Training

As Raijah woke up, he realized he had no interest in leaving his cozy bed. Aziel had given Cora and Raijah their own rooms, and Raijah quickly discovered that he had never slept so well in his entire life.

His room was pretty impressive, with a spacious bed and a neat white desk tucked in the corner. Beside the desk stood a bookshelf filled with informative books about Prana.

And like the rest of the mansion, the room boasted marble floors and walls. Raijah even had his own bathroom and windows that offered a stunning view of the front yard.

Earlier in the morning, Aziel had the housemaids return to Sean's house and retrieve Raijah's belongings. As Raijah stepped into his closet, he found his clothes neatly arranged. He'd spent most of the Coin he earned at the marketplace on clothes, so he was quite proud to see them displayed in such a luxurious manner.

After a refreshing bath and getting ready, Raijah threw on his usual training gear—a black long-sleeved shirt, loose-fitting martial arts pants, and cloth slippers.

Eager to see what the others were up to, Raijah rushed downstairs. Aziel, Cora, and Val sat around a white dining table in the kitchen, enjoying some sweet rice cakes for breakfast.

"Who made all this?" Raijah asked, his eyes widening at the abundance of food.

"This food is incredible," Cora said, pointing to an empty seat with a plate full of food. "It's even better than the stuff we get at Kaijo Palace. You've got to try some, Raijah."

As Raijah settled into his seat, he noticed Cora was wearing a black hakama, which he assumed Aziel had lent her.

Following their meal, Aziel led the three of them to a room beneath the house. Raijah and Cora were amazed to see an area nearly as large as the arena where the Awakening Ceremony took place. It was complete with seats surrounding a spacious arena floor for training and battles.

"This is where your training will take place," Aziel explained. "To kick off our first day, I want the two of you to go all out against Val. I'll use this fight to assess your abilities. Don't expect to beat her, but it'll be a good warm-up."

Raijah couldn't help but blurt out. "Before we start, can you explain how your Signature Prana works?"

"I don't see why not," Aziel said as his scythe materialized in his hand. "My Signature Prana is pretty straightforward, although its incredibly useful. It allows me to summon and control the properties of mirrors of various shapes, sizes, and utility."

Aziel spun his scythe in a circle, and hundreds of blank mirrors appeared across the training room.

"This is one of my favorite techniques. . ." he said as he walked through mirror after mirror, causing him to disappear and reappear through different mirrors across the room. Raijah and Cora had to keep their heads on a swivel, and even then, they couldn't keep up with Aziel's movements. ". . .it summons transportation mirrors that act as doorways by connecting two different locations. By stepping through these mirrors I can transport across short distances that are within my field of view, and also long distances, so long as my destination is somewhere I've been before."

Aziel's scythe disappeared, taking the mirrors with it. "I even have storage mirrors. I can store things in them and retrieve those items whenever I want."

An oval-shaped mirror appeared beside Aziel. Within it, Raijah could see Aziel's scythe, as well as books, Coin, and countless other items.

Once again, Aziel's scythe materialized in his hand, and the storage mirror vanished. "My scythe is my preferred method of fighting; It functions as a medium for me to use my Prana. What I love most is that I can copy Signature Prana techniques from other Saints. It's simple—when I touch an attack with the tip of my blade, it becomes mine to mirror and reuse whenever I please."

"Plus, I have other techniques of my own. Like the 'Reflection' technique I used during my open challenge yesterday. Trust me, what I've shown you is only a fraction of my true power. The rest is for you to learn another day."

Once Aziel concluded his explanation, Val moved to the opposite end of the training floor. As the students prepared to spar, Aziel found a place to stand just beyond the arena floor. Both Val and Aziel donned their white hakama, although Val had let her straight, dark hair flow freely while Aziel maintained his bun.

"Now," Val beckoned to them, "come at me with everything you've got."

Raijah glanced at Cora. "Back me up," he said as he made the first move. He dashed at Val at full speed, his feet leaving imprints in his path.

He cleared the distance between him and Val within seconds.

"How is he this fast with Prana?" Val whispered to herself as she raised her hands to defend.

Raijah swung a punch at Val's jaw, but she caught his fist before he could make contact. Val tightened her grip on Raijah's hand to prevent any chance at escape, then she formed a fist with her free hand and coated it with Prana. 

"Sealing Prana: Pressure Fist!"

