Chloro watched the small flame in Jelo's palm for a few more seconds.
The flame stayed steady.
Small. Calm. Controlled.
Finally, Chloro nodded.
"Good."
Jelo slowly let the flame fade and lowered his hand, breathing out in relief. The tension he'd been holding across his shoulders for the past hour finally loosened, if only slightly. Keeping a flame that still required this much concentration. Not letting it grow. Not letting it die. Just holding it in that narrow middle space.
"That… was harder than I expected," he admitted.
Chloro turned around and walked toward the center of the yard again.
"That was only the foundation," he said. "Now we move to the next stage."
Jelo straightened immediately.
"Fire compression."
Chloro raised one finger, and a flame appeared again. This time, however, the flame did not grow outward like normal fire. Instead, it began to shrink.
The fire twisted inward, becoming smaller and smaller.
But the heat in the air suddenly increased.
