The training chamber doors closed behind Adrian and Hestia as they walked into the corridor, their hands joined.
"Our foundation makes much more sense now," Hestia said, glancing toward him. "I could never understand how so many different concepts could remain inside one seed. But if that seed comes from the Source, I can at least understand why it is possible."
Adrian nodded as they walked. "Mine was like that from the beginning. When my essence seed first took shape, I thought I would form more as I comprehended other concepts. But no matter how many I learned, no other seeds appeared. All of my comprehension stayed inside that one Source Essence Seed."
"I did not know why it happened, and I could not see how everything was being held inside it," he continued. "It was only when I unlocked my Rule Perception that I could see the chambers. Every concept I had comprehended had its own place, even though there was still only one seed."
Hestia nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "I am glad I have it now. Being able to take my concepts apart without damaging my foundation makes things much easier."
"It does," Adrian agreed. "And now you should understand why I can comprehend things so quickly and even master the divine concepts in a short time. The Source helps me with it. When I use any spell or technique while in the Source's energy form, the Will of the Source fixes and refines it."
He glanced toward her as they continued walking. "When I try to understand a concept, it often feels as though I am remembering something I have forgotten. It rarely feels like learning something completely new. I think it's just how comprehension works with the Source."
Hestia slowed beside him before coming to a stop. The part about the Will of the Source refining his spells and techniques made sense to Hestia. But the way he spoke about his comprehension gave her pause. "Are you sure that feeling comes from the Source?" she asked. "Do you actually know that, or have you always assumed it does?"
Adrian stopped with her. He had been ready to answer, but the words did not come as easily as he expected. Until she asked, he had never thought there was any reason to separate the two things.
The Source had helped him look into concepts and uncover knowledge that would otherwise have remained beyond his reach. When rules were difficult to follow, his Source Eyes could reveal their connections and make their arrangement clear. He had witnessed those effects often enough to know that his power was helping him.
But that did not explain everything about what happened afterward. Seeing knowledge clearly and understanding it were still different things. At Kaalatva, he had understood vast amounts of Time knowledge within seconds, accepting each new part with a familiarity that had never seemed strange to him. The Source had helped him reach that knowledge, but had it also caused the feeling that he had known it before?
Adrian looked at Hestia again. "I have always assumed it did," he admitted. "I know it helps me see things I would otherwise miss. But why understanding them feels like remembering something... I do not know. I have never thought about it that way."
"Even the willforce technique I used before was called the Crown of the Source, which was passed to me by the Will of the Source itself. It creates a miniature Source Essence Seed within those I have connected to, and you have felt how that accelerates comprehension. With all of that together, it was difficult to think otherwise."
"Crown of the Source…" Hestia repeated the name quietly. This was the first time she was hearing it, and also about the miniature Source Essence Seed. Then, abruptly, she shook her head.
"You give it credit for almost everything you do," Hestia said. "I understand why. After what we saw today, I would find it easy to believe almost anything about that power. But you cannot be certain that every part of your ability comes from it."
"Some of those concepts took me only a few seconds," Adrian replied. "Even when I first began cultivating, I could understand things that should have taken me years. What else was I supposed to think?"
"I would probably have thought the same thing," she said. "But have we seen enough of the universe to say that no one else could do that? I have never met anyone who learns as quickly as you, but that does not mean there cannot be another cultivator with the same talent somewhere."
Adrian could not deny that. He had seen only a small part of the universe, and even Hestia's much longer life had shown her only a fraction of it.
"My foundation is like yours now, and my comprehension has accelerated too. But I have never felt as though I was remembering something I already knew. Are you certain we experience it the same way?"
"And there is something else," Hestia continued. "A natural affinity is a person's inherent soul resonance with a fundamental concept or element of reality. And you have awakened the Source as your natural affinity. Don't you see what that shows us? Perhaps there is something about you that drew even its attention."
Her gaze remained on his face. "I am not saying I know where that feeling of yours comes from. It may be the Source, or it may be something you feel for some other reason. I just think you should give yourself some credit too."
For a while, Adrian did not reply. Hestia had not given him an answer, but she had made him question something he had always accepted. He had spent years trying to understand the Source while accepting several things about his own abilities without ever examining them closely. She might be right, or the explanation he had always believed might still be the correct one. He had no way to decide between them yet.
What stayed with him, however, was how she had spoken about him. Only a short while ago, Hestia had learned that his power was the origin of everything, yet she was standing here trying to make sure he did not overlook his own worth. Adrian could hear it in her words and see it in the way she watched him. To her, he mattered more than the Source itself.
