Herald of death

The doors rumble, struck with the strength of a tank shell. The thick hinges crack, and the gate comes down into the altar room. Razak and the fleeing man rush inside, ready to fight.

Russ swirls at the surface of Ethan's shadow, ready to strike anyone who attacks his master.

'Leave it,' Ethan commands.

"I swear there were monsters," the man pleads.

"What happened?" Razak asks Ethan.

"The ancient warrior I met was quite talkative," Ethan says. Trying to hide the truth will only get him trouble, as the truth holds no consequences in a temporary world. "He summoned illusions to make him flee and give us the room."

"Liar!" the man says. "They don't talk. You did something you didn't want me in the room for."

"And what could that be? Is there something missing I could have stolen? A broken coffin I looted?" Ethan stops himself as he realizes he's letting his emotions loose. He can only conclude that his soul is somehow tired and that it is affecting him.

The man looks around, searching for something to point out.

"Calm down, both of you," Razak orders. He approaches the altar, lighting sigils below his steps. "I hammered these doors relentlessly; until the last punch, it felt as if they were a wall. How do you explain that?"

"He showed me he could reinforce any object by strengthening its soul," Ethan says. "Perhaps he solidified the doors."

"Mhh," Razak growls. He sniffs the air, and his expression relaxes. "You reek of demonic Ether; I bet you just came out of the altar."

"I just did," Ethan confirms.

"Then I'm sure you had no ill intent. Excuse my suspicion; I've been dealing with some would-be thieves." Razak steps back and grabs the doors one after the other to stack them against the wall. "Come; you look like shit. And pluck that empty crystal; we need to recharge it."

The crystal is now as clear as glass. It surprises Ethan, as he always had to shatter other crystals. He grabs the empty demonic Ether crystal and makes it vanish into his inventory. 'Do they have a demon caged somewhere?'

The man outpaces Razak to exit the mountain first, hurried and anxious. He struggles against the stone doors, squeezing his body through the smallest opening necessary to do so.

"Where is he running off to?" Razak asks with a sigh.

"He's rushing to warn the lordling about what happened," Ethan guesses. He stumbles to the side, surprised by a bout of vertigo, and grabs the wall to steady himself. His ribs flare with pain, reminding him of their disastrous state.

"Demonic corruption and soul exhaustion are a nasty pair, aren't they?" Razak asks with a laugh. He pushes open the stone doors as if they were made of plywood.

Ethan thinks of summoning the Watchers' lantern but stops himself. Showing it would be risking confrontations with those who understand its value for soul training.

They exit the mountain under the interested gazes of the assembled warriors. The Orcs go back to their tasks as soon as they realize there is no fight to be had. Some of the men seem anxious, perhaps even aggravated, as they watch Ethan from the corner of their eyes.

Thaddeus Drevoss exits the guts of a furnace, covered in soot with a rusted, damaged pipe in hand. He tosses it into a basket while an Orc waits nearby with a tray of dough. "Here you go; I changed the aeration. A Bitter Gecko made its nest in there."

"Can't get rid of the bastards," the Orc growls.

Thaddeus snaps his fingers to send a firebolt into the furnace. It roars to life. "I'll summon you a Felisarid to protect the kitchens. I'm worried they'll infect the food."

"Thanks," the Orc grumbles. He moves to the furnace to begin baking his bread, hinting at the end of the conversation.

Thaddeus notices Razak and Ethan. He stares at them with a knowing look, extending his hand to catch something.

"Give the crystal to Thaddeus," Razak orders.

Ethan flings his hand as he summons it, throwing it into Thaddeus' palm. "How do you recharge it?" he asks, curious as if he could make light Ether crystals on his own.

"I can show you if you want," Thaddeus offers.

"I'd like that," Ethan says.

"Later," Razak grumbles. "There is someone else you need to meet before we feast."

Taddeus examines the crystal one face at a time. "This one will need to be replaced soon; cracks are forming."

"I'll add it to the list," Razak grumbles. He plucks a fried, shrimp-looking appetizer coated in spices. The seasoning is potent enough for Ethan to smell it from meters away. Razak flicks it into his maw, munching it rapidly as if it were scorching hot. "I haven't seen these since Varnokh."

"Ghurlz found a nest while hunting a Driescria," Thaddeus says. "He said he left enough of them to harvest again sometime next year."

"Good," Razak comments. His aura loosens up slightly, vibrating the surrounding Ether. "I've missed those. Thankfully some made it to this side."

