Kallen’s consciousness slowly emerged from the haze of exhaustion. His eyelids, heavy as iron, slowly lifted to reveal the dim glow of his oil lanterns. The air carried the faint scent of stone and sweat, mingled with a mist of Essence still lingering on his skin. His body ached as though the very marrow of his bones had been drained, yet a pulse of distress and determination throbbed within him.


    Pushing himself upright, Kallen steadied his breathing. The knowledge that Beastification loomed closer with every moment was a suffocating pressure. He could already feel it. His hair was even longer, and his nails took a darker shade. As he licked his dried lips to moisten them, he could feel his canines get sharper, too.


    Yet, beneath that fear was laying a spark of resolve. He could not—would not—succumb. This time, panic wasn’t weighing on his mind. He was resolved to keep his cool even in the worst situations. He knew deep down that losing more time would only bring him closer to death.


    Steadying his trembling hands, he dragged himself toward his bed, leaning against its stone surface. As he made his way there, his hand found itself in a small puddle. His water cup lost its content when his body crashed to the ground as his consciousness escaped earlier.


    Ran out of juice, ran out of water…


    Kallen was right. Exuding such an amount of Essence depleted the inner reserve that had slowly built up since the day he received the mark. His body transformed a long time ago, he couldn''t possibly live without it now.


    He contemplated his hands, gazing at the energy escaping them. It wasn’t dangerous like before, but he needed to put it to a stop nonetheless.


    Intent.


    He thought about his little experiment, how Essence accompanied his movements with near perfection without trailing behind, how it fluctuated towards the goblet without him needing to move an inch. It reacted to his will like an extra limb, a true “extension of the self.”


    When the instructor performed his demonstration, not a drop of Essence leaked from his clothes, only from his hand, but even then, it was colorless. Why was only his energy colored? It didn’t look like it was anything special from the masked man’s reaction. Kal took a long look at his aura, watching it leak from every pore of his skin and then evaporate into achromatic gas, melting away.


    After a minute of reflection, he decided to cross his legs once again and close his eyes. This time around, tapping his finger against the ground wasn’t needed. He reached a state of deep concentration fast enough.


    He wanted to take a look. Observe his Vessel-to-be body through the energy that flows within and investigate how it circulates.


    Observation through sensation was something completely new to him, but for some reason, it felt natural. While it wasn’t in great detail, he could feel everything: organs, bones, and muscles. The thing he couldn’t comprehend, however, was the reason why his energy was pouring out of his skin, even though his body wasn’t nearly saturated with it. He still felt sluggish.


    What was more interesting was that every flux of energy entering his body was colorless. It all converged toward his mark without exception before being released with this orange hue he was getting familiar with. The Essence he had some sort of authority on. But, once again, he couldn’t comprehend why the instructor’s energy lacked any sort of color.


    Opening his eyes from what he thought to be an infructuous insight, he quickly realized his energy was gone, or not completely. Faint, ghostly fumes persisted—no coloration, but definitely his. Perplexed for a minute, he reminded himself of this passage in the manual.


    Once one becomes fully aware of the self, they will become each other''s vessels.


    Awareness…does it mean..?


    Without even shifting his breathing, Kal closed his eyes again, images of his cell in mind. Its size, its surfaces, the lamp, his stone bed. When they opened again, it was back, the coral aura.


    …


    Kallen finally started to grasp a few things—first,  the concept of intent when it came to Essence. Beyond being a manifestation of life and nature, it was his will materialized, a non-physical complement to the body. Mental imaging was the key. When he wanted to feel the room, it expanded. When he wanted to focus on his body, it retracted.


    Second, coloration was a matter of density. When Essence was stretched beyond his body, it gained in concentration to keep itself together and further its reach. When it is kept within, only the low-concentration excess escapes the body, which is probably what the Instructor used in his teachings.


    In conclusion, mental training was the way to mastering this discipline. Kal couldn’t help but grin a little, content to have been able to make a step forward after losing so much time.


    *** A few hours later ***


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    After spending a considerable amount of time releasing and then confining his energy, Kal started to get the hang of putting intention into his Essence. Looking at the illustration of the meditating man again, he now understood that the layer of light circling him was supposed to represent a boundary he had to put his mind into.


    I feel like they could have explained it easier…


    As he finally turned the page toward the final chapter of the manual, his face took a more serious expression.


    The Ring Method


    The final pages of the manual focused on a basic Essence manipulation technique made to help marked one’s forming their first seals. The basic stance consisted of joining both hands together, then pulling them away from the chest, forming an arm ring.


    What needed to be done then was to focus on each body part forming said ring consecutively. Essence would circulate following the intended pattern, starting from the chest, then one arm, hands, the other arm, and finally come back to the chest in an infinite loop.


