04 – The Second Soul Layer
Aethra never truly sleeps.
Even in the middle of the night, when students are asleep and the corridors are silent, the air of the Academy still pulses with something older than time. As if the ground beneath them remembers everything—cries, promises, betrayals, and prayers that never reached their destination.
Elaniel Zenona stood before the stone door leading to the deep soul training chamber, wearing a dark gray training uniform with the Aethra emblem faintly engraved on her chest. Behind her, Jasper walked slowly, his steps silent, as if he had become part of the shadow itself.
They hadn't spoken since the last night in the Reflection Room. But that silence wasn't distance. Quite the opposite—they began to understand there is a language deeper than words.
Today, they would enter the Second Soul Layer, the most dangerous stage of spiritual training in Aethra. This layer allows their souls to release part of their physical form, entering into a personal dimensional reflection that shapes karma structure.
"Once you enter," Elder Caerys explained, standing by the altar, "you won't just see yourselves. You'll see … your intentions."
"And if we're not ready?" Jasper asked.
"You won't return as the same person."
Elder Caerys rotated the black crystal atop the altar. A violet-blue light radiated, forming a small vortex in the air.
"One step," she said. "And the truth will begin demanding its answers."
As soon as Elaniel touched her palm to the vortex, the world collapsed into light.
Her body floated.
The air was still.
Then, she fell … to a land both strange and familiar.
She was in a desert. The sky dark, colored deep purple with cracks of light above. Clouds twisted like living fog. The air was hot, but not burning—more like pressure from an unseen weight. Every breath felt heavy, and each step echoed not from sound, but from memory.
The ground beneath her wasn't sand but shards of glass reflecting her face in various expressions: anger, fear, coldness, and ... emptiness.
"You've returned," a voice came from behind.
Elaraen stood there.
Herself.
The version of herself from the past.
Elaraen's hair was longer, her body covered in cracked and charred battle armor. Her gaze was sharp but exhausted. She looked like someone who had fought too long without ever truly winning.
"Do you know what you did?" Elaraen asked, her tone sharp but not angry.
"I … I'm trying to remember," Elaniel whispered.
"No. You're trying to avoid it. Even in this new life, you still refuse to accept that your choice killed half the world."
"I didn't have a choice!"
"There's always a choice, Elaniel. I know, because I was that choice."
Elaniel froze. She saw Elaraen not as a reflection, but as something alive—a soul that still lingered, demanding acknowledgment.
"You left me on the battlefield. And let Kaelion fight alone."
"I was afraid … I was too weak."
"You weren't weak. You just weren't ready to face your guilt."
In the sky, a sound like the blast of a soul exploded, and the world shifted again.
Now she was in a dark throne room, surrounded by fire and shadows. Tall pillars split, and the floor cracked into bottomless chasms. Upon the throne sat a man clad in broken black armor—Kaelion.
His body was wounded. But his gaze remained the same. Deep and deeper … as if staring straight into the root of a soul.
"Why didn't you come with me?" Kaelion asked.
"I was afraid… I couldn't save you," Elaniel answered softly.
"You weren't meant to save me," Kaelion shook his head. "We were meant to walk together. But you chose to sacrifice everything alone. And now you're punished for that."
"I just wanted to end it all…"
"You ended us."
That voice was like the crack of metal shattered by bare hands. The emotional echo shook the chamber walls, and flames rose to the ceiling. Elaniel fell to her knees. Her vision blurred with guilt that couldn't be described in any language. She didn't cry. But her soul trembled.
Kaelion rose, stepping down from his throne, approaching Elaniel.
"You know … I never blamed you," he said.
"But I blame myself," Elaniel replied.
"And that's the strongest prison. One you built yourself."
Footsteps echoed. The air cooled. From behind the gray mist, Jasper appeared.
He carried no weapon, radiated no anger. Only calm that vibrated through the space. His symbol glowed softly—not with force, but with steadiness.
"Enough," he said firmly.
"This is a wound I must bear alone," Elaniel whispered.
"But that wound is not yours alone," Jasper answered.
He walked slowly, meeting Kaelion's gaze without fear. Two souls in one space, facing one another. Elaniel stood between them.
"Who are you?" Kaelion asked, with no threat in his tone.
"Someone who returned," Jasper replied. "Not to take—but to complete."
"And if you can't?" Elaniel whispered.
"Then I'll wait again. And again. Until your time comes to forgive yourself."
Jasper reached for Elaniel's hand, slowly. The symbols on both of them merged. No explosion. No fire. Just union … like two puzzle pieces returning to place.
The world began to collapse.
Kaelion slowly faded—not in rage, but in recognition.
"Live your life," he whispered. "So our lives weren't in vain."
They returned to the training room, breathless but whole.
Elaniel's body was drenched in sweat. Her heart still raced. But the symbol on her hand was no longer cracked. There were faint lines, but they weren't wounds—they were traces. Traces of something once broken, now beginning to mend.
Elder Caerys stood beside them, her hands joined before her chest.
"You have seen the face of your karma," she said.
"And?" asked Jasper.
"Now you know: the gate of karma is not to be fought. But to be passed through … together."
That night, Elaniel stood in the Umbra tower, staring at Aethra's night sky. The wind carried the scent of metal and earth. Above, the constellations slowly shifted. The stars formed an overlapping oval symbol, like an eye opening.
"That star … I've seen it in a dream," Elaniel murmured.
"That wasn't a dream," replied a voice beside her.
Jasper.
He didn't touch her. Just stood close enough to make Elaniel feel … enough. Not too much. Not unsure. But enough.
"What will happen after this?" Elaniel asked.
"We'll undergo the Gate of Karma Trial."
"And if we fail?"
Jasper looked up at the sky.
"We'll return here. In another form. Another time. But I'll still find you."
He turned and walked away.
But before disappearing behind the tower door, he said:
"Elaniel … you are not alone. Even when you think you are."
Aethra's sky glowed softly. And deep below, the symbol on Elaniel's hand pulsed … as if breathing.
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