Rin stood still for a moment, clearly taken aback by Morgan's demonstration.
Morgan noticed the look on her face and smirked.
"In the future," she said casually, leaning back slightly against her cane, "you'll be able to do that even better."
Her white hair shifted slightly in the evening breeze.
"With light, anything it touches can become a pathway for you. You'll be able to transfer your body… and even your consciousness through it."
Rin blinked in surprise.
Morgan continued calmly.
"But before you reach that point, you need to train your mindset."
She tapped her cane gently against the ground.
"To perform actions like that, you must imagine yourself becoming one with light itself."
Rin nodded slowly.
That part made sense to her.
After all, she had always relied heavily on her imagination when using her powers—especially when creating things like her light dragon.
Morgan smiled slightly.
"It's actually simple," she said. "Imagine yourself as light… and your body will move as fast as light."
She paused.
"Oh, and here's another tip."
Her smirk returned.
"You can see everyone who is standing inside light."
Rin's eyes widened.
"Wait… really?"
Morgan nodded.
"You control light completely. That means you can use it for almost anything."
She twirled her cane lazily.
"If someone is standing under sunlight… you can sense them."
"All of them."
Rin looked stunned.
Morgan continued explaining.
"But it gets complicated."
"The more people there are around you, the more mana it drains."
She gestured outward slightly.
"Maybe in the future you'll learn to control the radius of your sensing ability. That way you can limit how many people you detect."
She smirked again.
"And technically… you could even hear conversations through light."
Rin blinked again.
Morgan chuckled.
"But that requires a massive amount of mana. You'd probably need to be close to your peak—or your full potential—to use something like that efficiently."
She spun her cane lightly.
"Honestly, the things you can do with light are ridiculous."
She laughed softly.
"I'm almost jealous."
Rin nodded thoughtfully while processing everything.
Nearby, Sayaka and Ivy had begun a small side conversation while observing the training.
Izan and Jack
Meanwhile, farther away from the others—
The wind surrounding Izan finally faded.
His feet touched the ground again.
"Finally!" Izan said.
He looked at Jack.
"Why did you have to do all that?!"
Jack laughed loudly.
"It's fun using elements!" he said cheerfully.
Then he leaned forward slightly.
"Anyway, kid… have you even trained your wind abilities yet?"
Izan shook his head.
"Not yet."
Jack sighed.
"Do you even know the power system rankings?"
Izan looked confused.
"…What rankings?"
Jack sighed again and began explaining.
"There are four types of magic users."
He held up a finger.
"First—"
"First," Jack said, raising one finger.
Elemental Casting (Lowest Level)
"This is the beginner stage."
"At this level, users simply cast and shape their element."
"They create attacks or manipulate small amounts of it."
Jack raised a second finger.
Elemental Manifestation (Middle Level)
"This stage allows the user to partially become their element."
"Your body surrounds itself with elemental energy."
He gestured while explaining.
"For example—"
"A wind body allows attacks to pass through air."
"A fire body burns anyone who strikes it."
"A water body causes attacks to splash straight through."
"But there are limits."
"It drains mana quickly."
"And strong Willpower can still break through it."
Jack raised a third finger.
Elemental Mastery
"This stage sits just below the level of the Mortal Gods."
"At this point, a user can wield their element at its true potential."
"They can manipulate it freely with extreme precision."
Then Jack raised his final finger.
Elemental Sovereignty (Highest Level)
"This is the highest stage."
"At this level, the user becomes the absolute ruler of their element."
"They can control it on a massive scale with almost no limits."
He glanced toward Rin for a moment.
"Only the Ten Mortal Gods… and Rin… can use this level freely."
Izan groaned.
"I wish I had my notebook and pencil…"
Jack suddenly reached inside his cloak.
He pulled out a small notebook and pencil.
Izan's face lit up instantly.
"YES!"
He immediately began writing everything down quickly.
Jack laughed.
"For me," he said proudly, "I'm somewhere between Elemental Manifestation and Elemental Mastery."
"Not at my peak yet."
"But I'm getting there."
Then Jack pointed toward a nearby tree.
"Let's start simple."
He lifted one skeletal finger.
A small swirl of wind formed near the tip of his bone.
The wind shot forward—
THUD.
It struck the thick tree trunk, leaving a noticeable dent.
Izan's eyes widened.
"What do you think about when you cast that?" he asked.
Jack turned toward him.
"Same thing Morgan told Rin."
"Imagination."
"You imagine the power first."
"Once you do it enough times, your brain remembers."
"Then eventually you won't even think about it."
"You'll just cast it automatically."
Izan nodded while continuing to write notes.
Jack looked up toward the sky.
"There's nothing more powerful than the human brain."
His tone grew thoughtful.
"You can do almost anything if you train it."
"As long as your positive thoughts outweigh the negative ones."
He looked back toward Izan.
"This world holds a lot of secrets."
"Nothing here is truly limited."
He shrugged slightly.
"Maybe one day people could even leave this world spiritually."
"Travel to another world."
"Or maybe even another planet."
"Who knows?"
Izan watched him quietly.
He could sense something behind Jack's words.
Jack wasn't just talking about possibilities.
He sounded like someone who truly wanted to understand the entire universe.
And discover every secret hidden inside it.
Izan looked at Jack again, curiosity still bothering him.
"…Why are you a skeleton anyway?"
Jack tilted his skull slightly.
"Shouldn't you be training?" he replied casually. "It's getting dark."
His tone carried a teasing edge.
Izan groaned loudly.
"You're avoiding the question."
Jack only laughed.
