Leon watched Ardyn close his eyes for a few minutes. His forehead was slightly furrowed, and he seed to be concentrating too hard.
Leon blinked. This didn’t seem to be the face of soone in deep ditation.
"You should take a deep breath and relax," he said. "You look too tense."
Ardyn’s lips stretched into a thin line. He seed a bit frustrated. "I’m not good at things like this," he admitted.
Leon looked pensive for a mont. "Okay then. Imagine a warm light in your chest, sothing that represents your magic. It may be faint, but it’s there. Concentrate on that light and feel it grow stronger."
Ardyn concentrated hard for about one minute.
"...I can’t feel anything."
"Don’t force it," Leon said. "Just let your mind be still. Sotis magic can be subtle. Kinda like a whisper, you know? You have to listen to it carefully."
Ardyn was getting more frustrated. After one more minute, he shook his head. "I’m trying, but it’s not working. Does it usually take a long ti?"
He wasn’t the type of person who could sit still for long periods of ti. That kind of thing wasn’t his forte. He wasn’t into sports either, but he usually preferred to either sit at his desk and play gas all day or go out in the city and hang out with friends and discover so new hotspots in town.
He was always amazed that his sister did yoga every day without fail. She had suggested that he join her, but he had refused, saying that it wasn’t the kind of exercise he liked.
Not that he did any exercise in the first place.
"It does," Leon admitted.
Ardyn groaned, opening his eyes in defeat. "Why does this magic stuff have to be so complicated?"
"It’s because you’re trying too hard. It has to be natural and instinctive," Leon pointed out. "Okay, now close your eyes again. This ti, instead of looking for a light, just focus on your heartbeat and feel its rhythm."
Ardyn sighed and closed his eyes again. "Okay... I can feel it," he reported.
"Okay. Now imagine each heartbeat sending out a pulse of energy. Feel how it spreads through your body. Can you feel anything different?"
Ardyn was silent for a few minutes. It took him quite a while this ti. It seed that he was really trying his hardest.
"I... don’t feel anything different," he finally said.
Leon felt a trickle of disappointnt. "It’s all right. It takes ti. I’m just helping you find your starting point."
Ardyn continued to concentrate and follow Leon’s instructions. anwhile, Leon glanced over at Luke. The latter was still fast asleep.
Then he glanced at the window to see if there was anything unusual going on.
There was nothing.
It should have been good news since none of them wanted a wave of attacks tonight, but Leon couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.
Ardyn opened his eyes and sighed. He looked a little tired.
"Okay, let’s stop for now," Leon said quickly. "You’re trying too hard, and that can block the flow. Magic cos naturally, not when you think too much."
Ardyn sighed a second ti. "I know. I just don’t think I’m cut out for this."
"You’ve done it before. Your body knows how to do it again even if your mind doesn’t. Keep practicing and in ti, it’ll co to you," Leon said encouragingly.
Ardyn nodded slowly. "Thanks, by the way. For trying to help ."
Leon smiled sunnily. "It’s no problem!"
Ardyn couldn’t help but smile in response. Sotis this boy’s smile was infectious.
"Everything’s still clear, right?" Ardyn asked, glancing out the window to make sure.
Leon nodded. "Yes. I checked."
Ardyn seed relieved. "That’s good. It’s better that nothing happens."
"I agree." Leon looked at Ardyn inquisitively.
Ardyn noticed his gaze, puzzled. "What? Is there sothing on my face?"
"I’m curious. Can I ask sothing?"
"Uh, sure. Go ahead."
"Can you tell about your world?" Leon’s eyes were wide and full of curiosity, and he seed almost childlike at this mont. "I’d like to know more about you!"
"Oh. Well..." Ardyn rubbed the back of his head, not sure what to say or where to begin. "It’s a very different world from this one. For starters, we didn’t have magic there, but the technology was advanced, so that was good enough."
Leon looked astonished. "What kind of technology? Is it as good as that of the Erald Kingdom?"
