The valley was still damp with morning mist when Raizen arrived. His feet were bare against the cool earth, his breath already quick from half-running, half-tumbling down the ridge. The world smelled of pine and wet stone, the air sharp with the tang of dew.
And there she was.
Lady Ardyn stood at the same spot as yesterday, her dark robes hanging loose, her hands folded neatly behind her back. She looked as though she had been waiting for hours, though the sun had barely touched the treetops.
"You're early," she said, voice calm but carrying the faintest curl of amusement.
"I thought…" Raizen paused, scratching at the back of his neck. "I thought maybe if I came sooner, I'd learn faster."
One brow arched delicately. "Eagerness is admirable. But it can also be dangerous."
Raizen grinned despite himself. "Then maybe I'll just be dangerously eager."
For the first time, Ardyn allowed a small chuckle to escape, a soft sound quickly buried under her composed silence.
They began with words, not training. Raizen found himself asking questions almost without thinking.
"What's the world like? Beyond the valley, I mean. I've heard stories—empires, mountains as tall as the sky, beasts that can swallow whole villages—but I've never seen anything." Raizen sighed looking dejected.
Ardyn's gaze flickered briefly toward the horizon, as if the thought of those distant lands carried weight. "The world is wide," she said. "Wider than your imagination allows. There are empires where the spires of their palaces touch the clouds, where rulers command storms and rivers as easily as breathing. There are seas black as ink, filled with creatures that remember times before men. And yes… there are beasts that could swallow your village whole."
Raizen's eyes widened. "And you've seen all this?"
Her lips curved, though her eyes gave nothing away. "I have walked more roads than you have dreamed of. But every journey begins the same way—with a single step. Yours has only just begun."
Raizen's sparks flared briefly at his fingertips excitedly. "Then I'll take those steps. One after another. I'll see it all."
Ardyn studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. 'So much fire in one so young,' she thought. 'And yet, fire untended consumes itself.'
After spending almost an hour satisfying Raizen's curiosity she extended her hand, palm open and said. "Let's get started. Show me your spark. Call your energy, let it gather in your hand. Do not force it. Do not chase it. Simply invite it."
Raizen nodded, closing his eyes. He focused, imagining the way the storm inside him always built in his chest. A flicker of lightning answered, snapping at his palm, crackling with wild energy. He grinned, opening his eyes only for the spark to sputter and vanish in a burst of smoke causing his grin to fade
Ardyn narrowed her eyes watching patiently as the lightning appeared and disappeared like an illusion. She shook her head lightly and said. "Try again."
Raizen nodded then clenched his fists and tried to call upon it again. Sparks leapt, bright and sharp, but his grip was too tight, his will too rigid. The energy cracked violently, biting his skin. He hissed, shaking his hand.
He had wanted to perform well in front of his teacher but just like every other time he messed up and even hurt himself in the process
However lady ardyn didn't care about that. After observing Raizen just now, she finally understood what he was doing wrong. Her voice was calm but stern as she said.
"Energy is not a beast to be chained. It is a current. You must let it flow where it will, while guiding it with intention. Again."
Raizen frowned, his jaw tight. Not a beast… a current. He tried again, slower this time, breathing steady.
He tried envisioning it just as she said, he focused. Rather than forcing the energy out like he always did he decided to guide it instead letting it flow out by itself. A first nothing happened but after almost a minute he first a light sting in his palm followed by the crackling of electricity.
He opened his eyes slowly to see sparks dancing between his fingers, it was livelier than before. He had been trying for over three years but had never managed to get it past the initial level.
The spark however lasted only a few seconds before disappearing.
After trying and failing a few more times he finally managed to make it last longer. Sparks danced in his palm—still unstable, but steadier than before.
'Amazing' His electric blue eyes sparkled as he observed the electricity crackling around his palm like a snake.
Lady ardyn studied the electricity coiling around in Raizen's palm and nodded, satisfied. "Better. "Not perfect. But better."
Raizen's grin returned, stubborn and bright. He was finally making progress.
Ardyn looked at him, and though her expression was as composed as ever, something softened in her chest. Such persistence… It reminds me of someone I once knew.
As Raizen repeated the exercise, sweat forming at his brow, Ardyn allowed herself a quiet moment of reflection.
She never had no intention of stopping here. She was just passing through, nothing more. Then she stumbled upon the boy fighting the wolf—foolish, reckless, untrained—but in the end he won. She didn't know how he did it but just that the wolf abyssal energy had collapsed on itself which is strange.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, watching the sparks flare and scatter in his palm. Could it be that lightning isn't his only essence? Could it be a rare essence, one that should have vanished from this world long ago. If the wrong eyes discover him, he will be hunted, used, broken. Should I leave him to his fate? Or… guide him, even if only for a while?
Raizen stumbled, his lightning going out of control breaking her train of thought. He let out a curse, shaking his hand where a spark had burned him. Yet when he looked up, his grin was unbroken. "Again," he said, determination blazing in his eyes.
Ardyn suppressed a sigh. 'Yes. Perhaps I will stay… just a little longer.'
Hours passed. Raizen's sparks grew steadier, lasting longer before scattering. His arms trembled, sweat slicked his back, but he refused to stop.
At last, Ardyn lifted her hand. "Enough."
"But—"
"Enough." Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "Strength does not come from grinding yourself into dust. You will learn nothing if you collapse."
Raizen sighed, shoulders slumping, but obeyed. He dropped to the grass, lying on his back, chest heaving. "You're… harder than the village elder."
"Good," she replied.
Despite his exhaustion, he laughed. The sound echoed against the trees, light and unguarded. Ardyn found herself listening, really listening, in a way she had not done in years.
"Why do you care?" Raizen asked suddenly, turning his head to look at her. His voice was soft, almost vulnerable. "You don't even know me. You could've just… walked away."
Ardyn's eyes lingered on him. For a heartbeat, she considered telling him the truth, that she had been passing through, that she had watched his desperate battle with the wolf, that she had seen the impossible essence stir within him. But she swallowed the words.
Instead, she said, "Perhaps I see something in you worth shaping. Perhaps I am curious. Does it matter?"
Raizen thought about it, then shook his head. "No. Not really. I'm just… glad you didn't walk away."
Something stirred in her chest at that. A feeling she had not expected.
Training ended with the sun climbing low, the mist burned away whatever warmth was left. Raizen pushed himself upright, still smiling despite his trembling arms. Ardyn reached into her robes, pulled out a small flask, and tossed it to him.
He caught it clumsily, blinking. "What's this?"
"Water," she said plainly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Raizen looked at it suspiciously, other than the old man nobody had shown him such kindness. But after remembering that this was the same woman that was teaching him how to control his power. He stopped hesitating and drank greedily, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
"Thanks." He said as he handed her the flask back, his grin returning. "I'll be back tomorrow. Earlier, even."
She nodded and said. "Do not be late."
Raizen laughed, the sound bright against the valley's quiet. He turned and began the climb back to the village, his small figure soon swallowed by trees.
Ardyn remained where she was, her gaze lingering on the path he had taken. Her fingers tightened briefly around the folds of her cloak.
You are reckless. Stubborn. Too bright for your own good. And yet… perhaps that light is exactly what this world needs.
The wind stirred, carrying the faint crackle of lightning that lingered where the boy had stood.
Ardyn closed her eyes. So be it. I will guide you, storm-child. For a time.