You called, Father?"
Ashora and Leona step into Amitrochates' chamber with Ikshita close behind them. The room is already occupied — Androcottus sits to one side, Aartha beside him, both of them calm and unhurried in the way of people who already know what is about to be said.
Amitrochates looks up. His eyes land on Ikshita first, and something warm moves across his face — the particular fondness of a man seeing his best friend's daughter after a long absence.
"So you finally returned, Ikshita."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And did you achieve what you went for?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Good." He nods, satisfied, and shifts his gaze to Ashora and Leona. His expression settles into something more deliberate. "Now — you two have completed the conditions I set. So it is time for me to fulfil my promise."
He lets that sit for a moment.
"You are free to go. Wherever you want. For however long you want."
The words land and neither Ashora nor Leona moves for a half second — and then the happiness hits them both at once, sudden and total, like a door thrown open.
Finally, Ashora thinks, something loosening in his chest that has been wound tight for a long time. I can do whatever I want.
"Thank you, Father," he says.
Before the moment can fully settle, Aartha speaks.
"There is one more thing before we let you go."
Both of them look at her.
"This is a good thing — you are both Stage Two Awakeners and Tier One Sei Warriors. As heirs of Baitali, no kingdom and no powerful figure anywhere in Prigaia would dare to lay a hand on you. Your name alone is protection enough." he pauses. "But the world is vast. And there are monsters , and thugs. who will not know your names or your titles. Your identity means nothing to them."
"So," Amitrochates says, "the Grandmaster and I have decided on a small test. Before you leave."
Ashora raises an eyebrow. "What kind of test, Father?"
"Nothing much." Amitrochates rises from his seat. "Come with me."
He moves toward the door without further explanation. Androcottus and Aartha follow, and after a brief glance between them, Ashora, Leona and Ikshita fall into step behind them.
Together they leave the chamber and head toward the training grounds.
Amitrochates stands in the center of the training area.
Ashora and Leona face him directly, a few steps apart, both loose and ready. Androcottus and Aartha stand off to the sides, watching without a word.
"Your test is simple," Amitrochates says. "Stand where you are for one minute. Do not bow down — not even for a single second."
He looks between them. "Be ready."
"Your Majesty — forgive my rudeness."
Ikshita's voice comes from behind. Ashora glances back at her.
"If you don't mind," she says to Amitrochates, "may I participate as well?"
"Of course," he says. "In fact I would like to see what you have learned these past two years."
Ikshita steps forward and takes her place beside Leona.
"Get into position," Amitrochates says. "I will not hear any excuses about not being ready."
"We are ready," the three say together.
I have to pass. No matter what.
Ashora's eyes settle. His jaw sets.
The ground beneath their feet groans.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The earth splits open in lines radiating outward from where the three of them stand, their legs sinking slightly into the breaking ground.
Amitrochates smiles — bright and unhurried — and raises one finger toward them.
"Gravity manipulation. Ten times."
Ashora's breathing stops. His heart skips a full beat. Leona and Ikshita go rigid beside him.
They hold.
One second passes — and Ashora feels it. His skeleton, pressing against itself. His own weight multiplied beyond anything natural.
Another second — and it feels like a hundred times his body weight is sitting on every part of him at once.
Third second — his organs begin to strain. Something deep inside his chest pushes outward like it wants to burst through his ribs.
He pushes sei through his body — hard and fast — wrapping it around his bones, his organs, holding everything together through sheer force of will. Leona does the same beside him. Ikshita, on the other hand, breathes steadily. The res circling through her heart moves outward — quiet, constant — feeding her organs with clean, unbroken energy.
Five seconds pass.
They are still standing.
Amitrochates looks at them with satisfaction. "Good. What I expected." He raises his finger again.
"Gravity. Twenty times."
The ground does not crack this time. It explodes.
The stone beneath the three of them shatters outward, the debris turning to dust before it even finishes moving. The air itself feels thick and wrong, pressing from every direction at once.
Ashora's breathing stops again. His heart stops.
Focus. Focus.
He clamps down on the panic and drives more sei outward through his body. He can feel his sei core draining — fast, faster than he expected — already down by half just to keep himself from collapsing. His legs feel like they are being torn downward through the earth.
Think. I have to think of something.
