Eden stared at the light for a long moment, committing this feeling to memory. Then, following Lumi’s earlier instructions, he carefully released the mana and let the spell dissipate.

The light faded, leaving the normal ambient illumination of the library.

"How do you feel?" Lumi asked.

"Tired." Eden admitted. "But amazing. That was incredible."

Lumi smiled. "Good. Rest for a moment, then we’ll practice it a few more times to get you used to forming spells."

What neither of them had considered, however, was that the bond was a two-way street.

Just as Eden had felt Sol’s hunger earlier, Sol had felt Eden manipulating his mana throughout the entire training session.

The phoenix had experienced every step. The sensing of ambient mana. The internal flow. The channeling into the wand. The compression. The release.

And as Eden learned, Sol was learning. The phoenix understood, on an instinctive level, what Eden had just accomplished. Eden was training, so how could he sit here and do nothing? An Imperial Phoenix like itself must perform!

That is, Sol wanted to do it too. The small creature shifted in Eden’s lap, then hopped down onto the floor.

"Sol?" Eden looked down, curious about what his partner was doing.

Sol spread its wings slightly, flames dancing across the feathers. The phoenix tilted its head back, opened its beak, and concentrated.

Fire began to gather.

Eden was instantly startled. "Wait, WAIT, Sol, are you-".

The fireball launched from Sol’s beak, shooting across the room and exploding against the stone wall with a loud BOOM. A scorch mark appeared on the wooden walls.

Everyone froze.

Then the silence broke.

"Holy-" Eden stared at his phoenix in disbelief.

"That was Sol’s first spell." Lumi said, impressed. What level was Sol, anyways? Lumi checked through the system.

[Sol: Level 9]

Lumi lightly smiled. The phoenix was born today. The fact it was nearly as strong as Eden, a human who had lived fourteen years, was almost ridiculous to think of.

Merath, who had been working in another section, immediately appeared. "What happened? I heard an explosion."

Lena rushed over as well, her eyes wide. "Did someone attack? Who am I killing!?" She blinked. Wait wait, I don’t need to kill anyone. Merath is here!"

"What?" Eden blinked.

"No, no." Lumi put a hand up, calming them. He gestured at Sol, who was looking extremely proud of itself. "Sol just cast its first spell."

They all looked at the small phoenix, then at the scorch mark on the wall. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Are you serious?" Lena asked.

"Completely serious." Lumi confirmed.

Merath examined the scorch mark, then looked at Sol with new respect. "Impressive. Most magical creatures take months to perform their first conscious spell. Sol managed it in hours."

Eden scooped up his phoenix carefully. "You’re amazing, buddy. That was incredible!"

Sol chirped happily, clearly pleased with the praise.

"Did you feel that coming through the bond?" Lumi asked Eden.

Eden shook his head. "Not really. I mean, I felt Sol doing something, but I didn’t realize it was preparing a spell."

"The bond will become clearer over time." Lumi assured him. "Eventually, you’ll be able to sense Sol’s intentions before he acts."

Lena leaned in close to Sol. "You’re such a talented little guy! Yes you are! Yes you are!"

Sol preened under the attention.

Lena grinned. "Soon, you’ll be able to-" She stopped herself, and backed off a step. "I should not finish my sentence."

Eden couldn’t help but smile. Despite everything that had happened today, despite all the overwhelming changes and responsibilities, this moment felt right.

He and Sol, learning together. Growing together.

Maybe Lena had been right earlier. Maybe this really would make everything bearable. He was starting to feel attached to Sol, was starting to feel comfortable as Lumi’s disciple, and as the days went on... he might really get used to his new role.

...

While Lumi had been teaching Eden, Lena approached Merath’s workspace.

The ancient magician had cleared a large wooden table and was laying out materials in careful arrangements. Crystals, metal ingots, tools, and various alchemical components were being organized into specific patterns.

"May I watch?" Lena asked.

Merath glanced at her, his expression skeptical. "You may. But don’t disturb my work."

"I won’t." Lena promised.

She’d heard that one before. Most people who claimed they wanted to watch and learn ended up chatting endlessly or asking questions at the worst possible moments. Still, he supposed there was no harm in letting her observe.

Lena positioned herself to the side, careful not to block his.

Merath picked up the first mana crystal, holding it up to examine its internal structure. Lena’s eyes tracked the movement.

He set it down and reached for a silver ingot. Lena’s gaze followed his hand.

When he pulled out a measurement tool to check the ingot’s purity, Lena leaned slightly closer to see the readings without getting in his way.

Metal turned white hot under the power of Merath’s magic, and he deformed and bent it into a ring shape in accordance to a set of specific measurements.

Once it cooled, Merath began inscribing a rune on the ring band. He did not use his hand, instead, the metallic tool was held up and controlled remotely with his magic. The rune glowed faintly as magical energy was imbued into the metal.

Lena shifted her position slightly to get a better viewing angle of the pattern. She said nothing. She just watched.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen.

Lena hadn’t spoken once, nor asked a single question. She simply observed with intense focus.

Merath found himself impressed despite his initial skepticism. Most people would have lost interest within minutes and left. Or, at least gotten distracted and stopped paying close attention. This girl had been watching silently for a quarter of an hour.

Twenty minutes in, he decided to test her attention.

"You’re paying close attention." Merath commented, not looking up from his work.

"Yes." Lena replied. "I’m learning. I’m trying. I don’t know what I can do with this knowledge, but I’m trying my best."