Kalon Bloodborn’s POV

I sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, surrounded by walls that loomed high above, their surfaces riddled with holes seemingly scattered without pattern. Another layer of stone walls encased the first, their own arrangement of holes equally erratic. The chamber felt claustrophobic, yet it radiated an undeniable energy that kept me alert.

“The technique requires great focus,” Galen’s voice echoed, emanating from all directions, as if the walls themselves spoke. “Search for the ambient mana. Be one with it.”

Mana pulsed within me, flowing rhythmically from my heart and coursing through my vessels, a unique cadence that I had come to recognize as my own. Galen had explained the workings of his technique—mana sense—claiming it was the foundation upon which I could create a version suited to my magic.

Through his connection to Enoria, he could sense mana signatures by detecting their vibrations, a skill that sounded absurd when first explained. Yet, witnessing his abilities during the match made it clear this technique was not only possible but devastatingly effective. His range and precision were unmatched, capable of detecting countless mana sources simultaneously.

Galen had proposed different training exercises to help each of us unlock variants of his technique, tailored to our individual magic. For me, it was an uphill battle. No matter how much I focused, my attempts to replicate even a fraction of his awareness felt like grasping at smoke.

“The walls have a mana-blocking effect,” he explained, his tone firm yet patient. “The holes allow mana to flow freely, but they will distort it. Your task is to sense the signs of life beyond them. Not through manipulation, but through connection.”

Controlling ambient mana had always required me to impose my will on it, to bend it using my own mana as a conduit. Even then, it never felt like an extension of myself, more like an external force I shaped into tools or weapons. Now, I was tasked with feeling it—not commanding, but perceiving.

Despite my efforts, the ambient mana eluded me, slipping past my senses like water through a sieve. I could mold mana into formidable weapons, conjure flesh and blood to devastate my enemies, but here, in this chamber, I was powerless. For the first time in years, I felt like a novice.

“Stop trying to dominate it,” Galen’s voice rang again. “Mana is not a beast to be tamed. It’s a part of the world, of you. Let it guide you as much as you guide it.”

I closed my eyes, frustration bubbling within me but tempered by his words. The pulse of my mana resonated faintly with the world around me. For a fleeting moment, I thought I felt something—an echo through the holes, faint yet distinct.

Once again, I went into focus, ready to make another attempt. The pulsating mana diverged rapidly outward, slipping from my grasp like water through cupped hands. It dispersed, merging with the ambient mana that surrounded me.

I tried again. This time, I pushed the blood mana against the wall and through the hole, maintaining my focus on its presence. The sensation faded as the range widened, like the soft hum of a distant melody.

I repeated the cycle, each attempt honing the connection. Finally, I began to sense the subtle influence of the ambient mana. There was no longer a need to release mana from my form; I had obtained the sensation. Through it, my awareness expanded beyond the room, slipping into the next.

There, a strong convergence of ambient mana drew my attention—a point that stood apart from the chaotic flux around it. This wasn’t random; the mana felt refined, purposeful, as though shaped by an unseen hand. Its familiarity tugged at my thoughts.

‘Just around here.’

I sent a blood thorn streaking forward, breaking through the stone wall and halting just a meter away from... Clovis. My vision followed the path of destruction to where he stood. Beads of sweat dotted his face, his wide eyes brimming with shock.

“Outstanding. I expected you to be the first to master the technique. To think you achieved it in under seven months—truly remarkable,” Galen's baritone voice echoed, rich with approval.

“I almost got skewered!” Clovis’s exasperation burst through the room.

“Sorry about that, Clovis,” I laughed sheepishly, scratching my head at the sight of his simmering frustration.

“Quiet down, you two.” The wall repaired itself, its holes shrinking until the image of Clovis disappeared. “There’s more to learn.”

----

The hole in the wall finally sealed as I made steady progress with each test. With no direct sensation of mana against the stone barrier, I rested my palm on its surface, extending my awareness to the ambient mana in the outer ring. The wall was dense, allowing only faint traces of mana to pass through. Still, it would suffice.

I waited, attuning myself to the subtle currents of ambient mana pressing inward against the wall. A dull ache settled across my body, a testament to the relentless practice of this technique.

After what felt like weeks, a familiar presence surfaced beyond the walls. I latched onto the distinct mana signature, tracing the rapid flow of blood coursing through his vessels like a broken dam. Jared. His frustration was palpable, marked by the heavy sigh that followed as he dove back into his meditative state.

Blood mana converged within me, shaping into a grotesque arm of flesh. It extended with a sharp burst, tearing through the walls with increasing speed. The moment it breached Jared’s ring, a surge of searing flames erupted from a single breath of my Sol companion.

The heat scorched the grotesque arm, and the walls surrounding us crumbled, undone by the force of the impact. Sunlight poured in, sudden and blinding, making me squint against its brilliance. Beyond the debris, Galen’s tomb stood resolute in the distance—a familiar landmark in the now-exposed landscape.