Thaddeus whispers for only Ethan to hear. "Nobody has been able to travel to or from Razak's world since the portals closed. It's a hard topic for him; I believe his family was on the other side."

"It's been decades; he should have turned –" Ethan stops himself, realizing he's being a hypocrite. He inhales deeply to clear his mind. Thaddeus' words made him remember that most people don't know what happened to Razak's world. "Must be hard not knowing if he will ever see them again."

Razak leads Ethan to a descending staircase. It opens into a large, circular arena surrounded by tribunes and alcoves. Sand fills the center, dotted by teeth, tusks, and dry blood.

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An Orc sits cross-legged in the middle, meditating as he circulates Ether from his surroundings into himself and back out. His eyes are open but bleached white.

"I usually do the introductions much later in one's training," Razak says. "But you've shown yourself to be an adequate sparring partner. This is Gulthur. Where I chose to master the body, he chose the path of Ether."

"I haven't met him yet, have I?" Gulthur asks with a gravelly voice. He straightens his posture and lets the excess Ether circulating inside him escape. His own Ether slows down until it freezes, making his aura and presence vanish from Ethan's senses. "His aura is strong. Perhaps this time, you did find someone that will prove promising. Little one, remove that ring from your finger and let me experience its full intensity."

Being neither small nor young, Ethan finds the moniker inappropriate. He unsummons the ring of aura manipulation, letting loose its effects on the surrounding Ether. Threads thrash against Gulthur and Razak's skin, but the two Orcs ignore them.

"Hmm, powerful but untamed. You can leave him to me, Razak," Gulthur says. "Come, sit in front of me. And tell your bond to wait in the corner; he's disrupting the Ether."

Razak grunts and exits the arena.

Ethan walks to the edge. 'Out, down,' he orders.

Russ jumps out and curls around himself, resting his head on his tail as he watches Gulthur. He lets out a low growl, making clear that he doesn't like the Orc.

'Leave it,' Ethan commands. He moves back to Gulthur's side and sits down, cross-legged.

"To those who know how to listen, one's aura is an expression of their true self." Gulthur takes a deep breath. "Cold, calculated, predatory. Your aura is not something you would want someone to peer into."

"No indeed," Ethan comments.

"Show me how you restrain it, without your piece of jewelry," Gulthur commands.

"I can't," Ethan says. Even before Alaric's comment, Ethan realized the ring wasn't infallible when his temper raged. "I've always relied on the ring of aura manipulation; I've come to understand it was a mistake."

"Your kind teaches their children for it to become natural before their aura becomes a danger to others. But it is never too late." Gulthur inhales and exhales loudly. "Inner peace isn't your way. You need to control it, like you take care of controlling everything around you."

"How?" Ethan asks.

Gulthur's stagnant Ether begins to move. It circulates in a giant loop along his veins, moving into and out of his heart. "Feel the natural pathways of your Ether and guide it through them at a pace matching its intensity."

Ethan closes his eyes to focus on his etheric senses. His way of constantly absorbing ambient Ether into his heart molded it to stay there until he needs it. He extracts a thread from the pool and guides it through his body, mimicking Gulthur's flow. Closing the loop back to his heart, he accelerates the thread, making it race through his body.

"Animals and monsters have an instinctual understanding of this technique. Feel the aura of your bond; he hides the vastness of his aura without thinking about doing it." Gulthur hides his own aura, leaving the room to Ethan and Russ'. "Copying the flow of another is a way to mimic their aura, not to hide yours."

Curled around himself, Russ appears calm, but Ethan knows that he's, in fact, alert and focused on Gulthur. Despite his agitation, Russ' Ether flows through him peacefully, reducing his aura to a sliver of what it should be.

"Listen to your body to find its natural flow," Gulthur reiterates.

Ethan expels quantities of Ether from his heart, letting the threads float inside his body without attracting them back to his heart. Letting them be feels like holding his breath, alien to his habit of absorbing every thread he can. His muscles twitch. Ethan breathes in, forcing his instincts to yield. His Ether moves ever so slowly, like stagnant water attracted by a microscopic output.

Gulthur observes silently, still as stone. Ethan senses the Orc's scrutiny over his Ether but ignores it.

Slowly, the Ether finds channels to travel through. It flows through Ethan's arms and legs, reaching his extremities before looping back to his chest and heart. It doesn't follow any biological pathways; instead, it moves from one medium to another, blood, bones, and flesh alike.

