The day's Densoon waves came at a leisurely pace. Spread out nearly fifty percent further than normal.

Jiran continued to increase the efficiency of his absorption technique but his efforts weren't enough to make up for the more interspersed waves.

Time seemed to drag by as he waited patiently.

Maybe I should try talking to the other kids again. Nope, definitely a bad idea. That Oliver guy pisses me off and they obviously don’t like me. What would I even say?

Deciding to mind his own business, Jiran busied himself with mana control exercises.

Jiran moved the energy through his body. He remembered a documentary Brandon had watched about sound frequencies creating geometric patterns, so he tried to replicate those shapes in ever smaller and more complex arrangements.

Hopefully, he would be ready to add the fourth shaping if he ever got the cube back.

Jiran made sure not to let any of his mana leave his body. It was obvious that the bandits expected him to be out of mana and exhausted. Considering the cage blocked ambient mana, there should be no way for him to have enough to play around with.

First Mother was nearing her zenith when a bandit finally brought along some food for them. Five bowls of watered-down soup were slid through the bars.

The three other kids wasted no time and grabbed a bowl each. Just as Dommell reached for a second bowl, he glanced at Jiran, and was about to take it when Oliver smacked him on the back of his head. Grumbling but relenting, he left the last two bowls for Jiran and went back to his corner, greedily sucking down the animal slop.

Jiran got up to inspect the fare. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but this wasn't it. Calling it animal slop was too good a compliment for the dirty water. With only a couple of chunks of unknown substance floating in each bowl, there was no way the "food" would keep anyone in good health.

Jiran noticed there was one less bowl than there were prisoners. He looked between the two unconscious men and the filthy meal, unsure what to do.

Deciding he needed more information to make a decision, he turned to the three clowns.

"What's wrong with those two?"

They exchanged looks before Oliver spoke up.

Of course he's the leader of the group, being attractive just paves every road, doesn't it?

"They got into a fight yesterday and knocked each other out, but neither has woken up since."

Jiran scowled at Oliver as he spoke, ticking one more mental tally against the boy for not answering his actual question.

"What were they fighting about?"

Cameron spoke up over Oliver, which surprised Jiran as he assumed the larger boy was a dandere, from their earlier interaction.

"The one with the big nose didn't want to give us any food."

"Thank you, Cameron, that makes this a lot easier." Jiran flashed him a smile.

Cameron looked at Jiran in confusion, not following the meaning of his words. Jiran didn't bother clarifying, he walked over to the man with the considerably smaller nose and checked his condition.

He had several swollen bruises on his face but nothing else was obvious. Jiran pressed his hand to the man's head and sent several gentle waves of mana through the man.

Jiran had never done anything like this before but he remembered what it felt like when Samris had inspected him last season and tried to emulate the technique.

He failed.

The mana he sent through the man lost cohesion and vanished from Jiran's senses almost instantly.

Frowning, he thought about what might have gone wrong, he hoped it wasn't as simple as lacking a skill from a higher tier.

I can feel my mana right after it enters him but I lose it shortly after. Is it just the distance? I know with shaping, if I'm not in direct contact with the effect it destabilizes. I guess using another body, even one with no mana, counts as distance.

If I maintain contact with my mana, would that work? Instead of a wave, what if I use something like a spike?

Jiran attempted to control a needle of mana the size of his finger. He gently pushed the energy into the unconscious man. There was some resistance so he moved the energy slowly, not wanting to hurt him more.

After the mana entered the man, it attempted to disperse but compared to the black-hole vacuum of Jirans injury, this pull was a joke.

Once through the initial awkwardness of a new technique, information flooded Jirans brain. He couldn't see through the mana, but he was able to gather significant information nonetheless.

Jiran could feel each of the man's organs, so he checked them for ruptures or easily identified bruising or bleeding. The man's bones were also easy to distinguish and Jiran quickly found several cracked bones in his face and chest.

Pushing mana with the intent to regenerate those areas, Jiran moved on.

Next, he felt the heart and timed its beat. He didn't know what a healthy heart rate was, but the man's heart seemed to have a stable beat.

He finally moved on to the brain, proceeding slowly and carefully, he examined the outside of the organ. Jiran found obvious signs of swelling and bruising on the front of his brain.

Gulping nervously, Jiran began to ever so slowly, infuse mana with a healing intent and guided it to the areas of bruising. Within moments, the unconscious man's breathing eased and he seemed to fall into a more normal sleep. A vast improvement from the shifting and groaning he had been doing since Jiran arrived.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Feeling like he had already pushed his luck but wanted to finish what he started, Jiran tilted the man's head up. From his closed fist, he created a trickle of water, letting it drip through the man's parched lips.

Well, he should wake up soon, I hope. Guess I'll at least give the other guy some water. I'm not going to heal him though. Unless the one I just healed wakes up and thinks I should. I'll let him decide.

After giving water to the second unconscious man Jiran grabbed one of the bowls of food and left it near the now-healed adult. Then sat back in his corner.

Forcing himself to eat the meal was hard. Jiran knew if he allowed himself to become so weak that he couldn't defend himself, his chances of dying would increase exponentially. So he closed his eyes and swallowed as quickly as he could.

He pushed mana into his stomach at the same time. Intent guided to cleanse any bacteria or poison they might have slipped in to keep the prisoners weak.

Jiran renewed his mana recharging with a vengeance. He had burned nearly half his mana taking care of the injured man.

He tried not to be annoyed that Brandon had never taken a CPR class. Jiran promised himself he would rectify his lack of knowledge in this area soon. All of his information about the body were random facts, more science lab focused than practical knowledge.

