4 CHAPTER 4: [Air Crystallization ]

A cool breeze passed through the garden, swaying the leaves around in an intricate dance. The calm winds crashed into Ray, causing his focus to waver as the chill passed down his spine. A few feet away from him, Schelo watched carefully, taking note of every movement and twitch.

His gaze did not falter. All his focus was concentrated on his disciple. He had been introduced to Ray by Ray's father whose only request was for Schelo to make Ray break through Gold. At first Schelo was only in it for the money. He had trained for years to break through Broken Diamond, and was going to use his expertise to gain an abundance of riches.

But his mind changed when he spent some time with Ray. His mind changed as he watched Ray's destructive nature come to fruition. Soon his focus shifted from earning money, to somehow fix this boy. So Schelo began to do some digging, in search for the reason why Ray had turned into this empathy-lacking void.

Schelo's first interrogation was with the Chief Servant, Alexa Claire. She immediately spilled all the information after an inconsequential bribe. As Schelo had predicted, Ray was once an outgoing and overall happy child, but the lack of attention given to him by his parents in his later years had changed the boy's outlook on life. Schelo soon figured out that Ray needed a parental figure in his life, because his real parents were too busy dealing with their finances.

Schelo was disgusted at himself. In a way, his goals were similar to Ray's parents'. Both the parties just thought about money and a comfortable life. This disgust caused him to change. His view of Ray quickly changed from that of a cash cow, to a boy in need of help.

And so began Schelo's mission to train Ray into being an empathetic adolescent. But he didnt realise how hard it would be to fix someone that has been shattered to this point. This did not stop him though. He still tried his best, even if it would not bring about any change.

Ray slowly opened his eyes as he took in a deep breath. At its core, [Air Crystallization] depended on the user's imagination. The concept behind the technique was to force molecules of air together around the user's palms or the soles of their feet. This allowed the user to create platforms suspended mid-air that they could use to expand the range of their movement. The user could use the hardened air to block attacks or to create platforms to jump off of or grab onto. The only downside to this technique was that the user couldn't move the hardened air around. Once a platform was created in a particular position its coordinates were fixed and the air molecules would only disperse once the user willed them to, or once the user let go of the platform.

Keeping this in mind, Ray focused his thoughts around the palms of his hand. He imagined pulling in the air molecules to fit into a cuboidal lattice, and slowly felt a wall form in the direction his palms were facing. He slightly pushed against the "wall" to make sure it actually existed.

Since there was no way to see the hardened air, Schelo just waited for Ray to prove to him that he had conjured the platforms. He didn't have to wait for long until Ray jumped up, his hands remaining in the same position as they were before he jumped.

Ray stabilised his body as he balanced on the 2 platforms he had created around his palms. To an outsider, it would look like Ray was floating, but to Schelo it was clear that Ray had executed the technique masterfully.

Watching the boy struggle to hold himself up on the platforms, Schelo asked Ray to disperse the technique. A look of relief washed over Ray's face as he fell back to the ground. Schelo extended an arm to his disciple and pulled him back up.

A warm smile extended across Schelo's face as he spoke to Ray. He wanted to encourage the boy but also didn't want this measly achievement to get to his head, so he carefully worded his critique.

"You did well today. It will only take you a few more days until you break through Gold." This sentence seemed to bring Ray down, just as Schelo had expected it to.

Ignoring the boy, he continued. "But looking at the pace at which you have been progressing, I wouldn't be surprised if you broke through in just 2 days. The only thing you need to practice now is bringing about [Air Crystallization] instantly during combat. Once you master that, you wont need my help anymore and you would successfully have blasted your way through Gold."

Ray wasn't sure if he should be glad that his teacher had praised him, or sad that his teacher would soon leave. Ray had enjoyed the time spent with Schelo because the man seemed like he truly cared for him. Schelo had always smiled when he saw Ray, and had helped him train for many months, so the thought of saying goodbye and possibly never meeting him again truly broke Ray.

But Ray smiled. Despite the flurry of emotions he had felt after a long time telling him to be sad, he smiled. Schelo was surprised to see Ray smiling, but he too couldn't help but smile. The smile cast upon Ray's face was proof to Schelo that the boy had grown.

A slightly high pitched voice interrupted the moment that Ray and Schelo shared.

"Master Ray, your father wishes to see you." A thin woman in her 30s spoke while keeping her head down in respect. She left as soon as she had relayed the information, leaving Ray shaking.

The only time Ray would see his parents was during occasions with a lot of guests and the rare family dinners with the extended family. The rest of the time, Ray was taken care of by servants and his teachers. So the sudden call for him by his father was a shocking turn of events.

Confusion ran amuck in Ray's mind as his world seemingly fell apart. He wanted to feel happy that his father saw any reason in meeting him, but the fear of a sudden summon by the head of the Vilhorm family shadowed every other emotion.

Schelo could clearly see the shock and anxiety eating away at Ray, but didnt know how to comfort the boy. Anxiety was one thing Schelo luckily never had to deal with as a child or as an adult, so helping Ray was outside the scope of his expertise.

Having no idea what to do next, Schelo put his hands on Ray's shoulders, shifting the boy's focus from his father to his teacher. "Good," Schelo thought to himself as he distracted Ray.

"Listen up," He said out loud, anchoring Ray's focus to himself for good. "You've been doing well up till now and you'll continue to succeed. I know you're scared to meet him, but what's the worst that could happen?" Schelo wasn't sure if he should have said the last part, but quickly made up for it.

"I'll accompany you to his office, if that would help you gain confidence."

This seemed to have done the trick. Ray's pitiable face was gone, replaced by a confident gaze. Both of them walked away from the gardens, leaving behind any leftover anxiety that infected them.