The mysterious man rose from his casual lean against the ancient tree in one fluid motion, brushing sakura petals from his worn kimono as if he were simply waking from an afternoon nap rather than preparing to reshape someone's entire existence. A gentle breeze swept across the hilltop, carrying with it an almost sacred hush - as if even the wind itself had paused to witness what was about to unfold.
Fenix stood frozen, studying the enigmatic figure who had somehow become his impromptu mentor. Something deep in his gut twisted with uncertainty, a cold snake of doubt coiling through his thoughts.
Was this really the right choice? Had he just made the biggest mistake of his already complicated life?
As if the stranger could read his mind like an open book, the man turned toward him with eyes that sparkled with ancient mischief. A low chuckle rumbled from his chest, the sound both amused and somehow knowing.
Without speaking a word, he began to circle Fenix with slow, deliberate steps - like a master sculptor studying a block of uncarved marble, or perhaps a predator sizing up unfamiliar prey. His piercing gaze swept over every inch of Fenix's frame with analytical precision, occasionally humming thoughtful sounds under his breath as if he were cataloging invisible details.
Then, abruptly, he stopped.
"I can't believe 'this' is what's been holding you back all this time," he muttered, more to himself than to his audience. His tone carried a mixture of disbelief and something that might have been pity. "Sit. Meditation posture. Now."
The command hit Fenix like a physical blow - there was no room for argument in that voice, no hint of politeness or negotiation. Just raw, unquestionable authority that made his body respond before his mind could even process the words. He immediately dropped into a cross-legged position, palms resting naturally on his knees as his breathing automatically slowed in response to the gravity of the moment.
The man crouched beside him with surprising grace for someone of his size. "Tell me, kid - do you actually understand the fundamental principles behind aura manipulation?"
Fenix hesitated, his mind racing as he tried to organize thoughts that felt scattered and incomplete.
"I... I think will is the key component," he said carefully.
He dug deeper into the fragments of knowledge he'd absorbed from Greg's storytelling during those long prison visits. The basic trinity of power in this world: Mana fueled mana-based techniques. Spirit energy powered spirit-based abilities. And will... will was the driving force behind aura-based combat arts.
He recited this understanding aloud, his voice growing more confident as the concepts crystallized.
The stranger's eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. "So you do know something after all," he murmured, and for the first time since their meeting, he sounded impressed rather than dismissive. "Very interesting indeed..."
What Fenix didn't realize was that in that moment, everything changed. The man had expected to find a complete beginner - some misguided youth stumbling blindly through the darkness of ignorance. But this boy was clearly something far more complex and promising.
"Fourteen years old," the stranger whispered, almost to himself. "You should have awakened your core years ago. Most children manage it by age ten. The late bloomers usually succeed by eleven at the latest. But you?"
He studied Fenix with new eyes, and for just an instant, something that looked like genuine sorrow flickered across his weathered features. "No proper tutors. No formal guidance. No family training. Just all this raw brilliance sitting in the dark, waiting for someone to light a match..."
Then he straightened to his full height, towering over the seated youth.
"There's a crucial difference between realizing what your will is and actually awakening it into useable power," he explained, his voice taking on the tone of a professor delivering a vital lesson. "You've already accomplished both steps."
Fenix looked up sharply, startled by the unexpected revelation.
"I can sense it radiating from you," the man continued, his eyes narrowing as if he could see invisible energies dancing around Fenix's body. "Faint, but absolutely unmistakable. The subtle shimmer that only appears around someone who has successfully touched their aura. And yet..."
He tilted his head, his expression shifting to one of puzzled curiosity. "That energy signature doesn't match anything I've seen from anyone in the estate."
"Show me," the man said, his voice dropping to something softer and more urgent. "Summon your aura. Let me see what you've been working with."
Fenix felt his stomach clench with familiar anxiety, but he nodded and closed his eyes in concentration.
The change began slowly, like the first tremor before an earthquake.
A subtle vibration rippled outward from his center as raw energy burst forth from somewhere deep in his chest. What manifested wasn't fire in any literal sense, but something far more fundamental - the very essence of his being made visible and tangible. The aura wavered uncertainly at first, like a candle flame in a gentle breeze, but it grew stronger and more stable with each passing heartbeat.
Deep crimson light painted the grass around them in shades of blood and roses.
The stranger's breath caught audibly in his throat.
He tried to maintain his composure, but a sharp gasp escaped his lips before he could stop it. Years of experience and countless battles had taught him to hide his reactions, but this... this was beyond anything he had expected to encounter.
