When Finde opened his eyes,
the first thing he saw was Spenser’s face.

A mix of panic
and relief flooded him.

He was back in the Tower’s infirmary.

Machines everywhere.
Cold lights.
Both his arms were bandaged up to the shoulders.

Clara stood beside him,
injecting a transparent substance into a machine.

At the far end of the room,
Gladyo was watching him in silence.
Arms crossed.
Eyes like ice.
“Do you want to explain what the hell you were thinking?”

His voice was sharp.
Finde had never seen him this furious.

“It’s my fault, Squad Leader Gladyo”
Spenser intervened.
“If I hadn’t.....”

“Silence, boy.”
Gladyo cut him off without even looking at him.
“I asked my warrior.
I want to hear what he has to say.”

Clara quietly slipped out of the room.
The door closed softly.

Finde turned his gaze toward the window.
The pale sky of Castore reflected on the glass.
“I’m just a boy, Gladyo.
But I understand things…
When you brought me here, I knew I could die.
And I accepted it.
I accepted risking my life before the elemental of Erevos.
Just as I accepted the risk of dying while using Ori.”

Gladyo shouted.
“There is no honor in killing yourself, Finde!”

Finde met his eyes.
“And there’s no honor
in pretending to be a warrior… when you’re not.”

Silence.

Long.
Heavy.

Then Gladyo turned away.
He opened the door.
Slammed it behind him.

Finde remained still.
Breathing heavily.
“What the hell happened?”
he asked Spenser.

Spenser clasped his hands, twisting them.
“You started screaming like a madman…
Your skin began to necrotize.
Luckily, I was there.
I used teleportation and brought you here immediately.
Alset managed to stop the cellular degeneration
by injecting genetic restoration factors.”

Silence.

“You were very close, Finde.
Too close...”
Tears streamed down Spenser’s face.
“I’m sorry… You almost died because of me.”

Finde took his hand.
“Hey, don’t say that.
You saved me.
I’ll be grateful forever.”

Spenser looked at him, confused.
“It was Alset who saved you…
I only brought you here.”

Finde smiled weakly.
“That’s not what I meant.”

Spenser tilted his head.
“Then what?”

Finde closed his eyes.
“I can feel it, Spens…
I feel something.”

A wide smile crossed his face.

In the days that followed,
as soon as he was discharged,
Finde returned to training.

Something inside him had changed.

When he focused,
he could feel vibrations everywhere.

As if every object were a tuning fork.
The stones.
The plants.
The air itself.

Everything vibrated,
each in its own way.

One day, he tried to focus on Galeo,
Castore’s star.

A freezing surge hit him.
Immense.

He had to stop immediately.

It was the same sensation he had felt with the black sword.
But far stronger.

He understood one thing:
if he had pushed further,
he would have disintegrated.

Then, one afternoon, he felt it.
The cosmic background radiation.
It was truly gentle.
Like a warm stream flowing over his skin.

He inhaled slowly.

Matched his heartbeat to its rhythm.
And, for the first time,
he merged with it.

A quiet warmth filled him.
Every cell awakened.

The next day, he was in the eastern cloister.
Meditating.
Energy flowed calmly within him.

Gladyo appeared without warning.
They exchanged a glance.
No words.

“Hey, Finde…”
Gladyo hesitated.
“I wanted to apologize.
I raised my voice.
I accused you without reason.”

“I’m sorry too”
Finde replied.
“I made you worry.”

Gladyo took a deep breath.
Stepped closer.
“When the Gozhul slaughtered my family,
I was even younger than you.
When I met you, after your family had just been destroyed,
I felt that emptiness inside my soul again…
Bringing you here was my way of redeeming myself.
But now you’re a comrade.
And I don’t want you to die.”

Finde embraced him.
Gladyo returned it, rough but sincere.

“Thank you for what you’ve done for me”
Finde said.

Gladyo looked at him, eyes glistening.
“How are your wounds?”

Finde smiled.
“Better. The healing started from the deeper tissues.
Now only the skin needs to regenerate, but I don’t feel pain anymore.”

Gladyo gave him a firm pat on the shoulders.
“Good… I see you’ve resumed training.”

Finde told him about his new perception of cosmic vibrations.

Gladyo nodded.
“I have to admit, it was a suicidal idea…
but it actually worked.
Still, perceiving it isn’t enough.
Now you must control it.
Ori is flow…
Too fast, and it destroys you.
Too slow, and it fades.
It is balance.
It requires almost supernatural self-awareness.”

“I’ll do it”
Finde said, clenching his fists.
“I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

Months passed.

Meditation.
Exhaustion.
Discipline.

The radiation flowed like an unstable flame.

Gladyo linked his Ori to Finde’s,
guiding him.

It took four months
to achieve stable control.

“Congratulations, Finde!”
Gladyo said one morning.
“This is Ori.”

Finde burst into a shout of joy, raising his arms toward the sky of Castore.

“Don’t celebrate yet...”
Gladyo said with a crooked grin.
“Now you have to maintain it while fighting!”

Another six months.

Strength.
Speed.
Reflexes.

Finde could finally fight while maintaining a constant flow of Ori.
But the balance was fragile.

Then the news came.

“Julius has approved a demonstration match”
Gladyo told him one morning.

Finde lifted his gaze.

“In ten days” his mentor continued.
“Get ready.”

Gladyo was visibly excited about the demonstration.
He intensified the training to the point of exhaustion.

One day, as Finde lay on the ground, drained, he snapped:
“Why do you care so much about this damn demonstration?
You’re not the one who has to fight!”

“Because I know who you are”
Gladyo replied, serious.
“And I want everyone else to know it too.”

Finde smiled.

“Come on… let’s keep training.”

The day of the tournament arrived.

Finde stood at the northern edge of the rocky outcrop.
Gommhon below him.
The Singularity on the horizon.

At the edge of the plain,
thirty-meter-high stands had been built.

A small crowd gathered around them.

Merchants.
Warriors.

“Incredible, isn’t it?”
Spenser had appeared beside him.

Finde smiled, proud.
“I made it, Spenser…
I can use Ori.”

The young scientist looked at him.
“Now show everyone who you are…
I’ll be cheering for you.”

Finde’s bracelet blinked.

Incoming request: Gladyo. Accept?

Finde pressed yes.

He raised the bracelet to his mouth.
“I’m coming, Master!”
...