Damien stepped onto the courtyard of the castle of Cirin with a headache and a frustrated face. It was one of these times that he was grateful for not growing up entitled like some of the cultivators out there. Otherwise, he might have done something drastic back there. Having to deal with cultivators who expected everyone they met to scrape and bow to them had been pinching on his nerves. Had he not been trying to keep his whereabouts on the low-key, he'd have probably thrown them into space. Let them look down on people from up there. He hated arrogant people.

[You do know that you're probably one of the most arrogant people on the planet,] Gray said.

"Yeah, I know. But you'll notice, I'm only arrogant to my peers."

[I've been wondering, why's that?]

Damien only snickered, "Cause it's good to pull them down from their high horse sometimes."

[Urgh, that's a flimsy excuse for the fact that you're just plain arrogant.]

Seeing where this was going, Damien immediately took a U-turn, "Nop, Noo... I'm not entering into an argument with you."

[Heh heh, scared?]

"What? No, I'm just mentally strong enough for an argument right now."

[You're scared.]

Damien sighed, moving on.

The Castle's courtyard was in a bustling activities, with soldiers, servants, and other different people hustling about, preparing for the war. He could see a small fleet of Sky ships parked on one side, waiting for quick deployment or other duties.

Being among some of the most powerful kingdoms on the continent and the larger world, Castle Cirin had a larger domain than most, with a large space big enough to contain one large castle for the queen, another for the Monarch cultivators, and two large dormitory buildings for both the thousands of soldiers posted in the palace grounds and the menial workers. Large expansive fields were dotted around for the training and marshaling of the queen's army.

Damien crossed, nodding to the bowing forms of thousands of people as he passed, heading to the castle.

Castle Cirin was a large building, one of the largest amongst castles. A dark-colored building divided in three, with bridges leading Into the different sections. Towering spires reaching towards the heavens, topped with black and white flags bearing the sigil of the Arele royal family, a silver bird over a black field. Over the walls of the castle were large statues of birds and large, powerful constructs that could take out air targets and decimate any army that managed to get into the city.

Damien smiled; all those features were great, but the ones that were true threats were only noticed in the spiritual where the whole castle hummed, its spiritual weight shaking the ambient energy. A truly infused defensive construct capable of taking attacks from even Spirit Kings, though it hadn't been tested.

Damien was interrupted when a young Page boy approached him. Bowing, the boy said, "Greetings, Mister, I've been commanded to deliver a request of meeting with you."

Damien could sense the boy's apprehension even though he spoke in a calm voice.

"Who is it?"

"Ah.. um, the High priestess of the Cult of Winter."

"Did she say how urgent it was?"

"Um, no, but she did say that it would be preferable to speak with you as soon as possible."

Damien sighed.

"Fine, I'll make my way there."

The boy nodded, "With your permission, can I be excused?"

"What's your name?"

"Sarl, sir," the boy answered with a confused look.

"Well, Sarl, how long have you been waiting to deliver this message?"

"Not long sir, just a little over three hours," the young boy answered, still looking confused.

Damien's eyebrows rose, "That long? Well, I better not keep her waiting, but first of all," Damien summoned a small gold bar, handing it to the boy whose eyes had turned wide as saucers. "You did good work. Take this as a token of appreciation from me."

The boy, who was too shocked to respond coherently, could only stammer, "T–thank y–you, sir," he bowed, his head almost scraping the ground.

Damien grimaced, "No need for that," he said, waving for the boy to stand straight. "Just take of yourself, and know that you can come to me whenever you want, okay?"

"Yes sir!" His voice bubbled up, a radiant smile on his face.

"Good. Now you're free to go."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure to take care of yourself."

The boy could only nod, already running towards one of the buildings, no doubt to inform his parent.

[You do know that hundreds of people just saw you handing a child a literal fortune? That's like ten years' worth of salary for the soldiers. What if they decide to steal it?]

"Nobody would dare try it, they fear me too much for that."

[If you say so, Mr. Terror, I'm just trying to say that some people would do terrible and stupid things for quick and easy money.]

Damien looked at the place the young boy had run to, "You're right," he said, waving over two peak lord soldiers and giving them instructions to guard and protect the boy.

