Chapter 56: Return
The truth hurts—not necessarily in the knowing of it, but in how it strips away one’s ego. The truths Raiden spoke to the kingdom and its elders did precisely that.
Their honor, respect, and carefully cultivated maturity were being stung by a seventeen-year-old, and worse still, he voiced accusations that, even if denied, would forever tarnish their image as the wise elders they claimed to be.
However, from Alora’s expression and the confidence in her tone—speaking with the sheer determination of a Persian princess—Raiden knew she herself might harbor her own agenda against him. Still, the barrier around them was finally broken. But was it at a price Raiden could afford to pay?
It was a calm afternoon, and Raiden, alongside everyone else, sat cross-legged on the grassy field to the right of the mansion’s entrance.
They followed his lead as he guided them through everything he had managed to learn from Freya’s explanation of her mana usage. And yet, Freya herself remained in their midst, still learning from Raiden.
"I’d suggest we fill each part of our bodies with mana."
He reached for his face and touched the few bruises remaining from his encounter with Alora and June the previous day.
"How? Using the previous meditation skills you’ve learned on how to carefully tap into your mana. The same imagination. Scatter it across your entire body."
Raiden said and sank deep into his meditation. Whatever the kingdom had planned ahead, he had to make sure his comrades were in shape in terms of strength first, before reconsidering anything else.