“Let’s start with lesson number one!”

VU-VU-VUUM

And all of a sudden, the walls broke in as the room around us extended into a world of dark violet with ripples going around the room. It looked like we were standing in the middle of this beautiful universe.

But this beauty was nothing I could stand to appreciate as I felt the weight of a couple of tons be on my shoulders. What the hell was going on? Why the hell did she start to do that? What was she planning?

Whatever it was, it kind of is killing me and Alyssa here! Why are you killing your new students just to show off? Have mercy!

To make matters worse, it seems as if Alyssa had a worse time withstanding this pressure with her face losing slightly her colour.

Akiko was most likely overdoing it. Maybe because of what I said or the fact that I just did something 'impossible' yet again.

But it seemed as if she was in her own world.

Smiling.

"Fufu~! Lesson number one, kids. What I'm currently showing is what we call space. Or to be precise, my space. Concentrated form of my Space affinity. The reason why she has it worse is only because of your affinity being higher than mine."

And as if her words were some kind of painkillers, after hearing the last bit of them, I could feel myself feeling way better than before. In fact, it felt better than normal. Like I was in an empowered state.

"But your affinity alone won't make you totally immune to the space affinity. You'd think that since you are basically one with Space with 100% but what's more important is how well you can handle space itself. For example, right now, I just put pressure on you with only Space even if you have a higher affinity. Although affinity itself is important as well, you should not think you are unbeatable in that aspect just because of some numbers."

SNAP

And with just the snap of her fingers, the scenery around us changed into one resembling a collection of portals. Dark violet rings with unique views each filled the now more blue-like room that had white and violet cracks running through the edges of this space.

Each portal was unique in its view in them. As if being alive, these views moved around inside these circles, with just a hand's reach.

Beneath each portal were labels to be seen, written with pure Will.

The Sahara Desert.

The Amazon Forest.

The North pole.

Taj Mahal.

Machu Picchu.

Even a sight I've seen once with my parents. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. I remember how dad showed me around the place he was often with his parents, nostalgia filling his wet eyes.

He often told me about his time there. How he was a troublemaker himself and never listened to any adult. How he misses the times when he and his childhood friends would sit inside a hookah bar drinking tea and watching football matches. How he would sometimes sneak inside the public library and read books he couldn't get normally because he was never given a library cart himself.

Thinking so much kind of made me nostalgic as well. He would tell his stories more often the more I grew up, each more amazing than the last and each one making me want to listen to more of his stories.

"As you can see, Space can be applied in many forms. You can bend, rip, destroy, concentrate, glue them together, as I did here, or separate them from one place and move them to another as you would do with a [Phasing Flash Step].”

But my thoughts couldn’t continue for long as Akiko started to talk again. Hearing the name of the technique that Gramps gave to me, she regained my focus pretty quickly as I didn’t know why she knew about it. Did Gramps tell her about it? Could she tell that with just her affinity and experience? But I have never successfully been able to phase through something.

“That is one of the many reasons why you, son, shouldn’t get cocky with just your affinity being the highest. It may make you immune to those on the same level but not against stronger opponents. Now begs only the question. What exactly is space?”

At that sudden question, I saw someone very eager as she raised her hand high like a student in school ready to answer the teacher's question. I was one of those before as well but I got bored of it after answering every math question correctly. There is no use in answering something you know is true so why not let the others answer and learn a bit, right?

“Yes, my dear. You don’t have to be so excited.”

“Space is the three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have a relative position and direction to them.”

“Impressive answer but not entirely correct. Do you have an idea, Laith?”

This is too much like school. If I didn’t know any better, I would think we were studying physics at a university. And Alyssa’s answer was… unexpected. Never thought that she was the type to answer a question like that seriously. But we were learning from the third strongest human so trying anything funny would be more concerning than for her to answer with a normal answer.

But what could space be if Alyssa’s answer wasn’t correct? She was on the right track though, even if that wasn’t enough to make her stop frowning after she got told that.

Hmm… objects and events… relative position and direction… three-dimensional… Oh! Maybe…

“I presume space must not only be three-dimensional. Humans only thought of it as a three-dimensional concept since using points and lines won't be easy to be seen with the naked eye. But if you put in the concept of controllable energy like Mana or Will, that can change.”

“That is correct but there is still something you two forgot about space. Space is the concept of a point, area or volume in a relative world in which objects and events are able to exist. So what is important isn’t just the dimensional aspect but the relative aspect. Because not only position and direction are relative but a whole world in itself. If you can view it like that, it gets a lot easier to understand how structures like portals are possible. In your relative world, this space is connected to another place far away by bending and connecting Space with your affinity. Using your Will, you can achieve such effect and make it not only relative to your view of this world but to others as well.”

“So it does have to do with your own imagination and determination?”

“Precisely. Most human affinities work on the concept of determination and imagination. Other races would use Mana and bend the space not relative to themselves but to the universe since Mana is the energy of the universe. We, who are mana-less, had to find new ways to recreate these actions and spells and created theories like the [Relativity of Will power] or the newest theory [Universal aspect of Imagination] which is about how imagination affects the real world and how to theoretically make the most use out of their imagination.”

