That afternoon, Aetron was summoned to the healing tent by his mother Niyara. Having watched over Eirlys all night, Niyara's face showed exhaustion but also a determined expression.
"Aetron," she said, her voice low. "I've thought about your plan from last night. I trust you, my son, but this is something that's never been done before. I need to see that it's safe. So, can you show me? How will you perform this energy transfer?"
Aetron paused for a moment, then looked at his mother. In her eyes was that unconditional love and trust that Epsilon had never seen in his old life. Without thinking, "Mother," he said. "May I hug you?"
Niyara was surprised. "Do you need to ask that, dear?" she said, opening her arms.
Aetron hugged his mother tightly. But this wasn't just a hug. He closed his eyes and activated the Edgium within him. Energy began flowing from his body to his mother's like a gentle tide. This was the most delicate control of Resonance; not a destructive force, but like a nourishing river.
Niyara's body tensed for a moment, then relaxed. She opened her eyes in amazement. "This... this flow... so pure. Controlled." She stepped back and held her son's shoulders. "This method is safe, yes. But... but you cannot hug a princess this way. That would be unacceptable."
"You absolutely won't do that, right?" Null interjected, her tone panicked in his mind.
Aetron laughed. "No, mother. I just felt like hugging you." He took his mother's hand. "I can do it this way too, can't I?" The Edgium flowed gently from his hand to his mother's this time.
Niyara breathed a sigh of relief. "This is more acceptable."
Just then, a voice came from the tent entrance. "Include me too!" Thera ran in and jumped at their legs. Aetron laughed and bent down to hug his sister as well, sending her a loving, tiny flow of Edgium.
Thera's eyes sparkled. "Wow! This feels so good! Teach me too, brother! I'm going to train with you much more now! Stop stalling me with basic moves!"
"Alright, little warrior," Aetron said, ruffling his sister's hair. "Let's get serious now."
"Now, close your eyes and just feel," Aetron said, placing his hand on Thera's shoulder. He directed a very small, warm piece of Edgium from his fingers toward Thera. "Like a river flowing inside you. Can you feel it?"
Thera stayed still for a moment, her brows furrowed. Then her eyes opened wide. "Yes! It tickles!" she giggled. "It's like... like there are little suns inside me!"
"High sensitivity to energy," Null noted, analytical interest in her voice. "If she went through a purification process like yours, her potential could be high."
Aetron spent the next hour showing Thera basic stances and how to hold a wooden sword. However, Thera's patience quickly ran out.
"Brother, stances again?" she whined, dropping the small sword. "You said you'd stop stalling me with basic moves! I want to fight!"
Aetron laughed. "Okay, okay, little warrior. You're right." He moved across from her and picked up his own wooden sword. "Then... first lesson: Defense. Try attacking me."
Thera's face instantly brightened. With a little war cry, she ran toward her brother. Aetron easily deflected her amateur but enthusiastic attacks, giving tips after each move like "Put your weight forward," or "Don't hold your sword that low." Thera moved around Aetron with surprising agility, trying to attack from a different angle each time.
Finally, taking advantage of Aetron's momentary distraction, she managed to lightly touch her sword to her brother's leg.
"You're wounded!" she shouted triumphantly.
Aetron threw himself to the ground with an exaggerated expression of pain. "Ah! I'm defeated! Defeated by our clan's strongest warrior!"
Thera raised her sword into the air and began doing a victory dance around her brother with laughter.
"Her natural instincts are better than yours when you first started," Null noted, her voice holding both mockery and admiration. "Perhaps you're the one who really needs training."
Aetron smiled as he lay on the ground. These joyful moments were worth everything.
When training ended, Thera asked, "Brother, can you get me some water?" As Aetron walked toward his sister's water flask, he was evaluating the situation with Null in his mind. Just then, a scene there by the tents caught his attention. Thera must have bumped into Kaelen while running. The prince had knelt down and was stroking the little girl's head, saying something—clearly apologizing.
