The sun bled across the horizon as Ren stood before Kael in the ruins - a place of broken pillars and quiet echoes. His arms ached, his breath came ragged, and his palms were raw from gripping a wooden sword all day.
Kael watched him, silent as always. The man never shouted, never praised. His eyes simply measured.
"Again," Kael said.
Ren swung - but the motion was sloppy. The sword tilted, his stance unbalanced. Kael caught the strike easily with a single finger against the blade.
"Strength without balance is nothing," Kael said flatly. "Your body trembles because your heart does."
Ren gritted his teeth. "Then tell me how to stop it."
Kael stepped back, folding his arms. "To become strong without a Gift, you must awaken what lies within every living being - Aura."
Ren blinked. "Aura?"
Kael nodded. "Every soul has energy. The Gifted shape theirs into miracles. But we - the Giftless - shape ours into will. There are three forms of Aura. Master them, and no Gift can surpass you."
Ren's exhaustion faded as curiosity burned in his chest. Kael drew his dull sword, stabbing it into the ground. Dust swirled, caught in invisible pressure.
---
1. Vital Aura - The Breath of Life
"This is the foundation," Kael said. "The energy that flows through your body - your life force."
He motioned for Ren to close his eyes. "Feel your heartbeat. Every pulse is power. Every breath draws strength from the world."
Ren tried. He listened - to his heart, to the faint whisper of wind through ruins, to his trembling breath. Slowly, something stirred within him - warmth, faint but real, spreading through his limbs.
Kael smirked. "Good. That warmth is your Vital Aura. Strengthen it, and your body will move faster, strike harder, endure longer. The Gifted enhance themselves through spells. We do it through mastery."
Ren opened his eyes, sweat glistening. "So it's like... raw stamina?"
"Not just stamina. It's will made flesh. The stronger your conviction, the denser your Aura."
---
2. Perceptive Aura - The Mind's Eye
Kael tossed a small pebble at Ren's head.
Ren barely dodged.
Kael nodded. "Too slow. Perceptive Aura is the second stage. It sharpens awareness - lets you see the unseen."
He closed his eyes. The next instant, Ren felt a pressure around him - like Kael's presence expanded, filling every inch of space. It was suffocating.
"With Perceptive Aura," Kael said quietly, "you don't see with your eyes. You feel intent, motion, hostility. You sense life, lies, even fear."
Ren's eyes widened. "You mean... you can sense people?"
"More than that," Kael said, withdrawing his aura. "You can sense truth. Those who master it can read battlefields like open books."
Ren took a step back, awe mixed with fear. "That's... terrifying."
Kael smirked. "To the weak, yes."
---
3. Dominion Aura - The King's Will
The wind stilled. Kael's expression hardened.
"This is the final Aura," he said, voice low. "The rarest. Dominion Aura is not about seeing or surviving - it's about commanding."
He looked Ren dead in the eyes. "When your will becomes absolute, it imposes itself upon others. Beasts kneel. The weak tremble. The world itself bends."
Ren swallowed hard. "That sounds... impossible."
Kael chuckled softly. "Everything is impossible until you've bled enough to make it otherwise."
He raised his hand - and for a moment, the air itself cracked. The ground groaned beneath invisible weight. Ren's knees nearly buckled; his lungs felt crushed.
Then Kael released it, and the pressure vanished.
Ren gasped. "That was-!"
"Dominion Aura," Kael finished. "The Giftless have no divine blessings. But we can make the world obey us through sheer will. That is what separates a survivor from a king."
---
As the night deepened, Ren collapsed on the ground, his body trembling with exhaustion. Kael sat beside him, watching the stars flicker through the broken arches above.
"Kael," Ren said softly, "how long did it take you to master all three?"
Kael was silent for a long while. Then, quietly, he said,
"A lifetime. And even now... I am still learning."
Ren smiled weakly, turning his gaze upward.
"Then I'll start mine now."
Kael glanced at him - and for the first time, a faint warmth touched his expression.
"Good. Then from this moment on, Ren the Giftless... begins the path toward the impossible."