He reopened his eyes.
Immediately, he noticed the aether in his core had lessened, not by much, but enough for him to notice.
'What if…'
He closed his eyes again.
The world of colours appeared once more, but this time, just as he did when he controlled aether, he extended his mind and intention toward it.
It blurred, then lulled back into darkness.
But then, slowly, colours returned.
Not from the people. From the world.
Suddenly, he could feel the ground beneath his feet, its history and past, vague yet present. He could also feel the air, its boundless desire to fill all things and nurture life. He could feel the light of the sun, its indifferent yet warm rays.
But he could also feel aether.
And the sheer, endless joy and excitement it felt whenever he brushed against it. Its almost pleading, begging screams whenever his mind wasn't on it. Its desire to submit, to be within his grasp.
He could feel the hearts of people. But also of the world.
[Your Spark has reached the Bronze Grade!]
'What kind of spark is this?!'
"Uriel?!"
Enoch caught Uriel in time, the latter's expression pale, his core void of any energy. That last fact horrified Enoch more than anything else.
Pulling Uriel aside into a small alleyway between two wooden buildings, Enoch gave him time to recover.
"What happened?" Enoch asked.
Uriel regained his breath quickly, his back straightening.
"It says my spark reached the Bronze grade. What does that mean?" Uriel smiled faintly. "I think… I can feel my spark now."
"Clearly."
Enoch smirked and nudged his shoulder. "It means your spark is growing. The more you understand it, the more it grows and evolves."
"Reaching the Bronze grade this fast really is something. Even I only just got mine back to Silver a few days ago."
Uriel's body relaxed as he felt his aether return to a manageable level. It was only back to a twentieth of its original pool, but it seemed enough.
"I was gonna get to that as we ate. While also explaining how to manage your aether and how to recover it quickly."
He turned and returned to the busy streets.
"Alright, let's go."
…
CREAK!
The duo entered a grand restaurant near the settlement gates, filled to the brim with other newly awakened.
The floors were wooden, old and warm. The walls were a velvety red, and the space was filled with tables seemingly made out of thick tree trunks.
In the depths of the restaurant, a bar lay, a barman standing behind it, serving a horde of drunk men and women screaming at him while greedily eyeing the ridiculously large assortment of bottles displayed behind him.
Peeling through the crowd, the duo made their way to the back, where a set of stairs led them to yet another packed floor, and then another set of stairs.
They climbed a dozen floors before eventually arriving at a relatively empty one, where only a few dozen people were sitting, all quietly talking and eating.
This floor had wide, open windows, giving view to the sprawling settlement and allowing fresh air to stream in.
Heading to a corner, they took their seats. As soon as they did, their table lightly shook, and upon it, a small fairy-like holographic projection appeared.
"Welcome to the Scarlet Lagoon! Can I take your order?"
Uriel's eyes narrowed, his hunger roaring through them.
"Yes, of course, but I don't really see any menu. Is it a chef's-choice type of day? Or maybe a buffet?" he asked.
The little fairy shook her head. "No. I see you've reserved a table at the Terminus Floor. What that means is that we'll custom-make any food of your choice, whether it be from your home planet or any fantasy you may have had."
"Being on the Terminus Floor also assures that all your food is made using Ascendant beasts and plants of the highest grade, cooked by our finest Ascendant chefs!"
She chuckled at the sight of Uriel's trembling pupils. "So what I'm saying is that you can order anything you may imagine!"
"Right… right…" Uriel uttered, his mind short-circuiting at the sheer amount of possible choices.
Enoch looked at the waitress. "Ignore him for the moment."
"I'll take an entire Coral Serpent, each cut marinated in nodal aether dew if possible. Please make sure to remove all the bones."
The little fairy instantly summoned a pen and clipboard and began to write. "Mhm. And what else?"
"I'll also have a… hmmm…" He thought hard. "Can I have Coral Wyrm as well? Just the wings, with as little seasoning as possible. I like the taste of their natal aether."
"I'll also take an average Awakener's Breakfast set, two bottles of Drake Blood-Wine, and maybe a fruit salad."
Her gaze sharpened. "What kind of fruit salad?"
Enoch began to caress his hairless chin. "What kind… what kind…"
"Would you like a suggestion?" she asked. Enoch nodded.
"I see you have a particular penchant for foods full of low-orderly aether contents, yes?"
He hummed in agreement. "Mhm."
"How about you try the Coral Chaos Salad Fruit? Our chef only just came up with it, and oh my lord, you'll see, it's something!"
He smiled. "Perfect. I'll go with that, then. Thank you."
She flashed him a radiant smile, then turned to Uriel. "And what can I get you?"
"Whatever he got, times three," he began, "and do you guys have the continental breakfast sets from our planet?"
"If yes, can I get that, and then—"
…
"Got it! It'll be ready in fifteen to thirty minutes!"
"Thank you!"
Long minutes later, the little fairy projection vanished and their order was placed. Now, all they could do was wait.
"So, as I was saying," Enoch spoke, waking Uriel out of his fantasies.
"Spark Frames and Classes really aren't that hard to comprehend, at least at their foundation. It's when we get into the nitty-gritty that it gets complicated."
He leaned back in his comfortable chair.
"See it like this."