The Hidden Valley.
Nestled deep within an untouched mountain range, life continued at its own tranquil pace.
The rising sun painted the valley in shades of gold as the morning mist slowly drifted across the lake.
Kieran sat beneath the ancient oak tree with his eyes closed.
His breathing was slow.
Gentle.
Natural.
Around him, countless motes of Magna floated through the air.
Unlike before...
They no longer merely circled him.
Some rested on his shoulders.
Others danced around his hands.
A few even landed in his hair before drifting away again.
They behaved less like energy...
And more like curious children.
---
A short distance away...
Crystal watched in silence.
Beside her stood Kael, the Beast Lord.
His golden eyes narrowed.
"They're becoming attached."
Crystal nodded.
"Yes."
"I've never seen Magna act this way."
"Neither have I."
---
Kieran slowly opened his eyes.
The colorful motes immediately scattered before returning a moment later.
He smiled.
"Good morning."
Kael blinked.
"...Did he just greet Magna?"
Crystal couldn't help smiling.
"He does that every morning."
"And every morning..."
Kael watched as the motes gathered around Kieran once more.
"...they greet him back."
---
"Come."
Crystal called.
"It is time for today's lesson."
Kieran quickly stood.
"Yes, Mama."
They walked deeper into the valley.
Instead of heading toward the cave...
Crystal led him to a quiet stream.
Its crystal-clear water flowed gently over smooth stones.
The surrounding air was rich with Life Magna.
---
"Kieran."
He looked at her attentively.
"What is Magna?"
He answered almost immediately.
"The energy that exists in all things."
Crystal shook her head.
"No."
Kieran blinked.
She pointed toward the stream.
"What do you see?"
"Water."
"The trees?"
"Life."
"The stones?"
"Earth."
"The wind?"
"Air."
She nodded.
"That is what most people see."
Then she crouched beside the stream.
"And you?"
Kieran stared silently at the flowing water.
Minutes passed.
Crystal didn't interrupt him.
Finally...
He smiled.
"They're talking."
Kael's ears twitched.
"...Talking?"
"The water likes to travel."
"The wind keeps teasing it."
"The trees are happy because the river feeds them."
He looked toward a nearby boulder.
"The rock is sleepy."
Silence filled the forest.
Kael slowly turned toward Crystal.
"...Can he actually hear them?"
Crystal's expression became thoughtful.
"I don't think so."
"Then?"
"I think..."
"...he understands them."
---
Later that afternoon...
Crystal gave Kieran another task.
This time...
She handed him a dry, lifeless seed.
"Plant it."
Kieran tilted his head.
"Without using water?"
"Without anything."
He looked confused.
"But..."
"It's dead."
Crystal nodded.
"So everyone would say."
---
Kieran carefully dug a tiny hole.
He placed the seed inside.
Covered it with soil.
Then sat quietly beside it.
An hour passed.
Nothing happened.
Two hours.
Still nothing.
Kael eventually frowned.
"What exactly are we waiting for?"
Crystal smiled faintly.
"I don't know."
---
The sun slowly began to set.
Kieran hadn't moved.
He simply sat there humming softly to himself.
The tiny motes of Magna gradually gathered around the buried seed.
One...
Then another.
Then hundreds.
The surrounding grass swayed despite the absence of wind.
The valley became strangely quiet.
Suddenly...
A tiny green sprout emerged from the earth.
Kael's eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
No cultivation technique had been used.
No Life Path Art.
No formation.
Nothing.
The seed had simply...
Chosen to grow.
---
Kieran beamed happily.
"It woke up."
Crystal slowly approached the tiny sprout.
She gently touched one of its leaves.
It was alive.
Perfectly healthy.
She looked at Kieran.
"What did you do?"
He blinked innocently.
"I just kept it company."
---
That evening...
As the stars illuminated the valley...
Crystal sat alone outside the cottage.
Ancient scrolls lay scattered around her.
None contained an explanation.
She quietly looked toward the sleeping Kieran.
"...You don't command Magna."
"...You don't manipulate nature."
"...You don't even cultivate the way others do."
She closed her eyes.
"What are you becoming?"
---
Far beneath the valley...
Deeper than even Crystal had ever explored...
A faint pulse echoed through the earth.
Within an enormous underground chamber, countless ancient runes illuminated one after another.
At the chamber's center stood a colossal stone gate.
Its surface was covered in symbols from an age long forgotten.
For the first time in countless millennia...
One symbol shone with a soft golden light.
A deep, ancient voice echoed from beyond the sealed gate.
"...The Child..."
Silence followed.
Then another voice answered.
"...He has begun to listen."
The light slowly faded.
The gate became silent once more.
Above, the valley returned to its peaceful slumber, completely unaware that something buried since before the founding of the Melika Realm had just stirred.
For Kieran, it had simply been another ordinary day.
For Gaia...
It was another quiet step toward a future that no one—not even the Sovereigns—could yet foresee.
End of Chapter 26