The secluded grove they had found was unlike anything else in the Secret Realm.
Nestled within a valley of stone cliffs wrapped in bioluminescent vines, the space felt untouched by time. A massive crystal-veined tree sat at its heart as it exuded a faint, pulsing glow, its massive roots twisting through the soft earth like ancient tendrils grasping for forgotten secrets.
Above them, the sky was a rich shade of indigo, speckled with swirling, ethereal lights instead of stars. Wisps of blue and silver mist danced lazily across the surface of a still mirror-like lake a short distance away. The water was so pure, it reflected everything around them with unnatural clarity, yet no ripples disturbed its surface.
The air here was thick with energy, but unlike the chaotic bursts of Etherion in the deeper forest, this place felt calm, its power collected and undisturbed. It was as if the land itself breathed in slow rhythm, allowing only those who entered with purpose to remain undisturbed.
Aeliana was the first to break the silence.
"This is the spot."
Evolis' golden eyes flickered, scanning their surroundings. He could feel it, the stability of the Etherion here, the way it pulsed evenly through the land instead of lashing wildly like in the rest of the realm.
"This place is stable," he noted, his gaze drawn to the tree's bark. It pulsed faintly, its deep-rooted energy harmonizing with the environment. "The Etherion here isn't chaotic like the rest of the realm."
"Exactly," Aeliana said. "If we want to break through safely, we need our minds to be clear. This is as good as it gets."
Orion stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Alright. Let's set up."
They moved quickly.
Orion cleared loose debris, flattening the ground with precise Etherion bursts. Evolis took a moment to reinforce the perimeter, using his Plantae affinity to shift creeping roots and overgrown foliage aside, making the space more defined.
Aeliana, however, was already focused on something else.
She raised her hands, her silver Etherion flickering to life as she etched symbols midair. A faint shimmer spread through the surroundings as barriers began forming around them.
Evolis narrowed his eyes, watching the way the symbols locked into place. He didn't recognize the structure, but he could tell it wasn't a simple barrier technique.
Aeliana pressed her palm to the ground, and a wave of light pulsed outward, forming an intricate circular pattern around them. Runes stretched outward from her touch, locking into place like puzzle pieces forming an invisible dome over the area.
Evolis watched closely.
This wasn't just a rune. It was something more.
"Is that… a formation?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity. He remembered being taught about these in the academy, but that stingy old geezer, Master Gaius, would never let them try them out, saying that they were rare enough already as it is.
Aeliana nodded. "It's a protective formation," she confirmed, adjusting the final few symbols before stepping back. "It'll keep out low-level beasts and disturbances while we cultivate."
Evolis' brows furrowed slightly. "You know formation magic?"
Aeliana hesitated for a brief moment before shaking her head. "Not really."
"Then how are you using this?"
She exhaled, brushing her hands together as the barrier solidified, the air within their space growing noticeably calmer.
"The Elven Kingdom has always used formations," she admitted. "But we didn't create them. We… found them."
Evolis raised an eyebrow. "Found them?"
Aeliana nodded, her silver gaze flickering with thought. "Our people discovered them in ruins left behind by those who came before. We only learned how to activate them—we don't actually understand how they work."
That made Evolis pause.
A profession so powerful that entire civilizations used its remnants… without understanding them?
How could something like that be forgotten?
Orion, who had been listening, let out a short laugh. "It's always been like that. Even the other kingdoms use formations left behind by higher beings. No one really knows how they work anymore."
Evolis, however, wasn't satisfied with that answer.
Because as he stared at the symbols forming the barrier, they looked familiar.
It wasn't some mysterious lost art.
It looked like it was just… Runes.
But the thought felt wrong somehow.
He narrowed his eyes, focusing, his Golden Eyes flickering as he traced the flow of Etherion within the structure.
The patterns—they weren't random. Every connection, every pathway, it was all just combinations of runes, layered on top of one another in a complex sequence.
Like a puzzle with thousands of small pieces, working together to create something greater.
And yet…
Something eluded him.
There was an absence, a missing link between his understanding and what lay before him. The way the formation pulsed felt different from normal runes—it didn't just sit there, static and inactive. It breathed, shifting in response to Aeliana's Etherion, as if it were something alive.
His gaze sharpened.
Could runes really be the foundation of formations? Or was it something else—something deeper, something beyond what he could grasp right now?
There was no way to be certain.
Not yet.
The thought nagged at him, like an itch at the back of his mind.
