They arrived in the environmental simulation room a few moments later and Elaine tweaked the settings for a moment. With a whirl of light and color, the area changed to their previous training field. Cypher could even see the area where his released beam of energy had struck the ground.

It really had incinerated everything in its path and he was happy that nobody had been hurt. The blast radius stretched outwards a few hundred meters in a cone shape, the tip of which was marked by a deep crater. He wondered how he had survived such a thing. However, his attention was soon diverted towards Elaine.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he saw her carefully pacing around a large area and counting.

"Today is going to be the longest day of your life Cypher," she began as she continued pacing and counting. "I need an approximate estimate of the area we'll be using, and so I'm doing just that. You only have eight days left by my estimate, and since your last training session didn't go so well, we're going to change things up a bit.

"Just what are we going to change?" he asked.

"Well, normally it might take even you a few more months to finish the process of mastering the Duality Shield. It would be even longer before you're able to use it in battle. I can't have you dying on me, what would your father think? So, I'm placing a special barrier around this area."

"But what is that going to accomplish?" asked Cypher, annoyed that they were wasting precious time.

"Shut the fuck up and let me finish and you might find out!" snapped Elaine. "As you well know, I'm a master of barrier magicks. The one I'm casting now is a very special and very dangerous barrier of my own design. It's called the Anzephelo Barrier. Or time barrier if you wanna be basic as fuck."

"Outside this barrier time will flow at the normal rate. If there were observers around, they would see us moving at insanely high speeds. However, on the inside, time will pass differently for us. Time gets condensed and curved into such a degree that we'll be able to spend years if we wanted to inside training."

Cypher was extremely impressed. This was nothing he could have imagined and he started to praise Elaine but was stopped as she held up a finger.

"Don't get too excited. This comes at a steep cost. Before we begin I need to know if you're willing to pay that cost. Time will be dilated inside this barrier. I plan to spend maybe a year inside. That should be enough time for you to master the Duality Shield. However, for every minute of dilated time we experience inside, that same amount of time will be taken from the end of our lives."

Cypher gulped hard and blinked a few times. A spell that could manipulate time itself was incredible, and it only made sense that such a spell would have such a high cost. Cypher was resolved to do whatever it took to save his friends. He couldn't know when his life would end anyway, losing a year might cost him later down the line, but right now that didn't matter.

As a Conductor, as long as he wasn't killed his life would span centuries as long as he kept advancing. A single year was almost laughable to think about losing. Thus, with his decision made, he nodded his head, and Elaine began to chant.

Her lips moved so quickly that Cypher couldn't read what she was saying, and the words blurred together and were incoherent. She obviously didn't wish for him to memorize the details of that spell. Seconds passed and a violet-colored beam of light shot upward from where she was standing. It unfolded itself around them, taking the shape of a large dome.

It crashed against the ground with a loud boom, and Cypher stared in wonder at its violet boundaries. "While we're in here, we won't need to eat or sleep. The barrier will keep us sustained. It will even heal our wounds and restore our Zight as it's expended. We can't even die in here as long as the wounds aren't instantly fatal. But remember, time outside will continue to flow normally."

"By the time this year is up, your grace period will be up and you'll only have a single day to go to the Order," finished Elaine. Cypher felt empowered. His mind raced with possibilities and he grew excited. Nothing could stand in his way now. He would master the Duality Shield. He would venture out to the docks and save his friends. And he would make the Order pay for fucking with his loved ones.

Cypher bowed deeply to Elaine. He realized that her life was going to be expended as well. The lengths she was willing to go to in order to train him warmed his heart and for the first time, he actually considered her his Godmother. He smiled to himself and apologized to his parents from afar. They had made excellent choices when it came to his godparents.

Elaine only blushed as Cypher held the pose and then threw a rock at his head. "Enough of that gushy shit. Don't go thinking I'm going to go easy on you just because I've grown fond of you or anything!" stuttered a blushing Elaine.

Cypher smiled up at her, his affection growing, and she scowled and crossed her arms. "Don't you say a fucking word about what I just said to anyone! Otherwise, you'll have a lot more to deal with than some crazy hooded fucks trying to kill you, understand?" Cypher only smiled again.

The time for games was done, and now, Cypher focused his mind and efforts into an iron-hard will that would guide him to the perfection of this spell, and his greatest asset in battle. Now, the real training could begin!