Chapter 361 (1/2)

Chapter 361: The Second Ruin

My eyes re in the djinn woman’s hands Admiration, excitement, and envy swirled in me as I exaaze away “What about the trial you’re supposed to give un,” she answered confidently “I will judge your worthiness as we battle” She spun on her heel and the roo around us into a blank white nothing-space “Don’t dawdle now”

The djinn flashed towarda streak of a outward in a broad arc ather bloith a strike to her hands before I forced aether into the shape of a hazy blade Using the briefas she brought her swords back up, I lanced at her side withher whole body fiercely to gain the momentum to intercept my strike with her left blade

Sparks flared upon ie was hers

The djinn hardly waited fora barrage of intersecting crescents hell-bent on shredding me apart

I su harder to force the shape together, to hold it when deflecting her attacks, but none lastedback,” the djinn said tersely,of her saber Just as the amethyst blade whistled paston her lead foot, she grabbed her neeapon with both hands and swept at s with the butt of the staff

I fell to one knee from the force, and by the time I looked back up, her staff had beco arced across my body as God Step took eon created a shockwave of force upon iround

The short-haired djinn’s expression turned to that of surprise for the first time, her eyes wide and brows furrowed as she took in what had just occurred

“Again,” she growled, launching herself towardon the aetheric paths converging around her even as I conjured a blade ofmy aether blade to h to h ti arced across me once more as I flashed behind the djinn However, in the tier, the djinn’s own aether blade had already intercepted my attack

“Had you chosen to attack with your fist, I most likely wouldn’t have been able to block it,” she adh me rather than at me “Your mind seems to have connected this Godrune with the deviantIt explainsaether”

I furrowed my brows in confusion “My tendencies?”

The djinn waved round and casually leaning against it “Before that, I would like to ask first what it is you want from me, Arthur Leywin,” she asked, her tone harsh

I froze before answering, realizing she had used my real name

The djinn’s cropped hair bobbed as she cocked her head to the side “Have you grown uncomfortable with that nauard I wasn’t sure how I felt It had been is had called me by my real na myself referred to as Grey “It’s fine But I don’t understand your question”

Her bright eyes roved over hts “What do you want, Arthur?”

Is this a part of the test? I wondered, but out loud, I said, “I’ht question What I need is to learn how to control Fate”

“If Fate were soht, passed on froht as well fit within a snowglobe” She rested her chin on the back of her hand as she continued to devour me with her eyes “No What you want is power The power to protect all of your loved ones and defeat your enemies”

I crossed ? Even with all four elele Scythe I want—need—soer From what I’ve been told, that’s Fate”

She stood tall once round “Then you’ll have to open yourto see aether through the lens ofone to the other Only after you understand aether as itself can you begin to understand Fate Now forer for substance

She eyed it with distaste “Striketo the right When her blade er and thrust up into her ribs from the left

Her sword came around to deflect both blows, and ht her counterattack with my hand, then God Stepped behind her, but she was already rolling forward, her blade sweeping behind her to catch me if I followed after It was a clean move, and impossibly fast

She held up a hand before I could attack again “Focus You are trying to win, and perhaps you even could, but you should be trying to learn Why does your weapon collapse whenever you use it?”

“Because I’h to maintain such a complicated forh I were a foolish child “Wrong You are stronger than you should be Stronger than me—at least, this remnant of me, contained with the memory crystal And yet…”

A perfectly forht hand Then a second in her left Then a third, hovering just over her shoulder And a fourth floating near her hip

She glowered at me, and all four blades pointed at my face “It is not power you lack It is perspective As a human, you have always been expected to build on what you already know Craalk, run, yes? To wield aether, youyourself to a system that already exists around you only holds you back Do not seek to walk or run Ignore gravity and simply fly”

I couldn’t help but shoot her an amused smirk “I already learned how to fly—”

One of the flying blades hacked at my neck I deflected with an aether blade ofsword swept across the side of my knee, while the two she held thrust atKordri’s lessons, I fell into a defensive position and used short, rapid movements of bothseveral aetheric daggers one after the next, each one evaporating under the strain of her attacks

Her bo froh to dodge or blockthrusts where her blows did land

Eventually, she siain I cautiouslysilently for the lesson to continue I wanted to think I had learned souidance had been too esoteric, too vague, to really help me understand how she conjured such powerful aether blades While shepartner, my ability to maintain the form of a pure aether weapon hadn’tformana manipulation back at that academy of yours,” she said shortly “But I cannot”

I frowned at her “You claim to want to teach e froic”

“Exactly,” she said, giving le, sharp nod “But I can sense your frustration, and I recognize that you are not a djinn, even if you share a drop of our essence And so I will attempt to explain this in a different way”

She paused, her searching eyes peering deep into my own “I mentioned your tendencies earlier You fail to form a true aether weapon because you treat the aether just as you wouldneed to be in control, Arthur Leywin Of your body, your ic, your life With mana, this desire coupled with the depth of your confidence allowed you to progress at a re a barrier between yourself and your desire”

Resisting the urge to argue about my apparent need for control, I said only, “Can you elaborate further? If I’m not supposed to control the aether, then what?”

“Do you understand how your heart works, or your lungs?” she asked i a hand to her chest

“Yes,” I said slowly, unsure where she was going with this

“Do you control your lungs?” she asked “Do you force each breath, absorbing just the right aen in your body? Without your focus, do you stop breathing?”

“No, of course not But I can control ers and pointed at le breath you take over a day, a week, a year, would it so?”

I frowned at this and began tappingthe control over one’s breathing does help to—”

She reached out and slapped the side of my head “Don’t be s my temple “So if I can’t control it, what do I do?”