Dominitus, still kneeling, glanced to one side. "Speaking of Miuson," he said, "where is the boy?"

Chief Okun paused, hand on his beard, about to admit he didn't know where Miuson was when a bright, triumphant voice cut through the curtained entrance. "Miuson is right here!"

Every head turned as Kaede burst through the curtain like a gust of wind—hands on hips, grin wide as a crescent moon. Her gaze scanned the room quickly, her eyes widening seeing familiar faces. "Oh my goddess! Is that you Dama!?" She gasped as she clasped her hands together. "I'm so glad to see that you're alright! And you brought your cutie plushes too~!!" She exclaimed with an enthusiastic wave and wide grin. The receiving trio responded in kind.

Laughing at that, Kaede then struck a presentational pose and stepped aside to reveal Miuson stepping through, cheeks flushed, eyes downcast.

Miuson's shoulders stiffened the instant he noticed all eyes on him. He straightened automatically, then froze in place, arms hanging awkwardly at his sides.

"It's him! That's Miuson?" Dama thought, immediately recognizing the stranger who cut him a slice of pie at the feast. Miuson himself locked gazes with Dama while taking survey of the room, the same look of recognition crossing his face too.

"Ah! There's the boy! Right on time!" Dominitius boomed first, the foreman's voice full of pleased approval. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing slightly at the bright color in Miuson's face. "You all right, lad? Looking a little warm, are you under the weather?"

Miuson snapped back into focus, bowed quickly and kept his head low. "I-I am well, Captain Dominitius. Nothing is wrong, sir, it is an honor to stand before you and Chief Okun." He replied, voice steady though still tinged with embarrassment. Kaede giggled under her breath, knowing she was the reason why Miuson was flushed.

Okun's heavy brows rose as his gaze dropped to Miuson's left hand, the one wrapped in bandages. "What happened to your hand?" The chief rumbled, curiosity and a sliver of concern in his tone. "You didn't hurt it during training yesterday, did you?"

Before a sheepish Miuson could speak, Kaede had already latched onto his arm, boasting with theatrical pride. "He hurt it during secret training with his fire affinity! You should have seen him—he's come so far!" She announced, voice full of bragging delight as she beamed up at Miuson with a conspiratorial wink.

Miuson stood utterly bewildered by the sudden presentation as if he was some prize, cheeks still bright red.

As Domitius complimented his rookie, Okun rubbed his beard slowly, watching the pair with the placid patience of a man who'd seen far stranger things than a flushed guard and an overaffectionate daughter. "I see..." he murmured, eyes still on Kaede as she clung to Miuson, despite his sheepish and muffled pleas to be let go.

Then Okun's tone sharpened just enough to carry authority. "Kaede, did you bandage his hand? If so, did you use your Healing Affinity?" The two words—Healing Affinity—hung in the air and instantly snapped both Liam and Dama to attention; they exchanged a quick, curious look.

Kaede huffed, cheeks puffing into a pout as she nodded—she knew what was coming.

Her prediction arrived exactly as anticipated: Okun sat forward in his chair, brow furrowing. "You know as well as I that using it takes a great deal from you, girl. You must be cautious!" His reprimand was firm but threaded with real worry.

Before the chief could go on, Miuson stepped forward, voice low but earnest. "Begging your pardon, Chief," he cut in, hands folding at his sides, "it was my fault—I hurt it myself. I should've been more careful. I'll take the blame; Kaede didn't need to—!?" His attempt at solemn responsibility was cut short by a Kaede who beamed brighter.

She tugged him close and, with all the theatrical sweetness she could muster, pressed her forehead against his shoulder and trilled to her father. "I know I know, but there's nothing to worry about father—Miuson's here to protect me if anything happens~!" The cutesy lilt was deliberate, and the room could feel Miuson's mortified embarrassment.

Okun's stern line softened as he absorbed the exchange. He settled back into his chair with a satisfied nod, the reprimand dissolving into a pleased exhale of understanding.

Dama's then hand fluttered up uncertainly as he cleared his throat. "U-Um," he stammered, voice small in the hushed chamber, "may I—may I ask a question?"

A soft, amused chuckle rumbled from Chief Okun. "You don't need to ask permission, boy," he said, waving a hand, "just speak plainly—ask your questions bare-handed in the future." His tone was warm, not unkind; the chief liked plain manners, and he liked directness even more.

Dama blinked, swallowed, then nodded once. He let his hand fall and pushed the question out: "What is a…Healing Affinity?" The words landed in the room, and for a heartbeat, everything felt a little sharper, as if the air were listening.

The question drew a cluster of puzzled looks. Dominitus' eyebrows climbed, Miuson's head tilted, even Kaede's teasing expression fell into genuine curiosity. Okun's brow knit in genuine surprise. "You don't know about Healing Affinity?"

Before Dama could expand, Liam stepped forward and answered for them. "No, Chief—neither of us do. This is the first time either of us has heard anyone actually say 'Healing Affinity' out loud." He gave a small, apologetic shrug that said he felt a little foolish for not knowing.