I have so much to learn! Jirans mouth widened into a huge smile.

Sitting far too close for their comfort, the trio all shuddered in unison at the madman they were trapped in a cell with.

The maniacal grin of the mysterious child was not something a normal human should ever display.

Jiran sat with his eyes closed. Deep breaths brought him back to his centered and calm state of mind. Once more, he was completely unaware of the people around him and their feelings toward him.

Jiran stayed still for hours. He was laser-focused on eking out the most from each wave. Expanding the surface area of his Density catching net to cover most of his body.

The process had become much smoother since his brain had changed to allow for dual thoughts. He had not been actively trying to improve his technique since then, as it was easy to stay full of mana with his usual meals.

He vowed to take mana gathering more seriously in the future. Densoon would not last forever. If he found himself in a similar situation, there was no guarantee he wouldn't suffer from lack of mana then.

It was well after Second Father's light vanished that Jiran opened his eyes once more. With full mana at last, he took in his surroundings.

Cameron and Croissant were asleep while Oliver was watching Jiran with a complicated expression. He didn't seem to notice that Jiran's eyes were open, almost like he was looking through Jiran and not at him.

Ignoring the boy, Jiran observed the rest of the camp. Small fires were lit and groups of two or three bandits huddled about each flame trying to stay warm.

Soft conversations fluttered through the air. Jiran considered listening in, but changed his mind when he had a more entertaining thought.

What's stopping me from practicing my shapings without the cube? I'm familiar enough with the process that I don't need the cube to tell me when I'm messing up.

I would need to make sure none of my shapings reflect light. If I can do that, nobody will see what I'm doing in this darkness.

How would I make a flame that doesn't reflect light? Do I just need to burn a gas that doesn't emit a visible flame? Yeah! Super easy…

Methanol would work, but there is no methanol naturally in the body, so that's out. Hydrogen is hard to see once it's burning, but the initial activation causes a small flame, so that's out too.

Can I just create a small area of quickly moving molecules simulating a fire? Yes, that's fine, it's not like I'm sitting with the cube trying to get a reaction out of it. This is just practice.

With a plan of action, Jiran began with heat. The image of a small space of excited molecules was easy enough to picture.

However, the exact combination of mana intensity, mental image, and mana movement was challenging to control.

Slowly and gently, Jiran guided his mana into the perfect balance, then added wind. Because he was working with a weaker flame, it took several attempts before he found the right balance.

Stopping his work with heat and wind completely, Jiran created an area of stable molecules simulating cold. He repeated the same process of balancing the shaping, then added water.

This was the hardest part. Because the water would reflect light, he had to form a mist of the smallest water droplets possible. Jiran started with a very small amount of mana and hid it with his hunched torso.

Jiran then carefully expanded the mist to match the strength of his other shapings. With four elements adjusted for practice, he began the arduous process of introducing them to each other one at a time.

Miniscule adjustments flew by as Jiran got closer to having four active shapings. Densoon waves crashed into him on occasion. He gladly accepted the breaks, using the time to think about his mistakes and recharge his mana.

Long after the camp stilled, Jiran continued his practice. His excitement built as he got closer and closer to his goal.

Just a little more. Reduce the rotation of heat. Adjust the speed of the wind to double back on itself another five percent. Slightly reinforce the mist so it's not dispersed, by the now stronger, heat and wind.

Unable to tie off the shapings, Jiran struggled with all his will. He barely kept focus on the four separate, highly complicated shapings.

Barely, was all that was required.

A tidal wave of energy blasted through his body. Thoughts, emotions, Density, and mana that were his but not his assaulted Jiran. Unable to resist the onslaught, Jiran was swept away on a journey through his own existence.

He saw and felt his own life through the memories of another Jiran. He was there for his birth, he watched and felt as his mother pushed him into the world. Feelings of love and joy, from nearby family members, were easily detected by his other self.

Memories shifted to Jiran’s first Densoon Season. His tiny body pressed to the floor, fever raging through him. The thoughts that were both his and not his cheered him on as he gradually acclimated to the waves of energy.

Season after season, Jiran grew. Always with him, around him, and inside him, his other self was there. The unknown Jiran guided him and praised him continually, even though his voice was never heard.

Soon came Jiran’s first tiering, a day he would always remember as terrifying and painful. To the other Jiran, that day held very different feelings.

Feelings of joy at taking the first step toward completion. Emotions full of frustration as -ERROR- hampered his natural progression. The deep need to heal and provide comfort. Then curiosity at the universe beyond the gate.

Finally, silence.

The journey ended as suddenly as it began. Jiran was once more back in his own consciousness.

Jiran gasped as his new reality came into focus. Information bombarded him from everywhere, all at once. He could feel the ground under his butt, and not just through his physical contact with it. He could feel every grain of dirt, the worms and bugs burrowed in the ground underneath the cage. He even experienced the traces of water, roots, and lingering heat from the day.

Jiran felt like he had grown a second brain. Every feeling, memory, and sensation doubled and overlapped with his original consciousness. One ended at the edges of his skin, the other extended about a half meter from his body.

The new consciousness was an oval-shaped dome that enveloped him. Jiran felt like his vision was split, both inner and outer eyes looking in separate directions. Trying to control the second stream of information was giving him an excruciating headache.

Jiran spent the rest of the night adjusting to his new reality.

As First Father began to rise, he settled thoroughly into this new awareness, his brain adapted, allowing Jiran to think clearly once more.