Done with that, Damien unfurled his perception, spreading it to encompass the entire castle grounds. He hated doing this in such a crowded area, the mental noise alone was something he always wanted to avoid. He soon sensed Menoe in one of the rooms at the top of the castle.

Not wanting to go through the time stress of climbing through the hundreds of staircases, he instead began floating up, immediately drawing thousands of eyes, which he ignored.

Reaching the balcony of the room, he waited. He knew she had already sensed him the moment he stepped into the courtyard, if not when he'd spread his perception.

Soon enough, the large balcony doors slid open, revealing an old woman in a light blue gown with arms clasped behind her back. Despite her visible old age, Menoe stood straight backed, her form, that of a regal personage.

"Damien, I've been searching for you," She nodded in greeting.

Damien returned the same, "I had to take care of some business."

Menoe nodded, accepting his vague explanation.

"So.. what does the great Menoe need from me?"

She smiled, "Nothing much, I just wanted a curiosity sated."

"What curiosity? And why am I the one to sate it?" He asked, instantly suspicious.

"I've always been surprised by your quick rise in power; even though it isn't an overly unique occurrence—judging from your brother—it still Surprises me how great your power has grown compared to the rest of us.

"Witnessing your last battle has left me with a curiosity that needs to be sated. I hope you don't mind obliging an old lady a little spar?"

"Urgh...fine... We'll have to move far away from here."

"Do you have a location in mind?"

"Aren't you the one who's supposed to set the stage, since you're the challenger?"

Menoe just stared at him.

"Fine... I know a place."

***

When they appeared, it was somewhere to the north, a distance away from the continent and over the dragon sea.

[Are you sure you should be flying over the dragon sea? Seeing as you're probably wanted by an entire dragon's nest,] Gray said.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"They can come, they just won't be returning."

[Ohhh... Spooky.]

Below them was a small island with a bright green forest covering the entire land, except for a tiny cleared patch in the middle, which was occupied by a wooden two-storey building. He and Keilan had spent a whole day building that vacation home with their bare hands. The entire island was their very own personal resort. A place away from the noise of civilization, and filled with the calm music of the Sea.

Menoe nodded when she saw it, "Nice place you've got here, i used to have something like this a few while back, off the coast of the winterlands."

"You used to? What happened to it?"

"Oh, it got swept away."

"The home?"

"No, the entire island."

".....wow," Damien said, not having anything more to say.

"Yes, wow. Anyways, let us begin. We should probably take this away from the island, unless you want yours resting on the sea bed by sundown?"

Damien quickly shook his head, leading her a few miles away. When they reached a safe distance, Menoe stopped, turning to face him, a dozen meters or so between them.

"Usually, I don't do this, but witnessing your power has awoken some feelings I thought I had lost ages back. And, of course, I also want to clarify some things."

"What do you need to know? I can probably just tell you."

She shook her head, "I need to see this for myself."

"Oh, ok then. How do we do this?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like... How do we determine the winner?" He clarified. "And the rules?"

Menoe smiled.

"I see you're already getting competitive," she said. "Okay then, we'll do it this way. The loser is the first to tire, is that okay with you?" He nodded.

Menoe continued, "Okay, now, to the rules. Let's see... Hmm... Okay, the rules are no astral images and no widescale techniques. No, cancel that, astral images are not allowed, but widescale techniques can be used, but let's limit their reach, probably a mile. Does that sound okay?"

"Fine by me," he replied.

"Okay then, we begin as soon as you're ready."

Damien smiled, "I'm always ready," he summoned Gray onto his hands, idly swinging the spear.

In a split second, they clashed, Damien quickly taking the edge in strength. With superior strength, he came up top in their collision, pushing Menoe back several meters. She quickly stabilized herself, summoning ice shards that darted toward him. He felt something odd coming from them, so he decided to take precautions and dodge. He fired breaths of destruction as he moved, his left hand coated with the essence of destruction, swatting away the ice he couldn't dodge.

Damien might have quickly arisen in power, but he lacked the years of experience that came with it.

Menoe demonstrated that when those tiny broken ice fragments which were scattered through the air, suddenly moved. He wasn't expecting it, so he wasn't quick enough to dodge. He was awarded with dozens of tiny cuts.

