Previously

“I can’t fall behind now,” Arthur whispered to himself. He adjusted his posture, fine-tuning the control of his powers and this time, he decided to think.

Basically, he needed to be as calm as possible, and focus, right? But, how could he do something like that? It was one thing to be calm, but to focus at the same time as well? Not to mention, if this was really what was required of him to manipulate light, he wouldn’t be able to fight very well due to how chaotic his future battles would be.

It was then that Arthur had a thought. Perhaps he was looking at this the wrong way? Why was it that everytime he felt that ‘burpy’ feeling coming out of him, he always felt. . . a little empty? Like that burpy thing had no will inside it.

Arthur snapped his fingers. “I was going about it the opposite way!” Excitedly, Arthur decided to go about the process with the emotion part first, and the imagination part second.

‘Be calm and focus.’ Arthur calmed himself down, and when his breathing slowed down, he imagined again, an orb of light that would light up the place to come true.

He willed it. And, this time, when that burpy thing came out of him, it felt much, much happier and ‘filled’.

SHIIIING!

“-What the fuck?!” Lily screamed out, wondering what on earth was going on, and looked behind her to see that there seemed to be a floating orb of light in the middle of the room?

Before she could say anything however, Arthur quickly cut in with a scream. “LET’S GO!”

Lily plugged her ears with her fingers, scowling. “. . .Let me guess, you managed to break through to the next stage?”

Arthur looked at her, swirling his finger down like he was turning the brightness of his phone down and the orb of light dimmed. “Huh? I wish. No, I’m just happy that after hours of racking my brain, I came to the conclusion that I was a dumbass.”

“Took you long enough,” Lily grinned.

“You little-” Arthur held his hands out like he was using the force to choke her. “Anyway, how’s it going at your end?”

“It’s going good, or at least it would have,” Lily scowled and gripped her broom tightly. “If this damn broom worked with me!”

“Woah, woah, calm down, no need to break the broom. He didn’t do anything to suffer such an end,” Arthur joked but seeing the grim look on Lily’s face, he turned serious. “So, what exactly is wrong again?”

“It’s just-” Lily gripped the broom so tightly Arthur heard cracks, before she relented, and let out a sigh. “Whenever I’m activating the skill, the swordsmanship or whatever, it’s like I’m possessed - like I can see how I’m supposed to move, where one of my leg is supposed to be, and how my core should be at a certain time.”

“From what I can see, you were moving like an olympic medalist, so I’d say you got that part down,” Arthur said.

Lily rustled her hair. “That’s because that part’s not the problem. The part that’s the problem is when I see those visions, they all end with the weapon - my ‘sword’ being highlighted in some sort of grey-silverish. . .smoky-”

“Aura?” Arthur cut in.

Lily’s eyes widened. “Yes, that! Wait...how do you know that?”

Arthur smiled, before pointing at Lily’s body. “It’s been around your body since a while ago. Honestly, I thought it was just steam but then I remembered that you’re a human, not a titan.”

Arthur could see the tick on Lily’s head, but she decided to shake it off.

“Yes, anyway, that aura thing is giving me a kick in the nuts not that I have any,” Lily glared at Arthur, daring him to come up with a witty comment. When she saw that he just settled for a smirk, she continued, “See, whenever I get to the ending of how I’m supposed to move and it’s time to for me to ‘imbue’ my ‘aura’ into my sword or this broom that I’m holding, something keeps blocking me off!”

“I don’t know, sis, I didn’t see any problem with your aura, from where I’m standing,” Arthur said, casually but then he could see the light-bulb popping up above her head.

“Of course!” Lily replied. “It wasn’t my aura that was the problem, it was my weapon! The broom must be considered ‘unworthy’ to handle my divine aura which must be why-Got it!”

Then, Lily decided to run straight into the kitchen.

“Looks like you figured it out.”  Arthur just decided to smile, before turning back to the orb of light still floating before him.

Arthur experimented with different ways to manipulate the light. He tried shaping it into intricate patterns, forming shields of radiance, and even attempting to project beams of focused illumination. Some attempts were more successful than others, but through trial and error, he began to understand the nuances of his power.

They continued to train, pushing the boundaries of their skills, learning from each success and setback. Lily's broom danced with increasing grace, as she incorporated intricate footwork and swift slashes into her divine swordsmanship. Arthur's light manipulation blossomed, as he conjured dazzling light constructs and manipulated them with precision.

Through trial and error, they gained a deeper understanding of their powers. They discovered the nuances and limitations of their skills, honing their instincts and mastering the control over their abilities. Each moment of practice brought them closer to unlocking the full potential of their respective powers.

***

After four hours of relentless training, Arthur and Lily found themselves in a living room filled with a mix of excitement and exhaustion. The air crackled with the energy of their newfound abilities as they marveled at their progress.

Arthur, holding a radiant orb of light in his palm, studied its intricate details. "Lily, look at this," he exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement. "I can shape the light into different forms! Bet you can't do that~"

With a flick of his wrist, the orb elongated and transformed into a gleaming sword. He swung it through the air, leaving trails of shimmering light in its wake. "It's incredible, Lil. I can create and manipulate light like never before."

"Whatever," Lily replied with a roll of her eyes, before swinging her broom again, this time cutting the air in half.

"Woah," Arthur whistled. "You reach Adept mastery yet on the skill?"

Lily glanced at the couch that had been cut in half.

"Guess you have," Arthur chuckled, a mixture of pride and amusement in his voice. “But I thought you said something about how your broom was unworthy to handle your aura or something?”

“That was back when my skill was in the novice rank,” Lily said, before smiling. “I. .  .Don’t you feel-”

“Overpowering now that we’ve broken through to the [Adept] rank for our skill?” Arthur cut in with a smile. “Of course. I mean, just a few hours ago, I didn’t know what or how to use my skill and now, I’m able to do things like this.”

With a snap of his fingers, and an enforcement of his will, light bent and transformed from a sword into a spear which started to spin around him, before Arthur grabbed onto it with a glow of his eyes. “It’s weird though. Don’t you think we might be progressing a little too fast?”

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