The adrenaline still buzzed in my veins as I recounted the exhilarating fight against Tony, Bill, and Mateo. Chronos nodded along, his eyes sparkling with approval. I was startled when he joined me in a low growl of disdain at the mention of Mateo. I guess he has some similar run-ins with Mateo's of his own.

He seemed intrigued when I talked about the actual fighting, how I explained my movements, and adapted Bill and Tony's techniques to my advantage. I mimicked them perfectly, even adding my own flair—like that spinning back kick against Bill, which, incidentally, broke his leg. He was also fascinated by my mastery of their attacks. With Tony, for instance, I was able to predict every move from his posture and body language. This allowed me to adapt, find flaws, and counterattack seamlessly and instantly.

My cheeks burned as I realized how long I'd been talking. I will say though, it feels good to talk about it with someone. I can still feel it, the excitement.

He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “What you just described, kid," he started, “is battle euphoria. The thrill of a fight… makes you feel more alive than ever. As for when you were fighting, it was more than likely a warrior's trance, which is something similar to flow state but it's something that can be controlled somewhat. A warrior's trance is essentially when you get hyper-focused in the fight, all of your senses become one, you can move more fluidly with your body. In other words, it's a trance-like state entered in the heat of combat where instincts and training take over.”

"What separates a warrior's trance from a flow state?" I pressed.

"The only thing that makes it different from flow state is that you were completely conscious of yourself and made your own decisions. You stopped and spoke to everyone and was able to recall the entire experience. If you were in a flow state you wouldn't have even spoken to them, you would have been fighting with 100% efficiency meaning not wasting a single second. I've seen some instances where they aren't even breathing for long periods of time. So in other words you quite literally let instincts and training take over. You leave it all to those two things alone. Once your instincts know the goal, Jesus takes the wheel from there."

I pondered that for a moment. Is it not something you can just trigger yourself? Or do you need to be in a dire situation like I was for it to trigger? I asked him this of course, since it piqued my curiosity.

"A warrior's trance can be triggered with proper training. It's a lot of mental training especially since it regards your instincts. Flow state however can't be self triggered at earlier ranks. People have tried, none have succeeded, just another phenomenon of the human body. But I can assure you, that if someone is in a situation where they get into a flow state, they are the most dangerous person in the room. If a dog would chew off its own leg for survival, just imagine what a human would be capable of doing in a flow state."

I asked him another question, "Battle Euphoria, is that something that is triggered?"

He tilted his head to the side a bit, "Not necessarily, battle euphoria is something natural within you. So essentially when you are in the midst of a fight or have the chance of a fight, it's triggered. But not just any fight it seems with you."

My eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"You need a real fight. Meaning there has to be some risk. If not at risk, then you need to be experiencing something you've never seen before. This is a shot in the dark but I'm sure you'd also feel it from a prolonged match as well. From what you described, you seem to adapt as you fight so I could see it growing as you fight on."

"I also had the feeling when I realized I was outclassed and outnumbered."

He nodded pointing directly at me, "That is included with the risk. Because you were outclassed you are feeling the excitement. You, my boy, are a battle junkie."

"You make it sound like a drug."

He chuckled, "Because for you, it is. And to be completely honest, I am a battle junkie too."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? You like fighting?"

"Of course, the thrill of a good fight is unmatched. Trust me when I say I understand you on a personal level."

This made me feel kind of better in a sense. To be fair, there was a part of me that felt a bit embarrassed with the fact that fighting was like a high for me. But since he said he is in a similar position I suppose it isn't as bad as I thought. Considering he isn't wreaking havoc everywhere he goes to get the feeling of a fight. I guess I worried about nothing.

"Speaking of you, you never gave me your name."

Right, I never introduced myself. I had only asked for his name when I regained consciousness. "Raiden, Raiden Alaric."

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"Raiden huh, anyone call you Rai?"

"Just those close to me." It’s really just my family.

He nods, "Well then, Rai, how old are you?"

"13."

"13? So you should be awakening soon."

I rubbed the back of my head, "I'm... not so sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

I averted my gaze, "I haven't had... a revelation yet."

We both sat there in silence, only the sound of Chronos scratching his beard.

"Okay? And?"

I stared at him, "I-I haven't had a revelation yet?"

"So, what is that supposed to mean?"

