Kael stood at the center of the floating stone platform, sweat dripping from his brow. The sub-dimensional winds swirled violently around him as Raizen watched from a few feet away, arms crossed, cloak fluttering with the energy in the air.
"Today," Raizen said, "we're moving on. You've learned to Phase Warp your limbs. Now… you'll learn to grasp."
Kael's fingers twitched. "Grasp?"
Raizen nodded. "To warp others. People. Weapons. Objects. Whether to save them… or to send them away."
Kael's eyes narrowed with curiosity.
Raizen gestured, and a massive slab of stone—twice Kael's height—rose from the platform.
"I want you to warp this boulder ten feet in front of you. No slicing, no breaking it down. The entire mass."
Kael took a breath and stepped forward, hands out. He focused on the invisible pressure between dimensions—the same force he touched before. But this time, he had to anchor something else into it.
Find the object's shape. Feel its presence. Then wrap it in your Will and pull it through…
He closed his eyes. The boulder began to hum faintly with energy. A flicker. A shimmer. The surface distorted like heat rising off pavement.
"Good," Raizen said, his voice calm but sharp. "Now pull."
Kael strained. His veins pulsed with Will as the stone's edges flickered—then warped—and vanished.
CRACK!
The boulder slammed into the platform ten feet away with a heavy thud, stirring wind and dust.
Kael collapsed to one knee, panting.
Raizen smirked. "Sloppy. But effective."
Kael chuckled between gasps. "You're really bad at compliments, old man."
Raizen didn't deny it. Instead, he snapped his fingers, summoning three smaller stones into the air. "Now do it again. All three. At once."
Kael's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
Raizen's gaze didn't budge. "In battle, there won't be time to warp one thing at a time. If your friends are falling… if a mountain is crashing down on a village… you must be able to handle everything."
Kael wiped the sweat from his face and stood up, facing the floating stones. His mind raced, but he centered himself. He had to learn this. There was no other option.
As he focused again, the three stones began to shimmer with unstable energy…
But behind them, Raizen watched silently—not just as a teacher now, but as a grandfather watching his bloodline awaken something ancient… something only he had once mastered.
And the lesson had only just begun.