"You mean she's going to do it now? As in, right now?" I asked, not knowing what that process was supposed to look like.
"Y-Yes?" Kanarin replied as if she were confused by my confusion. "Of course, I will be the one assisting in stabilizing her core, though as I understand it, Siraye was the one who had promised to help her reach it. Lady Ysevel has been in the fourth stage for much longer than you ever were, so I do not suspect it will be too difficult for someone of her talents," Kanarin shrugged.
Ysevel must have seen the look of mild concern on my face, so she turned to face me. "Thoma, you reached the fifth stage out of pure necessity to defeat Mideia. You were close enough already, though I suspect that your innate Authority played a much greater part in that than you realized. I can do this, especially with both Siraye and Kanarin here to help," she said with a confidence I simply couldn't deny.
"Oh, I'm not doubting whether you could. I just have no idea what it's supposed to look like, as you so adequately pointed out," I admitted, knowing there was no point in hiding my ignorance from any of them.
She reached out and pulled me in for a kiss. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Just stand back and enjoy the show," she said with a quick nod. "Come along, shi-... I mean, little brother," Bernar said after clearing his throat.
Same talk? I asked him smugly. Yuuuup, he sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
As Bernar and I took a few steps back, Ysevel moved toward the very center of the courtyard and sat down with her legs crossed. "You might want to move a little further back. She is an Ansuz, after all," Vauv cautioned, which we both had at least an idea of what that could mean.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
As Ysevel sat down, Mom and Kanarin both knelt down at her back and front, respectively. "Remember: deep, controlled breaths, just like I taught you," Mom said reassuringly, to which Ysevel closed her eyes and followed the instructions carefully.
Bernar and I had quietly agreed not to say or send anything to each other to ensure we didn't break her concentration. I watched her attentively as the dense mana in the air began to pulse and fluctuate. Whether it was because of my Authority, or something else, I didn't know, but I could feel everything that was going on inside of her body.
First, there was a wave of dense Wraith mana, then another of Vexing, and a gentle nudge of Meridian mana within her, one that I suspected came from Kanarin. As the frequency of pulses began to quicken, I suddenly understood that Kanarin wasn't just helping her reach the fifth stage; she was teaching her to unlock her ambivalence, the innate trait of the Ansuz clan.
It was a stunning display of power, control, and sheer will that continued for the next hour. Every minute that passed, the pulses quickened at an exponential rate, and with them came beads of sweat pouring from my mother's forehead, forming a small puddle beneath her.
Somehow, Kanarin was entirely unfazed by this marathon.
I suspected it was a fine example of just how different dragons really were from us. As far as I understood it, Mom, Taegin, and Ardrin were three of the most powerful non-dragon mana wielders I knew of. If this was making Mom struggle, even with the addition of Syldir's blood, I couldn't even begin to fathom just how exponentially more powerful someone like Erumon might be, let alone Karthus or Ryfon.
To say that I felt small would be the understatement of the century, but it was a stark reminder of just how much room I had to grow, and it made me anxious to find out what that limit might be.
A few minutes past the one-hour mark, the pulses were difficult to distinguish from one another due to their increased frequency. As a result, tendrils of both scarlet and violet mana ravenously flared out from Ysevel's core, fully engulfing the three of them.
While they didn't cause any harm, it was evident that Kanarin had been guiding Ysevel's mind to reach this point, since shortly after they flared, they began to coalesce both around and within Ysevel's body. As the last tendril was brought into her, the floor lit up with both scarlet and violet mana, reaching the far edges of the circular courtyard.
Immediately after reaching the edge, a wall of pure mana rose from the edges, perfectly split between Wraith and Vexing mana. This lasted for a good few seconds before receding back into the floor, then into Ysevel for complete reabsorption.
Ysevel let out a tired breath, but held her eyes closed for a few moments. Mom, exhausted from the ordeal, slumped back onto her butt and put her arms out behind her for support as she gasped for air. Bernar and I looked on in silence, sharing a look to let the other know neither of us knew whether it was over.
Vauv's expression, however, gave it away; it was over.
"Well done, Ysevel. You've made the Ansuz clan proud," Kanarin said, her voice much softer than before as she moved her hand from Ysevel's chest to her shoulder with a prideful look. "Thank you for your guidance, Kanarin," Ysevel said in a voice that sounded much more like Aurae's than her usual, cheerful tone.
"That was… Yeah, I don't have anything to compare that to," Bernar whispered. "Neither do I," I said, still in awe at the display I'd just witnessed.
Ysevel slowly rose from her seated position with Kanarin's help as we walked over to her. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Mom said, still somewhat out of breath. "You did well, Siraye. I was surprised you'd held out as long as you had," Kanarin said without any hint of condescension.