But Aetron's brain didn't register this. All he saw: A stranger touching his sister.
Blood rushed to his brain. Using Edgium energy, he reached there within seconds. He stepped between Thera and Kaelen, putting his sister behind him.
"Calm down, Aetron!" Null warned. "What is this feeling? Is this jealousy too?"
"No!" Aetron thought, pure anger filling him. "She's my sister." Just then, he remembered how Kaelen had attacked them yesterday. He was trying to protect his sister too. Irrational, aggressive, but fundamentally the same instinct. Then he paused. In his mind, that cold, sharp jealousy Null had felt toward Eirlys last night came alive. This was the same thing. Fear of loss. The desire to protect. "Now..." he whispered to Null. "Do you understand me a little now?"
Kaelen had stepped back in shock. "Calm down! I'm not trying to take your sister!"
"Brother, we bumped into each other!" Thera said, emerging from behind Aetron's leg. "The prince was apologizing to me."
Embarrassed by his momentary anger, Aetron picked up his sister. He turned to Kaelen, a sheepish expression on his face. "I... I apologize," he said. "I think... I understand better now what you felt in the healing tent yesterday."
Kaelen paused for a moment. He saw the genuine regret and understanding on Aetron's face. The tension in his face slowly dissolved and he nodded slightly. "Yes," he murmured. "I suppose you do understand." This was the first moment the ice between them began to thaw.
Just then, Niyara's voice was heard. "Aetron! Eirlys has woken up!"
Aetron entered the healing tent with Thera in his arms and Kaelen walking beside him. Eirlys was sitting up in bed, looking at them.
"How are you feeling, Princess?" Aetron asked.
"Thank you for carrying me," Eirlys said. He noticed her cheeks flush slightly.
"It's nothing," Aetron said.
"Your mother said you've thought of a way to heal me," Eirlys said. Her voice was stronger. "What are you planning to do?"
Aetron calmly explained the "river and dam" theory.
"Can we try right away?" Eirlys asked, a hopeful tone in her voice. The tension on her face showed she was afraid of the process about to begin but also how much she needed it.
Aetron looked directly at Eirlys, not at Kaelen. "Can you trust me?"
Eirlys hesitated for a moment. Then, "I have no other choice," she said.
Aetron sat on the edge of the bed. Taking a deep breath, he focused. He slowly extended his index finger toward Eirlys's forehead.
"Aetron... do you have to be this close?" Null's voice hissed. "Keep your distance."
"Calm down, love," Aetron thought. "For an effective transfer, I need to focus and be close."
"Focus, or take advantage of the opportunity?" Null's voice asked, this time sharp and icy.
Ignoring this comment, Aetron gently touched Eirlys's forehead. From his fingertip, a stable and warm flow of Edgium began seeping into the princess's body. Eirlys flinched slightly as the energy entered her body, then relaxed.
"This way, we can temporarily fill the amount being lost from within," Aetron explained. "But the real solution is to transform you from a dam into a river through the purification process."
Eirlys's eyes lit up as she felt that warm and powerful energy spreading through her body. "I... I will be special now. As a princess, to possess your dynasty's special abilities... this is an honor."
Null couldn't bear this scene any longer. "She liked it, didn't she?" she whispered, her voice filled with pure jealousy. "The ability is just an excuse. She just liked your touch."
Aetron felt the weight on his shoulders. For her, this wasn't just treatment—it was a turning point.
But while Aetron's finger was still on Eirlys's forehead, all the jealousy and anger in Null's mind evaporated in an instant. It was replaced by a shock that shook her systems, deeper than anything she'd ever felt before. That familiar, painful sadness she'd felt in the arena had returned, but this time a thousand times stronger. With this touch, the connection had become crystal clear. In this girl's soul... there was a piece of herself.
Null's voice was no longer jealous or angry. In his mind, more than a whisper, it echoed with a reality as shattering as the collapse of a universe:
"Aetron... This isn't just an echo. This is a bridge. And... and I can feel the other side of the bridge."