Chapter 31: Tomorrow, We Begin

Morning arrived quietly.

Maki helped Emily change into simple training clothes, and by the time they gathered in the backyard, Yuna had already set up targets along the fence while Reinhard watched from the patio railing.

"We’re not trying to make you strong," Yuna told Emily. "We’re trying to make your mana obey you. Gather."

Emily closed her eyes. Mana slowly gathered around her fingers, held for a moment, then vanished.

She tried again.

The same thing happened.

On the third attempt, it lasted a little longer before collapsing.

Emily clenched her hand. "I used to be able to do this without even thinking."

"I know," Yuna said.

Emily tried again, but the mana disappeared almost instantly.

"What’s wrong with me?"

"Nothing."

"Then why can’t I do it?"

"Because you’re trying to use the body you had two years ago," Yuna said. "You’re not that person anymore. You’re rebuilding."

Emily went quiet.

"Don’t push it toward your Gnosis," Reinhard said.

Both sisters looked at him.

"What?"

"The manual I have teaches the body to hold mana differently." He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket of the Immortal Emperor Body technique and Mana Sovereign. "I wrote it down last night."

Yuna unfolded the paper and stared at it. "Reinhard, what language is this?"

"It’s my handwriting."

"It looks like a spider walked through ink."

"A very talented spider."

Yuna ignored him and studied the notes again. Her expression slowly changed.

"The principle is actually simple. Instead of forcing all the mana into the Gnosis, the body itself holds on to part of it."

"Exactly."

Yuna turned to Emily. "Try again. Don’t send the mana toward your Gnosis. Let it settle inside your body."

Emily closed her eyes.

Mana gathered around her fingers again. This time, instead of pushing it anywhere, she simply let it flow through her body.

It came in uneven pulses at first, threatening to slip toward her damaged Gnosis.

"Don’t fight it," Yuna said.

"Slowly," Reinhard added.

Emily steadied her breathing.

One second passed.

Then another.

The mana stayed. Emily opened her eyes and stared at her hand. It wasn’t much, barely a fraction of what she had once been able to hold, but it was there. For the first time in two years, her body had listened to her.

"Check the readings," she whispered.

Yuna looked at the tablet, then checked it again.

"It didn’t disappear."

Emily stared at her.

"It didn’t?"

"Again."

Emily repeated the exercise. This time, the mana gathered faster and settled into her body with less resistance.

Yuna watched the readings. "Twenty seconds."

Emily looked up. "Already?"

"Your control is adapting faster than I expected."

"Is that good?"

Yuna smiled. "Very."

Reinhard watched the sisters for another moment before pushing away from the railing.

"Since we’re training anyway... How many ranks does an Awakener have and–" Yuna immediately looked suspicious. "I want to learn those techniques from yesterday."

"The ones the attackers used?"

"Those." Reinhard raised a finger. "The shield, glowing weapon, blasts, beam..." He raised another finger. "And Mana Pressure. I want all of them."

Emily smiled. "You’re treating combat techniques like a shopping list."

"They’re useful."

"You couldn’t use a single one yesterday."

"I know. That’s why I’m asking."

From the patio, Lily looked up from Crimson Fang. "He’s going to name them."

"Obviously."

"Fine. The Awakener ranks start from D-rank all the way up to SSS-Rank for the normal grading."

"Normal?"

"No need to worry about that for now. Now then for moves, we’ll start with Mana Shield."

She raised one hand, and a translucent barrier spread in front of her.

"You’re shaping mana outside your body. The more you compress it, the stronger the shield."

Reinhard copied her.

A faint barrier appeared around his palm, wobbled, and collapsed.

He stared at it.

"That was ugly."

"It was your first try."

"Still ugly."

Emily laughed quietly.

Reinhard tried again. This time the barrier formed and held.

Yuna nodded. "Good."

Reinhard admired it.

"Premium Barrier."

"It’s called Mana Shield."

"That’s the generic brand."

Yuna closed her eyes briefly before moving on.

"Mana Imbuing."

She pushed mana into a training sword until its edge glowed.

"It strengthens physical attacks and allows the weapon to affect things that aren’t purely physical."

Reinhard copied her. Mana flowed through his sword, and his next swing split a training construct in two.

"That’s useful."

"You used to combine it with physical reinforcement," Reinhard said to Emily.

"Every day."

"Then show me."

Emily glanced at the sword. "I’m not strong enough yet."

"You don’t need to be. Just explain it."

She studied his technique. "You’re putting too much mana into the edge. Let it travel through the entire blade first, then concentrate it."

Reinhard adjusted his grip and tried again.

This time, the mana flowed smoothly from the hilt to the tip.

Emily nodded. "That’s better."

A small smile appeared on her face.

Reinhard noticed it.

There she is.

He didn’t say anything.

"Next."

Yuna moved on to Mana Blast.

She fired several condensed spheres into the targets.

Reinhard formed three of his own.

The first hit.

The second veered left.