Leona tries to raise an earth cocoon around herself — the ground responds but the moment the stone begins to close over her the pressure turns it to powder. She switches to thunder, pushing it outward as a shield — but the gravity presses from all dimensions at once and the thunder cannot cover everything.
Ikshita's res circle strains at its edges. She reaches inward and pulls both res and sei together, running them through her body simultaneously just to stay upright.
Twelve seconds.
Ashora glances at Leona. He can see her thunder flickering around her body, see the effort in her face.
The light.
The thought arrives quietly.
He closes his eyes. A yellow glow begins at his center and spreads — slow at first, then all at once — until it covers his entire body like a second skin.
The pressure disappears.
He breathes.
I never thought to use it this way, he thinks, almost surprised at himself. It can't stop a blade. But this — pressure from all sides — the light can hold against this.
He looks at Leona. Her sei core is nearly empty. Without thinking he reaches out and places his hand on her shoulder, and the light spreads from him to her, wrapping around her completely.
The pressure lifts from her as well.
She exhales. "Thanks, Ashora."
He looks at Ikshita. "You want help?"
"I can manage," she says, steady.
He nods. "How much time has passed? It has to be close to a minute."
"Twenty five seconds," Androcottus says from the side.
Ashora stares at him.
"...Twenty five seconds?"
He laughs despite himself. "I thought an eternity had passed."
"Ashora." Amitrochates' voice cuts through the laughter, firm and flat. "Do not get comfortable."
He raises his finger one more time.
"Gravity. Forty times."
The light armor shatters.
Both ashora and leona armor gone in an instant, torn apart like paper. The force hits Ashora like a wall falling on him from every direction at once. Blood comes from his mouth. From the corners of his eyes. He feels his organs shifting, straining, beginning to give way as his sei scrambles to hold them in place.
He is almost on his knees.
No.
He closes his eyes and builds again — three layers this time, one over the other, the light pouring out of him in waves. The first layer holds. The second reinforces it. The third gives him just enough room to breathe.
He straightens. Barely.
Beside him, blood runs from Leona's mouth as well. Her eyes are strained and glassy —
And then something shifts.
Two presences push outward from her without being called. Selenephira and Aurelios manifest on either side of her, their divine energy unfurling around her like wings opening.
"Child." Aurelios looks at her with something close to alarm. "What has happened to you? How are you in this state?"
"It's nothing." Leona's voice is tight but steady. "Father is giving us a test. Now that you're both here — can you protect me?"
"Of course," Selenephira says. "This much is nothing for us."
A barrier rises around Leona — solid, quiet, absolute. The pressure against her simply stops.
She steadies. Breathes.
The three of them stand in the ruin of the training ground — stone dust floating around them, the earth cracked open beneath their feet — and they do not go down.
Blood spills from Ikshita's nose and ears as her body trembles under the unbearable pressure. The Res within her heart spirals out of control, the fragile circle she has formed beginning to crack. It pulses violently, on the verge of collapse, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Ashora and Leona see it at the same time.
"Ikshita—!"
Her body sways, her consciousness slipping. She has no defense against this overwhelming force.
"Light Armor!"
Ashora's voice cuts through the chaos.
A burst of yellow light erupts from him, expanding outward and forming a protective dome around the three of them. The shimmering barrier flickers under the immense pressure pressing down from all sides.
But it is not enough.
Cracks begin to spread across the dome.
The pressure intensifies.
"Aurelios! Selenephira!" leona shouts. "Cover it with your divine power!"
At her command, the two divine beasts respond instantly. Their power surges outward,divine power. wrapping around the fragile light armor, reinforcing it. The barrier stabilizes, holding against the crushing force… for now.
Leona supports Ikshita, helping her stay upright.
Ikshita's vision blurs, but she forces herself to stand.
Slowly, she raises her hands and places them on Ashora and Leona.
"Selvia… Selvona…"
Her voice is weak, yet resolute.
The last remnants of her Res ignite.
A soft glow spreads from her palms, flowing into their bodies, healing the internal damage caused by the pressure.
The moment the spell ends, her energy is completely exhausted.
Ashora exhales, feeling the wounds inside him disappear.