"Ouch!" He yelped. "Nice one, wasn't expecting that."

Menoe stopped, apparently about to give a lecture, "Never overlook anything that could still be used as a weapon by your opponent, no matter how small it appears."

Damien nodded, "Good point, I'll take that to heart."

He definitely hadn't taken that to heart, because when she suddenly appeared within arm's reach, materializing out of those tiny ice shards, he wasn't prepared.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He shouted, jumping back, his face now filled with dozens of tiny ice shards sticking out of them like popsicles. Menoe only looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, okay, I get it, it won't happen again," he promised, setting his weapon, his senses primed. And truly, he didn't let it happen again.

Their dance carried them in a zipping pattern. Damien dodged while simultaneously blasting her ice conjurations away from him, making sure not to leave any tiny ice fragments around. Since breathe of destruction was his only technique that didn't announce to the whole world his location, he only made use of it.

With breath of destruction, he destroyed any ice conjurations sent his way, while using his palm to destroy remaining ones. Soon again, the air was soon littered with tiny floating ice fragments. He realized his mistake a few moments too late when Menoe smiled like a cat which had just trapped its prey. Smiling at something he didn't understand, she snapped her fingers, and Damien was suddenly engulfed in a world of ice.

At first, the freezing winds battered him, shaking his flight, but he soon got himself under control. The only problem he now had was the cold itself, which was beginning to seep into his body. He felt himself weakening, which was surprising, as he'd never thought himself susceptible to the element of ice.

From his position in the middle of the blizzard, Damien was continuously battered by ice shards while the cold slowly made him vulnerable.

Having enough, he blasted energy from his body in a wave, scattering the blizzard. Moments later, the ice storm was entirely gone, which brought him face to face with another problem.

Turning around, he saw that he was completely encased in an square ice prison. Damien frowned, wondering why he didn't Sense this, the freezing area must have done something to his perception.

Drawing his arm back, he punched, shaking the icy walls and causing cracks to spread on it. He smiled, victory at hand, but his smile was completely quashed when those cracks immediately healed themselves, disappearing as if they had never been there. Frustrated, he delivered more strikes, increasing his strength. It took three more strikes before he succeeded, the ice cage shattering. Breaking through, he came out wary, expecting another trap, or finally, a true attack. But what he saw left him jaw dropped.

Floating on the air was an ice platform with two cushions places on it. Menoe sat on one, a small table placed in-between, and a plate of fruits with two bottles of drinks sat on it.

Menoe looked at him, a half eaten fruit on her hand, "When you're done opening your mouth, you can come take a sit," she gestured towards the second sit.

Damien slowly levitated, still dumbstruck, "I've got to admit, I completely didn't expect this," he took his sit.

"Good, means I'm not losing my touch," she said, finishing the fruit on her hands.

"What happened?" He asked. "We were fighting and then you just..." He waved his hands at the whole setting, too dumbstruck to continue.

Menoe nodded, "Forgive an old lady, but my stamina isn't as it was during my youth," she sipped from her drink.

That was bullshit, Damien knew, age never deteriorated ones body in cultivation, instead, the older one was, the stronger their body. Menoe clearly had reasons she didn't want to explain, so he left it at that, joining her in the light meal.

They ate for a few minutes, Damien savoring the sweet taste of the fruits, and when they were done, Menoe waved her hands, the plates and bottles disappearing into her storage space.

Finished, she leaned back. He sensed a conversation coming up, so he kept quiet, waiting.

"A curiosity led me to request this little spar, and now that I've confirmed what I wanted to know, I can speak with confidence," she waited to make sure Damien was listening. Affirming, she continued. "How far are your comprehension into your element?"

Damien frowned, "Excuse me?" He said, not understanding.

"How far have you comprehended your element?" She repeated.

Still not understanding, Damien called, "Grey! What does she mean?"

Grey, who had been silently watching all these while, spoke up, [I've been waiting for an opportunity like this. Normally I would have started your first lesson with this, but I thought it best for you to experience it yourself.

"Element comprehension refers to how familiar you are with your element, how deeper you understand. Your ignorance is not surprising, given your quick rise in power, your understanding is nill."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Damien asked, miffed.

