"...Tenshi no Hane!"

VUUUUUUUUUUUM

It was unbelievable.

The only thing I could think of at the time. It was just unbelievable.

Because the moment those words left her mouth.

The moment those words entered my ears.

The moment my brain interpreted those words.

I felt like it was all over.

She had won.

That was how I felt instinctively. I was not in a safe place. I was unable to do anything I wanted to do. Even Keyser, who most likely snuck up to us when she teleported us, wouldn't even move one bit out of that scabbard of his.

It was like a snail hiding inside its shell. And you know what? I felt that. I really felt that feeling of hiding in a much safer place.

But I had no shell to hide myself. I had no scabbard to be sheathed into. So I watched.

As the pure white feathers fell down to the ground, the feathers did nothing but amplify the effect of instinctive fear.

I know she won't hurt us since we are Gramps's disciples.

And Gramps is definitely stronger than her, that far I can tell. It was a deduction I made since the start of our lessons.

She did not create a barrier like Gramps would do almost instantly. Maybe she was very confident about her strength. She is one of the three [Caelestia] realm awakened after all. But that leaves the question.

Why at least no time barrier? We would have so much more time to learn and train yet she did not create a barrier controlling the flow of time.

Instead, she showed us a world in which my instincts were shouting to get out. Even my runes showed up by themselves and I felt something in me trying to go out.

It was like… wait!

VUUM

And the next thing I knew, all of my weapons left my armoury, including Stalker, my Armour.

All of them were outside my soul, penetrating the ground as if they belonged to a mighty warrior who has long since exhaled his last breath with their weapon being the last piece to stay.

All of them scattered in a way that didn't make any sense. All of them surrounded me in a way that had no pattern at all. I thought there was going to be something about this but it seems that was it.

It was just me, bare in front of everyone to see what I had. All my weapons were on display, all my bodily secrets visible to everyone and I felt like she could even see my understanding of weapons with nothing more than her eyes.

I felt naked. Extremely. So much that no amount of clothing could change this feeling.

Alyssa didn't seem any better. Although I knew there was no pain in this, her scrunched up face told me enough to know how she felt right now.

But that wasn't what I was worried about. It was the dark pink cloud that was surrounding her and the area around her. It was so thick that seeing through it was impossible.

Purple lightning rippled through them as they even contained dark blue glitters. It seemed like it was…

"Another world, right? That's what I meant when I said she already has a rough idea of her Soul realisation."

"UWAH!"

Bloody hell! She appeared just out of nowhere next to me with a smile on her face. One that shouted that she was delighted to see such a scene. What is your problem?

And there is something more important to ask her!

"How and why did you do this? I feel awful!"

I didn't give a shit about being polite anymore. It just felt horrible to have so many secrets bare to see.

"I am using my Soul realisation and made it so I can see everything your abilities can do. The reason is that there is a side effect while implementing such a law in one's realisation and that is simple to understand. And you already guessed what this means now, right?"

"Yeah… it gives us a glimpse of what our inner world really looks like. So we can train according to it, right?"

"Just as smart as I hoped you would be. If not, I'd really be worried about her, who still didn't understand that I am unable to harm you, even if I'd want that."

Oh, right! Although Alyssa wasn't really an idiot, she can't think as fast as I do in such a situation. And the reason I could do that was because of Gramps who imprinted more than 200 days of torture into me.

There was just a huge difference in time of torture, my dear junior.

"Alyssa! Don't worry! It's just so you can have a glimpse of your inner world!"

"I'm fucking aware of that! I'm like this because I feel I can’t control my power right now and it is doing something I have never seen it do!”

Oh, wow! An Alyssa that curses back at me. That is refreshing.

But the thing about her powers going out of control wasn’t so refreshing. But before I knew it, Akiko was now next to Alyssa, putting her hand on her shoulder as she most likely tried to calm her down.

“Girl, just let it go. I am the reason your ability is reacting like that and the ability of an awakened is unable to hurt its user no matter what effect is created by it. Just calm down and breathe slowly in and out.”

Alyssa, heeding the words of Akiko, did just as she was told to, breathe.

And as her chest rose up, the ripples and stars multiplied yet when her chest lowered as well, those same ripples and stars vanished. More ripples and stars vanished than they could form themselves, slowly leaving the cloud of pink alone to surround Alyssa.

Akiko now standing in front of us again, smiled while looking at us with eyes filled with a light I’m unable to decipher. Was it that great to see us like this? Did she see something that made her just genuinely happy? Or were these so-called side effects the reason for her to smile like that?

Whatever it is, this smile was something I wasn’t used to at all.

I mean, you’d get me, right? That mad mad smile Gramps would give every time he was so satisfied by something Alyssa or I did. That mad laugh that was devoid of any pretentious feeling that he would do when he found something too funny to hold these waves of laughter back.

