The next morning began noisily. Chael's eyes instantly shot open to Celestia's rowdy and loud entrance.

  "I'm back!! Did you guys miss me?!"

  Chael's eyes went bloodshot, and he groaned in annoyance while Eclipse was still snoring away on the floor. He had rolled out of his futon during the night.

  "Come on!!! At least act like you guys miss me!" Celestia shouted, hitting pots and pans together. "You guys got training to do, stop sleeping! Hurry up! Chop chop chop! Don't keep me waiting!”

  Chael finally jumped up and roared at her, "Argh! Let me sleep a little, you old hag!"

  A vein popped in Celestia's head, and she grabbed Chael in a headlock. "Say that one more time, you snot-nosed brat!"

  "Gaaaah!!! Lemme go!"

  "Oh... you're back..." Eclipse slowly opened his eyes to the ruckus. When he saw Celestia finally back, he didn't seem particularly excited. "Are you going to stop being useless now and teach us that Tenelux thing?”

  Celestia scoffed then swatted Eclipse's head, "Haah?! Useless? Is that something you call your precious, beautiful teacher? You brats didn't even feel the slightest bit of sadness while I was away, did you?"

  "Okay, okay, granny, can we just move on...?" Eclipse lazily responded, getting out of bed.

  Celestia's eyebrows twitched. "Huh, I guess training is the only thing that gets you two freaks excited. AND STOP CALLING ME GRANNY, I'M NOT EVEN THAT OLD!"

  "Huh, how old are you then?" Chael asked.

  Celestia’s head went blank at that question. She thought hard while scratching her head and peaking around the room with a bitter smile.

  "You look old nagging all the time." Eclipse added.

  BANG! BANG!

  Before the two even knew what came their way, the pots Celestia was holding launched into the air like missiles and smacked their heads. "REALLY, WELL CAN A GRANNY HIT YOU LIKE THIS."

  Eclipse and Chael groaned and rubbed their heads, "S-sorry..."

  "Tsk, whatever, lets just get you brats to the next phase of your training! Clean yourselves up and follow me!" Celestia grinned.

  The two stood in front of Celestia, who had her arms crossed and wore a stern expression on her face.

  “Is this finally the super power training?” Chael asked, trying to supress his excitement.

  “Indeed- wait? What super power? It’s called a Tenelux,” Celestia scoffed, “Don’t think you’ll be able to fly around and be in a cape to save damsels in distress.”

  “Huh, I can’t?”

  Celestia frowned, genuinely considering her words for a moment, “On second thoughts, maybe. But that depends on your Tenelux, okay?!”

  “Oh, wow! Teacher, teacher! Which region has the prettiest damsels?” Chael asked mischeviously, clearly having forgotten about learning Tenelux now that women was mentioned.

  “Kehehe, well that certainly has to be the Bloodmoon Region simply because I’m here,” Celestia laughed bashfully.

  Chael looked at her… with an extremely dubious expression, “Uhm, teacher-”

  “Don’t say anything else you rascal!” Her giddy demeanor changed completely and she tossed a peddle at Chael’s forehead, “Now listen without ants in your pants, you rascal. Why can’t you be a bit more like Eclipse? See, he’s always quiet and doesn’t… ahem, Eclipse? Please, wake up… Oi! Chael, smack him for me.”

  .

  .

  .

  “A Tenelux is a unique soul expression born from contained Anima pressure and fueled through a Qi pathway anchored at the Heart Node, manifesting a power that reflect one’s desires, affinity and individuality. Each Tenelux is entirely personal that no other soul can replicate.” Celestia said seriously, reading monotonously off of a scroll, “Any questions, my precious students?”

  Eclipse and Chael looked focused now, though they had plasters on their head.

  “How do I get one?” Eclipse asked lazily, “I want to create a sun too. What was it called, Paper of Truths, or something?”

  “It’s Fabric of Lies…” Celestia said meekly, her shoulders slumped visibly. Her voice was so quiet that neither of the two heard it… probably.

  “You doofus. It’s Paper of Untruth,” Chael frowned in displeasure.

  “F-fabric of lies…. guys…” Celestia said, looking even more dejected and resigned. She hid her face behind one of the scrolls and wiped a tear. When she bought her face back up it was calm and composed, “Enough tomfoolery, let’s focus, shall we? And to answer your question, no you won’t be able to do what I can do. You see, even amongst Phacers, Tenelux similarities being similar is extremely rare, let alone two identical Teneluxes. It really is unique to a each individual since no one person is exactly the same…”

  Eclipse’s eyes widened in understanding, “So the type of person you are determines your Tenelux?”

