Chapter 223 — Guild Hall in Chaos
A strange silence settled in the guild hall.
A silence…
broken only by Kronn.
He was snoring.
Standing.
Arms crossed.
As if it were perfectly normal.
Seline, arms crossed as well, glaring:
— "…I swear, if anyone says again 'he's cute when he sleeps,' I'll sing off‑key on purpose."
No one dared to answer.
Lysandra pinched the bridge of her nose.
— "Alright. Since everyone is finally here… more or less… let's keep it simple."
She turned her head slightly toward the wall behind Kronn.
— "Can someone explain why there's a person‑shaped hole in my wall?"
Veyra raised her hand, smiling innocently.
— "Technically, it's an alternative entrance."
— "Technically," Lysandra replied without looking at her, "it's a bill."
Oris looked Kronn up and down.
— "Honestly… sleeping while walking, smashing through walls, carrying Seline like a sack… He's overpowered even outside combat."
Seline:
— "Want to try? I'll lend him to you for five minutes. Then you'll cry."
Oris:
— "No thanks, I still have a minimum of dignity."
Aeris, standing a little apart, watched the scene wide‑eyed.
— "Uh… is it always like this at the guild?"
Kae calmly placed a hand on his head.
— "No."
He paused.
— "Sometimes it's worse."
Azevran, arms crossed, observed everything carefully.
— "Interesting… Such a concentration of power… and yet no respect for architecture."
Lysandra fixed him with a look.
— "Welcome to our home."
At that moment, Kronn moved.
Everyone tensed instantly.
He took one step.
Then another.
— "NO NO NO," Seline murmured.
— "Too late," Dervan said calmly.
KRRRASH.
Kronn sat down.
On the main strategy table.
The table split in two.
Total silence.
Nyss, leaning against a pillar, clapped her hands.
— "Impressive. Even asleep, he targets critical points."
Harlan nodded.
— "Natural precision."
Lysandra:
— "…I'll pretend I didn't see that."
At that moment, a guild guard near the entrance approached, staring at the broken table.
— "Uh… Lady Lysandra… do we need to file a report for—"
Nyss smiled.
Too much.
She vanished for a fraction of a second…
and reappeared behind the guard.
— "Boo."
The guard flinched, raising his arm to protect himself…
Then *poof*.
The guard's arm was gone.
Silence.
Total.
— "…"
— "…"
— "…"
The guard looked at his shoulder:
— "WHAT?! MY ARM?!" he shouted.
Aeris: — 😨
Seline: — "NYSS?!"
Nyss made the arm reappear in her hand
and used it to tap Kronn's head.
— "Knock knock."
Kronn groaned in his sleep.
— "…Mmh… five more minutes…"
Everyone froze.
Before anyone could react, Blackstar appeared behind Nyss.
— "Return it."
Flat tone.
Cold.
No discussion.
Nyss raised her hands.
— "It was just to test something."
— "Now."
POUF.
The arm reappeared exactly in its place.
The guard looked at his arm, pale.
— "…I… I'm taking a leave."
He ran off.
Silence.
Blackstar, arms crossed, still behind Nyss, said:
— "Nyss."
— "Yes?"
— "Do it again… and I'll erase you."
Nyss smiled.
— "Message received."
Lysandra sighed deeply.
— "Alright. Quick debrief before someone else loses a limb."
She snapped her fingers.
— "All portals have been neutralized. No major incidents."
Her gaze slid to the wall, the table, the cracked ceiling.
— "Relatively."
Veyra smiled.
— "Easy mission."
Dervan:
— "Acceptable."
Oris:
— "Profitable."
Kae:
— "Noisy."
Seline:
— "EXHAUSTING."
Aeris hesitated, then:
— "…Formative."
Azevran smiled faintly.
— "This is only the beginning."
Lysandra straightened.
— "Very well. Rest for everyone."
She looked at Aeris.
— "Tomorrow, training. With him."
She pointed at Azevran.
Aeris swallowed hard.
— "Yes ma'am…"
Oris clapped his hands.
— "Alright! Who's hungry? After a day like this, I've earned the right to raid the cafeteria."