Dama tried to fill the gap. "Chiefess Tsubasa said there were only five affinities: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Thunder. I—I find it hard to imagine Tsubasa wouldn't know something about affinities. She seems to know everything." He gestured toward the chief with an earnest look, the admiration obvious in his voice.

Okun let out a hearty laugh that echoed off the chamber's walls, rubbing his beard as he shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if Tsubasa didn't know..." he said, the smile never leaving his face. His expression sobered just enough to emphasize his next point. "Not to say she's not knowledgeable. I actually had the pleasure to meet her in person long ago when I was a child. She indeed had many secrets neither our Briarstone or your Enohay ancestors knew."

Okun's laugh faded into a low rumble that exuded respect as he straightened. "It's simply because Healing Affinity is the rarest affinity in the world to be born with. Rarer than a white blossom in winter."

The room went quiet to the point Nini's swaying tail could be heard. Liam and Dama exchanged quick, puzzled looks, with Liam lifting a brow, as if daring the chief to say more.

Okun folded his fingers and told them plainly. "Healing Affinity isn't a simple element like fire or wind. It's tied to the living breath—the soul's mercy, if you will. Those born with it can knit flesh, ease pain, and sometimes drive poisons and rot out of the body. But it's not gift without price. Not only is it the rarest, but it is also the most costly." He cast a cautionary glance at his daughter. "Every time Kaede uses her Healing Affinity, pouring her soulura into another, it takes from her own reservoir. Use it too freely and you hollow yourself out—fainting, exhaustion, even worse if you push beyond your limits."

Kaede flushed at the reminder and squeezed Miuson's arm as if to prove she was fine. While Liam's eyes went thoughtful, Dama listened as if each word sank into a new place in him—this idea that strength could be both a light and a tax on the bearer, for some reason, resonated with him.

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Okun let the warning sit in the air, then added, "Because it's so rare, most healers are prized and protected. Villages pray for a single soul with that gift. They are anchors. That is why you do not see many Healing Affinities, and why someone like Kaede must guard her strength carefully."

There was a beat of silence. Then Okun asked directly, "Miuson, tell the truth, did she pass out after healing your hand?"

Miuson's reply was slow, solemn and without flourish: he nodded. He didn't try to soften what had happened; calling attention to Kaede's exhaustion would only shame her, and he didn't want to lie before the chief.

Okun's expression didn't harden so much as settle. "That's exactly the sort of cost I fear." He leaned back in his chair, eyes sweeping the small assembly as if seeing them anew. "Soulura touches everything—affinities, techniques, the way a person's strength shows itself. We will teach you how to see it, how to temper it, and how to use it. But never forget: rare gifts demand rare caution."

There was a pause as the weight of the explanation settled, everyone present having their own reaction.

Miuson just nodded again.

Kaede pouted more whilst hugging Miuson's arm tighter, a bit annoyed. But, she felt warm on the inside, the concern from her father reaching her.

Dominitus inclined his head once, a soldier's respectful acknowledgement.

Liam ran a hand through his hair, his mind still reeling at the fact he's being trained himself. At the same time, it was already sorting the lesson into what it meant for Dama and for himself—how training would need to include restraint, not just power. "I did not sign up for this..."

Dama felt a careful awe bloom for Kaede and for anyone who could heal another at such a cost. He then glanced over at Mumu and Nini—products of his own gift—who were looking back at him. Flashes of when they both stood tall and fought against the Curse of Hatred crossed his mind, causing him to smile. Mumu and Nini copied him, able to feel Dama's gratitude as if it were their own.

Eventually, Liam's hand went up in response. "You say Soulura fuels Affinity and Soulful Techniques," he said, voice even, "then, pray tell, Chief, what exactly is Soulura?"

Okun locked gazes with everyone present for a moment before answering, making sure they were listening. "Soulura is the aura a soul gives off. Subtle as breath, and just as constant. Every living thing that has a soul produces it: people, beasts, even the smallest of ants." He spread his hands as if illustrating a veil of light surrounding all things.

Dama's hand went up again before anyone could call on him. "And plants." He offered quietly, looking up at Okun with earnest eyes as if adding the last piece of a puzzle.

Okun's brows lifted, intrigued. "You already know of Soulura, then? From Chiefess Tsubasa, I assume?"

Dama nodded. "She explained it to me last year. I was curious about my own Soulful Technique, so she told me what Soulura is—but she didn't know how to teach me to use it. She forgot the practice herself."

A fond chuckle rumbled from Okun at that. "Then worry not, boy," he said, eyes crinkling. "The first step in your training—Liam, Dama, Miuson, and if it applies, you too Mumu and Nini—is learning to sense, understand, and shape your own Soulura. That is the foundation of what we call Soul Amplification." He let the term hang in the air, the room settling around the importance of those words.

"Soul Amplification..." Dama repeated under his breath, tasting the words like a promise. Liam echoed it a beat later, brow furrowed, the syllables landing heavy and important on his tongue. For Dama it sounded impossibly cool—like the name of something that could change everything.

Okun exhaled, slow and deep. "Indeed."

Then, to everyone's sudden surprise, the rotund chief braced both hands on the armrests and hauled himself upright. The chair protested with a soft creak; the motion was somehow smaller than the impression of his bulk had led them to expect.