  Celestia smiled, “Not quite, it’s not neccesarily the type of person you are, but its the manifestation of what your soul desires the most! To give a broad example, my ‘Fabric of Lies’ is a Mental Type Tenelux which means my soul innately yearns, and has an affinity towards understanding minds - or some fluff like that, kahaha. It’s pretty abstract, but you guys get the idea.”

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  “Mental Types? Whoa, there’s different types? What other types are there?” Chael’s curiosity arose.

  “Well, there’s Mental Type Teneluxes which attack the mind and five senses, there’s Controller Type Teneluxes which allows the Phacer to control and shape the battlefield by manipulating space, terrain and stuff like that. Summoning Type Teneluxes enables the Phacers to usually call forth entities, objects, constructs - stuff like that.” Celestia explained.

  Chael’s eyes widened, “Theres Teneluxes that can summon real things? That’s crazy.”

  “Which one is the strongest?” Eclipse asked.

  “Kahaha, they all have their strengths and weaknesses of course! And the strength of the user is what matters in the fight, unless your Tenelux directly gives you an advantage over your opponents. For example, a Phacer with a controller type Tenelux would generally have an advantage over a Phacer with a summoning type Tenelux.”

  The duo nodded in understanding, prompting Celestia to carry on, “There are also Energy Type Teneluxes, which grants the Phacer control over raw or elemental energies. This includes’ lightning, fire, air or other energetic phenomena. And lastly, Enhancer Teneluxes enhances the Phacer’s own body or attributes beyond normal limits. This includes heightened strength, speed, durability, regeneration, perception, or physical adaptations. Oh, there’s one more called Conceptual Tenelux, but that’s extremely rare, but also usually the most powerful. They can control concepts that govern the laws of our world, per se. Hopefully, if you guys do meet Conceptual Phacers in the future, they’re your allies since they can also be the most dangerous.” Celestia’s gaze turned slightly solemn at the last part.

  Chael was about to question it, but sensing Celestia’s hardened gaze, he swallowed it. It was almost like she was remembering something unpleasant.

  Eclipse sighed, “They all sound better than the last. Too bad I can’t have it all…”

  Celestia’s face brightened, “Kahaha, actually, you can! A Tenelux isn’t fundamentally tied down to one category. These categories are made to seperate Teneluxes by their primary function, but a Tenelux can absolutely belong to two, or more catergories at the same time! For example, a guy with a fire manipulation Energy Tenelux can douse an entire battlefield in fire, manipulating it around the battlefield and essentially being a Controller type as well, suppose that they have enough Qi, of course.”

  “So it’s like that….” Chael’s eyes glistened brighter the more he listened. Celestia’s description of dousing the battlefield in fire was the final nail to the coffin, and he could no longer control himself, “Can we try to get our Tenelux now?”

  “Why of course,” Celestia tossed a few scrolls behind her. It seemed like she couldn’t wait to get started as well.

  A determined fire ignited in Chael’s eyes, “Then, I’m prepared!”

  Celestia smiled, then folded her arms, “Great, since you’ve been so fidgety, Chael, let’s start with you. Figuring out if you have a Tenelux or not is pretty straight forward, actually. The first step is to sit down, and to enter a deep calm mental state, just like when you guys learned to manipulate Anima, except this time it will be a lot easier!”

  Chael sat down as instructed, while Celestia continued to explain, “Once you’re in this state, you have to begin releasing Anima Pressure, except this time, do not let it leave your soul! The Anima Pressure has to be fully and completely contained within the soul itself. This is very important. From this point onwards, all you have to do is maintain this state. You’ll notice that the contained pressure will make your soul restructure itself to create a small core at the centre. This is called a Gift Core! At this stage, all you have to do is send Qi through the Heart Node. Once you direct your Qi into the spiritual layer through the heart node, you can direct it into the Gift Core in your soul which will create a new Qi pathway from your body to your soul. And this is what will lead to the manifestation of your Tenelux!”

  Chael closed his eyes and let the world fall away. The breeze, the chirping of the birds, and even Eclipse and Celestia’s presence faded into the background. His breathing slowed, and his consciousness entered the deepest part of his mind - just like before.

