone. He didn't question her why. Ever since he had come across Eric on Paris's streets, he knew that asking the reason to do or tell something was something he shouldn't do. He could get hurt, but if all these people wanted to hurt him, they would have killed him long ago. The best course of action for him was to be honest and not hide anything.
"When I first touched the ring, I had a sudden headache as everything stopped moving and my vision became blue, black, and other various colors. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was in the Layer of Natural Aura. I was still sitting on the table. I saw the sky of myriad colors. It was an overwhelming but beautiful sight. I felt fear, shock, confusion, but was also captivated. Suddenly, from a region that I couldn't see as it was too far away, a purple string came and connected with me. It pierced through my chest but didn't cause any harm or pain. I felt connected to the region, but just then, three white strings came out from thin air and coiled around the purple string and broke it down, making the purple region let out a sound that was like a roar. After breaking the purple string, the three white strings coiled around each other as one end connected with the black region—which I now know the name of, the Apocalypse region—and the other end pierced my chest. The white strings became black, and a black light came from the Apocalypse region and entered my body. And then I opened my eyes to the real world and saw Eric staring at me. Nothing else that I can remember."
"White strings?" Visie and Max remarked in unison while Eric still had an indifferent expression on his face. No one could tell what he was thinking.
Adrian looked at everyone's expressions and felt the confusion that they were feeling. He couldn't understand why they were so confused. "Isn't this how it's supposed to go?" Adrian thought in his mind in a cute voice.
Adrian turned his head to look at Eric and asked, "Isn't this how it's supposed to go?"
Looking at Max and Visie still being in shock and confusion, Eric decided to answer this question. He shook his head in refusal and answered, "No, this is not how it's supposed to go. When a person makes a connection with the Layer of Natural Aura, if they have the potential and affinity with a pathway, then that pathway makes a connection through the strings that you saw. After a connection is made, the user awakens an Aura according to their mentality, and they come back to the real world and embark on their journey of being an Aura user. There has never been a case of strings of any other pathway disrupting the process of connection between a person and a region. Not only did the strings break the connection, they also made a connection with the Apocalypse region and had you awaken as an Apocalypse pathway Aura user. It was quite lucky that you had traits that made you able to awaken as an Aura user of that pathway; otherwise, you might have become a monster then and there."
"What were those white strings? I remember seeing a lot of them coming down from a white region in the Layer of Natural Aura," Adrian asked. His heart was pounding hard. He was scared now. He could roughly imagine how it would have been if he had become a monster and died. He may not be able to understand it fully, but he got the feeling that it wouldn't be something better than dying. Perhaps this was his intuition subconsciously making him feel the danger he was in.
Eric was silent for a while, contemplating the answer he should give. "From the amount of knowledge that I have, the white strings are the 'Strings of Fate.' The white region you saw is the Overseeing Region of the Overseeing pathway."
"So I wasn't supposed to be an Aura user of this pathway?" Adrian asked with a hurt expression. Eric looked down and put his chin on his right hand. "In a way, yes, but don't ponder over it. It won't be good for your growth. Just forget about it all and be grateful that you are still alive."
"But how is that possible? From as far as we know, there has never been any case of a region interfering in the connection process of a region with a person. Not just that, but also making the person connect with a different region and having them awaken as an Aura user of a different pathway. Is this also why some people become monsters while awakening?" Visie blurted out.
Max wasn't the smartest of the pack, but he at least had basic knowledge of Aura and history and added his point. "Yes, you're right, Visie, but couldn't it also be a high-ranking Aura user of the Overseeing pathway messing with his awakening? I don't think that any of us here has ever seen any Aura user above the rank of Hypernova. We can't even imagine the might and abilities they might have. Even among Aura users, they are legends for us mid- and low-ranking Aura users to look up to."
"You're right, Max, but why would someone even mess with his awakening? Even if it were a high-ranking Aura user who did it—which isn't possible as of now—why? What would they gain? We don't have any knowledge about it. If they wanted, they could have made it so that none of us could find it out by hiding the strings or messing with Adrian's head. But they didn't?" Eric posed his own answer.
