Two days later

Luis was currently sprawled on the ground inside the Shadow Prison.

A circular shield lay beside him on his left, its edges were chipped and it had small cracks running along it. The shield glowed with unstable aura, while a dagger rested on the right side of Luis. Luis's arms trembled as he exhaled and stared up at the endless darkness.

Luis had wanted to train right after waking up but the look of anger Luis's mother had when she saw him heading off to train after waking up was very threatening. She didn't need to say words to stop Luis from going.

Luis chuckled remembering the look of worry on Kael and Lira's face as well when he had first seen them after waking up.

A groan of pain from Luis moving his left hand had brought him back from his thoughts.

Luis had just sparred with Sera.

Not the real Sera but a shadow clone of her.

Even though it was only a clone, the spar had been brutal.

The clone didn't fight Luis aggressively. The clone measured Luis, the clone's every movement was precise forcing Luis to change his paths of attack or to defend instead. Making Luis retreat instead of advance.

Luis's only goal in this fight was to find the hole in the clone's defense. Aunt Sera had said it's skill level wouldn't be too high.

Aunt Sera had not sparred Luis herself because she was busy today. But since most of her work was tied to the Xoliti Clan's city, Sera had left Luis inside the Shadow Prison to train while she handled other matters.

"You have five minutes of rest, Luis."

Her voice echoed evenly.

Luis groaned and rolled onto his side before forcing himself upright. He grabbed the shield instinctively, fingers tightening around it.

"It's so hard to use daggers with a shield," he muttered, irritation slipping through.

The weight felt wrong. The reach was off. Everything clashed.

And that was the point.

Luis wasn't training with a shield because he planned to use one. Sera had been blunt about that.

The shield existed for one reason only to force his aura outside his body and keep it there under pressure.

Infuse it constantly.

While moving. While fighting. While exhausted.

Sera had even told him to keep it infused while eating or sleeping if he wanted to speed things up.

Once he could form an aura shield freely, it wouldn't need to stay attached to his arm.

Back. Front. Multiple layers.

Right now, though, he could barely keep one stable.

"Stand up," Sera said. "Drop the dagger. Keep the shield infused."

Luis obeyed, letting the dagger fall.

"We'll play a simple game of tag."

Sera's voice echoed again.

Luis frowned. "Tag?"

"Yes."

"…Why?"

"Because chasing is easy," Sera replied flatly. "Thinking is not."

The Shadow Prison shifted.

Walls rose. Platforms emerged. Narrow corridors twisted between pillars, some barely wide enough to pass through. The ground sloped unevenly, forcing awkward movement.

An obstacle course.

A figure stepped forward.

A shadow clone.

A shadow clone of Luis.

It took off instantly.

"You can't tag it yourself," Sera said. "Use your autonomous clones."

Luis summoned three.

"Catch it," he ordered.

They rushed forward.

They failed immediately.

The shadow clone ducked past one, leapt over another, and sent the third crashing into a wall. It moved like it already knew where they would be.

Luis was able to see everything clearly because the walls would become transparent whenever the clones went behind an obstacle.

Again.

Luis summoned them again. Ordered them faster. Louder.

Again, they failed.

One was too slow. One overcommitted. One hesitated because Luis hesitated in giving it another command.

Luis also realised another thing during the first two failures.

Firstly, when Luis first summons the clones before they are formed he can give them a mental command. They form with a goal already installed in them.

After they form, if Luis wants to give them another command he will have to use more aura. As Luis thinks of a command, his aura gets used.

Secondly the amount of aura used is different depending on the way the command happens.

If Luis speaks or shouts less aura is used from Luis, while if Luis mentally thinks of the command more aura is used.

Luis's shield flickered as he was lost in thought.

"Focus!" Sera said.

Luis gritted his teeth.

Again.

This time he tried micromanaging. Shouting corrections mid-run. Forcing adjustments.

The result was worse.

The clones tangled with each other. One dissolved completely. The shadow clone escaped without effort.

Minutes passed.

Sweat burned his eyes. His arm throbbed from holding the shield steady. His aura wavered, thinning before he forced it back into place.

This is stupid.

The clones instinctively moved like Luis but when Luis tried micromanaging they would rather follow his command than follow the instinctual instinct in them.

Which led to them clashing with each other.

Although Luis did notice something else. Luis was slowly starting to remember the way the shadow clone moved and this memory would go in the clones the next time they formed.

Taking a deep breath

Luis stopped the clones from chasing.

Stopped issuing rushed commands.

Instead, he watched.

The shadow clone didn't move randomly.

It reacted.

It exploited openings.

Luis's eyes tracked the paths. The pillars. The dead ends.

"Trap, not chase." he muttered to himself.

He summoned three clones again.

"Don't chase," he said slowly. "Take positions."

One clone climbed upward. Another moved to block a narrow corridor. The third stayed still waiting.

The shadow clone hesitated.

Just for a heartbeat.

It changed direction.

Straight into a closed path.

Luis stepped forward on his platform watching, shield still infused, aura steady despite his exhaustion.

"Now."

The clones moved not fast, but deliberately.

The shadow clone tried to escape.

There was nowhere left.

It dissolved.

Luis froze.

His breathing was heavy. His arm burned. But the shield remained stable.

For the first time since training started, it didn't flicker.

"…I get it now," Luis muttered.

Sera's voice echoed calmly.

"Again."

Luis smiled tiredly.

This time, there was no frustration in it.

Only focus.

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