Kaelon sat dumbfounded for a second, the ember in his hand wavering as his focus waned. Extinguishing the flame Kaelon began lauging madly. His shoulders bounced as his laugh echoed.

  Finally Kaelon had reached the supernatural stage. Before Kaelon only had the sword, something that really didn't completely change him. Sure Kaelon had become stronger through training, but anyone could do that.

  This control over fire gave him finally pushed him from the natural to the supernatural. Kaelon wasn't human anymore, he was a demigod. And this power was the proof of his divine lineage.

  Kaelon dived back into meditation after finishing his evil laughing. This time communing with his divinity was easier than before. After making contact with it twice Kaelon had gotten a feel for how to draw out these powers.

  Embers gathered around Kaelon and they grew and diminished with his breath. Orange light filled his room as he meditated. He was in this state for about 5 minutes before falling on his back panting.

  'My stamina could use some work...'

  Being in that state took a lot out of him. It drained his energy at a level he didn't even understand and left him completely drained. Kaelon couldn't move so he stared up at the ceiling for a while.

  As he finally got up the sun seemed to be setting outside. Kaelon grabbed his sword and fell into place under the tree in the square. As usual he practiced his swordsmanship for a few hours before heading to the cafeteria for dinner.

  The cafeteria was full of priests and paladins. All sharing a meal together as they laughed. Kaelon went up to the counter to grab a plate and settled next to Kane and the other paladins he trained with.

  As he sat down Kane turned to him and asked.

  "You talk to your dad yet? What was up with the fire?"

  "Yeah I talked to Him. He told me that because my divinity fully awakened and I got some powers out of it. Though I can barely use them right now."

  Kane's expression turned thoughtful, contemplating Kaelon's words.

  "Why can't you use them? Too energy intensive?"

  Kaelon nodded.

  "Yeah, I tried to train earlier but I was prone after five minutes."

  Kane chuckled and patted him on the back.

  "Five minutes? Seriously? You lasted longer than that against me your first day here."

  Kaelon scoffed at him before smiling.

  "Yeah because you were going easy. Otherwise there's no way I could've kept up with you back then. Even now I can't keep up, you still hold back in our duels."

  Kane smiled.

  "Yeah but I hold back way less now. A couple more months and we'll be completely even. At least when it comes to swordsmanship you will definitely surpass me. My talent can't compare to a God's gift."

  Kaelon's eyes widened a bit at his words.

  "Oh what won't I surpass you in? You said 'at least when it comes to swordsmanship'."

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  Kane smiled cheekily at him and posed.

  "You'll never surpass me in looks, my boy! Your senior is way too handsome, you can't compare."

  Kaelon's eyes rolled at his cheeky expression. The two bantered as they ate before Kaelon headed back to his quarters. He collapsed on his bed but only fell asleep hours later.

  This time his dream was different than usual. Instead of seeing the usual falling through a void until his divinity appeared. Kaelon had dreamt of a sacred hall. His divinity was in the middle of the hall on a stone altar. The crystalline symbol hovered above its altar.

  The symbol appeared somewhat incorporeal as if it didn't belong in the space. The closer Kaelon got to it the less opaque it became. As Kaelon finally stood directly in front of the altar a wave of heat swept the hall.

  His divinity had finally fully manifested and his connection to it deepened. This didn't mean Kaelon was now all of the sudden a God. As Altan explained, simply having divinity and becoming a God were drastically different things.

  Everything in the world had divinity, their connection to it and its quantity were just on the lower end. Only demigods and Gods actually nurtured and communed directly with their divinity.

  Mortals could theoretically achieve this too, but it was very unlikely. The chances of a regular mortal rising to godhood were slim to none. Even demigods weren't guaranteed it, and had to struggle to achieve it.

  Kaelon looked at the symbol on its altar. His gaze unfocused as his mind was drawn into it. Images flashed in Kaelon's mind to the point he clutched his head in pain.

  Flashing lights filled Kaelon's vision and he could vaguely see shapes in them, movements. Kaelon tried to comprehend everything that he was seeing but his understanding was limited.

  That was until it dawned on him. These weren't random tricks of the light. The movement was actually a sword style! Every technique was right in front of him, flashing in his mind.

  Kaelon was just getting excited when he suddenly found himself awake. He had fallen from his bed, a stinging sensation on his nose.

  'Damn... That hurt.'

  He got up and immediately grabbed his sword and went outside. Immediately Kaelon tried replicating the movements he saw in the light but it wasn't enough. His dream was cut too short, the style incomplete.

  While he couldn't fully replicate the movements. Kaelon did manage to incorporate what little he did see into his existing swordplay. His mind had been fully focused on this task.

  By the time Kaelon put down his sword, the sun had already begun to set. Sweat dripped from Kaelon's entire body and his muscles ached with familiar pain. Still a smile clung to his face, Kaelon was excited.

  Even just a little glimpse into the style and Kaelon had improved by leaps and bounds. It wouldn't be starnge if he and Kane were on even ground now. That's how much impact his vision had.

  "The Breath of Embers..."

  It was clearly a divine sword technique. Not meant to be used by mortals. But Kaelon had just barely managed to integrate a few forms of it into his current Altan Style. An exhausted Kaelon walked to the cafeteria while humming, clearly in a great mood.

  On his way there he ran into Elizabeth, who he actually hadn't seen recently. He went up to her with a smile.

  "Hey Elizabeth, where have you been? I haven't seen you around here in a while."

  She turned around looking quite tired, bags under her eyes.

  "Oh Kaelon, good to see you. I was going to come for you tomorrow, I have a task for you. A sister temple in the west has been having issues with monster waves assaulting their city. They asked us for our support, you and Kane will lead a small squad to Vinhal in three days."

  Kaelon's already good mood skyrocketed as Elizabeth spoke. He hadn't left this temple in three months and while he liked it much better than the slums, being in stuck the same place can get tiring. Not only that but Kaelon had never traveled far from Altan City.

  At most he had been to a few remote villages in its vicinity but that was all. He had never been to city other than Altan City so he was already looking forward to it.

  "Really? That sound great! Already looking forward to it."

  After a brief interaction Kaelon left Elizabeth to her duties. Continuing toward the cafeteria Kaelon had even more of a pep in his step than before. The smell of a freshly cooked meal assaulted his nose the closer he got to his destination.

  Stepping inside Kaelon quickly grabbed himself a playe and sat beside Kane, as usual.

  "Hey Kane, you ready for our mission? Has Elizabeth told you about it already?"

  Kane turned to him with a smile.

  "Yeah I'm ready. How about you? How are you feeling about your first mission?"

  Kaelon flashed a smile and confidently said.

  "Looking forward to it honestly. I had a vision today, it pushed my sword to another level. Just wait and see next time we duel it won't go your way."

  Kane laughed at that like it was a joke not even bothering to reply. Kaelon grumbled at him from the side.

  "What you don't believe me? You'll see soon enough I wasn't lying."