And especially that light in his eyes that would scream that he had another of his crazy ideas. A light that would make everyone want to run away from him and yet never would dare to. As much of a scary light it was, it was just as compelling. People would want to know what this man was thinking at that moment.

But Akiko’s light was different. It was not showcasing the light of someone with the most absurd ideas you could think of. No. That would never be a light of madness.

This is the light of kindness.

Looking at us like we are her grandchildren, Akiko soon started to talk in such a soothing voice that for a moment, I felt like I was her grandchild.

“As you can see now, this is how your Soul realisation could possibly look like. What I only did was to make my area have the rule of ‘Show everything my [Enemies] can do’ which was the reason you most likely felt fear at the beginning. But now that you see what it looks like, you can also get an idea of how your ability may work better, how you could train more efficiently or just generally improve in one aspect.”

But what is this supposed to mean?

My weapons are only penetrating the ground as if they have already given up.

Even my link to them couldn’t tell me anything.

“I think I get it…”

“You do?”

“Yeah… I should not only grow stronger by dreaming but also by widening the range and raising the denseness of my ability. I should get stronger like I’d train my body. Stretch to get more flexibility for better reach as well as focus to get a stronger effect. I thought of that at first but it didn’t show that much of a result like dreaming would but that wasn’t it. If I can widen the area and make it denser like this cloud, dreaming would have a much greater effect on myself than before.”

“That’s great to hear that you have found your way, my dear. And you, Laith?”

“I…”

I haven’t found a clue…

Unlike Alyssa, who had at least a bit of reaction when playing with her ability outside her dreams, I have never found any effect fighting with my ability. It was as if my ability wasn’t the way I’m supposed to train but preparing my ability was.

My ability wouldn’t work if I didn’t make any weapons and even weapons I do not grant a name count as training. It was so illogical to the nature of abilities that even Gramps was all like…

‘You are one of a kind! I’d say that it was great but that also means that you are extremely expensive! AHAHAHAHA~!’

Ugh… for some reason, I just got the extreme urge to punch an old bastard in the face.

And that face in my mind is extremely well to punch!

But that wasn’t the time to think about it. Never mind the fact that I don’t have the slightest idea of where that old bastard is now.

“I don’t know. My weapons are just here, sticking out of the ground but nothing else I can see. Even my link to them doesn’t give me a clue nor does the fact that I really only grow by making weapons.”

“But who was only talking about growing stronger?”

“What do you mean?”

“Understanding how to grow stronger is one thing you could understand by seeing a bit of your Soul realisation. There is also the fact of understanding your ability better.”

Then…

Now that I think about it, the change here is only my runes showing and all my weapons being outside.

Runes…

Weapons outside…

Wait! That’s it!

All while this was happening, I could feel the area around us change again as the cloud around Alyssa vanished and the forceful feeling of showing my weapons and runes vanished.

But that didn’t make me take back my weapons or the runes.

“Could I ask for something? I think I fo-”

“Tell me what it is and I’ll make it happen. Don’t worry, my dear.”

“Something I can fight against and possibly hurt. It should behave like someone trained on my level as well.”

“Mud, Steel or dirt?”

“Any is fine.”

“Gelatine it is then~!”

“Trying to simulate flesh?”

“Wouldn’t that be the most ideal?”

“For now, yes.”

“Then here you go.”

And with just the wave of her hand, a humanoid puppet made out of what seems to be a mix of gelatine and something else, looking a lot like actual flesh.

Kind of creepy if I had to be honest but that will do. It was even standing in a very familiar fighting position.

“Alright… now…”

I channelled my Will around my weapons, moving them according to my thoughts. The curious gaze of Akiko and Alyssa was almost drilling through me but I tried to ignore it as I moved the weapons to a specific spot.

Or to be precise, to a not specific position. They had to be in a random place for my idea to work.

BAMM

Letting them fall down to the ground, everything from my Armoury soon penetrated the ground just like before.

The ground shook as the heavy weapons even created cracks in the ground while the light and sharp ones went through the ground like butter with half of it protruding out.

“Are you ready, Laith?”

Taking a deep breath while my right hand went for the handle of Keyser, never looking anywhere else besides the puppet.

“Yes.”

SWUSH

As my words left my body, I tilted forward and lowered my centre of gravity to only press my feet off the ground as hard as I could.

I went for a cut to the throat. There was nothing special to it but as I was flying through the air, I spun in the air and my grip lightened up quite a lot.

CLANG

Although I did cut deeply into the puppet's hand, it was just that.

A cut. One I have done a lot throughout my training. It wasn't as special as the one I did while confronting the principal nor was it as big as the one I made while awakening.

Yet Keyser flew out of my hands, penetrating the ground like all the other weapons did while I was a couple of metres away from the puppets, opposite to my previous position.

