Kurou led Shisui far beyond the palace walls, into the ancient Lotus Forest.
The trees here glowed faintly in the dark, their petals translucent like glass. The air shimmered with something—something old.
Kurou halted beside a shallow spring surrounded by obsidian stones.
"Sit," he instructed. "We begin your Resonance Meditation."
Shisui sat cross-legged, mimicking his master's posture.
Kurou lit a spiral of incense. "Arch Energy is not chakra. It is not stolen from the body, but awakened by union. Corpus—your flesh. Animus—your spirit. You must feel them, not force them."
Shisui closed his eyes.
"Feel the blood in your limbs," Kurou whispered. "That is your Corpus."
"Now... remember something that moved you. Something that changed you."
A memory stirred.
Shisui saw his mother, pale and dying in her garden. He had cried for the first time then. He had been powerless. Just a flower watching another wither.
Emotion surged. A deep, hot ache that wasn't grief—it was resolve.
His breath deepened.
Kurou smiled. "Good. Now, we begin Vital Breathing. Four counts in… hold… six counts out… slow…"
Breath after breath, Shisui's heart slowed. His limbs tingled. He felt pressure, as if submerged in water… no, energy.
His mind went blank.
Then—
Thrum.
A vibration echoed through his bones. His chest pulsed with golden heat. For a moment, he wasn't in his body. He was the air, the water, the moss on the tree.
He opened his eyes.
Tiny motes of light hovered around him—visible Arch Energy. His hands trembled, not from fear, but wonder.
"You've entered a state of resonance," Kurou said. "Your Corpus and Animus are touching."
Shisui reached inward.
Within him was a flicker—no, a flame—like a miniature sun trapped behind his ribs.
The Arch Nucleus.
He tried to pull it.
Nothing happened.
"Don't force it," Kurou said, placing a hand on his back. "Now we call it forth using the Mantric Chant."
Kurou whispered words older than the village itself:
"Vaal'tenem… sai'yorah… enlira'kesh."
Shisui repeated them. His voice trembled… but something clicked.
A current rushed up his spine. His skin tingled. His veins lit with soft golden-white lines.
Kurou grinned.
"You've taken your first step."
Arch Energy had awakened in a human child.