Dama, Mumu, and Nini all flinched as if the room itself had shifted—eyes widening as Okun steadied himself, cleared his throat, and lifted one broad palm toward them.

"Soul Amplification," he said, voice settling like a stone dropped into still water, "is the universal practice of using one's own soul as a weapon." He spoke plainly, the old authority in his tone making the phrase feel less like a boast and more like a vow.

To cement his point, Okun let some of his soulura spill out into the air. It was not visible to every eye—its color was the deep, settled brown of rich earth, and it unfurled like a slow haze: thick ribbons and grainy motes that rolled from his hand and pooled into every corner of the room.

The effect was immediate. The air tightened; it was as if it had been bunched into a single heavy weight that pressed against their chests.

Dama felt it first—a low, insistent pressure that made his breath come quicker, as his soul recognized this kind of pressure from his nightmarish experience. Liam's spine straightened and a small tremor passed through his arms. Miuson's jaw clenched; the taste of iron flicked across his tongue and nose.

All three boys instinctively stepped back. It wasn't from fear, far from it. They trusted the chief, but the unknown pressure was new to them—to their physical bodies. Their hearts hammered as their bodies registered the force, yet their minds struggled to name it. Dama had the most visceral reaction, sweat beginning to form as he struggled to compose himself.

For Dominitus and Kaede, the sensation was already familiar. They did not flinch; both had stood inside Okun's presence before and felt the old man's soulura like an old friend's hand on the shoulder.

Mumu and Nini, however, were another matter entirely. The stitched pair cocked their heads in puzzled harmony. Where most could only feel weight and pressure, Mumu & Nini could see it: Okun's soulura glowed faintly brown to them, tiny motes drifting like dust devils. The sight made them tilt their heads even more—an instinctive, almost comic confusion at being granted a sense most naturally lacked.

Okun watched the three young men feel a taste of what was to come. He clenched a fist—not in anger, but in a measured, ceremonial grip—then relaxed it. The gesture was small, yet deliberate. To Dama, it carried the meaning of a promise and a test, enough to calm him from a pseudo-spiral.

"Dominitus." Okun said, turning his eye toward the foreman, voice even. "Take Kaede to her quarters. Let her rest and recover. After, you know where to find us."

Dominitus inclined his head and stepped forward at once to escort the chief's daughter away. Kaede bumped Miuson's shoulder encouragingly as her small hand slipped from her hold on him. Giving him one last teasing glance, she followed Domitius.

Meanwhile, Okun's gaze shifted back to the trio, then softened in the way that told them the lecture was over and the training had begun. "As for you," he said, voice carrying across the chamber, "follow me, your training and education in Soul Amplification starts now."

"W-Wait!" Miuson blurted out to the surprise of everyone, even causing Domitius and Kaede to freeze right before their exit.

Freezing himself as all eyes were once again upon him, Miuson gulped a moment later as he forced himself to move. He had already blurted out for everyone to wait, so why stop now?

Walking up to Dama and Liam, the boy in training got on all fours and bowed before them much to their further shock. "You already know my name, but please, let me introduce myself properly. My name is Miuson Hakasha, fifthteen year old Briarstone Guard in training. I am also the older brother of the boy you men from Enohay saved on the way here." Miuson raised his head, determination painting his face. "For that, I am both eternally grateful, and honored to train alongside you, Dama Jinbia and Liam Leir. I hope my Fire Affinity will help pave the way for the Oni's defeat!"

A spell of silence fell in the room. Miuson awaited Dama and Liam's response, who only swapped glances, still a bit taken aback. Eventually though, they smiled, remembering the exact boy Miuson spoke of. As Liam prepared to offer a hand to Miuson, it was Mumu that beat him to the punch, as he walked between Liam and Miuson, picked Miuson up to his feet, dusted him off, then patted his shoulders—all while having a big, stitched smile on his face.

As Miuson's mind tried to register what was even happening, Nini came up and began sniffing every square inch of him. Once she had her fill, she nodded her head, copying Mumu's smile as she sat down beside him.

"U-Uh..." Was all Miuson could mutter, at a loss for words. His awkward posture and expression made Domitius, Kaede, and Liam start chuckling, with Okun even breaking a humor filled smirk.

But Dama? He took the initiative, inspired by Miuson's heartfelt display, and stepped up to Miuson. "They like you, Mumu and Nini that is." He said with his signature big, freckled smile.

Miuson nodded, then saw Mumu and Nini eagerly nodding their own heads, confirming their master's words. Seeing this curiously made Miuson's entire body relax, making him realize it's been a while since he's been this relaxed. "Kaede was right..." he thought before seeing Dama offer his hand.

With a nod, Dama tried his best to copy Miuson's determined look he gave him. "My name is Dama Jinbia, fourteen year old village-wide errand boy.It's an honor to train alongside you too, Miuson Hakasha!"

No words were needed after that. At that singular moment of their hands joining together, a friendship that would last lifetimes was formed.

-

Next: (Chapter 80) The Basics of Soulful Amplification

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