Chapter 44
The moment Kael stepped forward, the surface of the pond broke around his legs.
Cold swallowed him instantly.
Not the sharp cold of winter air, but a deep, pressing chill that seemed to crawl into his bones. The water closed over his head, muffling the world above into silence. Light bent and fractured as he descended, the surface shrinking into a pale circle far above.
Seventy meters…
The number echoed in his mind.
He tried to stay calm. Just like Reiro said. Control your breathing. Shape your aura. Let it wrap around you.
Kael focused inward.
At first, it worked.
A faint layer of aura shimmered around his body, thin and unstable, but present. The water resisted it, pressing from all sides. His descent slowed. His chest felt heavy, but manageable.
Then the pressure increased.
Ten meters.
Twenty.
His ears rang. A dull ache formed behind his eyes. The water pressed harder, squeezing his limbs, his ribs, his thoughts. Kael clenched his fists and pushed more aura outward.
The aura flickered.
"No stay," he tried to say, but the words dissolved into bubbles.
His concentration slipped for just a moment.
That was enough.
The aura collapsed.
The pressure hit him all at once.
Kael's body folded inward as if the pond itself was trying to crush him into nothing. Pain exploded through his chest. His vision blurred. Panic surged before he could stop it.
I can't
His mind screamed as instinct took over.
He kicked wildly, trying to swim upward, but the water felt thick, heavy, endless. Each movement drained him faster than the last. His heart pounded violently, every beat louder than the one before.
Calm down. Calm down.
But fear did not listen.
The pill allowed him to breathe, yet his body didn't trust it. His lungs burned as if starved. His hands shook. His aura refused to stabilize, slipping through his grasp like sand.
Images flashed through his mind.
The Life Stone shattering.
The Beast Stone falling into enemy hands.
Shinji's trembling voice.
Reiro standing silently at the pond's edge.
If I fail here… I won't even reach the Soul Stone.
His chest tightened painfully.
The darkness crept in from the edges of his vision.
I'm sinking.
Kael's limbs grew heavy. His movements slowed. The water dragged him deeper, colder, quieter. The light above faded until it was nothing more than a distant memory.
For the first time since leaving the palace, a single, terrifying thought surfaced clearly.
I might die here.
His aura sputtered weakly, forming jagged fragments around his arms and legs before breaking apart again. The pressure crushed those fragments instantly.
Pain blurred into numbness.
Then
A sudden force gripped him.
Kael's body jerked violently as something seized the back of his collar and yanked him upward. The world spun. Water rushed past him in a violent blur.
Moments later, he burst from the surface.
Kael collapsed onto the ground, coughing violently as water poured from his mouth and nose. His body shook uncontrollably. His chest burned with each ragged breath, even though air now filled his lungs.
He rolled onto his side, gasping, eyes wide and unfocused.
The sky above felt unreal.
Reiro stood nearby, his expression calm but sharp.
"You lost control at twenty-three meters," Reiro said. "Your aura shattered completely."
Kael tried to speak but choked instead, coughing until his throat ached. His hands trembled as he pressed them into the ground.
"I"
His voice cracked.
"I panicked."
"Yes," Reiro replied simply.
Kael clenched his teeth.
"I thought I had it," he said hoarsely. "For a moment… I really thought I could do it."
Reiro looked down at him.
"That moment of confidence is dangerous," he said. "It makes you careless. The pond punished you for it."
Kael stared at the water.
The surface was calm again. Silent. Unforgiving.
Kael's gaze lingered on the pond.
Something about it felt wrong.
He slowly pushed himself up on one elbow and reached out, letting his fingers brush the water's surface again.
He flinched.
"…It's colder," Kael said, his voice low. "Much colder than before."
Reiro's eyes narrowed slightly. He looked past the pond, toward the faint reflection of the sky trembling in the water.
"The weather phase is changing," he said. "Summer is almost over. Winter is approaching."
Kael frowned.
"That fast?"
"In the Soul World, seasons do not follow fixed dates like they do in the Human World," Reiro replied. "They shift when balance shifts."
Kael pulled his hand back, watching droplets fall from his fingers.
"So this is… part of a tradition?" he asked. "The seasons changing like this?"
Reiro shook his head.
"It is not tradition," he said. "It is response."
He turned back to Kael.
"When the flow of souls changes, when conflict rises, when the world prepares for strain, the weather follows. Cold deepens. Water grows heavier. Pressure becomes less forgiving."
Kael looked at the pond again, understanding dawning slowly.
"So the training became harder… because the season changed."
"Yes," Reiro said simply. "And it will continue to do so."
"If I hadn't pulled you out," Reiro continued, "you would have lost consciousness within seconds. After that, even the pill would not have saved you."
Kael's fingers curled into fists.
Fear still clung to him, heavy and suffocating. But beneath it, something else stirred.
Anger.
Not at the pond.
Not at Reiro.
At himself.
"I won't fail again," Kael said quietly.
Reiro did not respond immediately.
Instead, he turned toward the pond.
"Good," he said at last. "Then stand up."
Kael forced himself to his feet, legs shaking.
"We begin again," Reiro said. "And this time, you will descend willingly without fear."
Kael looked at the dark water.
His heart raced.
But he stepped forward.