The gathering hall of the Seyoung estate thrummed with qi energy as Eren tried his best to look princely while Iris steered him into yet another black-robed figure that turned out to be a decorative screen.

"Oh look, another one," Iris said cheerfully. "No? My mistake. Though I must say, that screen has excellent posture."

"You're enjoying this far too much," Eren muttered, straightening his formal robes for approximately the hundredth time that evening. The crystal formations nearby betrayed his emotions by shifting to a telling shade of pink.

Jin appeared beside them with his characteristic silent grace, accompanied by a younger boy whose eyes were practically sparkling with barely contained excitement. "Prince Eren, Princess Iris – this is my younger brother, Min. He's been quite eager to meet you since the Awakener trials."

"Another 6-star at sixteen!" Min burst out before even completing his bow. "And you use shadow mana instead of qi – I've read everything I could find about the differences between our energy systems. Is it true you can shape it into solid forms? The theoretical applications for combining that with qi techniques-"

"Min," Jin cut in gently, amusement dancing in his eyes at his brother's enthusiasm. The last time they'd seen Eren had been at the inter-realm trials, where Eren had shocked everyone by achieving 6-star Awakener status years ahead of schedule with his unprecedented control of shadow mana.

"Right, sorry!" Min straightened, attempted a more formal bow, then immediately bounced back to enthusiasm. "But did you hear about my cousin Soo? She just achieved 5-star status in our own trials – at sixteen too! She's revolutionizing traditional qi methods. Her techniques are almost as fascinating as how your shadow mana works!"

Eren's ears turned pink at the mention of Soo. Iris's smile grew positively radiant.

"Oh yes," she said, ignoring Eren's frantic side-eye. "My brother was particularly impressed when he heard about her achievements."

"Really?" Min's eyes lit up even further, if that was possible. "I have so many theories about potential resonance between qi and shadow mana patterns! She developed this amazing phoenix form that responds to ambient energy shifts. I think-"

"Min," Jin interrupted again, "you're about to step on a-"

Too late. In his excitement, Min had backed into a qi-sensitive tile. But instead of the expected backflip, the tile merely glowed softly and chimed. "Oh right, I forgot I recalibrated these ones last week! Now they only activate for people whose energy patterns I haven't cataloged yet-"

Eren, who had been trying to casually shift position to better see into the library corridor, promptly triggered one of the unchanged tiles. He found himself launched into a perfect backflip, followed by an impressive series of martial arts forms he'd definitely never learned. His shadow mana instinctively responded, creating dark ribbons that wove through the qi patterns in surprisingly harmonious ways.

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And of course, that's when he saw her.

Soo stood in the library doorway, a book held loosely in one hand, watching his impromptu acrobatic display with raised eyebrows and – was that a smile? The qi phoenix from her recent trial demonstration was perched on her shoulder, its head tilted curiously at the swirling dance of shadow and spirit energy.

"Usually," she said, her voice carrying that same musical quality he'd heard about, "we start with introductions before mixing energy arts."

Eren managed to land in what he hoped was a dignified pose, his formal robes somehow still perfect even as his hair crackled with residual energy. The shadow mana around him pulsed softly, almost shyly, reaching out toward her qi patterns like curious tendrils of night.

The phoenix chirped – actually chirped – with what sounded suspiciously like laughter before launching itself from Soo's shoulder to inspect him more closely. It circled his head once before settling in his already-disheveled hair like a living crown of starlight.

"Incredible!" Min was somehow already taking notes. "Look at the resonance patterns! A qi construct willingly interacting with shadow mana – this is unprecedented! The theoretical implications alone-"

"Min," Jin said firmly, "perhaps we should give them some space to discuss energy arts without scientific commentary."

"But Jin, this could revolutionize our understanding of-"

"Now, Min."

As Jin steered his protesting brother away, Iris caught Eren's eye with a knowing smile. "I should go make sure Min doesn't try to sneak back with measuring tools," she said innocently. "Try not to accidentally discover any more groundbreaking magical theory."

Then it was just Eren and Soo, standing in the library doorway with a qi phoenix making happy trilling sounds from its perch in his hair. Up close, her violet eyes held patterns like stars reflected in still water, and her smile had a shy warmth that made his heart do several more unauthorized acrobatic routines.

"Your shadow mana," she said softly, watching as it continued to weave gentle patterns with her qi, "it moves like moonlight on water."

"And your qi flows like starlight," he replied without thinking, then felt heat rise to his face. "I mean- that was probably a very unprincipled observation of energy dynamics-"

Soo's laugh was like silver wind chimes. "I like unprincipled observations," she said, and the sparkle in her eyes matched the dance of their combined energies. "They tend to be more honest than technical theories."

From somewhere distant came Min's voice: "Just one more measurement, Jin, the energy harmonics are-"

"No, Min."

Eren found himself grinning. "So... want to see what other unprincipled observations we can make about qi and shadow mana? Preferably without any more accidental acrobatics?"

"I suppose someone should document these interactions," Soo said with answering warmth in her smile. "For purely academic purposes, of course."

"Of course," Eren agreed solemnly, even as his shadow mana created what looked suspiciously like tiny hearts where it met her qi.

As they stepped into the library together, their different types of energy continuing their own elegant dance around them, Eren decided that sometimes the best diplomatic relations started with an accidental backflip.

And if Min somehow managed to take notes on their energy patterns anyway, well, that was just part of the charm of bringing two magical traditions together.