Kae:
— "This time, you pay."
— "I always pay!"
— "In psychological trauma."
At that moment…
Kronn stood up.
Everyone held their breath.
He opened his eyes.
For one second.
— "…We arrived?"
Seline shouted:
— "YES! TEN MINUTES AGO!"
Kronn blinked.
— "Ah."
He yawned.
— "I slept well."
Lysandra turned toward the exit.
— "Disperse before something else explodes."
The group split up, between laughter, jabs, and fatigue.
Aeris, walking beside Azevran, looked up at him.
— "…I think I chose the strangest guild possible."
Azevran answered calmly:
— "No."
— "The most dangerous."
At the back of the hall, Oris shouted:
— "KAE! IF YOU TOUCH MY SWORD I'LL CURSE YOU!"
— "TRY ME!"
Kronn yawned again.
The guild returned to its usual chaos.
Chapter 224 — The Next Day: Synchronization
Morning fell upon the guild with unusual brutality.
Not because of a monster.
Not because of a portal.
But because of Aeris.
He was already awake.
And that was worrying.
In the training yard, a wide circle had been cleared. The runes on the ground pulsed softly, as if they sensed something abnormal was about to happen.
Aeris stood at the center, breathing slowly.
His flow was unstable.
Not chaotic.
Not weak.
Just… too dense.
— "Breathe," said Azevran calmly.
— "I'm trying…" Aeris replied. "But it feels like my energy wants to burst out on its own."
Azevran nodded.
— "Normal. Your flow is no longer only yours."
Aeris clenched his fists.
— "Since the synchronization… it feels like I have a second energy‑heart. It beats… differently."
— "That's not just a feeling," the king answered.
"When you synchronized your flow with mine, you didn't copy my power. You tuned it to yours."
He stepped closer.
— "The Tempesborne Form isn't a classic transformation. It's your flow accepting a higher rhythm."
Aeris frowned.
— "So if I force it…"
— "You tear yourself apart from the inside," Azevran finished bluntly.
A shiver ran through Aeris.
— "Great. Very reassuring."
On the side, Oris sat on a crate, eating casually.
— "He's learning to become a living storm and you tell him 'if you fail you explode.' Honestly, you're not very pedagogical."
Kae, arms crossed:
— "He learns better when he's scared."
— "I heard that," Aeris snapped.
— "That was the point."
Azevran raised his hand, and the air around Aeris began to vibrate.
— "Focus on the sensation. When our flows synchronized, your energy didn't change in nature. It changed in cadence."
Aeris closed his eyes.
He remembered.
The precise moment.
When Azevran's flow had coursed through him.
Not like a wave…
But like a continuous current, massive, steady, crushing.
His own flow had resisted.
Then… accepted.
The air around him contracted.
— "Aeris…" Lysandra said from the balcony.
"Don't let the form take control. You're the one in command."
The ground cracked slightly beneath his feet.
Lines of bluish energy appeared on his arms, pulsing in rhythm with his heart.
— "That's it…" murmured Azevran.
"You're entering the Tempesborne Form."
But suddenly—
BOOM.
A discharge exploded outward.
Aeris was thrown back and rolled across the ground.
Silence.
Then Veyra:
— "Well. That was bad, but promising."
Aeris groaned as he got up.
— "I lasted… three seconds?"
— "Two and a half," Dervan corrected.
— "Thanks."
Azevran stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "You made the classic mistake. You tried to imitate my power."
Aeris lifted his head.
— "So what should I…?"
— "Let it pass," he answered.
"Like wind through a valley. Not like a mountain blocking it."
Oris grinned.
— "In summary: stop trying to look cool too fast."
— "Shut up."
Kronn, leaning against a wall, yawned.
— "He's progressing quickly."
Everyone turned to him.
— "…You were watching?" Seline asked.
— "No," he replied.
"I was sleeping."
Azevran gave a faint smile.
— "Rest five minutes. Then we start again."
Aeris took a deep breath, fists clenched.
He looked at his hands, still faintly glowing.
— "This time… I won't force the storm."
He raised his eyes.
— "I'll become its passage."
Oris clapped his hands.