His fingers tightened gently around hers, and Hestia returned the pressure without asking him to say anything. They began walking again, remaining close as they made their way toward the exit. For the next little while, Adrian was happy to let the silence remain between them.
By the time they left the Central Origin Construct, Hestia had decided to visit Azure Garden. It lay within the relic planet in the headquarters, and Adrian accompanied her through its growing grounds before they entered one of the alchemy facilities. Disciples straightened and greeted them along the way, while Hestia stopped to ask about the plants under their care and the pills being prepared from the latest harvest.
Adrian stayed beside her as she examined batches, listened to the alchemists' difficulties, and checked the work of disciples still learning to control their furnaces. When one of them asked him about a troublesome part of his cultivation, he spent a little time explaining it, then followed Hestia into the next room. More than once, she looked back to find him watching her work, and he answered her glance with a smile before continuing beside her.
Later that day, they sat together at the head of a table in one of the garden's administrative chambers. Lara and Maelis occupied the seats nearest Hestia, while Torvain, Caelum, and Varcain sat across from them. Their discussion of the work in the facilities soon turned to the elders' own cultivation.
"I have mastered the Mid-level spell of Verdant Genesis," Caelum reported. "I can use it without losing control now. I have begun working on the High-level spell, but I still make mistakes when I try to complete it."
"I am still working on the Mid-level spell," Lara said. "The Low-level one is stable, but I have not reached the same point as Elder Caelum."
Maelis gave a brief nod beside her. "My progress is much the same. I can follow the next spell's structure, but using it is another matter." Torvain and Varcain reported similar difficulties when Hestia turned toward them, leaving Caelum the furthest ahead among the five.
All of them had already reached the Peak Rule Stage through Crimson Vital Dominion. Their slower progress with Verdant Genesis did not change that standing, but it determined how far they remained from the Astral Stage. The Crimson Genesis fusion that had carried Hestia into the Astral Stage required them to bring the second divine concept to the same level of mastery as the first.
"Make Verdant Genesis your next priority," Hestia said. "Once you have mastered it fully, we can prepare for your Astral ascension. Crimson Vital needs more people who can face an Astral cultivator. All five of you should be working toward that."
Lara glanced at the others before answering. "We will, Master. Having a path we know can succeed has already made a difference. We just need the time to complete it."
"You have that time, and you have both of us here to help you," Hestia replied. "Bring us the parts you cannot understand. There is no reason to spend years struggling with something we may be able to explain." She looked toward Caelum. "Show me where the High-level spell begins to fail."
Caelum raised a hand above the table and formed a small projection of the spell's rule structure. The image showed the steps he followed when trying to cast it, including the point where his attempt always failed. Hestia studied the arrangement before asking him to show the last few steps again, and Adrian leaned forward to examine the connections.
"You form the next connection before the earlier one is stable," Hestia said, pointing to the two places in the projection. "You know what the completed spell looks like, but you are moving too quickly here. Give the first connection time to settle before you form the next one."
Caelum traced the sequence again, pausing at the step she had shown him. He compared it with the arrangement he had been trying to form, then looked toward Hestia as he understood why his later corrections had never worked.
"I see it now," he said. "I kept trying to correct the part that broke. I did not realize the mistake came before it."
"You will still need to practice it," Adrian said. "Knowing where it goes wrong will help, but do not rush through the earlier steps just because they seem familiar." Caelum nodded and began the sequence once more, while the others watched closely enough to compare it with their own attempts.
Hestia continued through their questions, spending more time on the parts several of them found difficult. Adrian joined in when he could help explain a connection, and Lara brought out her own projection once Caelum had finished. By the time they were done, each elder had something specific to work on when they returned to cultivation.
The conversation ended with Hestia reminding them to come back when they reached the next stage of mastery. The five elders rose and left together, still discussing the corrections as they passed through the doors. Adrian remained in his chair beside her, watching the last traces of green light disappear from above the table.
Hestia turned toward him after the doors closed. "What are you going to do now?" she asked, a smile returning to her face. "Are you planning to follow me for the rest of the day?"
"I have been carrying out my duties as a Crimson Vital elder," Adrian replied, sitting a little straighter. "I helped your disciples, attended the meeting, and kept the Sect Leader company."
Hestia laughed as he stood, then rose beside him. Adrian smiled at her. "But I should go and attend to Origin's duties now. I promised Lysandra and Selena I would join them."
He gave Hestia's hand a brief squeeze before letting go, then opened a spatial passage beside the table. She watched him step through, the smile remaining on her face as he glanced back at her. A moment later, the passage closed, and Hestia stood beside the empty chair for a little longer before turning toward the work still waiting for her.