(back to the present.)
Gabriel saw the island and was delighted to see his previous training grounds still intact and beautiful as it was back in the day. He roamed around the floating paradise uninterrupted, either because thallus decided not to or he didn't notice him. The beautiful forests reminded him of his training, and how thallus made him train for a miserable 20 hours a day, most of which included meditating on the top of the trees thinnest branches, in an attempt to get the concept of floating into his head.
The concepts and teachings related to the force are usually so complicated that it isn't possible to pass on knowledge exactly as they intended to, to the next generation. So many force users end up having special skills in different areas due to this reason. The diversity arises from the most basic concept that the force is beautifully complex and perplexing.
After Gabriel learnt floating, Thallus made him meditate under the waterfall and told him to float upwards, regardless of the force of the waterfall and to be absolutely calm while doing so, through this he tried to inculcate a sense of duty over his powers when he was using them and made him use them properly. Gabriel resented the initial stages of his training a lot, as he did with Arnav too, but after a while, he just rolled with it and performed better and better everyday and pushed himself despite of much pressure from his teachers, this is Gabriel's blessing, adaptability, given enough time, he'll love what he's doing and do it better than yesterday too.
(back to the present)
After seeing the waterfall, Gabriel went to the house to meet thallus in person and knocked on the door, there emerged a figure with arms covered in flour and his nose a bit covered in the same substance as well, he didn't see the person's face when he opened the door and said, "What is it now Zorael? I'm busy now, I'll teach you to master your spe- WAIT GABRIEL? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE KIDDO!!?" Thallus said as he hugged Gabriel tightly, the moment he realized his visitor was Gabriel himself, "Come on in!!" he invited , as he magically made the flour disappear off his body. "Still trying new stuff are you, Thallus? That is so you." Gabriel said, Thallus replied to this by saying "That's right baby! I love doing new stuff, I mean literally don't have anything else to do. I'm trying to bake from a few days and let me just say this, I think i found some time pass for a few months. But now that you're here, i think I'll have heck loads of fun for a few days!! So, what should we do? Race around the globe or swim around and untangle water animals??!!" Thallus said, excitedly and very energetically and vividly.
Gabriel still remembers how closed and cold thallus was for a few days when they initially met, and not being in Arnav's company also worsened the case, but after getting to know each other, they became good friends and Gabriel learnt that...Thallus was a being bored out of his existence so he aimed to master his speed so much that he could surpass the speed of light itself, he was still unsure of how that is possible or how true that is, since he hasn't actually seen it and only heard about it from his training days. Amidst all the commotion by Thallus, and Gabriel still responding to him, Gabriel was thrown back to the exact moment when his floating and slow propulsion turned into flight, actual flight.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Coming out of his trance he started to hear Thallus again, "Should we have a baking competition on who bakes the best chocolate chip cookies?! or wait, we can cook any flavor and the fastest wins, provided it's edible of course. OR We can have a competition on who untangles the most marine creatures in an hour?"
Gabriel: "Thallus. Thallus." He said until thallus stopped and acknowledged him. "Have you been ok? Anything out of the ordinary in the last 2 decades?"
Thallus: "Oh right. I was so excited to see you that i couldn't contain the excitement. The last decades have been quite the same, to be honest, 1 visit from Arnav, one from Lyssa, 2 from Xoroth, 1 from Orionis and many from Zorael in the last few months as he wants to increase his speed. That's it for me, how've you been, how's your life in the military coming along? I believe you completed a lot of training from the other ancients? Who all exactly did you take your training from again? I forgot Arnav mentioning it 11 years ago, lyssa and Zorael mentioned you too."
Gabriel: "I trained under all of the great 5 except Orionis and the Grand one. I trained under you, Arnav and I'll be training under Cassius, and the actual reason i came is to catch up on my training so that Cassius's training is eased."
Thallus: "Aww man! I thought you came here to visit me because you missed me or were concerned about me."
Gabriel: "I think you're forgetting what you are. You are an ancient, A literal god among men. A godly man."
Thallus: "Still a human. And i liked to be around people too, so, what you wanna do?"
Gabriel: "Remember the first time i actually flied, not levitate or slowly propel? When i actually started to fly?"
Thallus: "Ah yes. I do, how could I forget. You were such a natural at it. You learnt it so quickly, just under 8 months I believe? I don't remember, teaching you was so immersive i forgot the passage of time, like i usually do, it took me another 10 months to make you a master of flying, and swimming underwater and walking on water."
Gabriel, after this was thrown off into a trance, remembering when he actually learnt flying, when he upped his game a notch, when he ascended into the sky at his will, fluidly and smoothly. It was near the waterfall on the paradise island, where Thallus was teaching Gabriel to stand on water using a steady use of the energy to create a physical layer to stand on. Thallus asked Gabriel to launch himself up into the sky by pushing down on the water hard and trying to fly up using his energy, he instructed to Gabriel that this transition from physical force should be unseeming and there Gabriel gained an important insight into the force. What feels like a work which is mostly done by the energy should not be interpreted so and be treated as one whole, meaning, physical parts and the energy shouldn't be seen as 2 different beings, or parts, or rather should be seen as 1 thing. The consciousness of the owner encompassing both physical and energy halves of himself.
When he realized this, Gabriel was able to fluidly use his darkness and make his body and his energy one, resulting in fantastic results of propulsion and flight. After seeing this, Thallus laughed and hugged Gabriel in the sky congratulating him and patting his head. Thallus continue to help Gabriel master his flight and swimming techniques. But thallus taught him something else too, telekinesis. Gabriel was able to learn it fairly easily and showed tremendous outputs, so much so that, after only 6 months of training, Gabriel was able to move the paradise island, floating over the ocean, which weighed more than a hundred thousand tons.
One fine day, Thallus sat him down and told him, his growth was very abnormal and his strengths were like none he had seen before, excluding an ancient named Orionis, who is able to move moons around, without much effort.