— "OKAY. That was stylish. I approve."
Kae sighed.
— "He's learning too fast. That worries me."
Above them, the air still vibrated.
The training had only just begun.
Chapter 225 — The Catalyst (or How Not to Explode During Training)**
The wind whistled softly around the training ground.
The five‑minute break had passed.
Azevran opened his eyes and declared calmly:
— "Alright. Let's resume."
Aeris lifted his head, still a little pale.
— "Already…?"
— "Yes," Azevran replied. "Otherwise your body will forget what it just endured. And that would be… needlessly painful."
Aeris swallowed.
— "Great."
Azevran continued:
— "Aeris, you must focus. Don't force the flow. Let it circulate through your body… like a current of air."
— "A current of air?" Aeris repeated.
— "Yes. Not a storm."
Aeris nodded.
— "Alright."
He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs, then exhaled slowly. His eyes closed.
He murmured:
— "I mustn't force it… I must let it circulate freely within me… let my body synchronize… adapt to this higher flow… the king's flow…"
Around him, energy began to ripple.
At first, it was light.
Then… much less so.
Massive currents formed around his body, distorting the air. Aeris clenched his teeth and tried to guide this power as Azevran had instructed.
— "Don't recreate my power," Azevran said firmly.
— "You must synchronize it. Connect it. Let it circulate."
Aeris pushed a little harder.
Bad idea.
The veins on his face bulged violently. His breathing grew uneven.
A trickle of blood escaped his mouth.
— "Ow…" he murmured.
Blackstar frowned.
— "I think this will be complicated. His body isn't yet strong enough to let a flow of this level circulate."
Azevran nodded slowly.
— "Yes… at this rate, he'll break before he adapts."
Aeris, still focused, muttered between breaths:
— "I can still hear you perfectly, you know…"
Blackstar ignored the remark and narrowed his eyes, clearly lost in thought.
— "…What if you created a catalyst?"
Azevran turned his head toward him.
— "A catalyst?"
— "Yes. Something to regulate the flow. To let it circulate without destroying him inside."
Azevran fell silent for a moment.
— "…I hadn't considered that."
He fixed his gaze on Blackstar.
— "Where did you see this?"
— "A hunter from the Black Eclipse Guild. He created one to survive a power that should have killed him."
Azevran exhaled lightly.
— "That hunter must have been extremely powerful. Even for beings like me, it's a risky method."
Blackstar smirked.
— "Or just very stubborn."
Azevran raised his hand.
— "Stop, Aeris."
Aeris broke his concentration and nearly collapsed to one knee, gasping.
— "Haa… haa…"
He wiped the blood from his chin.
— "What now…?"
— "We have another approach," Blackstar said.
— "If you create a catalyst, you can let the flow circulate without your body taking the full hit."
Aeris blinked.
— "Wait… that's possible? And more importantly… how do I do that?"
Kae approached calmly.
— "First of all, you're going to stop bleeding yourself dry."
He placed a hand on Aeris's shoulder. A gentle energy spread, closing the micro‑wounds inside.
— "There. Fixed. Try not to die during training, it complicates the paperwork."
Aeris sighed.
— "Thanks… I guess."
Blackstar pointed to the ground.
— "Sit. Meditation position."
Aeris obeyed and sat cross‑legged.
— "Kae will stabilize your energy," Blackstar continued.
— "Azevran will maintain synchronization with his flow.
— You focus only on one thing: creating a point of balance."
Kae placed his hand on Aeris's back.
— "I'll stabilize. If you mess up, I'll tell you. Nicely."
— "I doubt that," Aeris muttered.
Azevran placed his hand on the other side.
— "Don't think about power. Think about circulation."
Aeris closed his eyes.
Inside him, the Tempesborne flow still raged, unstable.
He tried to imagine it not as brute force…
But as a cycle.
A center.
A passage.
— "A catalyst…" he murmured.
— "Not a weapon… not an explosive core…"
Outside, Oris, watching from afar, whispered:
— "You think he'll explode? Because I bet no."
Blackstar shot him a deadly glare.
— "Oris."
— "What? It's financial encouragement."
