Several days passed after Kieran's first meditation.
Crystal did not ask him to cultivate again.
Instead...
She had him chop wood.
Carry water.
Climb cliffs.
Run through the valley carrying stones almost half his size.
At first, Kieran was confused.
"Mama."
Crystal looked up from the herbs she was grinding.
"Yes?"
"I thought I started cultivating."
"You did."
"...Then why am I carrying rocks?"
Crystal smiled.
"Because your body hasn't."
Kieran scratched his head.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
---
That afternoon, Crystal led him to the highest waterfall in the valley.
The water crashed down from nearly a hundred meters above, shaking the surrounding cliffs.
Mist filled the air.
Crystal sat upon a flat boulder.
"Kieran."
"What do you see?"
"The waterfall."
"What else?"
"The river."
"The rocks."
"The trees."
Crystal nodded.
"And what do they have in common?"
Kieran observed quietly.
Minutes passed.
Then his eyes widened.
"They don't resist."
Crystal smiled.
"Exactly."
She stood and walked beneath the waterfall.
The torrent struck her shoulders with incredible force.
Yet she remained perfectly still.
"The water falls."
"The mountain endures."
"The river flows."
"Each follows its own nature."
She looked back at Kieran.
"Cultivation is no different."
"If you force Magna..."
"It will obey."
"But it will never trust you."
---
She extended her hand.
Tiny specks of pale green Magna drifted toward her.
Instead of absorbing them...
She held them above her palm.
They slowly began revolving.
One revolution.
Then another.
With each cycle...
Small black impurities emerged and dissolved into the air.
Kieran stared in amazement.
"The Magna..."
"It's changing."
Crystal nodded.
"No."
"It is returning to its pure state."
She allowed the refined Magna to drift away.
"You didn't absorb it."
"I didn't need to."
She looked at him seriously.
"Remember this, Kieran."
"The amount of Magna a practitioner possesses determines their endurance."
"The quality of their Magna determines their future."
---
She drew three circles in the damp earth.
The first circle was muddy.
The second was clearer.
The third was perfectly clean.
"Imagine these are lakes."
She pointed to the muddy one.
"You can drink it."
"But you'll become sick."
She pointed to the second.
"Better."
Finally...
She pointed to the last.
"This..."
"...is what every practitioner should strive for."
She looked into his eyes.
"Most people fill their lake first."
"I will teach you..."
"...to purify the water before filling it."
---
Kieran nodded solemnly.
"What should I do?"
Crystal smiled.
"The same thing you've been doing."
He blinked.
"Wait."
"Just wait?"
"Yes."
She laughed softly at his bewildered expression.
"You'll discover something soon."
---
That evening...
Kieran sat beneath the ancient oak once more.
He neither searched for Magna nor reached for it.
Instead...
He simply watched the sunset.
The breeze carried the scent of flowers.
Birds returned to their nests.
A family of Moon Deer drank quietly from the river.
Time passed.
Then...
A tiny strand of pale blue Magna floated before him.
It danced gently in the air.
Kieran smiled.
"Hello again."
The strand circled him once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then...
It touched his fingertip.
Instead of entering his body...
It lingered there peacefully.
Moments later...
Another strand appeared.
Then another.
Before long...
Several dozen strands of different colors floated around him.
None entered his body.
None were forced.
They simply...
Stayed.
---
Watching from afar, Crystal slowly stood.
"...Already?"
Even she hadn't expected this.
The Magna surrounding Kieran wasn't merely gathering.
It was responding willingly.
Not because of attraction.
Not because of talent.
It almost resembled...
Friendship.
She quietly approached but stopped several meters away, unwilling to disturb the moment.
---
Inside Kieran's consciousness...
The countless lights returned.
This time...
They no longer remained distant.
One by one...
They drew closer.
Not touching him.
Merely circling around him.
Like children curious about a new friend.
Kieran smiled.
"I remembered."
"I wasn't supposed to chase you."
The lights shimmered brightly.
Then...
One tiny emerald light gently landed upon his open palm.
It remained there.
For the first time.
Not entering him.
Simply resting.
A few moments later...
The other lights copied it.
Blue.
Brown.
Golden.
Silver.
Soon, both of Kieran's tiny hands were filled with softly glowing lights.
None competed with one another.
None tried to dominate.
They existed in perfect harmony.
---
When Kieran opened his eyes...
The lights vanished.
He looked toward Crystal.
"Mama..."
"I think they like talking."
Crystal chuckled.
"What did they say?"
Kieran frowned.
"I don't know."
"I couldn't hear words."
"But..."
"They didn't feel lonely anymore."
Crystal fell silent.
She recalled the ancient records she had once studied as a Sovereign.
There were tales from before the Age of Empires—stories claiming that in ancient times, there existed beings who did not command Magna by force or contracts. Instead, Magna walked beside them willingly.
Most scholars dismissed those records as myths.
Yet now...
Looking at Kieran...
For the first time in centuries, Crystal wondered if those myths had contained a fragment of truth.
The valley grew quiet as the stars emerged overhead.
Unnoticed by both teacher and student, a single ancient oak leaf drifted down and settled beside Kieran, its veins glowing faintly for just an instant before returning to normal—as though the valley itself had quietly approved of the first true step on a path unlike any before it.
End of Chapter 16