Fenix noticed the man's slip in control and felt a flutter of uncertainty.
The stranger quickly straightened and recomposed his expression, but his mind was racing at breakneck speed. 'Crimson.' The rarest of all aura manifestations, seen perhaps once in a generation. The exact same shade that had marked Zeke Ackerman as one of the most feared warriors of his era.
He stared into the swirling heart of Fenix's willpower made manifest, and felt something he hadn't experienced in years - genuine awe mixed with desperate hope.
'This changes absolutely everything.'
For the first time since Zeke's death, he felt his sense of purpose stirring back to life.
This boy... this impossible, untrained, brilliant boy might actually be the one they had all been waiting for.
He didn't voice any of these thoughts. Instead, he simply nodded with carefully controlled approval.
"Good," he said, though the single word carried the weight of volumes. "Now comes the real test. Form your aura core."
Fenix's expression immediately darkened with frustration.
'That again?'
A scowl twisted his features as weeks of accumulated failure and disappointment bubbled to the surface. He had been struggling with this exact problem for what felt like an eternity. And now this half-drunk hermit who had literally stumbled out of nowhere thought he could just bark a few cryptic commands and magically solve everything?
He was on the verge of saying something sharp and probably disrespectful when the man suddenly burst into laughter.
"That expression!" the stranger grinned, clearly delighted by Fenix's obvious irritation. "The same look of frustrated disbelief that everyone gives at this stage. But here's the truth that no one bothers to teach - forming the core is actually the simple part. The genuinely difficult challenge, which you've already conquered, was awakening your will in the first place. That's where ninety percent of people fail completely."
He took a step closer, his voice becoming more intense and focused. "Let me remind you of something you said just moments ago. Will is the energy source that powers aura-based techniques. And yet... you've been trying to manipulate it like mana. Like spirit energy. Like some external force you need to capture and absorb. Of course it didn't work."
Fenix's eyes widened as the implications hit him like a lightning bolt.
"You can't absorb your own will," the man explained with the patience of someone who had given this lecture many times before. "It's not something separate from yourself that exists outside your body. It 'is' you. The deepest, truest part of your essence. And the only thing that can properly shape will... is will itself."
The revelation struck Fenix with the force of absolute truth.
"Only will can control will," he whispered, the words falling from his lips like pieces of a puzzle finally clicking into place.
And suddenly, he understood everything.
He summoned his aura once more - the deep crimson glow returning stronger and steadier than before, pulsing in perfect rhythm with his heartbeat like a second circulatory system made of pure energy.
But this time, he didn't try to force it inward through external pressure. He didn't attempt to control it like some foreign substance that needed to be conquered.
Instead, he aligned himself with it completely.
He breathed with its rhythm. Moved with its flow. Focused on the absolute core of his identity - his pain transformed into strength, his rage refined into purpose, his desperate love for those he wanted to protect, the unbreakable determination that had carried him through death itself and into this second chance at life.
The fire that burned at the center of everything he was.
The crimson aura began to respond, slowly pulling inward like an ocean wave folding back into itself. It moved with perfect grace, spiraling gently toward his chest in patterns that seemed to follow some ancient, instinctive design.
Then he felt it - a pulse deep within his core that was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Something fundamental shifted inside him.
His chest erupted with sensation - not pain, but a burning clarity so intense it was almost overwhelming. The heat spread through every nerve and muscle, not destroying but refining, like precious metal being purified in a forge. His entire body tensed and trembled as power beyond his wildest imagination coursed through him.
Brilliant light poured from his skin like he had become a living beacon.
The ground beneath them began to shake and crack.
And then -
BOOM.
A shockwave exploded outward from his position, the sound echoing across the hilltop like thunder. The ancient sakura tree's branches swayed despite the still air, and pink petals rained down around them like snow.
When the light finally faded, Fenix's eyes blazed with crimson fire that seemed to burn from somewhere infinitely deep. A smile spread across his face - wild and free and absolutely unstoppable - the expression of someone who had just discovered they were capable of miracles.
He had done it.
He had formed his aura core.
He was no longer just a powerless extra character in someone else's story. He was a warrior. A force to be reckoned with. Someone who could protect the people he loved and carve his own destiny from the raw stuff of will and determination.
In the perfect stillness that followed, with sakura blossoms drifting gently through the moonlight like nature's confetti, two figures stood beneath the ancient tree - mentor and student, teacher and disciple, connected now by the unbreakable bond of shared purpose.
The stranger smiled quietly, his weathered face transformed by something that looked suspiciously like pride.
A new legend had just taken its first breath.