And I grab Skia, the pair of daggers.

And I yet again let myself lean forward, pushing off the ground earlier than I'd usually do.

SLASH

Now the 'tendons' were cut. It was moving just like before but that is something I do not care for right now. In fact, the more it struggled, the better I could test it.

SLICE

An arm off. Going through the shoulder like butter with my short sword, Ladrao.

I think I can understand what that sight meant slowly. And the more I do, the stronger my next attack will be.

BANG! BA-BANG!

Disparo and Diana screamed simultaneously as the bullets were strong enough to turn the other arm into Swiss cheese.

BA-BA-BA-BA-BAMM

The sound waves of my punches while wearing echoed out before I reached the other side.

SLASH

A leg was cut off as I swung Orage with all the might I could muster. The puppet was already in a sorry state, but before it could truly end.

BOOM

Holding Stahl with my right hand, the heavy weapon slammed right onto the chest of the puppet, making it fly straight upwards. The gusts of wind around the hammer only helped in throwing that puppet to where I wanted it to be.

And that was when I jumped up as well. Faster than the puppet would do.

"Keyser!"

And my blade would travel that distance way quicker than I could but that was perfect. As long as I get to where I want to with Keyser in my hand before it's too late, then anything else does not matter.

And just like I wished for, before the puppet would fall back down, I was already over it with Keyser in my right hand, ready to slash down with all my might and concentration I could muster.

Here I go!

VUUP

BANG

The sound of energies was loud and clear to hear as I spun with Keyser aimed right at the puppet’s chest. And the next thing everyone could know, I smashed that puppet to the ground, split in half by my forceful approach.

Although this was an impressive combo and all, that wasn’t what was in my mind yet found out something interesting while fighting.

“So I have to keep my movements alive so that every hit afterwards gets stronger. It’s like accelerating the momentum instead of changing it. The more I accelerate it, the stronger the impact would be. But that isn’t all that I found out…”

For one, it is that I don’t use a special technique for my weapons which makes me unpredictable at first but what if I add to that unpredictable way of using my weapons by changing which weapon I’ll use? That is what I wanted to test and the result is pretty clear.

And the more weapons I have inside my Armoury, the more unpredictable I’d become with more and more weapons at my disposal. But the most important thing I found out…

“Besides the point of using more weapons in a fight, I have something way more important thing to do. And I think it is better to demonstrate it.”

I threw Keyser far away, trying to create distance between the two of us before raising my right hand towards the direction Keyser was.

While we are at it, I could try out something as well…

‘Keyser.’

SWISH

And like always, Keyser flew back into my hand with me spending no effort but to think of its name. That is very good to know now. Should have known that before…

Sheathing the beautiful Kilij back into its scabbard on my waist, I stretched my right hand out towards another weapon of mine that was currently penetrating its blade into the ground with the beautiful yet simple shaft being on full display.

“Orage.”

RUSTLE

Oh! It did move! That was already more than I expected but that was not something I could use during a fight.

“The reason why I can call Keyser but not the other weapons is most likely because our link isn’t as strong as with Keyser. Unless I send my Will to them, I don’t think I’ll be able to call them towards me like I’d like to.”

“Are all your weapons filled with your Will? I thought that was only so with Keyser since, you know, he came to be without any work to do.”

“It’s most likely the act of entering your soul, is that right?”

“I thought so as well but that may only be the initiator. What I really think is the reason… must be the Intent.”

“Inte-”

“You can already create Intent?!”

Akiko looked at me with a shocked faze while shouting, interrupting Alyssa to probably ask what Intent is. I can’t blame her since this isn’t what Gramps would teach as ‘Common Knowledge’ but as something we would find out later on.

Only that Gramps told me in advance once that everything comes with an affinity as long as it exists. That was common knowledge.

But he never explained in detail that everything also has an Intent. He only told me that I’d most likely be able to feel the Intent of my weapons faster than others in only a matter of time.

But I have another guess to that.

“What is Intent?”

“Ah! I thought Akira had told you already what that means since Laith said it himself but I guess he wouldn’t for a good reason. You probably know that there is an affinity to everything, right?”

“Yeah…”

“There is also a concept of Intent. Everything that has an affinity also has an intent. But unlike affinity, you do not possess any intent at the beginning but train with an affinity so much that you start to feel its intent. That’s why I said that any kind of affinity, even a 100% one, can’t save you whenever confronting someone with more understanding. Because they most likely have more intent to close that gap in affinity.”

“But then what is the meaning of affinities if the intent is so important.”

I think I can already figure out why affinities are so important but Alyssa most likely didn’t put the things together. But in some way, that is how she is. And watching that face so dumbfounded seems to be a new hobby of mine, even if I can’t believe it myself.