Meanwhile, inside the academy—
Drex sat alone in his classroom, finishing some leftover work at his desk.
The room was quiet except for the soft scratching of his pen across paper.
Knock. Knock.
Drex didn't look up immediately.
"Come in," he said lazily.
The door slowly opened.
Drex finally lifted his eyes.
Standing there was Sylvia.
She stepped inside cautiously, her posture slightly tense.
"Um… Drex," she said quietly. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Drex leaned back in his chair slightly.
"Sure."
Then he casually returned to the paperwork in front of him.
"Go ahead."
Sylvia stepped into the room and gently closed the door behind her.
"How have you been?" she asked.
Drex didn't look up from his work.
"Good," he replied dryly. "And you?"
"I'm… decent."
She walked over and sat in the chair across from his desk, her elf ears flicking slightly as she settled in. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The only sound in the room was Drex's pen moving across the paper.
Then Sylvia spoke again.
"I miss them."
Drex didn't respond.
She looked down at her hands, her voice softer now.
"I really miss them… I miss them more than I thought I would."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"I wonder if they're watching us… or if they're together somewhere else… maybe in another lifetime, like they always wanted."
Her voice cracked slightly as a few tears slipped down her face.
Drex's pen pressed harder against the paper before stopping completely.
"…Stop," he said quietly.
His tone wasn't loud, but it carried a sharp edge.
"…It's annoying how you keep dwelling on them—let them go already and move forward."
Sylvia froze for a moment, wiping her tears quickly.
Before anything else could be said, the door opened.
Ken stepped inside, glancing between them.
"What's going on?"
His eyes landed on Sylvia.
"…What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, trying to compose herself. "We were just talking about the past."
Ken's expression shifted as he understood immediately. He looked toward Drex, who had already gone back to grading his work, though his grip on the pen was noticeably tighter than before.
Ken studied him for a second before speaking.
"Drex—"
Ken didn't argue.
Instead, he stepped closer to Sylvia and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's fine," he said quietly.
She didn't resist.
He guided her out of the classroom, the door closing softly behind them as they stepped into the hallway.
They walked in silence until they reached outside.
The night air was cool, and the sky was clear. A full moon hung high above, casting soft silver light across the academy grounds.
Sylvia tried to steady herself, but her emotions were still spilling over.
"…It's my fault," she said quietly.
Ken didn't interrupt.
She kept walking, her voice trembling.
"Everything that happened… it's because of me."
Her hands clenched.
"If I was stronger… if I was smarter… none of it would've happened."
Her voice cracked.
"They wouldn't have died…"
Tears streamed down her face.
"And you… and Drex… you're both still suffering because of me."
She shook her head, overwhelmed.
"I couldn't protect them… I couldn't do anything…"
Her steps slowed.
"I just stood there…"
Her voice broke completely.
Ken stopped walking.
Then gently, he pulled her into him.
She didn't hold back.
Sylvia buried her face into his shirt, her shoulders shaking as she cried.
Ken rested his hand on the back of her head, holding her close.
"It's not your fault," he said softly.
"We were all young."
"We didn't understand what we were facing."
His voice remained steady.
"They weren't weak… they were just stronger than us at the time."
He exhaled quietly.
"We all made mistakes."
"But none of that was on you alone."
He held her a little tighter.
"We lost them together."
"So don't carry it by yourself."
Sylvia cried quietly into his chest, gripping his shirt.
After some time, her breathing slowly began to calm.
Ken stayed with her the entire time.
Not rushing her.
Not letting go.
Eventually, he walked her back to her room.
She was exhausted—emotionally drained.
He helped her onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her.
Her eyes barely stayed open.
"…Thank you…" she murmured softly.
Her voice was faint, almost lost in the quiet.
Within moments, she fell asleep.
Ken stood there for a second, watching her.
Then he turned and left the room quietly.
His expression hardened as he walked down the hallway.
By the time he reached Drex's classroom, his anger had built up completely.
He pushed the door open forcefully.
Drex looked up from his desk.
Ken stood there, clearly irritated.
"You need to stop this shit," he said.
Drex leaned back slightly, unfazed.
"She's annoying," he replied flatly. "She keeps bringing them up."
He sighed carelessly.
"She just can't let them go."
Ken's jaw tightened.
"No," he said.
"You're the one who can't get past them."
Drex didn't react.
Ken stepped forward slightly.
"That's why you get sensitive every time they're mentioned."
Drex's expression stayed the same.
"Shut up," he said calmly.
Then he stood up—
…and walked past Ken without another word.
As the tension lingered in the quiet hallway, life at the academy continued as usual.
Out on the training grounds, Izan and Rin eventually made their way back toward each other.
Izan wiped the sweat from his face while Rin steadied her breathing beside him.
Jack stretched slightly, while Morgan rested her weight against her cane again.
"Well," Morgan said casually, a faint smirk on her lips, "that was fun."
Jack nodded.
"Yeah… you two did pretty good."
Then, almost jokingly, he added—
"Wish you both the best in life."
Izan blinked, confused.
"…Why are you saying it like that?"
Nearby, Ivy was already waiting, arms crossed, clearly ready to leave.
Sayaka stepped forward slightly.
"Where are you all going?" she asked.
Morgan turned as she began walking away, her cane tapping lightly against the ground.
"Most of the Shadow Council is already here," she said over her shoulder.
"And Valeria seems ready to start the meeting."
She gave a small glance back.
"Late, of course."
Jack chuckled as he followed.
Yara waved lazily while walking with them.
Ivy followed quietly behind.
Sayaka watched them leave for a moment.
Then her eyes shifted slightly.
"…So it's starting."