After dozens of tries, Solar Clone noticed a pattern: when he shaped the gathering rune as a spiral flowing inward and placed a thin, closed loop around it that he mentally defined as maximum temperature, the fire obeyed more smoothly.
The gathering spiral pulled fire element from the environment into a fixed point, while the outer loop bled the excess into the stone once it reached a limit, like a safety valve.
He spent hours adjusting the size of the spiral and the thickness of the outer loop, burning and repairing the same patch of floor again and again.
Finally, he managed to create a small area—a circle no wider than a child's shoulders—where fire element gathered continuously from the environment and the temperature rose to a steady, controlled level.
With more power, it grew hotter; with less, it cooled, but it no longer spiked or exploded. It was only a single spot, but it was stable.
Looking at the faintly glowing circle, Solar Clone exhaled and pressed his palm into it. Warmth wrapped around his skin like heated water instead of a wild blaze. "This… this is the first step," he whispered.
It wasn't a full training platform, but it was a miniature Vyuha: an arrangement of runes that gathered fire on its own and controlled the temperature without him constantly micromanaging it.
He named the simple fire formation the Flame forge Vyuha (or formation), a compact grid that drew in ambient fire element and held the temperature steady around whoever stood inside it.
For now, the Vyuha could only do one thing: pull fire element from the environment and maintain a stable temperature for whoever stood inside the circle.
But Solar Clone knew that once he understood this simple pattern perfectly—gather, limit, stabilize—he could copy it, link many such circles together, and later mix in other elements.
Every future formation, every grand training Vyuha, would be built on the lesson he learned here: first master a single, obedient rune before dreaming about commanding an army.
The next day, Solar Clone emerged from his room. His family was already on the training ground, practicing the Mortal Foundation Scripture and Mortal Laws, with Sacral Clone moving among them to correct their postures and rhythms, healing them, etc.
Solar Clone hadn't slept at all; he had spent the entire night refining that single fire formation. His eyes were heavy and his body felt dull, but he forced himself to stand at the side and quietly watch until their session ended.
Kamal and Neelam threw themselves into the drills, sweat pouring and breaths rough, but Sanya's movements were sluggish, her eyes dim. Sacral Clone had to pause the training to squat beside her, tease her a little, and remind her why they were doing all this.
After a few soft jokes and a short, serious talk, her shoulders loosened and her gaze brightened again. When she smiled, even faintly, he clapped his hands and pushed them all back into motion, and the training continued nonstop until their bodies finally reached their limit.
Once the family finished and went to eat breakfast, Solar Clone walked over to Sacral Clone. "Train with me," he said simply.
The two of them said goodbye to the family, headed toward their platform, and threw themselves into their own brutal regimen. Only after completing their daily laws did Solar Clone let his body relax, ready to finally rest.
Before he could leave, Sacral Clone spoke up. "So, did you create the formation? Do you need help?"
Solar Clone rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one who ran away and dumped all the Vyuha work on me? Now you want to help?" He snorted, then added, "And yes, I did make one. Connect with me—I'll show you."
Sacral Clone gave an awkward smile, but the moment he heard there was a finished formation, he hurriedly linked their minds.
In an instant, Solar Clone's memories of last night's work flowed into him: the crude first attempts, the corrected runes, the stable circle that gathered fire from the surroundings and held the temperature steady like a controlled forge. He saw the shape of the formation, its rules, its safety limits, the way it throttled the heat before it could explode.
"Wow," Sacral Clone said, genuinely impressed but unable to resist his nature. "I'm amazing. As expected of me."
Then he straightened, face suddenly serious. "Anyway, I can't help you. I've got work to do, so bye." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and jogged away, heading back toward the fields.
Solar Clone watched him go and rubbed his forehead. "Since when did I become such a braggart?" he muttered.
Then he exhaled and let the irritation fade. "Forget it. He's still stuck on that space element… let him struggle a bit." With that, he turned his attention back to the memory of the small, glowing fire circle—the first true step toward Vyuhas that could train their family without them.