"Eric is right, Max. What would a high-ranking Aura user gain from making Adrian the Aura user of the Apocalypse pathway? They don't have that much free time and have work to do. I also don't think that there is any lone high-ranking Aura user just roaming around and messing with people's awakenings. Maybe due to a ritual?" Visie made her own point.
"Let's not forget the fact that the strings of fate that Adrian saw were pure white. Those types of strings don't exist now. Many seers and prophets have already confirmed the fact that the white strings that come down from the Overseeing region are just projections," Eric said as he put his hands on the table and gave another point for the others to ponder.
Adrian felt alienated and lost in their conversation. He truly felt that he was getting sidelined. He was still feeling anxious and scared. Eric noticed this and turned his head to Adrian and started to explain to him so he wouldn't feel that he was getting sidelined by them and to help his mind divert. "Listen, Adrian. It was during the time of the Dystopian War. In that war, the fourth Meditation Master fought the God of Fate. In that fight, he defeated him and cut his Divine Blessing of Fate in two pieces, causing the strings of fate to be separated into two pieces: the strings of fate and the strings of karma. There has been no Aura user who can merge the strings of fate to completion unless the Divine Blessing of Fate is completed again, but both parts have long disappeared, making it impossible to merge back the strings of fate."
Adrian wasn't completely shocked that it had something to do with the Meditation Masters. He had been ready to hear stories about them. This was just one of them. But it raises the question: how was his awakening process diverted then, and by who? There were many questions but no answers. Only confusion remained.
Visie pulled the crystal ball near her. She didn't do anything, but Eric suddenly turned his head to her and spoke. "Visie, don't try to make a divination. We all know that your occasional digging of secrets has given you a lot of backlash and made you unable to advance. Don't take any more risks."
Visie suddenly jolted up and put the crystal ball away from her. She was so eager and absorbed in making a divination that she had even ignored the premonition made by her mind. She took a deep breath and calmed down.
Eric looked around and saw that no one had any answers and only confused looks on their faces. They had already danced around the edge of danger. There was no need to think more on this topic if there was no knowledge. "Alright, let's not think much about this topic and move on. If we mistakenly figure out something we shouldn't, it will be very dangerous for us."
Max and Visie shook their heads in agreement. Adrian repeated their gestures, and they all forgot the topic. In the world of Aura users, ignoring questions and avoiding finding answers and knowledge that is too high-ranked for the Aura user's rank is often dangerous and can cause severe backlash. Visie was also an example of it. The reason is due to not being able to comprehend that knowledge because of being way too low-ranked. This is also the reason most Aura users only intake knowledge that they can comprehend according to their rank.
All of them took a deep breath, calming themselves down. It was good they didn't figure out something they couldn't comprehend. Seeing that Adrian no longer had any questions, she turned to Eric and asked in a playful voice with a "you wanna do it" smile. Eric knew the type of smile she was making, but he was loyal to his wife. "I have a wife now."
Visie's eyes widened as the word "wife" made her remember something important. "Oh yeah, I completely forgot to tell you all. Elizabeth is getting married!" Eric didn't give much of a reaction, but Max suddenly turned very happy upon receiving this news. "Oh, so she finally decided to marry the love of her life. It has been way too long indeed. Kevin and Elizabeth have been through so much already. I think it was the best time to make this decision. Now, it only leaves you out of us four as the one who is not married yet. Anyone you like?"
Adrian didn't know these two people they were talking about, but he decided to stay quiet. He didn't need to know anything. He just sat quietly and thought about all he had learned today. He found out that the more he thought and understood the concepts and laws of Aura, the less his head hurt. Maybe this was what comprehending meant.
"No, I don't, but you're right that it indeed is the best time. They have decided to get married in the Loriel Sphere near here." Visie was first annoyed by his comment but quickly regained her composure.
"But isn't this too risky? Getting married in the Meditation Realm? The place may be protected, but criminals roam here like dogs. Have their senses been blurred by their emotions?" Eric commented on his dislike of the decision.
