The wall Vernon felt previously, had disappeared.
Maybe because of the change in his perspective on magic, or maybe because Caelan had done so purposefully.
It wasn't just a thing to wrap your head around easily, contrary to that it felt even more confusing.
Caelan emerged from air, clearly showing off Infront of Bruce.
Vernon met eyes with him, "Caelan!"
Caelan smirked locking onto Null.
"Good morning Vernon," He glanced at him. "Did you rest well?"
"Slept like a baby." Vernon replied.
Bruce looked at the building, it reminded him of Selene.
That feeling that something feels as if its there but isn't.
The same misty feeling.
"My name is Bruce." Bruce met eyes with Caelan, instantly trying to gauge something impossible.
Caelan looked amused, "And i am Caelan."
"So.." Caelan continued. "What is the reason for the sudden visit Null?"
"Joint 'training'," Null fired almost instantly. "Ahem. It would be more efficient."
Caelan thought about it for a second, clearly debating.
"I'm down, seems like fun." He grinned.
And Null got shivers as clear as day.
"Then lets not waste time and begin." Caelan said. "Lets see.."
Caelan pointed at Bruce.
"What stage are you?"
"Me?" Bruce looked at the finger.
Vernon looked away.
Null couldnt find a way to react, just stared.
Bruce frowned and sighed.
"ahem.. stage 3, I've felt myself almost advance a few times but i just can't do it."
Caelan glanced at Vernon, "I should have asked yesterday, but what stage are you?"
Vernon kind of paused.
"Second Stage.." He muttered.
Caelan got a bit closer, "Sorry, didn't hear you."
Vernon sighed, "The second stage."
Vernon looked down, "I haven't really gotten 'stimulation' to grow further."
"Stimulation?" Caelan asked, "That's something you require in late stages."
Vernon hesitated for a second.
"But my mother's notes said otherwise, or at least when using her circulation."
Caelan rubbed his chin.
"Have you heard of assisted circulation?" Caelan asked.
Vernon glanced at him, he went back to the notes he'd studied-every page, every diagram his mother had left behind. Every explanation left by her.
He went through them again.
Quickly.
Carefully.
Nothing.
"...I haven't."
Caelan blinked.
Not confused-more like caught off guard.
"...You haven't?" he repeated, studying Vernon a bit more closely now.
A short silence followed before he asked,
"How were you able to gather your mana?"
Vernon looked at him, clearly puzzled now.
"...What do you mean?"
There was a brief pause, like he was trying to figure out what part didn't make sense.
"I learned to circulate mana through my mother's notes."
That only made Caelan's expression shift further.
Not disbelief.
Something closer to concern.
Before he could respond, Null stepped in.
"That's not how it works," he said flatly. "You can't just learn circulation and have it function properly from the start."
Vernon's gaze flicked toward him.
Null continued, more deliberate now.
"There has to be something that starts it. A trigger. Something that forces your pathways open and clears the impurities blocking the flow."
He tapped lightly against his own chest.
"Otherwise, it just... doesn't move."
"I'm aware of the impurities part," Vernon replied, a slight edge slipping into his voice now. "But I've never had anything like that happen."
A pause.
Then, quieter-
"...Apart from that one time."
Bruce turned his head immediately.
"You mean that time you had to break through to stop that rampage like feeling?" he asked. "Right, Vern?"
Vernon didn't answer straight away.
For a second, his expression tightened-just slightly, but enough to notice.
"...Yeah."
The word came out more muted than before.
Like he didn't really want to linger on it.
Bruce studied him for a moment longer.
"You looked like you were dying back then," he added, more serious now. "Your whole body locked up. You couldn't even move properly."
Vernon exhaled quietly through his nose.
"I remember."
Fragments of it surfaced without him meaning to.
That pressure.
That suffocating, crawling sensation under his skin.
Like something was trying to move-
And couldn't.
"I just... pushed through it," he said, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than anyone else.
Null frowned slightly.
"'Pushed through it' doesn't clear impurities," he muttered.
Caelan hadn't spoken.
Not yet.
He was watching Vernon carefully now, eyes narrowed just enough to show he was thinking.
Processing.
Reconstructing something piece by piece.
"...When that happened," Caelan finally said, "did anything feel different afterwards?"
Vernon hesitated.
That question-
That one lingered.
"...I don't know," he admitted after a second. "It just... stopped."
