"But, just like a tornado, if your soul isn't strong enough, it will simply dissipate over time. Any more questions?"

Kiro shook his head, going over his thick stack of freshly written notes. The intricacies of will and mana were many, but even this base foundation would do wonders for his alchemy. In fact… a new version of the Starlight's Drop emerged in his mind, one that would not only make it easier to cultivate, but also —

Aer's eyes widened, and a gust of wind rushed against him, tossing him against the cave walls like a child throwing a doll. Luckily for him, his body had been strengthened by the power of the late Infusion stage and Aer's constant training. He instantly rolled back towards the entrance, but a landslide crashed down, blocking their way out.

Seira groaned, picking herself up from the tangle of steel and wood that used to be the weapons rack. "What was that?"

"I don't know, but she looked concerned —"

Aer's voice faintly brushed against his ears, so real that he could have sworn that she was standing right next to him.

Whatever you do, stay inside the cave and suppress your auras as much as you can. Do not go outside, and do not use any mana until I get back.

"Aer?" Seira turned her head, trying to find the source of the noise.

"It must be a technique of hers." Rynn frowned, pulling his aura back towards him. "We should do as she says."

Kiro gave the man a strange look.

Had he really changed? Whatever the case, he was right. If this was a threat to Aer, they had no business trying to —

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, his limbs seemed to get a hundred times heavier.

***

Aer flew through the air at supersonic speeds, brandishing a hundred-foot-long staff of coiling light. This weapon might be impractical in real combat, but it emitted an aura that almost rivaled her own, lending to her intimidation. Her mana sense spread out over miles of land, and she pinpointed her invaders in a second.

The next, she was within shouting range.

"I see you have not heeded my warning, Hong Ma."

The woman cackled at the sight of her, throwing out another of her ginormous flame serpents. Aer barely gave her a thought, letting the technique disperse against her fully released aura. The real threat was the man next to her.

He must have been a relatively young Saint, seeing as how his mana signature hadn't fulled developed yet, but that didn't make him any less deadly. In her state, as long as she was fighting an immortal, she was at risk.

As if he had heard her thoughts, the man crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat, conjuring a ramp of earth in order to meet her in the air.

"Ah, Rythian Marlowe, patriarch of the Volcanic Fury Sect and renowned businessman, a pleasure to meet you."

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He didn't seem as bloodthirsty as Hong Ma — maybe he could be reasoned with.

She gave him a cautious smile, shaking the offered hand. "The pleasure is all mine, fellow Saint. Would you mind telling me what you're doing over here?"

"Why, you see, I came here in search for fortune, and sadly, it seems as if you are the bearer of it."

She frowned, gathering a hint of true mana in her staff. "Well, seeing as you are a businessman, could we not come to some sort of compromise?"

Rythian's eyes flashed, and he gave her a wide grin. "Why of course! It is simply illogical to accept anything but the best deal I am given."

Hong Ma bristled in the distance, but the crackle of True Lightning seemed to convince her to stay quiet.

A wave of relief washed over her, and she stowed away the staff. "Well then, Sir Marlowe, I would be more than happy to gift you a couple hundred spirit jades as a symbol of my goodwill. However…"

She flared her aura, deliberately sharpening her killing intent to a wicked edge. "If you seek violence, it will not end well for you."

***

"Is that really the Brave?"

"Yes. Now help me shift her back to the void — she isn't the only one we need."

Kiro rolled over to the other side of the bed, cursing whatever alchemical solution he had spilled to make it feel like he was sleeping on rocks.

"Ugh, she's heavier than I expected!"

"That's just weight of this world, you nitwit! Go ahead and use your shroud if you have to, there's no way it'll hurt the Brave."

Why were there people talking over here? Seira always hated sleeping with noises…

"I wonder why she decided to betray the clan…"

He cracked open an eye, and two Scouts looked back at him, his sister held between them.

"Seira!"

In an instant, his killing intent poured into the room, and his assailants visibly paled. He forced mana through his aching body, flipping upright and throwing an onslaught of fire at the invading mystics. They let out terrified screams, dropping Seira's unconscious body to the ground. He smirked, and as they frantically banished his flames, and he dashed forwards, catching his sister and setting her gently against a protruding rock.

"Seira! Can you hear me?"

He opened his mana sense, trying his best to get a grasp on what was happening in her spirit. Her channels were circulating abnormally slow — probably a result of that pressure that had knocked them out in the first place. Had that been Aer's aura? He prodded her core with his spirit, testing her mana with his own. At least it seemed normal enough.

The two Scouts had finally gathered themselves, launching compressed jets of flame at him as he stood. He scowled at them. With a flex of his spirit, their techniques halted midair, shooting back towards their users at twice the power. At the same time, he funnelled mana into his connection with Seira, jumpstarting her channels and feeding her core.

One of the most valuable skills that any mystic can learn is the ability to split their spiritual attention.

He was glad that he had practiced that part of the jade slip.

"Huh? Kiro?" Seira sat up, flaring her aura on instinct.

"Prepare yourself." He threw a vial of Starlight's Drop to her, throwing a different concoction at the feet of the Scouts. "We have a fight on our hands."

The concoction exploded in a conflagration that covered half the cave, but it was no good. Instead of retaliating or even blocking, the mystics simply stepped back into the void, vanishing for good.

He clenched his fist, glaring at where the Scouts had been. "When is Aer going to teach us how to do that? I swear, whenever we're ambushed, they always end up doing that."

Seira nodded. "At least we're safe now, though. We should probably wake up —"

As if on cue, an Elder stepped through the void, grabbing Rynn's body before they could react.

"Rynn!" She shot a spray of emerald fire towards the man, but the air between them rippled, and another dozen Elders appeared before them.

She huffed. "This again?"