Hello this is the author, I thought I'll just take a minute to clarify as one of my friends texted me on insta asking about the magic system and they were confused. You can either give some time to the book and slowly you'll come to understand the intricacies of the magic system or you can read a simplified explanation down below .
So there are two (known as of yet) magic systems
1. The way of zenith or the way
Works by taking control of an energy called Soma. Soma is an energy made up of the three elements - satwa , rajas and tama . You use these three elements to form patterns of the chakra you want to open. And at every rank advancement you can open a chakra that gives you abilities related to that chakra.
Rank 1. Apprentice a body that can perform better than humans , coordination, strong bones and abilities of the chakra you opened
Rank2 . Wielder . Someone who can wield soma to enhance either a weapon they wield or there preferred fighting style. And the abilities of the chakra you opened and a combination of your previous chakra and the new one. Which is why choosing what chakra to open first decides the kind of path you're going to walk
Rank 3 . Master . Mastered the use of soma , can project it outside in weapons or directly three chakras together give you a special ability.
And so on...
2. Mage path
Works by taking control of an energy called trina. It mostly works like this
Rank 1 initiate - coming to understand your elemental affinity unconsciously guiding those elements.
Rank 2 magico - taking control of the elements and bending them to your will. Which comes from understanding the rules you were born with , and the more rules you have of one element the better you will be at it.
Rank 3 scholar - here's where things starts to get interesting, so you've understood the rules in your body now you try understanding the rules outside and the way you see these rules decides your scholar path. So the limits of your capability is your perspective on the world. Like mouna , bellerophons' family mage is a scholar of assymetry.
And so on.
Obviously it's not as simple, but this is the framework, there are a lot of things I've left out because they're part of the plot but other than that you can expect this to be how the progression works.