"Stopped?" Caelan echoed.
"The feeling," Vernon clarified. "Like something was blocking everything. It just disappeared after that."
Another pause.
He added, more quietly,
"And after that... circulating got easier."
"Sound got incredibly loud."
That was when both Caelan and Null went silent.
Not confused this time.
Certain.
Because that-
That sounded like forced purification.
With something happening behind it.
Except-
No one had been there to do it.
Null clicked his tongue softly, crossing his arms.
"...That shouldn't be possible."
Caelan didn't respond to that.
His gaze was still on Vernon.
Sharpening.
"...Interesting," he muttered under his breath.
There was a hint of something else in his expression.
"I have a few other ideas too." Null said after a short exhale.
"There is something like a 'perfect vessel.' It's pretty rare... but people who don't accumulate impurities do exist."
Null paused, like he didn't fully believe what he was saying himself, before his gaze shifted toward Vernon.
"He could be one of them."
Silence followed.
Not short.
Not comfortable.
Just enough to let that idea sit there.
Bruce broke it first.
"...That's it?" he asked, raising a brow. "I thought you said 'a few,' not one."
Null clicked his tongue softly, clearly not satisfied with his own explanation.
"Eh-right."
Caelan stepped in, picking up where he left off.
"There are other possibilities," he said, his tone more measured now. "Someone could have cleared the impurities for him... and he just doesn't remember it happening."
Vernon's brows knit slightly at that.
"...I think I'd remember something like that."
"Not necessarily," Caelan replied. "If it was done when you were young-or by someone far stronger than you-you might not have even been aware of it."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"Some high-level mages pass down refined mana to their children. Small amounts, but pure enough to take root early and influence development."
Null nodded faintly, adding on,
"Or... his mother could've had a leaking core. Mana spilling out without control. 9 months would have naturally been enough, it could've affected him then."
Vernon's expression shifted slightly at the mention of his mother, but he didn't say anything.
Again, that quiet settled in.
Not empty this time.
Thinking.
Weighing.
Null scratched the back of his head, exhaling.
"...There really is only one way to know."
That was enough to pull Vernon out of it.
His curiosity finally pushed past the hesitation.
"And that is?"
Caelan looked directly at him.
"Let me examine you."
A small pause.
"Properly."
Vernon held his gaze.
"...Examine how?"
"By letting my mana flow with yours," Caelan said. "Assisted circulation. The thing I mentioned earlier."
That didn't immediately ease anything.
If anything, Vernon looked more unsure.
His eyes drifted to the side-
Landing on Bruce.
Bruce shrugged.
Just like that.
Vernon stared at him, completely blank.
< What a great help. >
"It won't hurt you," Caelan added, catching the hesitation. "And I'm not taking anything from you. This is just observation. It will allow me to see if there are any issues even as far as checking your health condition"
Vernon rubbed his temple, letting out a slow breath.
"...Alright."
A small pause.
"...Then how do we do this?"
Caelan didn't waste time. He stepped around behind Vernon, positioning himself without hesitation.
One hand settled on Vernon's lower back.
The other rested against the nape of his neck.
Vernon tensed slightly at the contact, his shoulders tightening before he forced them to relax again.
"Just circulate your mana," Caelan said calmly. "I'll handle the rest."
Vernon frowned faintly.
"It's really that simple?"
"Yes. Start whenever you're comfortable."
Vernon let out a quiet breath, closing his eyes.
He tried not to focus on the fact someone was standing directly behind him, hands placed like that. Tried not to think about how aware he was of it.
Still-
He adjusted.
Slowly letting the tension leave his body.
Breathing steadied.
Focus sharpened.
Then he began.
Off to the side, Null leaned slightly toward Bruce, lowering his voice.
"You want me to check you after?"
Bruce raised an eyebrow, glancing at him.
"That's possible? It's not mana exclusive?"
Null gave a quiet scoff.
"It's universal. Doesn't matter what kind of energy you use."
Bruce smirked faintly.
"I'm always open to new experiences."
Null scoffed whilst grinning under his breath.
"Right. Then lets wait for our turn."
Bruce let out a quiet breath, folding his arms as his attention shifted back to Vernon.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see what happens."
And just like that-
All of their focus settled on him.
Not even a few seconds passed before it began.
At first, it was faint.
Barely noticeable.