"Thanks, Ikshita," he says, a faint smile appearing despite the situation. "So this is what you learned in the last two years…"
His eyes gleam with admiration.
"Congratulations. You've become a Second Circle Mage."
Ikshita can barely respond, her body still shaking.
Before they can recover—
Amitrochates' voice echoes through the pressure.
"Interesting." so you really became second circle mage ikshita good.
"Forty-five seconds have passed." androcottus shouts
A pause.
"Now let us see… if you can truly endure."
Amitrochates raises his hand once more.
His eyes sharpen.
"Gravity… fifty times."
Amitrochates is the second strongest in the Baitali after his father, a Stage 4 Awakener as well as a Tier 3 Sei Warrior. When Amitrochates awakened, his soul attribute was Earth. When a person awakens, they master one of the 5 elements of which their body is made up — Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space — with each stage mastering each element. An Awakener also awakens their soul attribute.
Both Ashora and Leona are unique and rare soul attribute holders, Leona's being Thunder and Ashora's being Light. But not all of them are like that; some soul attributes are the same as one of the five elements, and so both take 2 different paths. Those Awakeners whose soul attribute is similar to one of the 5 elements can merge both of them after reaching Stage 4 of Awakening, except Space, which can only be merged after reaching Stage 5, because the person has not mastered Space before it, even when their soul attribute is the same.
But those whose soul attribute is not similar to the five elements have a very hard and difficult path compared to the same-attribute-and-element ones.
Amitrochates, whose soul is the Earth attribute, merged both element and attribute, resulting in the power to control gravity.
The dome screams the moment the words leave Amitrochates' mouth.
Cracks split across the surface of Ashora's light armor and the divine barrier both — fast, spreading in every direction at once. The pressure of fifty times gravity hammers down on the dome from all sides and the three of them feel it even through the protection, a crushing weight pressing against every part of them.
Ashora builds layer after layer of light armor, pushing it out as fast as he can. Each one cracks almost the moment it forms. He keeps building anyway.
"Selenephira. Aurelios." Leona's voice strains at the edges. "Take my soul energy. My thunder is useless here — just make the barrier stronger."
The two divine beasts draw from her immediately, channeling her soul energy into the walls of the dome. The cracking slows — but does not stop. The pressure keeps winning, inch by inch.
"Ashora. Big Sis."
Ikshita's voice is quiet.
They both look at her.
Her face is pale and spent. Everything she had, she already gave.
"I have nothing left. I cannot help either of you." She meets their eyes. "You are both wasting energy protecting me. I am withdrawing."
"No." Leona's voice cuts through immediately. "Don't you dare." Her eyes hold Ikshita's without blinking. "Don't you want to come with us? Then you cannot fail here."
Ikshita goes still.
The pressure disappears.
All of it — lifted in an instant, completely, as if it had never existed. The dome stands intact over silence. The training ground is still.
"Well done." Amitrochates' voice carries across the dust. "All three of you. You pass."
Ashora lets the light armor go.
Then he lets himself go with it and drops straight to the ground.
"Huff — huff — huff —"
His chest heaves. His body feels like it has been wrung out and left empty. He stares up at the open sky above him.
It felt like centuries.
Leona and Ikshita come down beside him. None of them speak for a moment — and beneath them there is no ground left to speak of. The entire surface of the training area has been ground to fine dust, every stone and tile reduced to nothing under the weight of what just happened.
Footsteps move toward them through the quiet.
Amitrochates approaches, Androcottus and Aartha close on either side. Androcottus reaches Leona first and extends his hand. She takes it and pulls herself up. Amitrochates reaches down to Ashora. Leona turns and offers her hand to Ikshita.
The three of them stand in the dust, still catching their breath.
"With this," Androcottus says, looking at each of them, "I can rest assured. You are ready to face whatever situation finds you — or at the very least, to escape from it with your lives."
Amitrochates looks at Ashora. His expression is plain and quiet — no performance in it.
"You did far better than I imagined," he says. "I knew Leona could manage. I had doubts about you." A pause. "I was wrong. You held yourself together — and you protected both of them at the same time."
The ruined training ground sits in silence around them.
"This proved it," Aartha says, her eyes moving across all three of them. "Not just that you can each protect yourselves — but that you can protect each other. In any situation." She nods once. "Good work. All three of you."