All eyes were on the pulsating rod.
The only sound that could be heard was their breathing and the faint, rhythmic sound of the pulsating water rod.
"I'd really like to know how you did this, Cairon," Ignis said, amused and surprised at the same time.
"I didn't do anything. I just… I just thought how it would've been better if, somehow, instead of holding it together, it could just do it by itself and interact with the Aether around it," Cairon replied.
"Well, you, my boy, just now did something that you should not be able to do normally. Only the Herald had the ability to do so," Ignis said.
"What do you mean? How is it special?" Cairon asked.
"You see, to put it simply, you just created something out of aether, Like, actually created it. Its existence right now is not tied to you. It's independent. Normally, unless you constantly pump Aether into it, it shouldn't hold up," Ignis said seriously.
"Now, both the bead and the prayer scroll are of no benefit to you anymore ."
Cairon looked at him, confused.
"But still what use is a predator who does not know how to hunt? It will eventually die out without ever accomplishing what it's best at. You need to practice until complete you know how to handle it masterfully .
The best practice is for you to fight and use it in your actions, so that both your mind and body start using it unconsciously."
Cairon stared at the water rod.
It continued to pulsate.
Once
Twice
Then his vision suddenly began to blur.
His breathing became heavier.
The strength in his legs disappeared.
"Cai?"
Vynn's voice sounded distant.
Cairon tried to answer, but no words came out.
His knees gave way.
"CAIRON!"
Marek rushed forward and caught him before his head could hit the floor.
"What the hell did you do to him?"
Marek turned toward Ignis, the look in his eyes changing instantly.
He walked towards ignis , grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"What did you do to him?!"
Ignis didn't resist.
Instead, he calmly looked at Cairon lying unconscious on the ground.
"This is just the side effect of overexerting himself."
"Side effect?"
"Yes."
Ignis's voice remained unusually calm.
"If a power is used, a corresponding cost should be paid. Normally, that cost is not more than your aptitude , but right now…"
His eyes moved toward Cairon.
"…it's his life force."
Marek's grip tightened.
"His life force?"
"He did something he shouldn't even be able to . His body had to pay for it somehow and simply it couldn't keep up with what his mind was asking it to do."
Ignis sighed.
"Put simply, the boy ran before he even learned how to walk , thus his legs gave out."
Marek released him.
"Let's get him inside I have an idea."
Marek carried Cairon over his shoulder, his body hanging almost completely limp.
They hurried back into the base.
The base had an old infirmary hidden behind one of the larger storage rooms. It was hardly what anyone would call a proper medical room.
Against one wall sat a heavy iron-framed cot, its legs reinforced with riveted steel and its mattress made from layers of worn leather and thick wool. A small brass pipe ran along the wall beside it, connected to an old heating system that kept the room slightly warmer than the rest of the base.
Marek carefully laid Cairon down.
His head rested against a folded leather cushion.
By then, almost everyone in the gang had gathered around the room.
"What happened to Cairon?"
"Is he hurt?"
"What did that old man do?"
"Is he breathing?"
The questions came one after another.
Vynn stood nearby, still trying to process everything that had happened.
Vynn finally recounted everything that transpired .
Everyone became quiet.
"Unbelievable ."
A few of them exchanged confused looks.
"He Created water?"
"Can we do it too? "
Vynn jumped in ,
" Based on what that old man Ignis said , you might be able to awaken to different powers or none at all , at the moment we don't even know how to do it."
That caused even more murmuring.
Some of the gang members stared at Ignis.
Others looked toward Cairon.
A few simply stood there in silence, unable to believe what Vynn was telling them.
But not everyone looked at Ignis with curiosity.
Some of them had become more wary of the Coilblood leader.
They occasionally glanced sideways at him, their expressions hostile.
He was still the man they had kidnapped.
And now he was standing inside their base, teaching Cairon how to use powers none of them even understood.
The situation felt dangerous.
Hearing all the commotion, Rae finally arrived.
He pushed through the people surrounding the room and immediately saw Cairon lying unconscious on the bed.
His expression changed.
He walked straight toward Ignis.
"What the hell did you do to him, you impulsive old man?"
Ignis looked at him.
There was something unusual about this man.
Rae was strange.
Very strange.
Yet Ignis seemed to find his insanity amusing rather than irritating.
"Relax. Nothing happened to your Lord. He's just overexerted himself. He'll be as good as before as soon as he replenishes his life force."
Rae stared at him.
He didn't say anything.
For several seconds, the room remained completely silent.
Then Rae spoke slowly.
"You better pray to whatever you believe in that he wakes up."
His eyes narrowed.
"If he doesn't …"
Ignis raised an eyebrow.
"Right now, I do not believe in anyone other than Cairon."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"It's all in his hands at the moment. I'll just pray to him."
