"What happened to him?"
"Did he get in a fight?"
Xeris was seated in the library on the 6th floor. His left arm was bandaged, and he had bruises in random places throughout his body.
A few students had noticed it when passing by.
Xeris couldn't care less what these people thought of him. Their opinions were only thoughts; they could do nothing to him.
Xeris's eyes, which had briefly glanced up, flicked back down, returning to the page before him.
…..
White Torrent Eternal walked along the sandy beach line. He was only a boy, 8 or 9 years old.
Behind him, tall grass swayed in the wind, and beyond it stood his family's castle.
As the boy walked, his eyes drifted over the ocean's surface. The water was calm, with no waves present.
The only thing on the water's surface was the reflection of both the Sun and the Moon. They were together; the Sun blazed above the Moon, bright and majestic. It paid no attention to the Moon below it. While the Moon yearned for the Sun, chasing endlessly.
This was not odd. It had been this way for as long as anyone could remember.
However, White Torrent was curious why the Sun always stayed with the Moon. He liked the Sun; it was grand yet warm, and he also wanted to be this way. But the Moon, it was dim compared to the Sun; it was dull and cold, and it did not seem very special in his mind.
At this exact moment, on the other side of the world.
Black Hour Eternal stood, also noticing the sky.
This boy was slightly older, around 10 years old.
Behind him lay ruin; his home was far from this place, and he was alone. Both his hands and feet were ashen and covered with dried blood.
He sat. In the reflection of his tears, the Moon could be seen, and in his eyes was the reflection of the Sun.
In his eyes, the Moon was beautiful; however, he was curious why the Moon always stayed with the Sun. The Moon was cool and cold; this made sense to him. But the Sun was too bright when compared to the Moon; he was worried it might burn the Moon.
Only days ago, Black Hour had lost everything. His mother, father, brother, and entire village had been burned to ash by a terrible fire.
As a result, he was now all alone. He hated this loneliness. His heart ached constantly in his chest; emotion surged throughout his body.
He looked down at his feet, which had been stained black by the fire's remains.
White Torrent squeezed the sand between his toes. He smiled.
Only days ago, both of his older brothers had been killed. There had always been animosity between the brothers. This stemmed from jealousy, as the youngest, White Torrent, was envious of his eldest brother, who would inherit the throne of their father.
Now, however, neither of his brothers stood in his way. On the surface, he needed to grieve, as any prince should. But internally, he was excited.
Ever since these tragedies had occurred, both White Torrent and Black Hour had an indescribable sensation that had been welling up inside them.
White Torrent felt a strong feeling of grandness and energy. It had continued to grow stronger over the days.
Black Hour felt a strong feeling of longing and inanition. It had continued to grow stronger over the days.
At that moment, the earth beneath both their feet began to shake.
A dark shadow engulfed the world; the two boys looked up.
To their shock, the Moon had caught up to the Sun and was covering up its grandeur.
White Torrent was angry, crying out at the Sun, "Oh Sun, why have you let this happen?"
Black Hour was scared, crying out to the Moon, "Oh Moon, be careful, or you will be burned like I have been!"
The two watched in wait. In these moments, time seemed to stand still, minutes passing like days, as the emotion in their hearts continued to grow.
Soon, the Moon began to fall. It started slowly, picking up speed as it fell.
The Sun's bright rays engulfed the world once again. Below, the boys saw that the Moon had been burned – dark mare now stained its surface like ancient scars.
Both boys cried out.
White Torrent cheered, Black Hour wept.
As the Moon fell, it descended into darkness, disappearing from view.
It was now that the Two Great Currents were truly born.
At this moment, both boys felt the intense feelings that had been growing inside them undergo a change.
Their souls had been aligned.
White Torrent with the Day, Black Hour with the Night.
This created a change inside them. It was the awakening of their Aris.
Both cried out, a newfound power flowing from within them.
…..
"Is it emotion? Is this the key to awakening my Aris?"
Xeris was pondering over this concept before he noticed the lack of students in the library.
Getting up, he looked down from the window next to him.
A large crowd of students had begun to congregate within the courtyard.
In the center, there were two people.
A few moments earlier, Kaelric Vask had been walking with his friends.
Since their arrival in this world, he had felt a strange sensation. There was a stronger sense of pride and energy within himself. This feeling had been developing as each day had passed.
At this moment, he stopped mid-step, gripping his heart, laughter spilling out.
His friends were initially confused about what had happened, but soon enough, they understood.
"Is this an Aris?" Kaelric was still gripping his chest.
"What an amazing thing! It is so beautiful."
Kaelric's consciousness was inside his Aris. He watched as this basin slowly filled with Solyn. It was a faint and foggy white color. The Solyn rose until it filled 10% of his Aris.
Kaelric stopped inspecting his Aris and looked around at his friends.
They were all shocked, congratulating, and praising him repeatedly.
"Quickly! Let's all find a teacher!" one of the boys shouted.
The others quickly agreed, dispersing and running off.
Kaelric stood alone in the hall, still smiling.
He felt as though now he stood above everyone here. He had always felt this way, but now, this had only confirmed his feelings.
A faint white aura surrounded him. Students all around started to notice.
He began walking again, heading outside.
He felt the sun's rays touch his skin. At that moment, the white aura that surrounded him increased.
This sensation was caused because his soul had aligned with the day, creating his Aris.
Students who had just been inside followed. Some gawking, some excited, others envious.
Soon, one of Kaelric's friends arrived, accompanied by an instructor.
When the instructor saw Kaelric's aura, he was stunned. It had only been two weeks since the students had been transported here. This awakening speed was truly remarkable.
"Please wait here, I am contacting the Institution Head right now!" the instructor said, as he summoned a Myr into his palm, activating it.
Kaelric watched curiously.
At this point, a scene had been created, and students had begun to gather around them, watching this spectacle.
"This is truly remarkable," the instructor said, "I can not truly confirm whether or not your Aris has formed; it would be inappropriate for me to check."
Kaelric tilted his head, "Why would something like that be inappropriate?"
The instructor responded thoughtfully, "Your Aris is a transformation of your soul, and its alignment with one of The Two Great Currents. It is your most personal and private space. It is taboo under normal circumstances for another cultivator to invade this sacred space."
"Ahh, I understand." Kaelric nodded, "Why is it okay for the Institution Head to check?"
The instructor's face tightened for a moment, "This is necessary; it must be confirmed that you have, in fact, awakened. This will be a one-time occurrence. Director Eldric is just the most certified among us to handle this responsibility."
Kaelric smiled, "That makes sense. I want him to see. I want all of you to see!" He looked around at everyone. His aura spiked for a moment.
Xeris stared down, watching.
So, a student has already awoken his Aris.
Xeris's expression was indifferent. He turned away from the window, walking off.
"The Two Great Currents. The Day and Night. The Sun and Moon. Yet I feel nothing within my heart. I do not yearn nor feel any grandness. My heart is empty, full of nothingness."
"Why should I be swayed by the trivial matters that surround me? They are nothing but fleeting moments passing by; they are gone as soon as they come. Why should any of this matter if it all comes to the same conclusion?"