CLAP

And with one clap, we now found ourselves not in space anymore but on the wet ground of what seemed to be a rainforest.

"Space is everywhere and so if you can control it well enough, you can not only move from place to place but…"

She paused for a moment, moving her hands together to do another clap.

CLAP

And with another clap, we started to fly through the air, moving over big cities while standing in the air. But more than us moving, it felt like the world is moving beneath our feet with us being unaffected by our rapidly increasing speed.

"You can also use Space to move objects in a certain way and move around forces to get something that seems unnatural. For example…"

CLAP

I think we had enough claps. Somehow, I felt my head spinning from the sight of seeing cities move by so fast. Alyssa wasn't any better with holding onto me tightly, resting her head on my shoulder.

I'd think she was playing around but I could see a bit of her complexion and it really didn't look well.

Or maybe she is just a really good actor. She never showed great acting herself, always being so free, but that didn't mean she wasn't good at it.

"Whoa!"

"Cool!"

But that changed when we saw that we were now standing sideways on the empire state building.

New York City.

One of the biggest metropolises in the world.

The night was slowly dying as we were standing on the side of the building. People already heading to work, cars slowly filling the streets as the light of the sun was slowly showing itself on the edges of the horizon.

“You can move forces like gravity around and point it in other directions. Just like how we are standing on the empire state building sideways. Or… ”

SNAP

“Wuuuuuuhuuuuu!”

“Awesome!”

Damn! Now we were falling backwards! That’s fucking amazing! Falling itself has a certain appeal to it as you feel like flying even if it was just for a moment but falling towards the sky made this only better!

CLAP

But everything seemed to have an end as we are now back inside the living room. The walls return to normal, the furniture back in their places and all three of us sitting back on the couch with Akiko having a cup of tea in her hands.

“I hope this was able to broaden your understanding of Space.”

“It was amazing, Granny!”

“G-Granny?”

Alyssa! What are you doing? Calling one of the strongest humans ‘Granny’ is extremely disrespectful.

…

Nevermind. I have no right on lecturing her on that as I was calling the strongest person Gramps and the most influential one Big Sis.

“Ehem! I suppose you two can call me that. But I’m glad you like this little fun experience. But understand that as fun as it is to play with it, it is also very dangerous with its power to manipulate almost everything by manipulating its space, even your space. But that's why I am here. I'm not sure for how long I'll be teaching you until you are ready to train on your own but be sure that I won't leave until I'm finished."

A smile soon showed itself on her face after trying to reassure us that she won't leave her job half done. But to be honest, I didn't buy it. You can say whatever you want but I never saw you when it comes to it.

I don't trust someone to stay as long as they wish. There will always be something that will come in our way, destroying our current lifestyle.

But it seems that she didn't notice my inner thoughts, taking another sip of her tea before continuing with her speech.

"Our training sessions will be simple. Try to use the space while you are training with your abilities. Use the concept in some way and integrate affinity into your work. Alyssa, you will be using your space affinity on your hands or any place that no one can see by using your ability. As for you, Laith, you will try to feel your weapons' space most of the time and apply your affinity to it when training."

Oh! Feeling the space of my weapons doesn't sound that hard. I mean it is just knowing where they are and in what position, right?

"Laith... You will have it harder than her since her ability is already using her space affinity. Although having an affinity doesn't have to be tied with their ability, having 100% affinities changes this rule. Up until now, everyone with 100% affinities has had an ability that would use that affinity but you, who has 4 of these 100% affinities, use none of them during training but only when fighting."

"Do you mean that I should try to use them more actively while training with my ability?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you are weird. Extremely so. I've lived more than centuries yet never seen someone like you. Growing in strength by making weapons is still something in my understanding. You are the first but not something extremely special in that part. But what I truly can't understand is that you seem to have an ability with many little abilities, the way your sword ate without you controlling it as if it has a mind of its own, the fact that you are a four times Ultima Honorem without using that gift during your training…"

Ultima Honorem? What is that meaning now? Did she mean my %100 affinities?

"... And the fact that you still train as if you have much more potential than you use. It is as frustrating as interesting to see. But I don't want to think this is how your soul realises."

"My soul realises? I didn't understand that part…"

"You know. Soul realisation."

She looked at me as if she was expecting me to go on like 'Oh, yeah! Of course!' but that really didn't ring a bell. But what it did was pique my interest.

Soul realisation. It honestly sounded cool but without knowing what it means, I can't really judge anything, even something that's supposed to use my whole potential.

Looking at Alyssa, who most likely had as much of an idea as I have, Akiko soon gave up visibly. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Was she disappointed in us?

"That old bastard… can't even teach these kids something so crucial."

Oh… it's Gramps's fault…

Again…

"Then let me tell you what soul realisation is and we will split our training in two. One is to understand and use your space affinity and the other one is a training session with your soul realisation. Is that fine with you?"

"If we know what that is, we would agree depending on it."