Val curved a devastating blow to Raijah's stomach, squashing the wind out of him as he went flying back in the opposite direction.

Behind Raijah, Cora was already readying her Prana.

"Crystal Prana: Crystal Wall!"'

A thin wall of pink crystals rose from the ground, cushioning Raijah's impact. Still, he went down, clutching his abdomen.

"Raijah!" Cora shouted, rushing to his side. She knew they'd fail if Val split them up, but she had to depend on Raijah because she knew so little about combat. Royals like her didn't get introduced to it until they received their awakening, and she'd only awakened yesterday.

Val intercepted Cora's advance. She threw her arms up, blocking Cora's weak attempt at a punch, and swept Cora off her feet with a swift low kick. As Cora fell, Val turned around just in time to see Raijah swing a roundhouse kick.

She had no trouble weaving under it, but she could tell Raijah had experience with martial arts. His blows would deal her some serious damage if she didn't keep her guard up.

Val took a few steps back to gather herself. Cora was still on the floor, but Raijah was already running toward her. They swapped a quick set of blows, and for a brief second, Raijah got the better of the exchange.

Instantly, he whirled a kick toward the side of Val's body.

"Liver shot," Val muttered to herself. "Where'd he learn that?"

She channeled her Prana before he could make contact.

"Sealing Prana: True Prison!"

Val conjured a rectangular purple shield that intercepted Raijah's kick. He was already moving too fast to stop himself, and his foot slammed into Val's shield.

Cracks raced along the walls of Val's shield, but it held up long enough for her to channel more Prana.

"Sealing Prana: Sealing Vines!"

Long purple vines sprouted from the ground, ensnaring Cora and Raijah by their arms and legs.

"That's enough!" Raijah heard Aziel shout from the sidelines.

Val released her technique and freed them from the confines of her vines. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?" she asked Raijah as he got to his feet.

"Martial arts dojo," Raijah said. "I actually won a few championships.

Val nodded and mumbled under her breath. "Weird. I thought only people from my family could kick that well."

Cora got to her feet just as Aziel made it onto the training floor.

"Cora, you need to work on your Prana manipulation. Since you've already been awakened, you already have the physical capabilities of a Saint. However, you need the skill to go along with it. You cannot reach your full potential if you don't master the art of Prana manipulation."

"As for you," Aziel said as he turned to Raijah, "I will share some raw Prana with you and you will practice alongside Cora. If your training is successful, you'll already be proficient at Prana manipulation before you awaken."

"The simplest way to practice manipulating your Prana is by using it to float," Aziel said as his feet lifted off the ground, leaving him to hover comfortably above the floor. He crossed his legs in the air as he continued.

"To learn how to float, you must gain a greater understanding of Prana. Prana is an omnipresent vital energy that exists in multiple forms, including Signature Prana, Ririsu Prana, and Natural Prana. Ririsu is a topic for another day, but today we will focus on the other forms of Prana.

"Within your body, your Pranas flow through pathways called Nadis. There are 72,000 Nadis and they connect at special points of intensity. To put it simply, they serve the same function for Prana as blood vessels do for blood.

"Now, to float, you must differentiate your raw Prana from your Natural Prana. Put simply, raw Prana is a Saint's primary power source. However, Natural Prana is different and exists separately in our bodies as Internal Natural Prana and in the air around us as External Natural Prana."

He continued explaining. "Normally, Saints don't use Natural Prana to form offensive techniques and instead use it for other purposes. However, if you can separate your Pranas and output Internal Natural Prana through your feet, you can use the repellent force to hover in thin air.

Cora interjected. "How will learning this make my Signature Prana techniques stronger?"

"Well," Aziel replied, "the ability to use Signature Prana is intrinsic, hence why you could use it without any real practice. Think of raw Prana as fuel and Signature Prana as an appliance; to activate Signature Prana you simply pour your raw Prana into it. Now, when you use Signature Prana techniques, your Internal Natural Prana can leak out and reduce your Prana output. Which, by extension, reduces the power of your techniques. But if you become skilled at differentiating both Pranas, you can infuse more raw Prana into your techniques, making them far more potent."

Suddenly, Aziel's eye turned white and his expression went blank as he sat, hovering in the air.

Raijah and Cora exchanged troubled glances.

Noticing their distress, Val said, "Give it a second."

Aziel stopped floating as he regained consciousness. A troubled expression washed over his face, and he began pacing around the room.