If this truly was just a more intricate form of runes, then why had entire civilizations failed to understand them? Why were they only activating formations rather than creating them?
And more importantly…
If formations were only a piece of something larger, then what else had been lost?
What else was hidden in the ruins of the past?
Evolis inhaled deeply, pushing the thought aside for now.
He didn't have enough knowledge yet.
Instead he just focused on what Aeliana was doing next.
Evolis crouched beside Aeliana, his golden eyes gleaming with curiosity as she carefully arranged the herbs in a cauldron. Unlike what he expected, she wasn't just tossing them together like some crude concoction.
Each step was precise. Methodical.
She didn't hesitate, didn't fumble. Every movement of her slender fingers had a purpose, an intention, as if she had performed this process a thousand times before.
His gaze lingered on the way she handled the herbs, not just sorting them, but feeling them, as if she could hear the silent whispers of Etherion within them.
Alchemy wasn't just about mixing ingredients.
It was an art—a delicate balance of power, control, and understanding.
Aeliana reached into her spatial ring, retrieving a small, engraved stone. The moment she placed it on the ground beside the cauldron, faint lines of energy rippled across its surface. She tapped it lightly, and with a soft whoosh, a controlled flame ignited beneath the cauldron.
The fire wasn't normal.
It burned in a steady, unnatural rhythm, like a beating heart—alive, yet restrained.
Evolis arched a brow. "What's that?"
"A Rune-Forged Flame," Aeliana answered, her tone even, but Evolis noticed the faintest smirk tugging at her lips. She knew he was watching closely. "It stabilizes the temperature when refining ingredients."
Evolis tilted his head, intrigued. "So you're using Runes in Alchemy?"
"Not exactly," she corrected, sparing him a glance before returning to her preparations. "Alchemy is about understanding how Etherion interacts with matter. The problem is, most ingredients don't like being mixed. Without stabilization methods—whether it's through Runes, formations, or innate affinities—the pill would collapse before it even formed."
She paused, carefully adjusting the flame with an effortless motion of her Etherion.
Evolis leaned in slightly, watching the way silver light danced across her fingertips as she fine-tuned the temperature.
The moment was quiet. Still.
Only the gentle flickering of the Rune-Forged Flame and the distant hum of energy-filled air surrounded them.
For a moment, he was closer than intended, his breath almost brushing against her exposed shoulder as he studied the flickering runes on the stone.
Aeliana stiffened.
Not noticeably to most—but Evolis wasn't most people.
He smirked.
"Careful," he murmured, voice low, teasing. "Wouldn't want to burn yourself."
Aeliana inhaled sharply, her fingers faltering for the briefest second before she shot him a glare.
"I'm not some novice," she huffed, trying to focus.
"Never said you were," Evolis replied smoothly, his smirk widening. "But it's adorable when you get all flustered."
Aeliana's grip on the ladle tightened.
"Do you want this pill or not?" she muttered under her breath, face slightly red.
Evolis chuckled, leaning back slightly but not before letting his golden gaze linger on her just a bit longer.
"Fine, fine," he mused. "I'll behave. For now."
Aeliana exhaled, clearly regretting every life choice that had led her to this moment.
But she forced herself to refocus.
She gestured toward the spread of ingredients, neatly arranged before them:
Voidroot – Stabilizes Etherion, preventing energy deviation.
Starleaf – Amplifies absorption, making it easier to integrate energy.
Lotus Mirage – Heightens comprehension, allowing deeper breakthroughs.
Verdant Myrrh – A secondary ingredient that smooths the conversion of Etherion, preventing rejection.
Crimson Emberbud – A catalyst that increases potency, enhancing the effectiveness of the final pill.
She picked up a single Lotus Mirage petal between her fingers, rolling it slightly.
"This isn't just about throwing powerful herbs together," she explained. "Everything needs to be balanced. If the ingredients don't harmonize, the resulting pill would be unstable—or worse, poisonous."
Evolis nodded slowly. He was beginning to understand.
Alchemy wasn't simple.
It wasn't just about brute-forcing energy into the body. It was about guiding it, refining it, perfecting it.
A form of controlled transmutation.
He tilted his head, watching as Aeliana crushed the Verdant Myrrh into a fine powder with delicate movements. "And if one ingredient overpowers the others?"
Aeliana's silver eyes gleamed with something amused, as if she were pleased that he was asking the right questions.
"Then the pill will break down before it even forms," she answered. "Alchemy is about control. We aren't just making medicine; we're manipulating Etherion itself. If it were just about mixing herbs, anyone could do it."
