Kaedros traced it through his lungs as it traveled through his body, the mana flowed with ease, and then he saw it.
His core. But it was different.
To his senses, it appeared as something small, a perfectly round sphere the color of gold, with a streak of red, black and yellow running through it.
As he watched, his mana settled into the core. Some peeled away and flowed out, made of the different colors and settled behind the core into a blurry form.
But what startled him most was the network of glowing threads linked to it, faint but visible, like veins of light weaving throughout his body.
He instinctively kept breathing as Thalso had shown him, drawing more mana into his core, filling it in a way he had never felt before and watching as some flowed into the soul space.
The others had found theirs as well.
Taria’s core was a gleaming yellow, radiating light that shimmered to her senses. Oddly enough her soul space felt sharp, like it had points, even though it was round.
Her mana veins, by contrast, were bright and thick, stronger than what Kael’s had been.
Rauk’s core was a muted grey, and his mana spun like curling smoke as it fed into it. His soul Space looked like warped air. His veins resembled Kael’s, less pronounced but more reserved.
Thalso watched them quietly as they relaxed into the rhythm, breathing in sync with the Flow.
"They’ve picked it up so quickly," Chef whispered beside him.
"Likely a result of where they came from," Thalso murmured. "Their cores were already aspected, even without using the Flow."
Chef glanced at him, eyes sharp. "Have you figured out where they’re from yet?"
It was subtle, barely a tremor but Chef, attuned as she was, caught it immediately. A ripple of unease passed from him into the room, as if the walls themselves had felt the disturbance.
"I have a guess," he said after a pause. "But how can we be sure? We’re still trapped here."
When he finally spoke again, she was ready for it.
"Do you think it’s him? His signature is all over these children."
Chef gave a small shrug. "I thought that place was destroyed."
Thalso didn’t respond. The silence that followed spoke volumes. Instead of pressing, Chef turned her attention back to the children. She could see it now, the mana surrounding them, folding inward as they breathed, as they used the Flow.
And bends into their Soul space.
This was the General Flow, what every beginner learned when first exploring their soul space. But once they were sure of the path they wanted to walk and cultivate. Things would change.
"Why did you call it battlemage training the other day?" Chef asked suddenly. "Any strong enough mage can fight... at least to a degree."
Thalso snorted. "You’re a chef. But you’re more of a mage than anything else."
Chef rolled her eyes. "Just call it what it is. Mages and warriors, those labels don’t always apply. If you can use mana, then you’re a Wielder."
A Wielder. One who could manipulate mana, regardless of method or training.
"Does it matter?" Thalso grunted. "Let them learn whatever calls to them."
Chef let the quiet return, but it didn’t last long. The children began stirring, signs of their trance fading.
Kaedros opened his eyes, half-expecting to find himself somewhere else entirely. But no, he was still seated, cross-legged, facing Thalso with the others.
"How was it?" Taria asked, already out of the Flow. Her bright eyes were locked onto him, searching.
"It was..." He paused, struggling to find the words. A core? Veins of light? Tracing mana through his own body? It was the first time he had felt like that. Before, he just draw power from his core without knowing how it was distributed. "It was something else."
Rauk nodded, agreeing silently.
"Good," Thalso said, folding his arms. "It’s all moving fast for you because your cores were already formed. The mana inside you had already been aspected and you’ve already been touching on the thread of a path."
When asked what aspected meant, he explained.
"Aspecting happens when your mana shifts, aligning itself with the techniques and spells you use. The magic leaves a mark on the core."
"What color was yours? What did it feel like?"
"Yellow," she said. "And... it felt sharp. Like the core had points."
Thalso nodded, satisfied. "Sounds about right."
He addressed them all now.
"At the start, your core will usually appear faint, almost colorless. Sometimes silver. But once you begin focusing on a branch of the magic,vspells, techniques, disciplines, your core changes. It takes on a color and form that reflect your magical affinity."
Kaedros frowned. So...the Seed of Light of Annihilation was what exactly?
"My core is gold," he said aloud. "But there’s a deep red stripe, black and yellow running through it."
Thalso went still, then he asked in an expressionless voice. "What’s your magic focus?"
"I study everything. I use a lot of spells from different branches, light, fire, darkness, sun. But if I had to pick, I lean more toward the sun."
Taria nodded to herself.
This must be the hidden path that Kaedros had mentioned, Sorcerer, the one that allowed him to freely cast spells across different elements.
Rauk looked surprised. He glanced at Kael, noting his deep blue eyes, so unlike his own and wondered how many secrets lay behind them.
Thalso leaned forward slightly, his voice was strange.
"You won’t be able to reach true power by spreading yourself across multiple magics, unless you have overwhelming raw strength. Eventually, you’ll need to choose."
Kaedros frowned. Why did it seem like Thalso was speaking about something more than just picking a line of magic? And not only that...the way Thalso was speaking about Soul space and Path.
It was as if they were both speaking about an entirely different thing!