Lysameria summoned them again without ceremony after what felt like days.
"As I told you before we are in the Ocean of Origin. As the name suggests, this is where all sentient beings of Spheraphase originated. In this ocean, time does not behave. You have been here for months but to you, it feels like days."
Milliania frowned. Leon blinked. Leones quietly recalculated everything she thought she knew about her internal sense of duration.
"That discrepancy is not a flaw. It is a feature. The Ocean of Origin compresses experiential time while expanding adaptive change. Growth happens faster than perception can track. And that is why I forced you through endurance training for months. You have not used Divine Energy for a long time."
This time, she didn't gesture broadly. She pointed.
"Anamorsia. Leon. Leones. Milliania. Adelasta. For the duration of this training, you have relied entirely on Soul Energy. You have not been using Divine Energy because you couldn't."
She turned her attention briefly toward Elyonari and Narisva, who stood off to the side.
"Elyonari has always relied on Nature Energy. Narisva's affinity for Spatial Energy borders on obsession. Their adjustment was expected. But Divine Energy is a drug. It is powerful but the more you lean on it, the more you forget that you possess other forms of power. In Aquamarine, Divine Energy cannot enter."
Then came the part that made it all click.
"Another reason for the endurance training was durability."
She raised one hand and the surrounding water shimmered, revealing faint strands of glowing blue strings of light woven through it.
"The ocean's water is saturated with Aqualyes, one of the Primordial Elements. Aqualyes purifies the body and diminishes stress by buffing the physical vessel. The pressure shattered your bones repeatedly and each time, Aqualyes restored them stronger than before. That is why you are durable now and why why you are stronger."
"Leon. Leones. Anamorsia. Milliania."
They all straightened instinctively.
"Your training is complete. You exceeded my expectations," Lysameria said and for a being like her, that was the closest thing to praise.
She turned to Leon, Leones, and Milliania specifically.
"Your mothers instructed me to train you. My obligation is fulfilled."
Leones blinked. Leon opened his mouth, then closed it again, realizing there was nothing to argue.
"You are at the Third Enlightenment. Breaking into the Fourth no longer requires force. All you need is understanding. Anamorsia, you're free as well. I'll see you back in the palace so take over the Dynasty in the meantime"
Lysameria lifted her hand and waved it once like she was removing away a thought she no longer needed. The ocean responded instantly.
Water surged upward in smooth, spiraling walls, wrapping around Anamorsia, Leon, Leones and Milliania. In the span of a second they were gone, carried away by Aquamarine's currents and deposited elsewhere in the world, far from the Ocean of Origin. When the water settled, only three remained.
Lysameria turned back to them, folding her arms loosely.
"You've already passed Phase One which is Endurance training."
Narisva exhaled sharply. Elyonari's lips curved into a tired fake smile. Adelasta said nothing, which was very on brand. Lysameria tilted her head slightly.
"Now, it's time for Phase Two. This one isn't hard."
That sentence alone was enough to trigger every survival instinct the three of them had ever developed.
"All you have to do is run."
She snapped her fingers. One moment, Aquamarine was silent amd the next, something arrived. The water behind them distorted, folding inward as though space itself were bowing under an incoming presence.
A ten-meter-tall octopus suddenly appeared. Its body was covered in faintly glowing markings. The pressure rolling off it was dense enough to shock the three of them. This wasn't a beast. This was something older than the idea of beasts. Lysameria glanced over her shoulder, utterly unfazed.
"This is Isabel."
The octopus's many eyes shifted, focusing on the three of them with unsettling intelligence.
"She is the Third of the Aquatic Beasts. And yes, before you ask, she is a Primordial Deity."
Narisva opened her mouth. Lysameria raised a finger. She already knew what she was going to ask.
"You will not fight her."
That finger lowered, pointing vaguely at the city.
"Your job is simple. You are to not get caught. You will run across Aquamarine. You will continue running until she decides to stop chasing you. This will repeat until she is satisfied."
The octopus began to shrink.
Its colossal body folded inward smoothly as limbs condensed and its structure rearranged itsel. In moments where the massive beast had been stood a humanoid woman. Out of her tailbone emerged six long, sinuous tentacles that swayed behind her. She smiled and bowed her head politely.
"Greetings. I promise not to go easy on you."
Narisva muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'of course you won't.'
"This phase is stamina training. The use of any energy type is forbidden. Divine, Spatial, Nature, none of it."
Narisva groaned. Elyonari sighed deeply. Adelasta didn't react outwardly as usual.
"You will run using nothing but your bodies."
She turned to Isabel.
"Touching them lightly with your tentacles is enough. No crushing."
Isabel placed a hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
"I understand, Your Eminence. Thank you."
Isabel looked at the three of them.
"I'll be gentle," she added cheerfully.
That did not help. Lysameria stepped back, already disengaging.
"This may take days, so prepare yourselves. But the way, if you are touched, you may not survive her hallucinations."
Lysameria vanished without another word.
Isabel's tentacles spread.
"Shall we begin?"
--------
Happy Valentine's Day!
Sorry that I did not make any romantic stories for this day. Anyway, I hope you give your lover or a member of your family something to appreciate their love for you. I am single so I have no one to give gifts to so I will just buy myself cake and eat it alone.
Why does my protagonist have a better romantic life than me...