Then it spread.
An invisible, spiralling sensation pushed outward from Vernon, expanding into the space around him like a slow, controlled vortex. It didn't disturb anything physically, but it was felt-like the air itself had started to move with intent.
Each inhale Vernon took only strengthened it.
Tightened it.
And the cause-
Was Caelan.
To match the mismatched mana in Vernon's circulation, Caelan couldn't rely on his own mana. It wouldn't align, wouldn't blend. And forcing it would only cause rejection and damage.
So instead, he drew from the surroundings.
Ambient mana.
Unclaimed. Unrefined.
He pulled it in, shaped it, forced it into rhythm-adjusting it again and again until it began to move in sync with Vernon's flow.
That was the foundation of assisted circulation.
Not intrusion.
Alignment.
Due to the differences in how people circulate their energy, the third party has to let themselves be consumed to a certain extent.
There are multiple ways people circulate energy.
Rings, cores, vessels, or even using their whole body as a whole.
Its universal for each energy since they take inspiration from each other. In some cases even becoming relative through style.
Each has its own pros and cons to show for itself.
Vernon used "vessel-ing". His mothers technique in circulation - The technique was weaving a pattern around an organ and using the empty space within to use as refinement space and storage, although it was heavily modified to fit him.
However Caelan has studied enough in all styles that he can become accustomed easily, making exploration and cleaning easier.
From Bruce's perspective it seemed like everything was distorting around them.
"That's assisted circulation?" Bruce glanced towards Null.
Null nodded, "Why? you scared?"
Bruce scoffed but didn't answer.
On the other side Caelan was in awe.
< ...It's incredible. >
< His body is completely clear... and I'm still only at the surface. >
Most examinations like this started with resistance.
Impurities clogging pathways, disrupting flow, forcing the examiner to slow down and carefully push through, making it difficult to grow accustomed to the flow.
Vernon had none of that.
There was no resistance.
No turbulence.
Nothing to "fix" on entry.
It was... smooth.
Too smooth.
Slowly but surely, Vernon reached the peak of his circulation. His breathing steadied into a near-perfect rhythm, his focus locking in completely.
This level of concentration was normal for him.
But to someone like Null-watching from the outside-it was absurd.
Null struggled to maintain focus during his own circulation half the time.
Vernon, as he was now, looked like he could fall asleep mid-process and still maintain it flawlessly.
Caelan adjusted again.
Refining the ambient mana further, aligning himself more precisely until-
Finally-
He found it.
The rhythm.
From there, he began to move.
Carefully.
Not forcing entry, but letting himself be carried along Vernon's circulation, slipping through the pathways as if he belonged there.
The time difference outside and inside was different too, so Caelan could take his time without worrying that its getting late.
The difference being to about 1 second inside being 1/20th of a second outside.
exploration was time consuming due to it being kind of like a labyrinth.
Each pathway stretched from a vessel, these pathways could tangle or join together and create paths that lead to nothing or lead straight to the vessel.
Even travelling through just a single pathway could take upwards of a couple of minutes. Depending on the size of the vessel it could be faster but could be easier to get lost.
For this reason Caelan leaves a "rope" of ambient mana, this is just general practise for people who have already experienced assisted circulation once. Without a rope where someone can find their way back it commits a forceful termination, this means that all the mana would rush backwards and could lead to broken arms or even damaged pathways although the latter is uncommon to happen.
And after about 45 minutes of searching (2m 15s outside), he approached the first vessel.
The heart.
Almost immediately after he started approaching it, his eyes narrowed slightly.
< ...I can feel it already? >
That wasn't normal at-least not for the level that Vernon mentioned he is at.
At this stage, at this distance, a vessel should've been faint-difficult to pinpoint without fully entering.
But Vernon's wasn't.
The rotation alone made it obvious.
Clear.
Sharp.
Alive.
< The speed... >
< It's not just fast. It's refined. >
The faster a vessel circulated, the more efficiently it gathered, refined, and stored energy. Speed without control meant instability.
But this-
This was controlled.
Perfectly.
Just from the sensation alone, Caelan could tell-
Vernon's circulation was on par with his own.
Maybe even surpassing it.
A faint grin formed on his face.
The potential Vernon now held Infront of Caelan has sky rocketed.
But it didn't last.
Because something else caught his attention.
At first, it was subtle.
Easy to miss.
