Haden lowered his spear and asked with a puzzled expression, "You are already in The Flow?"

The Flow was different from the Zone.

While the Zone heightened one's senses and allowed them to perceive everything within a fixed radius, the Flow used that perception to guide the body through pure muscle memory.

And Rion was currently in that state of The Flow.

Even Haden was left surprised by how swiftly his son was growing.

'He still hasn't reached the Weapon Sense," Haden noted inwardly.

According to the promise, Haden was going to teach him the nine moves of the Azure Ascending Spear Style.

But after considering Rion's current strength, he had decided to teach him one more thing, and that was the method of advancing to Enlightened Aura.

Haden lowered his spear, and Rion dashed towards him. Seeing that, Haden furrowed his brows and stepped out of Rion's Zone. Just as he did so, Rion stopped at the spot and stared at Haden with his unfocused eyes.

"Limbo..." Haden mumbled under his breath, and his voice became louder as he added, "You are trapped in a state between awareness and action. It is a dangerous state, but perfect to learn the conceptual existence of oneself."

Rion's eyes shut by themself, and seeing that, Haden recited.

"Basic Aura required you to accept what you were, and it bound your will to a role which allowed you to be firmer in your beliefs.

Enhanced Aura required you to deny 'what you were' and accept 'what you wanted to be'. By doing that, you bound yourself to a hunger for growth and reshaped your beliefs.

However, Enlightened Aura is different from both.

To reach it, you must release yourself from such roles and hungers, and choose your own will. Neither what you were, nor what you wished to be — nothing dictates your beliefs and duties but yourself."

Haden's words weren't loud yet they resonated deeply with Rion.

He once again stepped inside Rion's Zone, and Rion, who was stuck in the Limbo, lashed out at him like a rabid beast.

The corners of Haden's lips arched as he blocked and parried his attacks like the veteran he was.

A few minutes passed in their restless exchange, and Haden added evenly, "Stop thinking of your spear as a weapon; make it a part of yourself. Become one with it."

A cool breeze swept through the peak, and Rion suddenly stopped and lowered his spear.

He stood there like a clockwork toy that had run out of its key, his dry lips parted slowly as he whispered in a hoarse voice, "One with the spear..."

"Oh?" Haden's brow arched up in surprise, and he swung his spear at his side.

His spear neared Rion, but just as it was about to hit him, Rion's spear-holding hand moved on its own and blocked the attack.

Rion's sandals scraped the ground as he was sent sliding back a few steps before he came to a stop.

Seeing that he wasn't reacting as fiercely as before, Haden lowered his spear and mumbled, "There's no point in continuing this any further."

Haden turned around and took his seat at the usual spot before he began to watch the south.

After reaching the summit known as Enlightened Aura, one no longer needed to see themselves as anything. Their actions were no longer dictated by what they were or what they could be, but by their own will. Hunger, desire, and the need for validation still existed within them, but they were no longer chained to them. They moved because that was their will.

And if Enlightened Aura were a mountain, then mastering Weapon Sense would be like setting a ladder against it. The peak didn't change, but reaching it became far easier.

Limbo was the perfect state to learn Weapon Sense, and Haden knew how rare it was to enter this state, as it wasn't an achievable realm but something that happened on its own.

***

Rion couldn't understand what was happening; his body was moving on its own, while his mind was being filled with unwanted information.

Falling leaves, rolling pebbles, dust drifting through the air, bugs writhing beneath the soil, the ground cracking under strain and similar useless details.

His skull screamed and threatened to explode under the weight of all this unfiltered information.

But after hearing Haden's barely audible words, he had concluded a solution: Trap the flowing will into the spear.

To create the pond called The Zone, he had allowed the water — his will — to flow freely, but he had way more water than he needed, and that was causing it to spill out of the pond's walls, so to stop that, he was going to store the extra water in a container — his spear.

He focused inwardly, and a groan left him as the headache intensified even further.

'How am I supposed to force it into the spear?' He questioned desperately.

He had never forced his raw will into following him; aura was easier to control because of the soul energy, but for the Weapon Sense, he couldn't use the carrier that he had used till now.

Haden, who was sitting at his usual spot, suddenly mumbled, "Your will is too strong for yourself."

Rion's solution was partially correct, but he had made one misjudgment: the amount of water he had used to fill the pond was enough to fill a lake, so what he needed wasn't a container but a dam.

Fwoosh!

Haden's red aura flooded the peak and warped around Rion like a cocoon as he mumbled, "I will be the dam for you."

Rion was unable to hear him. Suddenly, the incoming information decreased, and his headache lessened drastically.

'Now or never!' He resolved and forced all of his will into the spear.

At first, he was even able to move it, but as minutes passed, it became easier for him to force his will. After about an hour, he flooded his will towards his spear and just as his will touched the spear.

Zarr!

The spear cried in joy, and Rion felt the familiar sensation of shackles being removed from his self.

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