Evolis exhaled through his nose, glancing at the gentle flickers of flame beneath the cauldron.
"So then," he mused, "Alchemy is about making Etherion obey?"
Aeliana smirked. "In a way, yes. But it's not about forcing it—it's about coaxing it into harmony. That's the difference between an alchemist and a fool who throws herbs into a pot and hopes for the best."
Evolis smirked. "Sounds like a lot of work."
Aeliana rolled her eyes, crushing another herb with a bit more force than necessary.
"Yes, well, some of us actually put effort into our craft," she shot back.
Evolis chuckled, but he couldn't deny it—Alchemy wasn't just a skill.
It was a philosophy.
A way of seeing and shaping the world, not through brute force, but through understanding.
He glanced at Aeliana again, watching as she carefully poured the crushed ingredients into the cauldron, stirring with an effortless grace.
Despite her usual cold demeanor, she seemed at home doing this.
This wasn't just something she knew.
This was something she lived.
And that?
That was interesting.
The air was thick with the fragrant heat of the cauldron's controlled flame, a slow pulse of energy rippling outward as Aeliana worked with practiced efficiency. The soft bubbling of the brewing mixture filled the silence, the ingredients dissolving in perfect sequence under her careful manipulation.
Then... a shift.
Aeliana lifted her hand, her silver Etherion flickering to life. With the slightest tilt of her fingers, a faint, glowing symbol manifested above her palm, suspended midair exuding an ancient aura.
Its form was simple yet intricate—a set of delicate, interwoven lines, pulsing in harmony with the cauldron beneath it. As the rune settled into place, the bubbling within the cauldron instantly steadied, the once volatile mixture calming as if it had been bound by invisible chains.
Evolis' golden eyes sharpened.
His gaze traced the rune, breaking it down on instinct.
The way the Etherion moved through it, the pathways it followed, the way it redirected energy without disrupting the mixture, it all made sense.
Like a puzzle clicking into place.
"Aether Stabilization Rune," Aeliana explained, her voice carrying a hint of satisfaction as she admired her work. "It keeps the ingredients from combusting."
Evolis said nothing.
Because something within him had already changed.
His mind wasn't just watching.
It was understanding.
No, more than that... it was deciphering.
The rune wasn't just a glowing symbol to him anymore. It was a living equation, a formula that wove through the very essence of Etherion itself. He could see how it functioned, how it stabilized the mixture, how it pulled energy from the atmosphere and guided it into balance.
Every movement of Etherion within the rune's structure, he could see it all.
It's just like the formations…
The realization struck him like lightning.
The formations Aeliana had set up weren't some mysterious lost art. They were just combinations of runes—intricate, layered, but still following the same fundamental principles.
His fingers twitched.
Instinct took over.
Evolis inhaled slowly, his golden eyes narrowing as he extended his hand, his mental energy reaching outward.
The Etherion in the air shifted.
It was subtle at first, like a ripple across still water. He could feel the energy resisting him, like it was something alive, something that didn't want to be commanded so easily.
But he wasn't trying to force it.
He was guiding it.
Like threads waiting to be woven into a greater tapestry.
His mind instinctively traced the structure of Aeliana's rune, breaking it down into fundamental sequences. Pathways. Circuits. Flow points.
He could see how the Etherion wove into itself, forming a self-sustaining loop, and he adjusted his mental energy accordingly.
A faint glow formed at his fingertips.
The rune started to take shape—but it was unstable.
The golden lines wavered, flickering as if they might collapse at any moment. His brow furrowed. The Etherion wasn't settling properly.
Why?
Then, he understood.
It wasn't just about creating a rune.
It was about balancing it.
The Etherion in the environment needed to be harmonized, not just controlled. His mind had been too forceful, and the energy was resisting as a result.
He adjusted his approach, focusing not on making the Etherion obey, but on making it flow naturally.
Aeliana turned towards him as she noticed what he was trying to do, "Evolis you can't just try and form a rune on a whim, it's extremely difficu-"
The rune solidified.
Perfect. Stable. Complete.
It pulsed, floating in the air, its golden light casting faint shadows against the cauldron's surface.
Silence.
Then Orion choked. "The hell?"
Aeliana's breath hitched. "What…?"
Evolis blinked, tilting his head. "…Huh."
His heart pounded, not from exertion, but from excitement. The rune was there. Floating. Stable. Real. 'I actually did it…?'
He had done it.
Instinctively.
