The base was quiet.
Not peaceful never peaceful.
But still.
After the fight with the Aether beasts, the group had returned with something far more valuable than experience.
Cores.
Dozens of them.
Sorted, categorized, and laid out across Serah's work table each one faintly glowing with its own energy.
The air itself felt heavier because of it.
Kael stood nearby, watching.
Lucien leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the collection.
"That's a lot," he muttered.
Riven shrugged.
"Not really. You'd be surprised how fast those disappear."
Elias stepped forward.
"They will," he said calmly. "Starting now."
Serah didn't wait.
She picked up one of the cores the one pulsing with dense, physical energy.
Reinforcement-type.
She rolled her shoulders slightly.
"Step back," she said.
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
"Dramatic much?"
Serah ignored him.
She pressed the core against her chest.
For a moment
Nothing happened.
Then Aether surged Violently and Uncontrolled.
Her body tensed instantly as the energy forced its way into her core.
Her veins lit faintly under her skin, glowing with raw power.
Lucien straightened.
"That doesn't look comfortable."
"It isn't," Elias said.
Serah dropped to one knee.
Her breathing became heavy but steady.
Controlled.
Her body wasn't rejecting it.
It was adapting.
Slowly.
The Aether stabilized.
The glow faded.
Serah exhaled sharply and stood.
"That's better."
She clenched her fist.
The air cracked slightly.
Lucien blinked.
"Okay. That's new."
Kael observed carefully.
Her reinforcement has deepened density increase, output higher.
Serah smirked faintly.
"I hit harder now," she said simply.
Elias stepped forward next.
He picked up a water-type core.
Lucien frowned.
"Wait. You don't use water."
Elias glanced at him.
"No."
Then he pressed the core into his chest.
Aether surged
But this time, something different happened.
The energy entered his body
And immediately weakened.
Faded.
Dissolved into his existing power.
Lucien blinked.
"That's it?"
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
Kael spoke.
"Your core has already evolved."
Elias looked at him.
"Correct."
He turned to the group.
"When a Weaver reaches an advanced form of their element absorption changes."
Lucien frowned.
"Explain."
Elias crossed his arms.
"Ice is not separate from water. It is a refined state of it."
He gestured slightly, frost forming along his fingertips.
"Once your core stabilizes at that level absorbing lower-tier cores becomes inefficient."
Serah added,
"You still gain something. Just, very little."
Riven smirked.
"Basically, you need a lot more to matter."
Elias nodded.
"Exactly."
Lucien looked at the pile of cores again.
"So the stronger you get, the harder it is to grow."
Kael spoke quietly.
"As it should be."
Elias turned toward them.
"Now," he said, "we move to something more significant."
Lucien straightened slightly.
"This again?"
Kael's eyes sharpened.
The second awakening.
Elias stepped closer.
"I told you before," he said, "that it's possible to force a second element."
Lucien nodded slowly.
"And that it can kill you."
Elias didn't deny it.
"Yes."
Then his gaze settled on Lucien.
"You are ready."
The room went Silent, Lucien blinked.
"Wait what?"
Riven chuckled.
"Oh, this'll be fun."
Elias placed several flame cores on the ground.
Not one.
Not ten.
Dozens.
Then more.
A growing pile.
Lucien stared at them.
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
Lucien let out a breath.
"Alright."
He stepped forward.
For the first time in a long time
He hesitated.
Not out of fear.
But awareness.
"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" he asked.
Elias answered calmly.
"Yes."
Lucien smirked slightly.
"Good."
He picked up the first core.
Pressed it into his chest.
Aether exploded outward.
Fire.
Going Wild.
and Uncontrolled.
Lucien dropped to one knee immediately.
"Don't fight it," Elias said. "Guide it."
Lucien gritted his teeth.
"Easy for you to say!"
He grabbed another core.
Then another.
Then another.
The fire grew.
Wrapped around him.
His body shook violently as the second element tried to form,
To merge,
To stabilize.
Kael watched closely.
His core is under extreme pressure
Lucien let out a roar.
The flames surged higher
Then suddenly
Collapsed inward.
Silence.
For a moment
Nothing happened.
Then
Lucien's body ignited again.
But this time controlled.
Flames flickered along his arms.
Stable.
Real.
He laughed weakly.
"I did it."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
But he didn't stop him.
Lucien reached for more cores.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"He's continuing."
Elias didn't intervene.
Lucien absorbed more.
And more.
And more.
The flames intensified.
Then
Something changed.
The color shifted.
From red
To white.
Then a crack.
A sharp sound split the air.
Lightning.
It sparked violently across his body.
Unstable.
Explosive.
Lucien's eyes widened then rolled back.
His body collapsed.
Silence filled the room.
Serah moved instantly, checking his pulse.
"He's alive."
Elias nodded.
"He pushed too far."
Kael spoke calmly.
"He reached the advanced state."
Elias looked at Lucien.
"Yes."
Then he added:
"And now his body is paying the price."
Lucien's breathing slowed.
Deepened.
Stable.
"He'll enter a recovery state," Elias said. "Call it hibernation."
Riven crossed his arms.
"How long?"
Elias shrugged slightly.
"Days, Maybe longer."
Elias turned.
"Now you."
Kael stepped forward without hesitation.
"What is my second element?"
Elias placed a different type of core in front of him.
Not flame.
Not water.
Something else.
"Vibration," he said.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"Interesting."
He picked up the core.
Absorbed it.
The reaction was immediate,not explosive like Lucien's, But intense.
His fragments began to tremble
Then hum.
A low frequency filled the air.
Kael's body remained still.
But everything around him
Shook slightly.
The energy integrated faster than expected.
Cleaner.
More controlled.
Kael opened his eyes.
"It resonates with my primary ability."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
Kael lifted his hand slightly.
A fragment formed.
Then
Vibrated.
The air distorted around it.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
Kael lowered his hand.
"Useful."
Later that day Kael approached Serah.
She was already back at her table, working.
"I need something," he said.
She didn't look up.
"Of course you do."
"A weapon," Kael continued.
That got her attention.
She glanced up.
"You already have one."
Kael shook his head slightly.
"Not enough."
A pause.
"What kind?"
Kael thought for a moment.
"A white blade," he said. "A durable one."
Then added:
"With a black sheath."
Serah smirked faintly.
"Simple taste."
Kael didn't respond.
She stood.
"I'll see what I can do."
Time moved quietly.
Lucien didn't wake up.
But he didn't get worse either.
Serah worked.
Riven disappeared on short scouting runs.
Nyx remained silent as ever.
Kael trained.
Relentlessly.
His fragments now carried vibration.
Sharper.
More destructive.
But harder to control.
He adapted.
Slowly.
On the fourth day lucien woke up.
Abruptly.
He sat up, breathing heavily.
"I'm starving."
Kael, sitting nearby, glanced at him.
"You've been unconscious."
Lucien blinked.
"That explains it."
He stood immediately, then froze.
"Wait."
He lifted his hand.
Aether surged.
It used to be Fire
Then turned into
Lightning.
It crackled violently across his fingers.
Lucien grinned.
"Yeah."
He looked at Kael.
"I got stronger."
Kael nodded.
"Yes."
Lucien stretched.
"Good. Because I'm still hungry."