"I also thought this, but those two were born and grew up in the Meditation Realm. This is their home and where they met and made their most precious memories. They want to make another memory here and start the next phase of their life. I tried to convince them, but you know how Elizabeth is. Once she makes a decision, there is no stopping her," Visie sighed.
Visie then took out an invitation card to their wedding—one pink and the other purple—and handed them to Eric and Max respectively. They both opened their cards. In the card was also a letter for them, and they read the content that was written by Elizabeth and Kevin, inviting them to their wedding and thanking them for being amazing friends and supporting them and guiding them in this cursed world filled with misery and decay. They were truly grateful for their presence in their life and wouldn't love anything other than them being at their wedding.
Max laughed while Eric had a gentle smile on his face as they finished reading the letters. Eric realized that it was time to go as he looked at Visie and requested her to make a connection between Adrian and him and Max. It was to be able to feel whenever Adrian was in danger and could come to save him.
Adrian didn't refuse or revolt. He was more than happy and grateful for the care and help they had shown him. He simply nodded his head, giving his consent.
"Okay," Visie said as she raised both of her arms. A white liquid with glass-silver-like particles floating around in it came out of her arms. This was her Connection Aura. She turned her Aura's state into a semi-solid and shaped it into strings with her delicate hands. Her black eyes turned into a glowing white color, as if her eyes were covered by her Aura. Around her pupil, a glass-like white symbol of four intertwined loop shapes formed.
"What are those eyes?" Adrian asked. He had seen eyes like that with Eric, but he had been too scared to question him about them before. "These eyes are called Abyssal Eyes. They can be unlocked at the rank of Nova through training and controlling your Aura. They give abilities regarding sight or assist in the usage of your Aura. They grow more powerful as you advance through ranks. We will help you unlock them soon too."
Adrian simply nodded his head and continued staring at Visie. She was looking mystical and beautiful with an elegant aura around her as she continued shaping her Aura into long strings. After completing the strings, she willed her Aura, and the strings made up of her Aura flew to Max, Adrian, and Eric and connected themselves.
Adrian didn't feel anything. It was as if nothing had happened. His intuition and premonition were also silent. "Now, I have made sure to make it so that if Adrian ever gets in any danger, you two will immediately feel it, but it's not the same for Adrian if you two are ever in danger. This connection won't be broken unless someone breaks it or if I die. It took quite a toll on me as it was a very specific request. I had to use more Aura than usual, but don't worry—I won't charge you. You two better thank me!" Visie put her hands on her waist and snorted out of her nose as she puffed her cheeks and even spoke in a cute voice. She was definitely acting cute on purpose.
Eric didn't care and simply stood up, put his right hand on his chest, and bowed as he thanked her.
Visie then stood up and walked to the closet that had collected dust over years of not being touched. She opened the closet as dust came out, making her cough. She looked around in the closet for a while before taking out several thick books in black and brown covers. She blew off the dust on them and walked back to the table and handed them to Adrian. "Here, take the books that I promised. You have awakened as an Aura user today and learned about the existence of an entirely new world. You have just been born and are like a newborn baby, still finding his way. There are many things that you have yet to know and study, and many more basics and details to learn, but as long as you stay consistent and follow the steps of the method of control of your current rank, you will be able to advance easily and become a strong and responsible person. I am happy to help you." Saying all that, Visie raised her right hand and stroked Adrian's hair, making Adrian look down and blush. She was like a mother motivating her child.
She turned to Max and Eric and nodded. Eric and Max nodded back at her and left her tent with Adrian. Max took Adrian's books from him as they were quite heavy for him. Adrian could feel that his strength had increased, but he didn't refuse Max's help because the books were indeed too heavy.
"I can't believe I now know another Aura user whose awakening was diverted by the strings of fate," Max said. Adrian suddenly stopped walking and looked up at Max with a confused expression.
Eric turned around and looked down at Adrian and said, "Don't tell this to anyone, but my awakening process was also diverted. I was supposed to become an Aura user of the Deceiver pathway, not the Energy pathway."
"…" Adrian was silent.