[A week later]
"Well, been working a lot on Rupture."
"Rupture? You just mentioned it, Caelus." Elysia replies. Her voice was excited.
"Oh, yeah, it’s a technique of mine, it’s inefficient right now, but it’s incredibly strong, able to do a little bit above my weight class, though it has been about a month now..."
[You have reached Virtuoso V!]
"Oh, I’m at Virtuoso, Stage five now," Caelus spoke.
"Now? How long has it been? Also, what is it that you’re saying you need to teach?"
"Ah, Sorry Elysia, yeah, it’s been a month since I last went up a stage, you slow down after Virtuoso, at least for me. You’re at... the Third Stage of Foundation? Right?"
"Yeah! I climbed fast, according to some other cultivators!" Elysia spoke excitedly and was clearly hyperactive.
"Well, that is true, you did grow abnormally fast, not a bad thing, but you should stabilize yourself. From the looks of it, you picked the Arcane path? Well... Makes sense, you do study a lot." Caelus chuckled slightly.
"Yup! Also, come onnn, tell me what the thing is!"
"Ah, oh sorry for delaying that Ely-"
"Ely? Aww, you got a nickname for me." Elysia interrupted with her eyes gleaming with joy.
"...Maybe I shouldn’t keep up that mask to others, even now I hide my true self... It’s exhausting."
He knew he wanted to be himself, and yet now, when given the chance, he couldn’t; he still restricted himself, he still hindered his own growth, he just couldn’t break out of it.
"Yeah."
[...]
"Now, for the thing I need to teach you, do you know what a funnel is?" Caelus replied.
"Indeed, but uhm, what’s that supposed to do with cultivation?" Elysia asked. Her head tilted to the side.
"It’s just a metaphor, like comparing waves to ripples when a stone is dropped in water. So it’s easier to understand, well, imagine there’s something which opens and closes inside of it, which limits what goes through to regulate the amount so it doesn’t overflow, that’s basically what you need to do to get the Foundation I use."
"Oooh, yeah, actually that feels... Very smart! Well, mostly I guess there could be more to add, like having your Mana maybe react and go to exactly where you need when pressured?"
"...Wait, yeah, if this is Supreme Foundation, then wouldn’t making it react to external- Oh, it’s probably overcomplicated then." He didn’t dislike that theory, while he probably would’ve tried that... It’s still something he shoved away because he thought it was too much.
"Well, it could work, but wouldn’t it be too complicated?"
"Hmmm, I mean yeah, it’s like having four vassals layered one above the other despite there only being one needed generally and their advisors too," Elysia replied. "Ah, I forgot I have to actually do the thing you told me, okay, wait!" She quickly closed her eyes, Mana flooding her eyes as she looked within herself
Caelus, on the other hand, sat down, looking at her while tilting his head up. Sure, it was uncomfortable, but he was fine with that. For a moment, he realized something. "...No, it’s not that I can’t be myself, it’s that I’m resisting being myself."
"...I want to change based on what others say while making sure they’re right... I don’t want to just stick to myself without that... I should be able to be wrong..." Caelus sighed, the dirt around him... Oddly Quiet, Elysia humming to herself, yet that didn’t distract him, even when he stayed focused on her with part of his brain.
"...Why do I think it’s worse to be wrong?" For a second... He’s confused about what he even gains or loses from being wrong or right. "...I could just talk more, sure, people might reject it either forever or for a small time, but not everyone is rigid..."
He didn’t shake it off, noticing water form from his eyes, slowly falling, as if the world moved in slow motion. Yet, instead of wiping them off, he let them fall. He didn’t mind Elysia seeing him like this, nor anyone else; he still couldn’t forget those from his other world, everyone who actually supported him instead of trying to force him into another path.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down, looking towards Tellus as he noticed her Foundation becoming stronger. Additionally, his eyesight was a little blurry from the water. Finally wiping them because they were only hindering his sight, he noticed more: not just the air being better, but also the dust not spiraling up or getting anywhere.
"Uhm- Caelus, are you okay?" Elysia spoke, her eyes opening as she noticed something different about his face, but she couldn’t pin it down.
"Yeah, I’d rather explain it later than right now, so it’s easier to understand." Caelus replied, he wasn’t lying, talking about reincarnation and past lives would be crazy, it wasn’t something he just ’did’ so easily. Even with Tellus, he wouldn’t try that.
With Nyx, she’s strong enough to know that it’s possible.
"Alright, well, whenever you have time, you can tell me, or if you don’t want to, it’s fine for that," Elysia replied a soft smile on her, for Caelus, she looked incredibly innocent, even if she was a Princess, he didn’t see that as a flaw, more just another reason why she isn’t the innocence he assumes she is.
"It seems like you got the Foundation I have. Do you feel anything different?" Caelus asked, getting up, now having to look down to make eye contact.
"Yeah, Kind of, my Mana feels a lot denser, but not like suffocating dense, just clean dense." Elysia replied, "...There is more, but I think he’d already assume and know that."
"Also, Caelus- Why is it that the Church says I can’t cultivate?" Elysia continued. "They said it’d kill me, but here I am at Foundation Establishment!"