  He had practised this meditative state countless times over the past months, so it was definitely much easier now.

  He released his Anima Pressure then stopped it. Instead of letting it spill out, he held it completely in, forcing every trace of pressure to remain within his soul.

  It felt like holding in a breath for too long, but then something started to change. The pressure began to fold on itself and began to spiral. Something was getting shaped in the deepest part of his soul.

  Time passed.

  Celestia leaned forward slightly, her mouth parted, and her fists clenched in nervousness. Eclipse too, looked hard at Chael, his pupils trembling ever so slightly.

  Finally, he opened his eyes.

  “…It’s done,” Chael said quietly. “My Gift Core has formed.”

  Celestia froze, then her face completely lit up.

  “Yes!” She clenched a fist, barely containing herself. “The Giftcore…! And this pressure, there’s no mistaking it! Chael, you’re officially a Phacer!”

  Eclipse, who had been watching in silence, closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing in relief. He then gave Chael a nod with a half-smile, “Didn’t expect anything less.”

  Celestia yelled, sheer pride into her voice. “And that.. that…is my student!”

  Chael was trembling too. He couldn’t say anything right now. He was far too excited. Forming the Giftcore meant he had a Tenelux, but what was his Tenelux?

  Celestia took a breath, her excitement settling into sharp focus.

  “Alright,” she said, eyes gleaming. “Moment of truth.”

  Chael nodded, then immediately found the Giftcore core at the centre of his soul, and slowly, directed his Qi straight into it forming a new Qi pathway to the soul as Celestia had mentioned.

  Chael’s body surged with Golden Beige Qi, which made his black hair and garment flutter furiously. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Eclipse and Celestia watched him intensely, Chael's surging Qi barely affecting them.

  Then, all of a sudden, the ground beneath him sundered open, and countless tree roots erupted out of the ground.

  The sheer force of the shockwave sent Eclipse tumbling a few steps back, and he was forced to shield his face with his arms from flying splinters.

  The roots coiled upward uncontrollable, a few going straight for Celestia who looked at the spectacle with wide eyes. She then jumped upward at the last second, causing the roots to pierce and destroy the stone she had been on.

  Chael didn't dare move, his eyes popping out of his sockets. Eclipse, who also didn't expect this in the slightest, broke character, and his jaw was wide open.

  A small curve arced across Celestia's lips and she landed gracefully behind Chael.

  Chael didn't move for a good ten seconds before his body started trembling. "Uhh, Chael what's wro-"

  Before Celestia could finish, Chael jumped up with all his might, going up into the air a few metres.

  "Woooooow, that was so cool!" Chael landed mightily, the ground caving underneath him. He threw his hands up in the air and yelled, "Lets fucking goooooooo!!”

  “Kahaha!” Celestia laughed cheerfully. “It seems you’re Tenelux is a controller type, Chael! These tree roots are absolutely formidable, no one can mess with you now!”

  After several minutes of jumping around and venting his excitement, Chael finally calmed down. He then grinned, “A controller type Tenelux? I’ll take that any day of the week.”

  Chael’s body then glowed a Golden Beige as he prepared to release his Tenelux once more, but Celestia firmly held down his shoulder with a grin, “Whoa there, kiddo. This is my favourite sunset spot! I can’t have this turn into a forest now, can I? Just wait a little, I’ll have you go all out soon, just not here!”

  “Ahaha, of course, ma’am,” Chael laughed, then turned to Eclipse who was lounging lazily on top of one of the thick tree roots, “Your turn, Eclipse. I wonder what yours is?"

  Celestia, too, turned to him. “Yeah, give it a try, Eclipse.”

  Chael looked up at her quizzically.

  Had he imaged it… or did Celestia sound very glum all of a sudden?

  Eclipse got into a lotus sitting position, then closed his eyes. Soon, he entered a deep meditative state, and released his Anima Pressure and contained it within the bounds of his soul.

  A minute passed.

  Another minute.

  Soon a full ten minutes passed

  As more time passed, Chael grew more and more anxious - after all, this stage had only taken him a few minutes, why was it taking Eclipse so long?

  After a long time - perhaps half an hour, Eclipse finally opened his eyes. They were dark, murky, and incredibly gloomy.

  “I… can’t form a Gift Core.”