Fay did as instructed.
He was able to correct his mistakes once he closed his eyes quickly—it was easier to visualize aether when he wasn't distracted by everything happening around him.
The boy successfully broke apart a tree during the dirt trial, but he ended up using all of his aether.
[I can't give you another of the aether-infused leaves if that's what you're waiting for. Instead, try practicing the skill you used earlier. This time, concentrate on filtering the mana. Don't just absorb raw land mana—you don't have a creature of this element to refine it for you.]
Elaruîn noticed the confused look Fay was giving him and sighed, then offered a more detailed explanation.
[Look for mana that belongs to your creatures. If that's not possible because of how rare they are, try to separate the energy manually. You should see that each type of aether has its own color. If you isolate it from its source carefully, you'll be able to trace how long it takes to turn into raw energy.]
Fay thought about it for a moment, then turned back to the ground. He already knew what would happen if he simply scooped up dirt without thinking.
This time, he repeated the action—but as he picked up the dirt, he noticed the energy particles were a brown hue. As he held them, they began to fade.
He glanced at Jolt, who was still out.
"I think I get it now…"
Fay then gathered dirt again, this time slowly and carefully infused it with small amounts of electric mana. The brown mana particles began to take on a purplish tinge—the color associated with electrical mana.
He felt warmth building in his palm and instinctively threw the dirt away.
When he closed his eyes, he realized there was now more electric mana around his hands than when he started.
"I did it… But why is it so little?"
If measured, the increase was probably just two or three percent of his total reserves.
"Guess I spent more mana refining it than I actually gained," he muttered aloud, hoping Elaruîn would offer a better hint.
"Don't expect much from me, kid. You should be able to figure out the next part on your own. Think hard and keep at it—there's just one more step you need to work on."
Fay furrowed his brow, trying to find a solution, but this time, no ideas came as quickly as before.
To avoid draining Jolt's aether, he returned him to the spirit realm as Elaruîn calls it.
Fay then turned to Somni, who was still floating nearby.
He sighed, watching the small jellyfish-like creature drift about, and closed his eyes.
He sat down, beginning to meditate while keeping his vision on Somni, who glowed in a soft white hue, at times, almost transparent.
As he watched it hover gently, he found himself mesmerized, nearly dozing off from the peaceful motion.
Then he noticed something: Somni wasn't just passively absorbing aether—it was converting it as it moved. And more than that, it wasn't simply drifting… it was sleeping while doing so.
"I see… so that's how…"
The only issue was that Fay couldn't replicate it. He couldn't sleep and filter mana belonging to dreams at the same time. But then his thoughts turned to Grin.
Grin didn't work with dreams—his power came from illusions. He used mana to create them… but what if Fay created an illusion of falling asleep?
He had both elements. It was something neither Grin nor Somni could accomplish alone.
To try it, Fay closed his eyes—not just in the literal sense, but he also shut out his other senses. He focused on building an illusion of a dream, one vivid enough to produce dream-aspected mana. It felt strange, foreign in the truest sense.
The illusion didn't take shape outside his body, but within his mind. A dream that slowly began to form… and with it, a tranquility he had never known before.
It was about his parents, some days before everything changed. He saw them smiling after returning home with enough food, following two days of going without much.
The four of them sat around a small table that his father had managed to find. They were eating together, listening to Mira retell a story she'd heard from a neighbor who worked with their mother.
He looked at his father—tired, but smiling genuinely as he wrapped an arm around Fay's mother. His mother, with her long, soft brown hair, was tied into a braid, and her smile—always contagious—warmed the room.
And then there was his sister, who just wouldn't stop talking. She was learning to speak faster than anyone her age. Her voice was gentle, cheerful… comforting.
Fay wanted to stay in this place forever. Forget the outside. Forget the danger. Just stay here and—
Suddenly, he was hit from behind.
The illusion began to unravel.
The warmth of his old home faded. His worn armor of leaves and leather returned.
His hands, once small and clean in the dream, were scarred again—reminders of all he'd endured.
[I think what you did worked. You're practically glowing with energy. But don't linger too long in your mind.]
Elaruîn's voice was firm, and Fay blinked back into full awareness.
[There's a reason I never gave you the unstable jewel—you were drifting too close to dangerous ground, Fay.]
The Eluwyn helped him up, watching him carefully.
[Remember, the mind is powerful. It's the source of strength for many, but it can blind us in ways we can't even imagine.]
Elaruîn's spirit vision flared briefly. He could see it—Fay was radiating faint traces of mind domain energy. The boy had unknowingly tapped into something deeper. By mixing both dream and illusion, he had opened the door to the realm of the mind—a place filled with strange, powerful entities no one should face alone. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novèlfire.net
Especially not a boy still learning how to wield his power.
This had certainly not been the plan Elaruîn had in mind for Fay. The boy had two clear options—both safe, both within reach. The elf had not expected him to choose a third path.
One unknown, unstable, and dangerous.