"Better," Gulthur notes. "Now help it along its own path."

Ethan wills the threads to accelerate, creating a continuous loop from and into his heart. Errant threads shoot themselves out on a tangent path, forcing Ethan to catch them and force them back into the flow. The surrounding Ether calms down as his aura lessens. Ethan leans into it, letting his thoughts narrow down until all that remains is the flow.

"Do not forget to breathe," Gulthur comments.

Ethan exits his etheric senses and gasps for air. His lungs burn with pain, punishing him for ignoring their cry for fresh air. His Ether slows down, and a toned-down version of his aura resumes disturbing the Ether.

"You need to unlearn your misguided ways," Gulthur comments. "Your abusive control is as bad as no control at all. Ether has a will; if you violate that will, it will betray you through your aura."

Ethan extends his hand and summons crackling arcs of lightning in between his fingers. His Ether escapes the cycle to move into his hand as is usual when casting Lightning Bolt. The surrounding threads react, carrying out his aura. 'That's why the fighters capable of restraining their aura I met let it leak in combat.'

"Ether manipulation leveled up (x3)," the system announces.

"You must control the flow of your Ether in every moment of your life until it becomes natural, even in your sleep. It will take a long time before you can fully hide your aura." Gulthur's Ether starts moving back up, releasing slivers of aura. "Once you leave us, you can use your ring to hide the traces of your aura. Even trained, it will leak with each use of Ether until you reach inner peace."

"That might have to wait," Ethan mutters.

"Controlling your aura is a trivial matter; what I have to teach you is the mastery of your abilities." Gulthur extends his right hand and coats it in a layer of light similar to One's ability. "Tell me, what is the rank of your highest ability?"

"C, but I learn it as is and can't use it for more than an instant. Out of the abilities I learned at F rank, five ranked up to E," Ethan answers.

"What did you learn about improving these abilities?" Gulthur's asks.

Ethan thinks back to each rank up. "Most ranked up when I pushed them beyond their limits. The only one that didn't is a … passive ability."

"It's a start," Gulthur comments. "There is a second aspect to the improvement of active abilities – meditation."

'That was underwhelming,' Ethan thinks to himself. Meditation is a part of his training, or at least it was. Lucian taught him to think back on each of his fights to learn from them, but since the world collided, he didn't resume this practice. In truth, he had let go of it before, as fewer and fewer confrontations proved challenging. 'I've been slacking.'

"Think of your fight against Razak. Relive it. Examine every movement, every thought, and each use of your abilities."

Ethan draws a slow breath, fighting to keep the fragile flow of his Ether stable. He lets his mind sink back into the memory – the feeling of his Ether moving with each strengthened strike and the loss of his Ether to Razak's punches. Ethan feels his ribs crack anew as he recalls a hit he suffered.

"You seem to be accustomed to this practice," Gulthur comments. How he knows is a mystery to Ethan; did the Orc read it in his aura? Or is it an intervention of the realm's master to hasten their interaction?

"I used this method after many of my fights," Ethan comments.

"The third and last pillar of ability training is practice. You may think you get plenty fighting monsters, and it is essential, but you need to train them in isolation." Gulthur intensifies the glow surrounding his hand. "Learn to use them continuously, to feel the flows of Ether that feed them, to push their limits in a safe environment."

Ethan triggers Strengthening and overloads it, growing his muscle mass. The flow of Ether breaks, dragged to his muscle fibers by the ability; it unleashes his aura once more.

"Strengthening? Hmm, seeing your swollen strength, it reached its second level." Gulthur touches his bearded chin, thoughtful. "First, get your aura under control."

Sweat beads along Ethan's brow as he fights against the Ether. Bending the threads back into shape feels like shaping steel beams with his bare hands. His muscle mass diminishes and regrows, filling him with tearing pain as he struggles to find balance.

"You'll need practice," Gulthur needlessly points out. "Using Strengthening past your own strength's limit is a useful but dangerous trump card. But as of now, you lack the fundamentals to break through to the next level."

Ethan's pulse spikes. His heart pounds like a war drum, each beat sending Ether through him with violent force. A savage rush of energy tears through his limbs, popping the overgrown muscles with the pain of tearing his ligaments.

"You will need more guidance, but first you need rest. Your body and soul are exhausted; it is a good state to meditate, but anything else would be dangerous," Gulthur says. He waits for Ethan to work through the pain as Strengthening's backlash lessens. "Do you have theoretical questions?"