Lyren's laughter echoed once more. He still could not shake the sweet feeling that thrummed in his chest with every heartbeat. His hand also thrummed as he felt the hollow channel inside him. It was somewhat weird but that was already the best feeling he had ever experienced.
He felt thrilled and tempted to place his palm on the pattern once again. He was hesitant but he really wanted to feel it once again. The feel of Elyria flowing from deep within his body and all the way to him palm. That ought to be the coolest thing he had experienced from this place.
Well, he decided to try drawing Elyria on his own. He tried reaching for it but he could not even sense it properly. He could not understand why but it was almost like expecting a toddler who had just taken their first step start walking immediately.
It just didn't work out that way. Lyren stopped after several steps as he realized he need to continue learning from lighting the patterns on the ground first. It appeared that these patterns were going to be his greatest reliance in his journey of becoming strong.
He wanted to take a rest but he realized he was not tired and it was only some numbness that had remained after Elyria had been extracted from his body. His heartbeat increased as his palm lowered on to the pattern.
He visualized the pattern in his mind and let the pattern in his palm do its job. He waited for a while and then he felt some heat on his palm. He tried to remove his palm and it was glued there which gave him goosebumps for he knew what was coming next.
And there it came. This time, he could feel it well. It wasn't just a string but it was a stream of energy that condensed together becoming string-like. It flowed through the channel it had carved, showing him the route his own energy should take. Also, as the stream flowed through the channel it had created, he could feel the soothing effect that came with it.
When it reached his below his belly, he did not feel it breaking into anything and he could also feel it latch onto the small reservoir which held his Elyria. With this stream, he could easily sense it but when it was gone, he could barely tell its location.
This time when the stream from the pattern latched on to his Elyria reserve, it did not bite, instead, it started pulling his Elyria as though it was the pressure that was required to pump water from the dam to the pipe which was the channel created before and flow out through the tap which was his palm.
He felt his Elyria start flowing out and though there was some discomfort in the channel, it slowly dissipated as his Elyria washed over the pattern. As more Elyria was drawn, it became a full stream of energy which flowed from his palm into the pattern.
He watched as the pattern started glowing from the core. The core glowed bright golden and suddenly started flowing through the B lines. The Elyria from his reserves kept flowing out and soon, it stopped being drawn out until the core stopped glowing any further and Elyria stopped flowing out.
Lyren was slightly disappointed as the sensation was cut off when he was just reminiscing in the calm nature of the Elyria flowing out in a controlled manner. It made his mind feel even more calm and also, he realized there was no more extreme mental drain when he lit it.
He retracted his palm as he stepped away from this pattern. He noticed that there were several differences when the pattern fully lit up. First, the pattern seemed almost incomplete. Almost like it was forcing itself to sustain itself. This meant that these patterns even with them being separated, needed the other set.
Second was that the glow had changed from golden to almost white. This was clear proof of them being incomplete. It appeared that even as separate, they needed to be lit together. He looked at the second pattern and walked towards it.
He squatted there and re-memorized it. He placed him palm on the core and visualized it and waited for the pattern in his palm to do its thing. He waited and he felt that it was no longer the same as before.
Earlier, he had to wait for the stream of energy to move into his hand first but this time, the energy flowed from his reserves to the palm directly. He wanted to do that too but now he could only relish the pattern working on his behalf.
He felt his Elyria start filling the core and just when the core was about to light up brightly like the first one, he felt a final tug that felt different and suddenly, his hand went numb and the connection with his core was cut off instantly. He was suddenly out of breath and somehow, he could feel no Elyria in his reserves!
This drove him into panic. He had forgotten that he did not have unlimited Elyria in his reserves. He had very little Elyria because that was the one he had acquired when he awakened after turning twelve. He was naïve to think that that was enough.
His body felt weak and even his hand felt heavy as he retracted it. So, there were consequences too of having one's Elyria get fully drained. He was lucky to not have had any drawbacks due to his recklessness. He nodded to himself and stored the lesson in his heart.
He stepped back as he waited for the pattern to stop glowing but that did not happen. The core kept glowing and very small lines glowed on the stone from both the first and second pattern. This came as a huge surprise for he had not noticed these lines at all which left him wondering just how much he had overlooked.
When the lines finally merged, they released a golden glow from the point of contact and it was then it dawned to Lyren. This was how it was supposed to happen. Both A and B lines were connected with X lines. This numerous numbers of small lines glowing golden were all X lines.
Several things clicked to him and one was that he had forcefully lit the first pattern and that these patterns were not to be lit individually but as a set. When the X lines merged, he saw the second pattern start glowing fully with the X lines glowing first and then the A lines slowly started glowing.
Lyren felt too much joy inside him as he watched the second pattern glow and fully activate. He watched the second pattern's glow change from white to the usual golden they usually carried. So far, he felt that this was his greatest achievement, even though it was accidental.
Still, he had learned so much more than he had since he came to this place. One thing that he realized was that patterns were not lit using mental energy but Elyria. The fact that he had actually lit the first row's patterns was somewhat ridiculous!
It was almost like he had made a fuel driven generator run on manual. For a long time that is. But now, he had found the fuel and he had started the generator with its designated fuel. He could not await to see the results.
When the two patterns finally stabilized, he was about to take a rest but it seemed that he had not seen everything as the paired patterns hummed in unison and a new vibration began in the stone beneath his feet.
There was still a chance for one final twist that was going to leave his mind blown. One that surpassed everything he had seen…