Tomorrow Morning
Luis woke up because of the sensation on his forehead.
The sensation was soft, soft strokes of a brush on his forehead. Then noticing that Luis had woken up and not reacted to it, the feather used its other end.
Again.
And again.
Luis's eyebrows furrowed in irritation before he opened his eyes.
Tap.
Luis groaned quietly and turned his head to the side to escape the feather poking his forehead.
The tapping followed.
Luis turned back around and opened his eyes, seeing a feather hover above his eyes.
The feather stopped as Luis opened his eyes, seemingly trying to see if Luis would get up or not.
The fiery red feather shimmered faintly in the room.
Luis stared at it for a moment.
The feather poked his forehead again.
Luis sighed and pushed himself upright, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Doesn't even stop after I wake up." Luis quietly muttered to himself.
The feather drifted closer to Luis's forehead.
Seeing the feather come closer, Luis stood up while stretching both arms over his head.
Luis still felt sore from yesterday's training.
His body felt heavy, worn out.
The muscle fatigue hadn't faded this morning, which meant training would be even more tiring today.
Luis swung his legs off the bed and stood up.
Luis's room was quiet Luis could hear faint movement somewhere in the house, probably his aunt and mother.
Luis started his morning routine before the feather would start poking him again so Luis moved.
Wash face.
Brush teeth.
Quick shower.
Change clothes.
Luis's mind wasn't focused on the motions. His mind was still circling back to yesterday's events.
Water.
Opposite.
Neutral
He exhaled slowly.
Luis tried not to overthink, he already made his decision.
A water related blessing.
To calm his mind while waiting for dinner to be ready. Luis moved to the small open space near his window, Luis sat down and started meditating, gathering more aura to his core and focusing on the flow of the aura throughout his body.
He sat cross legged.
Hands resting on his knees.
Eyes closing naturally.
Meditation had now become easier not because of his mind being clearer but because aura awareness had become easier ever since the dream.
Not effortless but still easier.
Luis focused on his breathing first.
In
Out
The faint warmth inside his chest responded automatically, aura circulating through his body with gentle resistance that faded the more he relaxed.
Luis no longer needed to pull aura aggressively in his body, it flowed all throughout his body naturally. Empowering his entire body. Even when Luis would focus more aura on one part of his body to strengthen it more, the pull of aura was easier now.
Gradually, the faint emptiness from yesterday's exhaustion filled in.
Not fully.
But enough
Time passed quietly.
Eventually the familiar scent of breakfast drifted through the house.
Luis opened his eyes.
Luis stood and stretched again before heading toward the kitchen.
.
.
.
Breakfast was simple.
Warm bread.
Eggs.
Light soup.
Nothing extravagant, but comforting.
His mother, aunt, and Kael who seemed to have been forced to help moved around the kitchen with efficient motions except Kael, placing dishes on the table. Luis noticed everyone else in the living room sitting together. Luis greeted his aunt and younger brother before his mom.
"Good morning mom."
"Morning Luis."
Luis stared at his mother for a few silent seconds before speaking again, which his mother noticed.
"Can I talk to you and dad later about something."
Elena responded with a smile "Of course, honey."
.
.
.
After breakfast
Luis sat on his parents bed with his mom beside him who had pestered him to sit down and explain. She also put an arm around him and made Luis rest his head on her shoulder while ruffling his hair. Luis knowing he couldn't say no just did as told. His dad sat on the couch next to their bed smiling while looking at his wife and son bonding. Well mostly his wife as it seemed Luis's thoughts were elsewhere.
The space was quiet, sunlight filtering through the windows in soft lines across the floor.
Luis felt a bit of tension, even though Luis was sure he wanted to choose an opposite element blessing to the Phoenix essence. Luis wasn't a hundred percent sure if it was the correct decision, he didn't know if his parents would agree.
The tension in Luis eased as he heard his mother humming a song while patting his head.
Luis opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling as he spoke.
"Aunt Sera talked to me yesterday," he said.
Both his parents remained silent, listening.
"She said it's time for my next blessing."
No reaction yet.
Luis continued.
"She gave me three options.
He explained them carefully.
Fire aligned.
Opposite not aligned, potentially painful as the Phoenix essence within him gets stronger.
Neutral.
He described what Sera had said about resonance with the Phoenix essence.
Soul alignment.
Pain during separation.
Survival chances.
He didn't rush.
He didn't leave things out.
"…If I take another fire-aligned blessing," he said finally, "it'll be easier to grow. But it'll make the Phoenix influence stronger. And separating later might… be harder to survive."
His mother's hands tensed for a split second which Luis didn't notice as he was ingrained in his thoughts.
Luis continued.
"If I take something opposite, like water… it'll hurt more over time. But my chances of surviving when the Phoenix leaves should be higher."
He looked down briefly before lifting his gaze again.
"And the neutral option is just waiting. Deciding later."
Silence followed.
Luis took a breath.
"I want to choose the opposite one," he said.
He forced himself to keep talking.
"I know it'll be harder. I know it'll probably hurt more. But… I want the best chance to live."
His voice stayed steady.
"If I get used to the pain gradually, maybe I won't need to reach legendary tier just to survive it."
He hesitated briefly.
"…And I also want to understand how the Phoenix reacts to something opposite.
Silence filled the room again after he finished.
His parents didn't speak immediately.
They let the words settle.
Luis waited.
His heart wasn't racing.
But there was tension in his chest.
Finally his father exhaled softly.
"We know," he said.
Luis blinked moving his head up from his moms shoulder.
"…What?"
His mother nodded slightly.
"We were informed," she said. "Before Sera spoke to you."
Luis stared at them.
For a moment his brain didn't catch up.
Then realization clicked.
Right.
Their positions.
Of course they would know.
Still…
"You… already knew?" he asked.
His father nodded.
"Yes."
Luis leaned back slightly, processing that.
"…That makes sense," he muttered.
A small, almost embarrassed laugh escaped him.
"I didn't think about it."
His mother's expression softened just a little.
"You were focused on your decision," she said. "That's normal."
Another brief silence passed.
Then his father leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees.
"What matters," he said calmly, "is what you choose."
Luis looked between them.
"You're… okay with it?" he asked.
His mother met his gaze directly.
"We're okay with whatever decision you make," she said.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
His father nodded.
"You're the one living with the consequences," he added. "Not us."
Luis felt the tension loosen in his chest.
Then his father continued.
"I do agree with your reasoning."
Luis looked at him.
"The opposite blessing is likely the harder path," his father said. "No one has ever had opposite blessing and even if they did they didn't have them long. But your situation is different it's two different entities with different attributes. While the Phoenix is weak you can get used to the elemental difference."
He paused briefly.
Luis listened closely.
"If your goal is survival," his father continued, "then reducing resonance with the Phoenix is logical."
Another pause.
"Nothing in life is easy," he said simply. "But difficult doesn't mean impossible, if somethings never happened before just become the first to do it."
His mother reached over and pulled him into a hug.
"If this is what you want to do then we support it."
A warmth spread through his chest.
His father stood, walking over and resting a hand briefly on Luis's head.
"You've thought it through," he said. "That's enough."