Training resumed beneath the soft, eternal glow of the Dawnrise Expanse—the only place in Gaia Paradise where dawn never fully broke, yet never fully faded. Here the world felt suspended between breaths, a perfect balance of quiet warmth and waiting energy.
Vorun stood at the center of the crystalline field, his obsidian staff reflecting prismatic light. "Today," he said, "we shift focus. No sparring. No projection. Today we learn what your bodies truly are."
Dante rolled his shoulders, still adjusting to the low hum of lunar energy that pulsed through him even at rest. "Feels like my body has its own agenda already."
Anarissa brushed a strand of shimmering gold-white hair behind her ear. "Mine reacts before I think. Wings, heat, light—everything responds on instinct."
Lysera approached them with a patient smile. "Exactly why we must intervene now. If your bodies awaken without guidance, you will damage yourselves long before you ever build a Divine Kingdom."
Varael, standing slightly behind her, folded his arms. "Sit."
The twins sat across from each other, the ground beneath them glowing faintly in anticipation. Their mentors formed a loose triangle around them.
Lysera placed her palms a few inches above Dante's chest. "First, breathe."
He obeyed.
Silver-violet mist rose from his skin, drifting upward like moonlit breath on a cold night.
Dante's eyes widened. "I can feel something shifting inside me. Not power… structure."
"That is your Divine Body stirring," Lysera said softly. "Hybrid and ancient. Wolf, human, demonic, angelic, draconic… and something beyond." Her expression warmed. "It recognizes that your mortal avatar has begun growing. And now it prepares to match it."
Varael stepped forward and tapped the ground.
A pulse of energy radiated outward, passing through Dante like a low thunder roll.
His back arched. Fur shimmered along his forearms and shoulders. His ears sharpened to lupine points. The third eye etched into his brow flickered open, slicing the air with a thin ribbon of violet perception.
Dante gasped. "Everything feels… closer. More real."
"The Primordial Wolf King essence," Varael said, circling him. "It will always be the first to awaken. It governs instinct, evolution, and lunar resonance. Do not resist it. Guide it."
Vorun lifted his staff. "Good. Now we stabilize it."
He tapped the staff against the ground. Lunar light spiraled upward, wrapping Dante in a cocoon of silver and violet. His breathing steadied, the fur settling into a faint sheen before drawing back beneath his skin.
Dante exhaled. "Feels… manageable now."
Lysera smiled. "Only because we were watching."
She turned to Anarissa.
"Your turn."
Anarissa steadied herself as Lysera placed glowing hands near her sternum. Heat blossomed instantly—warm at first, then bright, then fierce.
Golden fire erupted in a ring around her, sweeping outward in a ripple of radiance.
Anarissa's wings burst fully from her back—larger than before, the feathers luminous. Solar glow radiated from her hair. Her eyes shifted into burning fractals—white and gold spiraling with solar geometry.
A wave of molten air shimmered outward, bending the horizon slightly.
Varael nodded. "Eternal Sun essence. Pure. Fierce. It answers emotion and will. But underneath…"
The temperature dipped even as her radiance rose.
"…Oblivion distorts it."
Anarissa clenched her jaw. "I can feel both. Light and… silence."
Lysera stepped closer, her voice gentle. "Good. You must learn to hold both without letting either dominate."
Vorun raised his staff again.
A golden ring descended from above, passing through Anarissa like a descending halo. Her wings dimmed from brilliant fire to soft glow. Her markings cooled. The air settled.
She released a long breath. "That felt like balancing two suns inside my ribs."
"Exactly the point," Vorun said. "Your Divine Body is awakening. It will soon harmonize with your divinities."
Dante flexed his fingers, watching tiny sparks of silver light jump between them. "So this… was only the beginning?"
Varael gave a faint, rare smile. "This is the minimum expression of your nature. When you shape your realms, your bodies will shatter this limit and rebuild themselves again."
Anarissa folded her wings gently. "So what now?"
Lysera extended her hand.
Three crystalline pillars rose from the ground in a triangular formation, humming with ancient runes—silver, gold, and deep indigo. Their light pulsed like a heartbeat.
Vorun gestured toward them. "Now begins the next step."
Varael finished the thought. "Authority Modulation."
Dante's third eye flickered open once more. "We learn to control our laws?"
Lysera nodded. "You will learn to command your divinity without breaking your surroundings… or yourselves."
Anarissa smirked slightly. "Finally. Actual usage."
Vorun chuckled. "Enthusiasm is good. But remember—Divinity obeys no one unless they earn it."
The mentors turned and walked toward the pillars.
The twins followed—breathing steadier, power calmer, bodies humming with new stability.
Their Divine Bodies were awake.
Now they had to learn how to survive the consequences.