The energy around Aeris shifted.
It became more compact.
More stable.
Azevran narrowed his eyes.
— "…Interesting."
Kae smiled faintly.
— "He's getting it."
Aeris clenched his fists.
— "It feels like… it's turning without tearing me apart…"
Then suddenly—
— "OW."
— "What?" Kae asked.
— "It tickles inside!"
— "It's NOT supposed to tickle!"
Oris burst out laughing.
— "The first catalyst that itches from the inside, incredible."
Azevran ignored the remark.
— "Continue, Aeris. You're on the right path."
The flow kept circulating, smoother than before.
Unstable… but alive.
Training had only just begun.
Chapter 226 — The Catalyst's First Spark**
Silence fell again over the training ground.
A heavy silence.
Charged with energy.
And slightly awkward.
Aeris sat in meditation, legs crossed, back straight…
or at least he tried.
— "My legs hurt…" he murmured.
— "Ignore the pain," Azevran replied.
— "Easy to say when you don't have cramps," Aeris grumbled.
Blackstar sighed.
— "Focus. If you lose it now, the flow will reject you."
Kae, still with his hand on Aeris's shoulder, added calmly:
— "Your energy is stable. But your mind…"
(He paused.)
— "It's panicking."
— "I'M NOT PANICKING," Aeris shot back immediately.
Then:
— "…Alright, maybe a little."
Azevran crossed his arms.
— "The catalyst cannot be born from fear. It must arise from a point of balance between your body, your flow… and my resonance."
— "So basically," summarized Oris from the edge of the field, "he has to invent something that doesn't exist, with energy he can't control, synchronized to a king. Easy."
— "Why are you still here?" Blackstar asked.
— "Moral support."
— "You're harming moral support."
— "I'm doing my best."
Aeris closed his eyes again.
He inhaled slowly.
Let it circulate…
Don't force…
Don't resist…
The Tempesborne flow began to appear around him once more.
But this time, it didn't lash out violently.
It rippled.
Like a mastered wind.
Azevran frowned slightly.
— "Good… He's starting to understand."
Kae sensed something shift.
— "His energy is gathering at the center."
— "The center of what?" Veyra asked.
— "Of himself," Dervan replied.
— "Ah."
— "…"
Suddenly, Aeris grimaced.
— "It burns…"
— "Normal," said Azevran.
— "NO, NOT NORMAL," Aeris shouted. "IT REALLY BURNS."
The flow contracted sharply.
A wave of energy spread outward, forcing Oris back two steps.
— "OKAY," Oris declared, "I'll shut up."
Blackstar clenched his teeth.
— "Aeris, create a structure. Not a weapon. Not a form. A passage."
— "A… passage?" Aeris repeated.
— "Yes. A point where the flow can enter, circulate, exit… without destroying you."
Aeris inhaled deeply.
Then, in his mind, he visualized something simple.
Not a weapon.
Not a transformation.
A core.
A junction point.
The flow shifted.
Azevran opened his eyes slightly.
— "…Interesting."
A bluish‑gray glow appeared at Aeris's chest.
Discreet.
Stable.
— "HE DID IT?" Nyss asked, leaning forward.
— "Not yet," Blackstar replied.
— "But he's on the right path."
The catalyst formed slowly.
Imperfect.
Fragile.
But real.
Aeris opened one eye.
— "…Feels like I swallowed a storm trying to tidy itself up."
— "That's exactly it," Azevran confirmed.
— "GREAT."
— "Congratulations, you're alive."
The flow gradually calmed.
Aeris collapsed backward.
— "I'm exhausted…"
— "Normal," Kae said, removing his hand.
— "You just survived something few hunters could endure."
Oris gave a thumbs‑up.
— "Respect. Also, you're still bleeding a bit, but it looks cool."
Blackstar looked down at Aeris, lying on the ground, panting but faintly smiling.
— "Good. Tomorrow… we stabilize."
Azevran smiled.
— "And the day after… we'll see if he truly deserves this form."
Aeris weakly raised a thumb.
— "…I'm going to die, aren't I?"
— "Probably," Oris replied.
— "Shut up."
The wind fell still.