But the further he ventured, the clearer it became.
There was something else there.
Resting beside the vessel, his heart.
Not interfering.
Not clashing.
Just... existing.
It's warm.
And gentle.
Almost protective.
It didn't feel foreign in an aggressive way-there was no rejection, no hostility-but it wasn't part of Vernon's natural flow either.
It sat just slightly outside of it.
Like something placed there.
Or left behind.
< ...What is that? >
Caelan focused on it more carefully.
And for a brief moment-
There was something else beneath it.
Faint.
So faint it almost blended into nothing.
A slight distortion in the flow.
Not enough to disrupt anything.
Not enough to cause harm.
But enough to feel... off.
Like a ripple that shouldn't exist in something this clean.
It disappeared just as quickly as he noticed it.
He just couldn't grasp it properly.
He didn't stop.
If anything, his curiosity deepened.
Shifting his path, he moved through a pathway upward. Guiding himself through his chest to his nape and finally toward the next vessel.
More carefully this time.
More aware.
Caelan observed the way the pathways were constructed, The way they are constructed tells a lot more than most thing would. The further he travelled away from the heart the more narrow the pathways became.
This allowed Caelan to deduct a few speculations before even approaching the next vessel, Because of the distance between the two vessels, Vernon who was inexperienced didn't understand one of the basics and ended up blocking his growth through incorrect construction, that construction refereeing to speed of his next vessel, and due to the speed being slow the few pathways that connected to one another was scarce and became the reason for the lack of growth.
The other reason being simply the lack of knowledge, the lack of having someone there to explain even the most simplest things had become the reason he had been in-able to proceed further. Meaning that if he had someone to guide him he would have been able to be someone who would be known through out the continent due to his talent and potential alone.
Caelan gave just a slight push from outside, propelling him forward and since he was riding the flow any chance of hurting Vernon didn't exist.
And the difference hit almost instantly.
< ...Slower. >
He felt the difference just from approaching again.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
Enough to matter.
Once Caelan found himself in front of vessel, he confirmed his theory.
The upper vessel rotated at a noticeably lower speed, its flow stable but lacking the intensity of the one below.
< That's the issue. >
For proper growth, vessels needed to operate within a compatible range-close enough in speed to resonate with each other.
To connect.
To share flow.
Vernon's vessels were at an okay distance but its speed lacking meant that the lower vessel surged ahead, refining and storing at an overwhelming rate, while the upper one lagged just behind the threshold needed to establish that connection properly.
Because of that-
There was little to no bridge between them.
No unified flow.
Progression simply... stopped.
Caelan exhaled quietly.
< Found it. >
Though-
That faint disturbance from earlier lingered in the back of his mind.
Unclear.
Unconfirmed.
But not forgotten.
Slowly, he began to withdraw.
Following the "rope", he found his way down to his heart.
Releasing his control over the ambient mana, allowing it to disperse naturally back into the surroundings. He retraced the rest of his path carefully, making sure not to disrupt Vernon's flow on the way out.
The vortex faded first.
Once fully dispersed, his hands lifted from Vernon.
The air stilled.
Caelan's hands retreated.
And with that Vernon opened his eyes and turned around slowly.
Caelan stretched, and laughed.
Bruce didn't waste a single second, "I'm next!" he exclaimed the excitement clearly not even being contained.
Vernon's eyes met Caelan's, "You didn't tell me it would feel like eternity."
Vernon slouched as he spoke.
"Right.. sorry, it has been a while since i've done this so i forgot to mention that." Caelan rubbed his chin while grinning. "But you have an interesting body." Caelan continued.
"And I've found several interesting things i need to teach you about."
"'Interesting body'? That sounds like you've been exploring every nook and cranny.."
Vernon looked at Caelan with suspicion buried in his eyes.
Caelan laughed, "No no, only your vessels and pathways, I'm not interested in anything else." Caelan said whilst gesturing dismissively
Caelan and Vernon glanced back toward Null and Bruce.
Already doing the same thing with the same position.
Vernon sighed whilst Caelan laughed.
"Ahem. So...? What is it you found out?" Vernon asked curiosity getting the better of him.
Caelan grinned, "Oh~ But it would be impolite to disrupt them.. So! I'll tell you after they finish, we shouldn't disrupt them."
"After all they didn't disrupt us.
Vernon frowned, "..Fine."