CHAPTER 25: CH 25: LUNCH.

Mr Collins grabbed his bag and proceeded out the door.

"I hope you can actually survive the next trial you pathetic fuck."

’’Wait what?"

’You don’t just say something like that and leave.’

He cursed as he ran after Mr Collins.

"Wait! What did you mean?"

Aegon screamed as Mr Collins marched on.

Running up to him, Aegon stretched a hand to stop him while he caught his breath.

"What— what..."

Aegon tried to articulate but exhaustion wouldn’t let him.

Mr Collins rolled his eyes and gave a bored sigh.

"Look, I didn’t mean anything by it... It’s just most Aether Studies awakened don’t make it past the Adept Trial without... You know," he raised his hand and made a slitting gesture across his throat.

’How the hell is this guy qualified to be a teacher?’

He thought as he watched his teacher bluntly describe death.

"Okay, we’re done here."

He sidestepping Aegon to proceed forward.

Aegon moved to the side— stopping him.

"What do you mean we don’t make it past the Adept Trial? Why?"

"Ahhh!" He groaned, dragging a hand down his beard, "It’s just logic..."

"Logic how?"

Aegon didn’t let him finish.

"What’s your affinity Aries? Or whatever your name was?"

He asked while rubbing his temple.

"It’s Aegon and my affinity is replication."

"Exactly. Replication. People in Elementals have Fire, water, light, stone and some even blood— and the universe gave us replication and temporal wave.

The plain truth is we’re not equipped with the tools to handle higher trials... Because while others can walk through walls and fly— all we can do is copy affinities and enhance them..."

Aegon stared at him blankly.

"... So what do you do in a trial when an anomaly the size of a skyscraper is in front of you and you have no awakened to copy an affinity from?

I’ll tell you what— absolutely nothing, because the world’s not fair and we were somehow favoured enough to not be ordinary yet not enough to be ’extra’ordinary."

"So your plan is to just give up?"

Aegon scowled.

He scoffed.

"Give up? I gave up the moment after I survived my Ascendant Trial, because I didn’t triumph— I barely survived. I’d like to see you go for the next one if you lost your eyes in a trial."

Aegon tilted back.

"You lost your eyes in a trial?"

He sneered.

"At least I survived. In my class of forty-eight Aether Studies awakened and only five made it to Ascendant."

The seer statistics were enough to make Aegon blink twice— his brain echoed the words back to him.

In a class of forty-eight only five made it to Ascendant and he had to surpass Paragon.

He remained there in silence as they both absorbed his words.

"Kheum.." Mr Collins cleared his throat, returning to his usual detached tone "... Now if you’ll excuse me, I have lunch plans."

He shifted to the left and moved down the corridor.

"Wait!"

Aegon yelled without turning back to him.

Mr Collins, although stopped didn’t answer at first.

"Will you at least teach me how to cultivate?"

"Oh my God, kid" he raised his wristwatch to his sights to check the time and after an exasperated groan, "... Fine."

---

The two moved outside, to the open field not far from the Faculty building that was vacant apart from the two of them.

"Wonder why this place is so empty?"

Aegon tried to start conversation.

"Maybe—" his voice riddled with pent up frustration, "— because everyone else is at lunch."

"You really love lunch, don’t you?"

"I’m a middle aged man who’s been teaching Novuses for three years, I earn minimum wage and I have to live in this goddamn school but the only decent thing I have... Is lunch."

His tone was flat.

"Okay..." Aegon tried to change the topic, "... So how does this work?"

"Get in a meditative stance— spine straight, shoulders relaxed, legs folded, hands resting comfortably and most importantly, eyes closed."

Aegon raised a brow at him before slowly getting to the grass and heeding his instructions.

Mr Collins began circling him.

"Take a deep breath and feel the Aether in the very air you breathe."

Aegon shot his eyes open.

"Wouldn’t this just be easier if you enhanced my flow again?"

~SMACK.~

Mr Collins slapped the back of his head, hard.

"I enhanced your flow for you to feel that Aether is real, I gave you the ring for you to reach out to it yourself.

A bad Aether Control doesn’t mean it’s not going to come to you— it just means it’s gonna take a bit more practice.

So close your eyes and concentrate."

He did. Closing his eyes and focusing on Mr Collin’s words.

He huffed in. Steady and fresh.

"Feel the air in your lungs. Feel it expand your chest. Feel it move through you..."

Aegon continued with his breathing.

"First through your nostrils then the back of your throats, down to your lungs and reverse.

Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin— how it prickles through your pores— how it basks you in it.

The blood in your veins constantly being transported all over your body— from head to toe.

Then there’s the grass underneath your feet, how rough it is, how it sounds in the wind— That smell of freshly cut grass."

He bent closer to Aegon, whispering into his ear now.

"All those things you feel have Aether flowing right through them, which means just like the air enters your lungs— Aether flows through you.

Focus on it, that wave of energy you can’t explain but you know it’s there— grasp it in your mind and slowly open your eyes."

Upon hearing Mr Collins’ words, Aegon’s eyes slowly fluttered open to see the new world around him.

He saw as the Aether moved freely in the air like the wind itself, glanced down to his ring— its glyphs shimmered golden.

So did his eyes. A grin slowly curled up his lips.

’So this is what they’re talking about. They’re not wrong, it feels amazing.’

"You see that feeling—" Mr Collins added, "—where you can feel every single cell in your body’s on fire yet you don’t want it to stop. That’s what Aether truly is.

Alright, keep that going for about an hour while I go get lunch."