Rae stared at him for another moment.
Then Marek suddenly shouted.
"Enough!"
Everyone went silent.
"Everyone, leave!"
No one argued.
One by one, the members of the gang began leaving the room.
The door slowly closed behind the last person.
Only Marek, Vynn, Rae, Ignis, and the unconscious Cairon remained.
Ignis approached Marek.
"I might know of a way to make him wake up way sooner than he's supposed to."
Marek immediately turned toward him.
"And what might it be?"
"We bring the Saelith stone and put it on him."
Ignis looked toward Cairon.
"And hope he absorbs vitality from it."
Marek didn't hesitate.
"Vynn."
Vynn looked at him.
"You heard the old man."
Marek pointed toward the door.
"Go grab it and bring it here."
Vynn nodded and immediately rushed out.
The room fell silent again.
Rae looked at Cairon.
His unconscious body remained completely still.
But beneath the fabric of his clothes, something faintly began to glow.
Neither Marek nor Rae noticed it.
Ignis did.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
He stepped closer to the bed.
For the first time since arriving at the base, the amusement disappeared from his face.
"…Interesting."
A faint, almost imperceptible pulse moved through Cairon's body.
Once.
Then again.
Ignis stared at him.
Marek stood beside Cairon, looking down at him. His breathing was slow, but steady. His face looked almost peaceful, as if he had simply fallen into a deep sleep.
Ignis leaned against the wall, his arms crossed.
Marek stared at him.
"You really are a reckless old man, your actions are impulsive and irrational, it's because of you he's become like this , he was only following your lead. "
Ignis chuckled.
"You're only realizing that now?"
A few minutes passed before hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the corridor.
Vynn entered the room, holding the blue stone tightly in his hand.
"I got it."
Ignis immediately looked toward him.
"Good. Bring it here."
Vynn approached the bed and placed the stone in Ignis' hand.
The moment Ignis touched it, his expression changed slightly.
"Still cold."
He looked down at Cairon.
"Put it on his chest."
Vynn hesitated.
"And what exactly is supposed to happen?"
"Nothing dramatic, hopefully."
"That isn't exactly reassuring."
Ignis ignored him.
Vynn carefully took the stone from Ignis and placed it on Cairon's chest.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
The room remained completely silent.
Vynn looked at Marek.
Marek looked at Ignis.
Ignis simply stared at the stone.
Then—
Thump.
The stone pulsed.
A faint blue light spread beneath its surface.
and into the surface of Cairon's body.
Thump.
Another pulse.
This time, Cairon's fingers moved slightly.
Vynn immediately stepped back.
"Did you see that?"
"I saw it," Marek replied.
Ignis leaned closer.
"See I was right."
The blue glow slowly spread from the stone, moving across Cairon's chest like thin veins of light.
Then the stone began to draw something from the air around it.
Tiny particles of Aether gathered around Cairon, almost invisible at first, before being pulled toward the stone.
Ignis' eyes narrowed.
"It's working."
Marek watched carefully.
"What is it doing?"
"Giving his body something to work with."
"His life force?"
"Not exactly that but something better. "
Ignis paused.
"It's helping his body absorb aether , by acting as a medium ."
The glow became brighter.
Cairon suddenly took a sharp deep breath.
Everyone froze.
His chest rose sharply before falling again.
"Cai?"
Vynn stepped closer.
Cairon didn't respond.
Then his fingers moved again.
Ignis smiled faintly.
"He's coming back."
Marek finally let out the breath he had been holding.
"Thank God."
Ignis looked at him.
"It's not finished yet ."
Marek frowned.
"What?"
Ignis pointed toward the stone.
"Look."
The blue glow had begun to change.
The light was no longer spreading across Cairon's body.
It was moving toward his head.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As if something inside him was pulling it there.
For the first time since Cairon had collapsed, Ignis looked genuinely concerned.
"What?"
Marek asked.
Ignis didn't answer.
The stone suddenly stopped glowing as if dying out , cracks forming on it's surface.
For one second, everything was completely still.
As the stone cracked and shattered.
Cairon opened his eyes.
His pupils were barely visible.
A blue ring surrounded them.
Vynn took a step backward.
"What the hell…?"
Cairon stared straight ahead.
But he wasn't looking at any of them.
He was looking at something far beyond the room.
Something only he could see.
And then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he spoke.
"The Ocean , it's calling me…"
Marek moved closer.
"What did you say?"
Cairon's eyes widened.
"There's something…"
His breathing became heavier.
"Something is still alive down there."
Ignis went completely still.
The blue ring around Cairon's eyes disappeared.
His body went limp again.
The stone fell from his chest and hit the floor.
CLINK.
Nobody moved.
Ignis slowly looked down at the blue stone.
Then looking towards the other 3 inside the room he said, " just now this just got hella interesting."
"….."