“Affinities work more like an amplifier. You can always train in something, even if you don’t have an affinity for it, but you will never reach a certain place without their affinities. It is like something is blocking you on the way to reaching that power. Only with even more hard work, can you overcome such a state but that takes too much time. That’s why although those with more affinities seem luckier, even those with only one can be extremely strong since they mostly train in that only affinity.”

Oh! So that is why the [Shadow Movement] wanted such a high affinity in the shadow affinity to be executed as intended. Although you could basically use shadows in one way or another without an affinity, it would take too long for someone to reach such a high level of control that they could have done another, more suited technique than that.

And that may also be the reason why I have to train in the intent of my weapons.

Is what I wanted to say but…

“I think I already have intent in my weapons…”

“You what?!”

“You do?”

Alyssa was as energetic as ever while Akiko showed so much interest like always. I may have to get used to this sight now…

Where the fuck are you, Gramps.

“I think it has something to do with my ability which lets me understand weapons extremely fast. Just look at the facts here. I do not need the training to understand how to properly use a weapon, at first sight, my body is moving as if it has trained with it for years and the more I use a type of weapon, the stronger I can feel my attacks become. “

“So you are saying you had their intent from the start and only continued to train that intent, is that correct?”

“If I knew how to train that intent, I’d not have struggled to call my weapons to me…”

“So you have enough intent to move your weapons slightly from the start? My dear, you shouldn’t say this to anyone else…”

“Because I’d be killed before I can show my potential, right?”

“Yes… it’s not normal to have any intent so young by yourself. There are three ways to gain intent. The first and weakest way would be to accept the intent of someone else, which shows the intent like the original user would use. For example, if they used a rapier with their sword intent, you could only be able to use that intent with a rapier. The second one, which is the most ideal one for people, would be a teacher teaching their intent. You would need a lot more time but could use for example the sword intent on any kind of sword. And the third and strongest intent would be the one you would gain by yourself and also be able to train the fastest. And if people that find you annoying or hate you with all their beings, that would be a great reason to finish you early on.”

I see…

Fucking talent. It seems like a blessing but all I ever hear is people way stronger than I could kill me instantly.

Kill me here! Death over there! Oh, Look! Someone is giving me a cookie- Oh, wait! That is poisoned as well!

Just let me in fucking peace! God hell am I mad just thinking about it!

And seeing that a frown is slowly forming on my face, Akiko tried to calm me down, laying a hand on my shoulder. Alyssa seemed confused and most likely did know what to say.

It seems that this is something she doesn’t know how to approach. She would usually jump on me while annoying me, she also wouldn’t truly bother me that much. But it was times like these that I could tell she tried to be considerate of me.

“Calm down. No one knows anything about you all while you have these blessings. Train as hard as you can and the moment they try something funny, you can already hit them back. I’ll even help you in training your intent, alright?”

“I guess… I just need puppets to further develop my fighting style.”

“Sure, my dear. But you also can’t forget to train your space affinity as well. And that is why I have the perfect idea to train both at the same time for you two.”

“Yay!”

“Do you have any idea how?”

“Alyssa, my dear. You will feel and calculate every place inside your area of effect while stretching that area out. If you can feel everything inside the area, even the forces like gravitation, then you can move on and try to move them purely with your ability. As for you, Laith. You will constantly feel your weapon’s space and your own space while also expanding your intent by channelling it with your will. You two can feel and calculate space by covering your Will with it and slowly lessen the amount of Will but have the feeling stay the same. You two get the gist of this training, don’t you?”

“Abuse the fact that we could simultaneously feel the space and our ability. Got it.”

“Got it? How? I didn’t understand it…”

“Just do as she said. Try and feel the space while expanding your abilities range, okay?”

“Whatever you say, honey!”

Seeing how she was all smiles just after I repeated Akiko’s words, the two of us couldn’t help but look at each other with a tired expression. I just hope she won’t make me more fatigued than I already am…

But what Akiko said may as well be really smart to do for now. With no time barrier in place, time is our only enemy. And it may even help and amplify the effects of our training.

Or it may as well be too much at the same time, hindering our training altogether.

But that is something she won’t benefit from so I don’t think it should be impossible.

I hope…

Well…

“Then? Should we start?”

But standing around doing nothing is also not the solution. If I didn’t know what to do, trying won’t hurt and if it turns out to be true, I’ll benefit from it more than ever.

And I’ll finally be able to train with my space affinity as well.

Just thinking about it made my blood run faster and my body become more excited about what is coming next.

I was surely developing. That’s good to hear.

“Yes!”

“Yeah!”

“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s start!”

Akiko said with a smile plastered on her face. And that smile seemed to be contagious, making me and Alyssa smile as well, although not with such an innocent smile.

But that of a certain madman.

Since we don’t have a lot of time anymore, the only thing left to do is to train like a madman.

And like a madman, we will!