I was beginning to question his knowledge of the subject. "Because I haven't had a revelation yet I can't begin the awakening process to develop an aura-forging technique. Because of that, I am unable-"

He raised a hand cutting me off, "So you're telling me that you haven't had a revelation yet therefore you can't begin forging your aura?"

"Yes?"

"So then you at least have access to your Aether Realm right?"

"What? No of course not, I don't gain access until-"

Interrupting me Chronos spoke in a mocking tone, " 'Developed your own technique' blah blah blah, I have heard enough."

'"I don't understand, am I saying something wrong?"

"Yes, yes you are. What you are describing is the basic standard that has been widely adopted by the masses and pushed by certain groups to somewhat ‘gatekeep’ advancement post-awakening. Tell me, how many Ascendants talk about their revelation after reaching Violet rank?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped myself seeing Chronos smirking. He's right, a revelation is for one's drive for advancement. I don't recall anyone after leaving Blue Rank talking about their revelation. Instead-

"They talk about their path. Not to say a revelation becomes irrelevant, rather it can change and is essential to one's advancement after reaching Violet. Primarily because the threshold for each advancement becomes more and more difficult to overcome to reach the next rank. Which is why you see many Ascendants hit a wall within Violet and Red. Granted they don't teach this in most unaffiliated schools since it's not really knowledge you casually come around at such an early stage. Rather it's taught at the Ascendant academies all over the world. Only there will you get genuine and unabridged information within the world of advancement."

I pondered that for a moment before speaking again, "Do the academies really have all the information?"

"Yes and no, they have all information regarding advancement, aura manipulation, forging techniques, esoteric arts, etc. yes, but only until Red rank. Violet is a gray area depending on if the path you take is pretty mainstream or in a certain field, but Red is 100% on you to figure out. That's primarily because the A.A. had signed an agreement with the U.N. to limit the knowledge shared because even at Red it becomes nearly impossible to give accurate information that could assist one's advancement."

I raised an eyebrow, "How does that work?"

"Well you see-'' He began to elaborate on some things regarding advancement in higher ranks while also withholding information to my dismay. He explained how the moment you reach Blue everything starts to change from there. Upon reaching Blue, your body begins going through changes physically and [redacted]. Yes, he said ‘redacted’ I’m not kidding. Everyone knows that upon awakening the user will begin to lose body fat, allergies, mental disorders, illnesses, some physical impairments, etc. Everything that could negatively impact the user, is purged. Thus, making awakening highly sought after by those who have these conditions.

So for Blue, you undergo more drastic physical changes. Your body becomes more toned, your features fairer, and all imperfections of your body just fade away or mold into a better shape to suit you. With this in mind, you also can regrow a limb that was either lost or was a birth defect. It becomes more difficult to gain scars let alone any form of skin blemishes. However you also do a hard purge of impurities within your body. The initial awakening essentially get's your body into peak condition at a faster rate while Blue rank makes you. He wouldn't elaborate much further than that.

This I knew of in a sense because a pair of conjoined twins separated into two after they managed to reach Blue. The most important thing that you undergo is gaining esoteric affinities which he said he could explain at a later time because that would take him just as long if not longer as it's an entirely different area of power.

Continuing onto Violet, you get all of this and more that is difficult to explain and elaborate on. Primarily for the fact that comprehension of these aspects of what you gain makes more sense once it is experienced firsthand. I asked for further elaboration but he turned me down. Instead, he said that you gain glimpses of this power after reaching Blue, which becomes more prevalent upon reaching Violet. He also said that the physical changes also apply to Violet and beyond, however the changes you undergo will not be made just to suit you, but the path you are on. Because of these changes, it makes it difficult to find information regarding how to advance since it's not a straight line, but rather a constantly shifting maze that becomes more elaborate and complex as you move toward the center. And as you progress, your aura becomes more and more unique to you, so much so that outside influence can't simply assist without drawbacks. Even elixirs that are meant to help boost progress, begin lagging behind after a while. If this wasn't the case, the wealthiest family sects and groups would have all White ranks within years of their kin awakening.

I drank in all of this information. I wanted to know more.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask but each time he cut me off with the same answer, "Let’s save the exposition for another day." Even with him not further elaborating, he dumped this information on me. I still had a question I needed an answer for, "Alright, since you don't agree with what I've been told about awakening and advancement, what do you suggest is the true path towards it?"

He grinned wide enough to show his perfect white teeth. "I thought you'd never ask."