"Like I said, you wouldn't understand until you've gotten to witness it for yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, but Grey refused to reply, surprisingly chosing to go mute. Where was the talkative when you needed him?.

He was brought to earth when someone coughed, suddenly remembering that he wasn't alone.

He coughed, embarrassed, "I'm quite unfamiliar with the term, so my element comprehension would have to be nil," he answered, averting his gaze.

Menoe nodded, "Not surprising. Giving your quick rise in power, you must have spent little time learning to understand your element more."

Damien coughed. He'd been coughing alot these few minutes, strange, "I'm kind of embarrassed to say this. I understand what you're saying, but I sort of still don't understand what you're saying."

Menoe was quiet for a while, her mind probably elsewhere, before she spoke, "Cultivators of true powers do not get their strength from raw power, but from their element comprehension. The more deeper they understand, the more power. And I don't mean power to make things go more boom boom, I mean power enough to influence your element," she waited for a second, contemplating. Speaking up later, she said, "Let me show you."

She raised her left hand, palm facing up. A blue ice block appeared on it, "Watch," she said, and Damien witnessed in amazement as the flame suddenly turned flamelike, its form malleable, and the structure and movements similar to a flame. His eyes opened wide as it danced on the air in a sinuous pattern. He didn't know ice could do that.

"You see how it changes form? becoming like fire. Now I want you to summon a ball of your energy, you can do that right?" She asked, and in answer, Damien summoned a ball of destruction, its form like a small round shell, with the compressed energy raging, demanding to be let out.

Menoe nodded, "Now, I want you to drift it slowly towards the middle," she pointed over the small table that had been set up.

He did as she said, watching as she too slowly drifted hers closer to his raging ball of destruction. When they collided, he'd expected his ball of destruction to destroy the ice flame, but instead, he watched as his element slowly froze up, turning into a round ice sculpture.

Damien looked up at Menoe, questions already on his lips, "Yes, yes, it is possible," she answered the question on his mind.

"If you truly paid attention during our spar, you would have noticed that your element did little damage to my ice constructs, only breaking them down into tiny ice fragments.

"With enough comprehension, you could have completely destroyed my constructs, turning them into white dusts."

Damien frowned, "I never thought of that. Never had it crossed my mind that energy could be comprehended beyond the usual conjurations and such."

"No harm, no problem. Atleast now you have been made aware, before you encounter something truly dangerous."

"So.. if I may ask, how do I go about it? Do I just think about my element and bam! My understanding has gone up?"

Menoe smiled, "No. What gave you that idea? Everyone has different methods that suits them better when trying to get in tune with their element. Some prefer meditation, where they can sit in one position for long months or years in order to understand, while others become more in tune when they are in the thick of battle, the rush and adrenaline pushing them further. You will have to find your own way," She said, standing up, motioning Damien to do the same. She returned her cushions into her storage space, along with the table, leaving only the ice platform.

"I want you to know, before you get frustrated, that this is a slow process. You won't see big results at first, but any progress into your element comprehension is an addition to your power."

"I thought you said it wouldn't make my energy go more boom boom?"

She smiled, "Did you think comprehension could only be used for fighting? Element comprehension has many uses," she tapped on the ice platform. "Without my comprehension, this wouldn't have been so stable," she raised her palm and an ice figuring of him formed out of ice. A detailed form, "Without my comprehension, I wouldn't be able to accomplish this," she handed him the figuring, Damien pocketing it, eager to show it to Keilan.

"Energy comprehension could be used for creation as much as destruction. It's limits are depended only on your innovative mind and your level of comprehension.

"There are wonders that could be accomplished through element comprehension that even I haven't dreamed of, or could even think of accomplishing," she finished, motioning for him to step of the platform. He did, the entire structure dissolving into snow. Damien looked at her in surprise, wondering why she didn't just allow it to drop into the sea below them. When he asked, she replied.

"There's no need to frustrate some innocent fish by getting an entire ice platform dropped on their head. How would you feel if a passing bird decided to use your head as a toilet? Now think about the fishes who would, undoubtedly, have a bad day if I purposely dropped this on their heads. Remember, no matter your station, always show consideration towards those below you, even if they literally are," she finished with a smile, as always.

"Now that we're done with all that, I'm quite in need of a heavy meal. This body can't keep running on energy alone."