"...?" Caelus took a second to process that... The Church said she couldn’t cultivate- But why? "...Was your father and Mother able to cultivate?"
"No, they said it was a bloodline thing, we would be good rulers, but not good cultivators, or even be unable to cultivate," Elysia replied.
"Control. Ah, the Church wants it for that." Caelus realized... But he didn’t condemn them for it; they believed that, and sure... For them, it worked. "...I’ll just prove there’s a better method than this."
"Have you questioned it yourself?" He finally asked.
"Not really, I just went with it because they seemed strong and smart." Elysia sighed, looking a little down. "But now that I think about that... It could be because they probably just wanna make sure I don’t get into fights or get like killed or something."
"Well, wouldn’t they send someone hidden to protect you instead? I mean, there’s only one person higher than the Church, and well, she isn’t the type to kill people like you or something."
"I guess yeah..." Elysia thought for a second, but she didn’t push further. "...Mmmm, my brain feels mushy after going more into this, I’ll just stop."
Caelus finally walked to Elysia, putting his hand right on her shoulder. "You can think about that whenever you feel it’s best." His voice was softer, calmer, no longer the rough voice from before.
"I’ll be going, I’m going to be talking with Tellus now."
"Ah, Bye Caelus!!!" Elysia turned as Caelus walked away, tapping her hand, disappearing almost instantly.
Stopping by next to Tellus, he looked at her as she sat while eating. Moving, he sat right next to her, as no one was nearby. A smile on his face, he knew he was, and he was fine with that. Turning to watch her eat, he waited for her to look at him.
"What is it this time, Caelus?" Tellus sighed, assuming he needed something, her eyes to him... She noticed his smile, not mischievous, not fake... Genuinely, she noticed imperceptible streaks across his face, wetter than the rest of his face... He’d cried for a bit.
"Is everything okay, Caelus? You seem to have cried a little." Tellus replied, her voice less calm, more endearing in some manner.
"Yeah, I got over it, just something involving my past, I don’t need to worry about it right now."
"..." Tellus stopped half a bite away. "...He never revealed anything. He has never actually told anything fully... I could tell he was holding back something, but what changed now? Why is he happier?"
She took a moment to get back to her senses. "No, he should be like this, he’s going to be more comfortable with expressing himself, meaning more talkative... I guess I can finally get to know him better after his bursts of training techniques."
"Well, as long as it doesn’t hurt you." Tellus replied, "...I couldn’t think of a better reply, dammit." Tellus thought to herself.
"Thanks. Also, it seems like the Grand Tournament is over, I guess it’s time for me to meet him... Unless you’d like to talk more with me about your day, unless it’s not the time." Caelus replied, his voice warmer to her.
"My... Day?" She turned, finally finishing her food, putting her fork and spoon down.
"I... Wouldn’t mind that actually. But maybe not now, others are coming, and you might not like that." Tellus replied that she was concerned he’d stop once her other friends came.
"No, it’s fine, I’ll do just fine even if they are here or not," Caelus replied once more, straightening himself, his tail coiled so it didn’t hurt anyone, moving and touching Tellus while also keeping a safe distance so she didn’t touch it.
"I wouldn’t mind if it was with others or just the two of us." Caelus chuckled, covering his face so he didn’t let out any saliva in case of any damage it could cause.
"...He talks more... He feels a lot better now... I wonder, I want to ask him, but I don’t know if he’ll accept-"
Caelus interrupted the thought Tellus was having. "Would you like to go somewhere you like to eat or just relax where we can talk or lie down?"
"Yes, I do wish to have an interaction like that," Tellus replied, her voice lagging behind as her thoughts spiraled, evident in her dazed eyes and the pink in her face. "No way he asked first. Why did I reply like that? My Lord, forgive me, I might’ve ruined this."
Caelus moved his hand and poked her cheek softly as her head shook, like she was shivering.
"Oops, sorry about that, Tellus," Caelus replied, chuckling more.
The people nearby, while paying attention, didn’t interrupt, even if they knew he was a Wyvern... or well, a Dragon, they wouldn’t interrupt something like this.
"Looks like Minerva is here first. You might need to get yourself together quickly." Caelus continued.
"Ah-Ah, sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like that," Tellus replied, trying to maintain her composure.
"No, it’s fine, be however you want with me," Caelus replied, finding it adorable that she was this flustered.
"Oh, Tellus? You have your new friend here?" Minerva replied, a smile on her face as she could see Caelus was happy. "Oh, looks like Little Tellus is Embarrassed, how cute."
"Vulcan and Diana will be here soon," Minerva spoke once more. "It’ll probably be twenty more minutes with how long Diana takes to take a bath; she still hasn’t changed to using Mana for that."
Tellus snorted, only to regain her composure. "Ah, she’s still not used to that; maybe she’ll learn next year." Her voice was slightly sarcastic.
"...I could tell Minerva how I had to wash her while we were walking... But no, it’ll embarrass her, that’s not something I should do... At least right now." Caelus wondered.... "Maybe I should actually reveal something else about myself... Just naturally so they don’t see it as a fun fact."
"Oh yeah, also Sol is coming over, he wants to congratulate Tellus on reaching Soul Formation since he left early for that."