"I’m not sure, I’ve never been to the Erald Kingdom. But we had computers and cell phones."
"Computers? Cellphones?"
"Computers, they’re..." Ardyn paused, trying to think of an explanation that Leon would understand better. "They’re like a really smart box that can store information and do calculations much faster than any person. We used them for all sorts of things, like looking up information, writing docunts, creating art or music, and even communicating with people all over the world."
Leon’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "You can do all that with one box? How?"
"I can’t explain the technical details, but yeah, they’re really useful to have around. As for cell phones, they’re like portable versions of computers, but they’re mainly used for communication."
"You an they’re like commcrystals?"
"Yes, but they can do a lot more. You can make voice calls and send written ssages. They also have other functions like taking pictures, playing music, and using various apps for different tasks."
"So they’re like advanced versions of commcrystals!" Leon’s mind raced. "I really want to see if the Erald Kingdom has a device like that."
"I’m a little confused," Ardyn said. "If the Erald Kingdom has such good technology, why don’t you have access to it? I rember Mathias ntioning sothing about it, but he never elaborated."
At the ntion of Mathias’ na, Leon perked up a bit. But he still stayed on topic. "About that..." He lowered his tone to a whisper. "The thing is, the leader of the Erald Kingdom is quite paranoid. He keeps the kingdom’s technology under lock and key. And to guarantee that, he makes sure that the technology never works outside the borders of the Erald Kingdom."
Ardyn was confused. "Why would the leader do that? Is it to attract more people? Like tourists?"
"I suppose that’s one of the reasons. But in history, it was said that the technology of the Erald Kingdom had been exploited many tis. Their devices had also been stolen once and then used against them." Leon sighed. "So that’s the reason why the leader doesn’t want to share their advancents with other kingdoms anymore. Not that the Silver Kingdom cares, because we’re usually traditional people. If we had to rely on sothing, we could only use magic crystals and nothing else. It’s a little different for the Sapphire Kingdom and the Scarlet Kingdom, though. In short, each kingdom has different values and customs that they uphold."
"I see..."
The two fell silent the next mont. Leon looked out the window again while Ardyn closed his eyes. He wasn’t sleepy, but he did feel a bit tired after all that ditation stuff.
At this rate, he wondered if he would ever be able to activate his magic again. Maybe if there was a life or death situation the next ti, it was possible.
But Ardyn would rather it not co to that. He had been in a lot of near-death situations since he arrived in this world, and he was not eager to add more to those experiences.
"I’m a little scared," Leon suddenly said in a low voice.
Ardyn looked at him, startled. "Of what?"
Leon hesitated for a mont. "My... father."
Ardyn’s features softened in sympathy. "Is he really that scary?"
Leon’s eyes were downcast. "He is. I... think so. It’s just that I don’t understand him sotis. It makes wonder if he really cares for ," he whispered.
That’s really sad, Ardyn thought, feeling another pang of pity for the boy. No child should ever feel this way about a parent. A parent was supposed to make their child feel loved and protected.
Not like this.
He opened his mouth to say sothing encouraging, but then he suddenly froze in place.
They both felt it at the sa ti.
A tingling sensation at the back of their necks, like an icy hand was gripping their spines. The atmosphere of the room changed in an instant, growing heavier by the second.
Leon felt his breathing getting labored. Normal humans didn’t have such heightened senses. Only Guardians and Summoners could feel the dark energy of the Calamity so clearly, and that sa dark energy was usually associated with the beastspawns, albeit lesser in intensity.
Which ant that sothing was coming.
"Do you feel that?" Ardyn said with wide eyes, looking alard. He was almost afraid to look.
Leon didn’t hesitate. He imdiately looked out the window and peered outside.
The night was dark and silent, but he could still feel that distant, ominous presence growing stronger by the second.
As his vision focused, a shadowy figure beca visible in the distance.
It moved with an unsettling grace, its red eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
And Leon knew.
"It’s here," he breathed out.
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