A week had passed since the boys had first begun their training with the entity. They hadn’t made much progress since. The concept of Sanctum Pressure and the Chamber system was still a mystery to them. – "AHHGGHHH?!?!?!?!" Jace screamed in frustration, furiously scratching his head. "Why can't I get it right?!?!?!?" Aleximus ignored him, staring at his palm with intense focus. That feeling… He recalled, thinking back to when he had forced the rocks to fall on Hatagi after their momentary suspension in the air. If I could just access that feeling again… He sighed quietly and stood. "Come on dummy." He beckoned Jace over as he stood making his way into the forest. Jace raised his brow in surprise. "You wanna go again? Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?" He walked on. "You idiot. It's precisely why I'm going back. We only have a few more weeks until the Dwanivit competition. We still don't know what Hidemi's training entails and worse, we can't grasp Sanctum energy

[Weeping Forest- Entity’s Den] “We haven’t time to waste. Your first lesson will be mastering the Codex’s most basic and powerful ability.” Nahasch told him “What is it?” “Structural Change.” Jace looked clueless. Nahasch released a small sigh from the snake. "The ability to change the structure or bonds of any material or magic. "It was used by your ancestor to seal away a fearsome clan long ago during warring times." "My ancestor?" "You will start off small," Nahasch spoke, ignoring him. "In front of you, I have set your table up. You shall first learn about Sanctum Categories." Categories? Jace looked ahead, on a small table were 3 empty cups sitting there. 2 regular ones and a broken one. "W-Wait!" He fussed, "Where is Aleximus? Plus I don't even know anything about Sanctum power yet! " "Interesting. You mean the Axis Sealers didn't teach you?" Jace looked away, guilty.. Well I was preoccupied with not dying ya bastard. "Very well." Nahach spoke. "Every b

[FLASHBACK]A younger Hidemi looked at the sky, letting his mind wander. The clouds would often amuse him, captivating his attention by drifting around the horizon. “Those clouds must be happy!” he would think. Being able to go, do, and be anywhere they exist, whenever they wanted. He envied their freedom. He felt a pressure on his shoulders. Turning around to see, he was met with the eyes of his father, Ivan. He watched Ivan mouth some words and then smile, grabbing his hand. Hidemi gave a smile, standing up, and following his father. …Now home, Hidemi’s eyes were focused on the forge that quietly heated up with each passing second. His father removed his robe, now in his tank top and hair tied up, he grabbed his hammer. Hidemi watched Ivan’s movements. Each strike, each thundering pound and chip at the material. The movements seemed complex. Every time the hammer came down, instead of remaining heated, the small bursts of Sanctum pressure Ivan released would cool it down enough

[One Hour Ago]Aleximus handed Hidemi the slab of iron he removed from his bag. "Let's get to work!" Hidemi looked confused, taking the metal and feeling it's surface. "The snake gave it to me." Aleximus said, as if reading the boy's expression. "I was told to give it to you as soon as we made it into the city. I need you to make me a sword.""Huh?!" Jace exclaimed, "No fair! Why do you get to have a sword?!" "Obviously because I'm better than you, che." Jace's face burned red with annoyance. "I heard Dwarves use something called Sanctum-Smithing right? You can imbue an object with Sanctum energy depending on your proficiency and level, making that object as high a level as your energy can dish out. Or am I wrong?" Aleximus asked him, ignoring Jace's pouts.Hidemi nodded, grasping the material with a firmer resolution. "Can you do this?" Aleximus raised a brow."MHMPH!" Hidemi nodded, nodding again. He grabbed at his hammer, laying the metal down on a table and prepping. "What ar

[Present Time]“It’s none of your business.” Banderd said again, opening his eyes. He stared down at his cane melancholy for a moment.“Regretful?” Mercurius smirked, cocking his head to get a better look at Banderd’s expression. “Not in the least.” Banderd pushed past him, kneeling in front of the Zongo Fluorite and extending his hand behind him towards Mercurius. “Hand me your Universe Ring.” Mercurius’s smile faded slowly from his face, exhaling with annoyance that Banderd hadn’t given him the reaction he seeked. “Here,” He said, revealing a small ring inside of his coat. Its design was peculiar. 5 intersecting rings looped around and met in the middle, leaving space for a finger to go through. “You know, I’ve gotta hand it to your brother.” Mercurius whistled, watching Banderd take the ring and hold it over the minerals. “Creating something like this isn’t an easy feat by any means, hehe. A ring that holds a near infinite amount of storage, eh? He’s quite the thinker, that one.