The surge of ambient mana was overwhelming, a torrent that made my knees buckle. I dropped to the ground, my breaths coming in heavy gasps as I struggled to adapt.

Scattered across the sandy terrain, I caught sight of Damon, Jared, and Clovis—each lying face-first in the dirt, unmoving from the force of the mana wave.

A sudden warmth enveloped me as my beast materialized beside me, lifting me effortlessly from the ground and pulling me into its protective embrace. Its presence soothed the chaos within, stabilizing the turbulent flow of mana that coursed through me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the unmistakable figure of a laughing giant. Galen stood with his arms crossed, and a grin wide on his face.

“Congratulations, boys,” his voice boomed, carrying a weight that resonated through the air. “This is just the beginning.”

------

Jared Solaris POV

I brought my sword down in a powerful overhead slash, flames erupting along its edge as it struck Galen’s gauntlet. The burst of fire licked his arm, but the pantheon remained unscathed. With a fluid twist of his torso, he drove his elbow into Damon, who had dared approach from his blind spot.

The force of the blow hurled Damon like a ragdoll, his body crashing into a distant tree. He lay motionless, the light in his eyes dimmed to near extinction. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest offered the smallest relief—he was alive.

The sunlight dimmed as darkness engulfed Galen, obscuring his massive form. Caltrops whistled through the air toward him, and a single ray of light pierced the shadows, carving a path for me.

Kalon’s signal came—a sharp command—and I resumed the attack. The clashing of metal echoed with each strike, my sword rebounding off his unyielding gauntlet. Galen’s sly grin carved through the chaos, sending shivers down my spine. The force behind his counterattacks doubled, and the sharp crack of my bones forced me to retreat, pain shooting through.

But the Pantheon was relentless, closing the distance with terrifying ease. As panic clawed at me, a drapery of flesh descended from above, halting his advance. I knew it was only a fleeting reprieve; the flesh obliterated almost instantly under the devastating force of Galen’s power.

A stone shard whipped past me, the speed behind it creating a sonic boom that threatened to shatter my eardrums. The deafening ringing pounded in my head as I twisted my wrist, bringing my sword into a guarded stance against the incoming jab.

With my senses heightened by the newly learned technique, I discerned the oppressive heat waves radiating behind Galen. It was suffocating—a massive surge of heat seeping from his flesh, a monstrous energy level rivaling that of an average Sol.

His gauntlet collided with my sword as if it were nothing more than a wooden plank. The impact reverberated through me, a deafening boom followed by searing pain in my midsection. My body hurtled backward, blood spewing from my mouth in a crimson arc.

Before I could recover, Galen's massive form was engulfed by a colossal worm. Kalon’s magic brought a flicker of hope. I felt his presence beside me, a formidable aura concealed behind his composed demeanor. The pain in my body vanished almost instantly under his influence. The eerie sensation of my flesh knitting itself back together left me breathless as my wounds closed with uncanny speed.

Blood splattered across the battlefield as the worm exploded from within, chunks of minced flesh raining down to reveal Galen, unscathed and resolute. The scattered remnants of the worm twisted and reformed into dozens of monstrous beasts, each charging at Galen with reckless abandon.

A tremor shook the ground, its surface shattering like fragile glass. Fragments of stone lifted into the air, defying gravity, as the chaotic scene unfolded around us.

Balancing precariously on the floating rock, I watched as the conjured beasts were nearly obliterated by Galen's devastating magic. Yet, as if cursed to eternal servitude, each fallen beast resurrected, their relentless onslaught a testament to Kalon’s control. The precision and resilience of his blood puppets intrigued me—I was yet to see the limits of his magic.

Clovis stepped off his rock, plunging toward the earth in freefall before zipping toward Galen, who stood defiantly at the horde's epicenter. His curved sword gleamed as it sliced through the air at an almost imperceptible speed—fast, but not beyond the reach of my enhanced vision.

Galen shifted, dodging the slash with a slight tilt of his head, though his stance faltered. It was all the opening I needed. Exploiting the moment, I drove my sword forward into his midsection, flames erupting in a fiery cascade that consumed him.

It connected. I was certain of it. Yet, it felt like my magic had been swallowed by a void. Time seemed to suspend, and my breath caught as I felt mana surge into the earth beneath us. The ground trembled violently, and in an instant, I was sinking—sand cascading around me in a suffocating deluge.

Through the haze of falling grains, I caught a glimpse of Clovis landing a direct strike on Galen. But even as his blade met flesh, the force dispersed off Galen's gauntlet in a ricochet of mana, as though mocking the effort.

The world grew darker as I sank deeper into the abyss, the oppressive gloom enveloping me like a predator closing in on its prey.