    He had already skimmed through that part of the old book. He caught sight of the word “patience” a few times in the remaining pages. He knew it would take time, but he had to break through it in record time. He felt it deep within; it wouldn’t be long until his end. He felt his body change by the hour, and his mind did, too. He couldn’t gauge if he would turn before or after his teacher came back again.


    It was getting harder to concentrate. The sound of water droplets agitated him more than anything. Or was it his senses that gained in sensitivity? In both cases, those were clear symptoms of Beastification, and he knew it.


    He formed the arm ring: palms pressed together, then drawn outward to create a circle of flesh and bones. His focus narrowed to the flow of Essence within. He visualized the circuit described in the manual—the chest as the nexus, the arms as conduits, and the hands as the point of convergence.


    As the faint tickling sensation started flickering through his veins, He instantly knew where the difficulty of this exercise would be. Maintaining that flow was like grasping mist.


    Minutes stretched into hours as Kallen repeatedly formed and dissolved the circle, each attempt straining his willpower. Sweat dripped by his brow then down his face, but still, the ring would not condense. Frustration gnawed at him, but he clenched his jaw, refusing to yield.


    Finally, as the weight of exhaustion threatened to truly hurt his resolve, Kallen forced himself into a pause. Seating himself on the stone floor, he closed his eyes and slowed his breath. Memories of his time as a half-Beast resurfaced.


    I could use Essence back then…


    Or was it? Kal slapped himself on both cheeks, forbidding himself to even think about that matter.


    It was purely Witchcraft, wasn’t it…


    And even if it wasn’t, now wasn’t the time to have another uncontrollable surge of flames bursting out of his every pore. There was no technique in how he used his flames, all instinct. Aren, on the other hand, possessed a certain grace. There was method behind his actions—a build-up, then a whirlwind of slashes.


    A build-up… Am I rushing things…?


    Full of inspiration, he Inhaled deeply. He visualized the circuit anew, but this time, he did not try to force Essence into his pattern. Instead, he invited it—moving as slowly as possible, he coaxed the surrounding energy to flow alongside his weak circuit by incrementing the speed one cycle at a time. Slowly but surely. A faint warmth blossomed within his chest and trickled through his arms.


    When he opened his eyes, a faint circle of rusted gold Essence hovered between his arms—a success. Kind off.


    A breath of relief escaped his lips, but there was no time for celebration. The circle still wavered, unstable in its form. Narrowing his focus, Kallen willed it to shrink, to condense its size into something suitable. It resisted, rebelling against confinement. Sweat streamed down his face as the minutes dragged into hours, but Kallen pressed onward, his heart hammering with the urgency of dwindling time.


    At last, the circle compressed to half its original diameter, faint but holding steady. His chest heaved with the effort, yet a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He was close. So close. But as he let the soon-to-be seal collapse to reach for the manual for more insight, the oil lamp wained.


    “...Shit…”


    He wasn’t a fan of cursing. However, this time, he clearly felt like he could afford to let a few words slip. Unwilling to call it a day, he would have to use the mental pages he made up in his mind to somehow complete his learning. He was afraid to close his eyes, never to wake up again. Or to wake up as something else entirely.


    But as he adjusted to the darkness, a discovery reignited the light in his eyes that were losing hope. The manual pages emitted a faint luminescence. As he rushed to open it, he could see the ink shimmering with ethereal light.


    Why couldn’t I see it before…


    Essence. Only now that he could see it with naked eyes with a bit of focus, this stack of paper that became his lifeline could display its features fully. Just as he wished, he could fully optimize his time and training, lights or not.


    The night was about to be long.


    ***


    The chamber door creaked open as the Instructor stepped inside, without a sound, facing the child’s back. Kallen’s body was immobile, but he was wide awake.


    “You’re nearing the limit,” the Instructor stated, his tone measured but firm. “If you’re fortunate, you may have until nightfall before the end.”


    “I know.” Replied Kallen, his voice weakened by thirst and fatigue.


    Kallen sat on his floor cross-legged and shirtless. What remained of the top of his prisoner gown was ruined and riddled with holes, teared up by the boy’s sharp and pointy scales protruding from his backside. He wasn’t quite at the state he reached back at the Hollow Tower, but from the words of the masked shadow, he was probably merely a day away.


    It wasn’t nails at the end of his fingers anymore but claws, not teeth but fangs. The only difference was that his hair grew widely, unlike his almost fully reptilian previous form.


    Kallen straightened his posture, extending both hands forward. From each palm hovered a small, perfectly formed seal of merigold light—stable, unwavering, the air around them hummed faintly. The Instructor remained silent for a few seconds as if acknowledging the young man''s efforts before speaking.


    “Orange… but a Seer nonetheless.”


    The two circles of light broke down as Kallen surrendered his arms to gravity.


    “I am Ready.”


    End of Chapter