Kael was surprised to realize that his affinity wasn't with the wind, but with space itself.
However, there was a problem.
«How am I supposed to use space?» Kael thought, crossing his arms.
Space itself was incorporeal; it didn't interact with or physically affect anything. Kael couldn't think of many ways to use space.
The elements of Light and Darkness were also difficult to imagine; one couldn't imagine many uses for them, but those who discovered them certainly knew how to use them.
So he, too, had to learn to use space.
Kael thought and thought, trying to find a way to manipulate space. The problem was his own imagination.
«This... maybe this will help» Kael thought.
So Kael channeled the aether out of his body, imagining space enveloping him, covering his body, hiding him from reality itself, and condensed the aether.
And it worked; his body disappeared, but he was still there.
«What happened? Did my own technique kill me? No, unlike before, I can still see, but...» Kael thought.
Kael thought this because, just like when he died, he had now lost consciousness. The difference was that now he retained his sight; it was as if his sight was still present in the world, but the rest of his body was not.
It was the same as when he died, the difference was that now he had the ability to sense the aether present in the atmosphere. Perhaps that's why he retained his sight, but there was something else...
«Even though I'm still incorporeal, I can still sense my core. At the same time, I can absorb the aether, and I think I could even condense it into the world even though I'm gone» Kael thought.
"If it weren't for the fact that this consumes aether like crazy, damn it, good things always have their drawbacks," Kael thought, grumbling to himself.
Kael reappeared in reality. His aether had been depleted. As soon as he returned to his body, he felt the remaining senses he so desperately needed.
He lasted about thirty seconds in that state. If his core and body were filled with aether, he would probably have lasted a few minutes longer.
Perhaps in the future he'll have to unleash his senses more often.
«Ha, in fact, I could even attack enemies from behind without them knowing who did it» Kael thought, with a hint of amusement and sarcasm in his inner voice.
Kael decided to call his cloak the [Spatial Cloak]—the ability to withdraw from the physical world—mainly because he felt invincible and invisible in that state.
They might not have been able to harm him or sense him, but since Kael only had one core, the aether was consumed wildly.
If someone discovered that someone possessed a new element, they would likely want to know what they were capable of. That would expose Kael's cards, giving anyone with a grudge the opportunity to hack him.
But that didn't mean he should hold back in other ways. For example, he might be a genius at wielding aether, which would make others see him as a future knight. Although Kael didn't want to live with any shackles, that could be the perfect cover.
«Well, I'll have to pretend to be someone with no affinity for any element, for now» Kael thought, without any particular emotion, as he gazed at the trees visible through the window.
Three years passed...
*******************
It had been just over four years since Victor died and came into this world.
As soon as he turned four, his life took a positive turn. His room was remodeled. Now he had a bedroom; he no longer had to sleep in a crib; he had a comfortable bed.
He could also move freely around the house, although there were still rooms he couldn't enter, possibly because they belonged to someone in the family.
His body had developed, his hair had grown, reaching a little above his forehead. Kael estimated his height at about 110 centimeters.
But that wasn't the best news. The best news was that now the maids were no longer watching over him; in fact, they were no longer caring for him. He could absorb as much aether as he wanted, and there would be no one there to call him a genius.
And now he was ready to form his second nucleus. He knew it the moment his aether absorption rate stopped increasing.
Kael settled into the center of the bed and assumed his meditation posture, sitting in the Indian position, his wrists resting on his knees and his hands open, palms up.
«Absorb, channel, and condense» Kael thought as he watched the ether in the atmosphere before closing his eyes.
Kael focused on his heartbeat: BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But he diverted his attention, this time he was going to form a nucleus elsewhere, it is not possible to form two nuclei in the same place, so this time he chose his brain.
Kael channeled the aether he absorbed into his brain, then suddenly channeled all the aether stored in his body and core into his brain, and quickly condensed it.
Kael continued absorbing and condensing, in fact, his attention was almost distracted by how much his senses had sharpened.
He could feel the wind against his skin, his sense of smell detected new odors he honestly didn't want to smell, his heartbeat was much more intense, and his taste buds almost seemed to have a memory of their own.
And suddenly, his core formed, and with it, his connection to his affinity increased.
«I must be a genius, right? What 4-year-old already has two nuclei formed?» Kael thought, a smile spreading across his face.
In fact, his own half-siblings, Lila and Eryon, who are 23 and 22 years old respectively, had formed their third core, and Kael, at just 4 years old, already had two formed cores. He had a valid reason to admire himself.
If Kael had a mirror in his room, he'd undoubtedly be posing in front of it.
But he quickly shook himself off those thoughts; he wanted to test out his new core and see what it was capable of. Besides, he didn't know what the average talent was in this world.
So Kael absorbed the ether, intending to fill his two cores and his body with ether. After waiting about 20 minutes, he was already overflowing with ether.
The first thing he did was use [Spatial Layer], which is what he called the ability to disappear from the world.
He barely used [Spatial Layer], and was left with his only remaining sense, his sight. Kael was already accustomed to using his affinity with space, so this state didn't faze him.
After 10 minutes, his ether ran out, returning Kael to his body.
«10 minutes is quite a step forward, huh» Kael thought, his lips curling upward into a satisfied smile.