"Pardon my language, but that fucking sucked. Helping to stabilize a core with one type of mana is hard enough, but two at the same time is just absolutely insane," Mom said with a half-chuckle while Bernar and I helped her up.
"I'll certainly allow the use of profanity in this case, but let us see the fruits of our labor, shall we? Ysevel, please open your eyes, but do so slowly. You're not fully used to it yet, so take as much time as you need," Kanarin said encouragingly.
Ysevel turned toward us as we waited with bated breath for what came next. Slowly, but surely, her eyelids peeled back, revealing mismatched irises beneath them. Her left Iris had maintained its violet color, while her right held that familiar scarlet glow. "Well, I'll be…" I said with a prideful grin that I didn't bother to hide.
"Congratulations, my love. I'm so proud of you," I said, taking a few steps toward her and gingerly wrapping my arms around her. She slowly wrapped her arms around me in return, but I could tell she was still working out how to move properly under the full effects of her newfound ambivalence. "Essentia says hello, by the way," she said with a soft chuckle, causing both Vauv and Kanarin's eyes to widen.
"Di-Did you just say Essentia?" Vauv asked in disbelief. "I did," Ysevel answered in a tone that more closely matched her usual way of speaking. "O-Oh. Oh, my. It has been a very long time since I've heard that name. Did she tell you anything else?" Vauv asked with visible excitement.
"Only that she sends her regards to the rest of you, and that she hopes reaching the sixth stage won't take me as long as it did to reach the fifth," Ysevel replied with a light chuckle. "That cheeky… Nevermind," Kanarin cut herself off and shook her head.
"Wait, sixth stage? How the fu-... urgh. How are we supposed to reach that?" Bernar asked, visibly frustrated at his lack of being able to swear. Kanarin and Vauv shared a glance that indicated what Ysevel had surmised was about to be proven correct.
"How are you feeling, Lady Ysevel?" Kanarin asked expectantly. "Much better, but please, just call me Ysevel. It's still a little difficult to compartmentalize everything that's happening all at once. However, I feel fine, physically," she replied, her tone finally back to normal.
"Good," Kanarin said with a wolfish grin that could send a chill down even Mideia's spine. "Siraye, a moment please," she continued, placing her hand on top of Mom's head, and another near her core. She then proceeded to pour a vast amount of Meridian mana into Mom's body, which I could sense was restoring her strength.
Mom's eyes widened in surprise, likely feeling every muscle in her body shout with joy at their renewed strength. "Whoa. I feel incredible! That is so much better than drinking one of Derion's potions," she laughed as she rotated her shoulder. "For now, you might," Vauv added with a smirk, prompting Mom to raise an eyebrow.
"Are you all ready to begin your training?" Kanarin asked us. I turned to look at Ysevel, who I suspected already knew what was coming, and she gave me a nod to reassure me she would be alright. "Absolutely," Bernar replied confidently. "I am," I gave Kanarin a nod. "Very well then," she said with yet another grin. "Vauv, you may begin," she continued with a nod.
Vauv silently agreed and moved over to a panel which, if my and Ysevel's assumptions were correct, would form a barrier around us much like Kalia and Sabura's dome.
"Oh, hey. You might want to tighten your abdomen," I quietly muttered to my brother. "Huh? Why would I nee-...?" his response was immediately halted as the full weight of the barrier came down on us, forcing him to double over. Mom, surprisingly, held her own, though I suspected that was from the centuries of combat experience she'd had under her belt.
"Told you," I grinned, rolling my shoulders under the familiar weight of the dome's pressure. Ysevel, of course, was fine, though I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little concerned due to her being freshly brought into the fifth stage and unlocking her ambivalence, but she seemed perfectly fine.
"Wh-what the f-fuck is this?" Bernar asked through gritted teeth. "Remember what I told you about our training with Kalia? Same thing, though I will say, this one is a good deal heavier than what I'm used to. How much of a difference would this one make if I were to compare it to the one she had in Vareluth?" I asked Kanarin, who'd obviously heard everything from Ryfon.
"Hmm, I suppose this one might be ten times as strong as that one," Vauv replied in her stead, as Kanarin folded her outer robes and placed them on the ground near the panel. "That's to make up for the lack of a barrier around Polarion, isn't it?" Ysevel asked. "To an extent, yes," Kanarin said, turning to face us.
I knew I shouldn't have been surprised that, beneath her outer robes, her body was in incredible shape, but I hadn't expected her to nearly dwarf Vauv, who was already a formidable size.
"Now, who wants to go first?" she asked as she cracked her knuckles.