"Hah! Trying to bargain with me~. You see, I was already planning on doing a bit of soul realisation training and the moment you two understand what it is, you'll want to do more of it than training with your space affinity ."

Oh! If it's just as cool as standing sideways on the empire state building, falling towards the sky or expanding and changing a room to my liking then I'd very much like to train my Soul realisation.

"But understand that what we are doing is just a show. You two won't be able to do a true soul realisation until reaching the [Caelestia] realm. Until then, we can only see a glimpse of it but that doesn't mean you don't want to see more of it. Sometimes, a glimpse won't be enough to satisfy the most basic standards. Or it may be enough to make you addicted to it. Tell me, you two do know what it looked like when you were just awakening, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“That is a part of soul realisation. You see, when advancing to another realm, you get closer to creating a soul realisation. It’s the first time the body has experienced anything and thus shows a strong view of its soul realisation. And the closer you get to the [Caelestia] realm, the more you can use the ability that is inside your soul. When you enter the [Discipulus] realm, you grasp your ability. When entering the [Illustratus] realm, you gain more insight into your ability, giving you a more detailed version of your own ability. For example, mine was a basic healing ability until I figured out that I can not only heal living beings but also inanimate objects as well, making my ability a restoration of cause and effect rather than simple healing. Enter the [Transcendens] realm and you are able to create a pseudo soul realisation as well as further develop your ability instead of understanding it more. And the moment you enter the [Caelestia] realm, you can do a soul realisation.”

So that’s how it really is. I thought it was just about growing stronger in scale but it seems that not only your raw power and Will would change but also your ability. It is interesting to know that I will have a stronger version of my already broken ability.

Alyssa seemed like she understood partly what Akiko was saying when she mentioned her. Although I can’t be sure if she was overwhelmed by what she was hearing or not as I couldn’t read her expression at the moment. It was making me kind of nervous in a way I wasn’t sure how to explain properly.

But there was one question that was still lingering in my mind as I was listening to her. Something I should have asked from the beginning but her continuous explanation pushed my question to the side. Every time she explained something, it felt like I just had to listen to it without making me feel bored.

“What exactly is Soul Realisation?”

Asking this made Akiko look at me with what seemed to be an embarrassed expression. You really didn’t just forget to explain to us what it really was, did you?

“Ah! All that talk and I still didn’t explain it… Alright! Listen up!”

You did forget it! Aren’t you supposed to be wise and knowledgeable? Why are those that are supposed to be so old yet smart and wise always acting like they aren’t?

“Don’t lose focus, Laith!”

Yes, teacher! I’m focused! Trust me~!

“Soul Realisation. The act of realising the world inside your soul outside. This is an act of showing ‘Your’ reality. Something you could also call your inner world. Everyone was born with a reality they had inside their soul. It is like their born trait. Some families even determine their main family by those that had similar realisations to their first ancestors. So in short, you are born with your ability and soul realisation. And the stronger your soul realisation is, the more it is possible to have your descendants inherit something much similar. So far so good?"

With a slight nod from the two of us after hearing her question, Akiko continued to explain what exactly soul realisation is.

"Soul realisation as I said is an act where your own inner world is brought to the outside. They are a type of area in which you are in control of everything. Literally. You do not need a special affinity or a certain ability to create an effect inside this area. Someone who can’t use the space affinity could still do something similar to someone with 100% affinity with the exception being that if their opponent does possesses that said 100% affinity. A Soul realisation does also not always need to be a fighting area but is truly your most comfortable area. If you’d like, I could show you what it looks like.”

“Yes!”

“Please.”

Be a bit more respectful, Alyssa! She is going to show us her ultimate move! That sure is something you want to see but honestly, I can’t really ask someone that. It’s not only rude but also would seem extremely suspicious. Like…

Hey! Can I see what your best move looks like? I just want to know for my own research, of course.

“Alright. But we need a bit more space…”

CLAP

Huh? Where are we now? I can’t seem to remember where this place is supposed to be but the only thing I can see is a wide opening filled with small grass leaves. Trees surrounding this field, closely packed together with no opening in sight as the only thing visible was the crystal clear sky with the sun slowly moving down from its peak.

Somewhere more east than we were before, I guess. But it didn’t seem particularly special to be a tourist attraction. But it is a sight to behold nonetheless.

Beautiful.

“Now with a bit more space and quiet, I can freely demonstrate what a Soul realisation would look like. Are you two ready?”

“Mhm~! Mhm~!”

“Yes…”

Nodding at the same time with different emotions being shown on our faces, The woman in front of me smiled. She was way different in teaching than Gramps but it was something I could only see as fitting for her.

Gramps’s training may have been the most effective one for me but her training made me…

…Understand more.

“Alright. Here I go…”

As if the world around us was one with the woman, her slow breath was syncing with the wind passing by our cheeks. The ground slightly lit up in a white-gold colour.

Her eyes closed and her palms together in front of her. And before I knew it…

“Soul Realisation…”

A sight I could never forget entered my eyes as with each word she said, her palms were parting and the shining ground only got brighter and the area wider, going on until the edges of this field.

“...Tenshi no Hane!”

VUUUUUUUUM