"I apologize, but I have to cut today's training short. The Elite Corporation has called for the Signed Elites of the multiverse to gather with their universe's representative. Saint Meng, our representative, said something terrible has happened. I must attend the meeting."

Not even Val had seen Aziel this distressed and serious.

Aziel quickly picked up on his students' body language.

"But don't worry," Aziel reassured them with a smile. "Val, for tomorrow's training, take them on a high-ranked mission. Don't go too easy on them. It's also an opportunity for you to get some training in."

Aziel summoned his scythe, spun it, and a mirror materialized. He glanced back at his students, their fearful expressions reflecting in his eye.

"Trust your teacher," he said confidently. "I'll be back soon." With that, Aziel stepped through the mirror and vanished from sight.

His encouraging words managed to calm the students' nerves.

Val spoke up, saying, "Well, I'll go gather the details for tomorrow's mission. You two can hang out and do whatever you like."

As Val went on her way, Cora turned to Raijah, who hadn't moved a muscle since Aziel left.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked.

Raijah shrugged. "Where do you want to go?"

"Let's go to your room," she replied. "The books there can help us learn more about Prana manipulation."

***

As they arrived in Raijah's room, they rushed to the bookshelf, and together, sorted through the books. One book caught Cora's eye. Titled "Unleashing the Prana Within: A Journey of Mastery", the book drew her attention because of the authors' names: Rosa Creed and Isaac Creed.

"Hey," Cora said, handing Raijah the book. "Aziel's parents wrote this."

Raijah marveled at the book. It was quite big, but it likely had an abundance of information.

"I didn't know they were authors," Raijah said as he flipped through the book.

"They were explorers," Cora explained. "They wrote books about their discoveries regarding Prana and the nature of the multiverse. I heard something went wrong during their last expedition, and they sadly lost their lives."

Hearing this dimmed Raijah's mood. He hated the thought of death and hated talking about it even more.

He motioned for Cora, and she sat beside him on the marble floor as they flipped through the book together.

They followed the instructions for learning the floating technique and sat cross-legged, facing each other.

"Can I borrow some Prana?" Raijah asked. "Aziel couldn't give me his because of that emergency meeting he had to attend."

Cora grabbed his hand and rested her palm flat on his. Raijah could feel her raw Prana flowing into his body and coursing through his Nadis in a river of lights that tickled as they traveled.

Once she finished, Raijah took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes and focused on separating Cora's Prana from his own Natural Prana. He could sense the distinct energies within him, intertwining and pulsating with life.

With the book as his guide, Raijah concentrated on his feet, visualizing the internal energy accumulating and preparing to be released. He slowly began to sense a subtle shift in his Prana, a separation of sorts. He could feel his Internal Natural Prana becoming distinct from Cora's Prana.

As he continued to concentrate, Raijah directed his Internal Natural Prana toward the Nadis in his feet, channeling it with precision. He envisioned the repellent force emanating from his soles, pushing against the ground, lifting him ever so slightly.

To his surprise, he felt a gentle lift, as if the air itself embraced him, supporting his weight. Raijah's eyes fluttered open, and a wide grin spread across his face. He was floating!

Cora watched in awe as Raijah hovered effortlessly above the ground. She could see the excitement in his eyes and used it as fuel for her own practice.

She followed the same steps of visualizing the separation of her Pranas and channeling her Internal Natural Prana towards her feet. Within due time, she managed to lift herself a few inches off the ground.

Raijah and Cora exchanged enthusiastic glances, their floating bodies gently swaying in the air. The feeling of weightlessness was exhilarating.

They continued for the next few hours, and before they knew it, they were floating so high that their heads nearly reached the roof.

But as time flew by, fatigue began to set in. Realizing it was getting late, and tomorrow's mission would require them to be well-rested, they reluctantly descended back to the ground, their feet making contact with the marble floor.

Cora yawned and stretched her arms, feeling the exhaustion in her muscles. "I think it's time we call it a day," she said with a sigh.

"You're right," Raijah replied. He wasn't particularly tired, but the thought of sleeping in his new bed again was irresistible.

Raijah bid Cora goodnight as she retreated to her room.

He slipped under the covers of his bed, feeling the weariness wash over him. As he closed his eyes, thoughts of the upcoming mission filled his mind. He wondered if he would grow stronger, or maybe even uncover a fragment of his past.

Little did he know, fate was bringing something far more interesting than he could ever imagine.