The third exploded halfway there and sent debris toward the shed.

Lily nearly fell over laughing.

"That one was not intentional!"

Reinhard examined the damage. "I was testing the range."

"You missed by ten feet!"

"That’s still information."

"You shot the shed!"

"The shed was in the way of the information."

Maki appeared in the doorway and stared at the damage.

"That’s the second time you’ve damaged this yard, and we’ve lived here for four days."

"I’ll fix it."

"You haven’t fixed the grass."

"I’ll fix both."

His next attempt landed perfectly.

"Better," Yuna said. "Mana Beam."

She demonstrated, compressing a large amount of mana into a single point before releasing a bright beam that punched through the target.

"So it’s less about how much mana you have," Reinhard said, "and more about how tightly you can pack it."

"Exactly."

His first attempt fizzled.

The second carved a deep line through the target.

Reinhard stared at his palm with a slow smile.

"That one’s fun."

"You’re enjoying this too much."

"I just learned how to shoot a beam out of my hand. Of course I’m enjoying it."

He looked at Emily.

"I’m calling it Husband Beam."

Emily immediately turned red.

"Please don’t call it that."

"Too late. It’s official."

"Husband Beam," Lily repeated from the patio, already pulling out her phone.

"See? It has witnesses."

Yuna moved on before Emily could respond.

"Mana Coating."

Reinhard activated his physical reinforcement and layered mana over his skin.

He stepped toward a fresh target and punched it.

The target didn’t merely break. It practically disappeared across the grass.

Yuna stared at the remains.

"You’re going to destroy all my equipment."

"Then you need better equipment."

"Reinhard."

"Fine. I’ll pay for it." He pulled out his phone. "I’ll buy you ten."

"Do not buy the company."

"It’s publicly listed."

"Reinhard!"

He put his phone away, although his expression suggested he was genuinely considering it.

Finally, Yuna’s expression became serious. "One technique remains. Mana Pressure isn’t a direct attack."

She released her mana.

The entire atmosphere changed.

Pressure rolled across the yard. Lily went rigid, Maki grabbed the table, and Emily’s breathing grew heavier.

Even Reinhard’s smile disappeared.

"This is Mana Pressure," Yuna said as she withdrew it. "Against someone weaker, it can suppress their body and interfere with their movements."

"So the bigger the gap between us..."

"The better it works."

Reinhard remembered the attackers using it against him.

It hadn’t worked.

"Let me try."

"Already?"

"Why not?"

He released his mana.

At first, almost nothing happened.

"Don’t just release it," Yuna said. "Give it direction."

Reinhard adjusted the flow. The pressure slammed down across the yard. The patio stone cracked beneath his feet.

"Stop!"

He immediately withdrew it.

Silence returned.

Yuna stared at the cracked stone. "You learned it in one try."

Reinhard looked down. "Really?"

"Really."

"Nice."

He glanced at Maki. "I’ll fix that too."

"Add it to the list."

Reinhard looked at Emily and saw she was still watching him with a faint smile.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He looked around the backyard. Broken targets. A dented shed. Damaged grass. Cracked stone. Yesterday, he could only watch other Awakeners use these techniques. Today, he could use all of them.

"How long does it normally take to learn these?"

"Months," Yuna said.

Reinhard nodded. "That’s not too bad."

Yuna stared at him. "For a normal Awakener."

He smiled. "Good thing I’m not normal."

Emily laughed softly. For the first time in a long time, training didn’t feel like fighting to reclaim something she had lost. It felt like something they were learning together.

Reinhard glanced at the time. "I should call Cassian."

Emily looked up. "About the treatment?"

His expression turned serious. "We have everything he asked for."

...

Later that afternoon, Reinhard sat at the kitchen table with Cassian’s list spread out in front of him.

Starfall Crystal.

Dragonlight.

Azure Lifeblood Ore.

Eclipse Glass.

Every item was secured.

He called Cassian. "We got everything."

There was a pause.

"Good," Cassian said, relief entering his voice. "Then come in tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I’ve spent enough time preparing the procedure. There’s no reason to wait any longer."

Reinhard’s expression became serious. "Then we’ll be there."

Cassian hesitated.

"Reinhard... this is the second phase of Emily’s treatment. Once we begin, we’ll finally know whether the recovery method works the way we think it does."

Reinhard looked into the living room.

Emily sat with Maki and Lily while Yuna explained something with her hands. She looked calmer than she had in weeks.

Reinhard smiled. "We’ll find out tomorrow."

The call ended.

A familiar blue window appeared.

[Investment Opportunity Available.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Value: B.]

[Objective: Support Emily through the second stage of her Gnosis reconstruction.]

[Difficulty Grade: SS.]

[Success Probability: 0.1%.]

Reinhard stared at the final number. They had found the house. They had gathered every material. They had spent days preparing. There was nothing left to collect and nothing left to search for.

Tomorrow, they would put everything they had into action. And for the first time, there was nothing left to prepare.