Effortlessly.
Aeliana's silver eyes were wide, shock coloring her features. "That—That's impossible."
Orion leaned in, pointing at the rune like it was some kind of alien creature. "It takes years to inscribe a rune that cleanly. Years. How the hell did you just—?"
Evolis tilted his head. "I just… saw how it worked."
His fingers twitched slightly, the residual energy still lingering in his palm.
He hadn't realized it until now, but his Golden Eyes weren't just for combat.
They allowed him to comprehend the fundamental mechanics of power itself.
Runes. Formations. The very essence of the world's energy.
He could see them.
Understand them.
Maybe even… improve them.
The silence stretched.
Aeliana hadn't moved.
She was still staring at him, her lips slightly parted, her hands resting against the edge of the cauldron as if she had forgotten what she was doing.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Orion muttered, "Yeah. You're a freak."
Evolis let out a slow breath, flexing his fingers as the rune faded from existence.
Aeliana still hadn't recovered. Her silver eyes were locked onto him, her mouth gaping, but Evolis could see the way her fingers subtly tensed against the edge of the cauldron.
Her voice, when she finally found it, was low, and disbelieving.
"…Do you have any idea what this means?"
Evolis tilted his head, his golden eyes flickering with quiet curiosity. He could see the weight in her expression, the way her usual sharp confidence had been replaced by something more—awe? And hidden beneath that pride, as if she was the one who had achieved it.
He smirked, but there was an underlying question in his voice when he spoke. "I guess I'm a fast learner."
Aeliana blinked, then let out an exasperated sigh, pressing her fingers to her temple as if trying to process what she had just witnessed. She shook her head slightly before meeting his gaze again, her voice softer now.
"Evolis," she said carefully, measuring her words. "You just became a Grade One Rune Inscriber."
Orion's head snapped toward her so fast it was a miracle he didn't break something. "Wait, what?!"
Evolis raised a brow, intrigued. "A Grade One what now?"
Aeliana's expression remained serious, her silver Etherion still flickering faintly in response to the energy still lingering in the air.
"Rune Inscriber," she repeated. "It's the term used for people who can craft and control runes with precision. Runes aren't just symbols, Evolis. They are foundational magic. They require deep mental strength, years of training, and mastery over the flow of Etherion."
She gestured toward the fading traces of his rune. "And you just made one on a whim!? And a perfect one at that."
Evolis narrowed his eyes slightly. "So, how long does it normally take to reach Grade One?"
Aeliana sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as if she was trying to keep herself from getting frustrated.
"Years," she said finally. "Most people never become Rune Inscribers. The ones that do? They spend decades learning how to properly shape runes, how to guide Etherion with their mind, how to engrave them onto objects or use them in battle. Just reaching Grade One requires constant practice and a mental fortitude strong enough to withstand the strain of controlling Etherion at such a delicate level."
Orion let out a low whistle. "So what you're saying is… the kid just skipped a couple decades of training and landed at the starting line without even trying?"
Aeliana gave him a flat look. "Yes, Orion. That's exactly what I'm saying."
Evolis stared at his own palm for a long moment. The energy still felt residual, like a muscle he had just stretched for the first time. His mind, however…
He felt sharp.
Like something had clicked into place, something that had always been there, waiting to be unlocked.
He looked at Aeliana with a thoughtful expression. "So, what happens after Grade One?"
Aeliana crossed her arms, her expression growing more serious. "It gets harder. Much harder."
She took a step closer, her gaze sharp as if measuring him again. "Grade One is only the beginning. At this level, you can inscribe basic runes, minor enchantments—things that can reinforce objects, stabilize magic, or provide small energy boosts. It's impressive, but it's still… elementary."
Evolis hummed. "And the next rank?"
Aeliana hesitated. "Greater Runes. But I don't know the full requirements. Rune Inscription is rare in this world, and most of what we know about the higher levels is fragmented knowledge at best. We don't have true Rune Masters here."
Her gaze flickered downward for a moment before returning to him. "But one thing is certain—no one has ever reached Grade One this fast."
Orion leaned back, crossing his arms. "Yeah, well, Evolis doesn't do normal. That's kind of his whole thing."
Evolis let out a soft chuckle at that.
Evolis played around with the rune, his smirk widening. "Don't worry, Orion. If you try hard enough, maybe you'll be able to do it in twenty years."
Orion scoffed. "You're lucky I'm too amazed to punch you."
Aeliana, however, was still watching him. And as if thinking about something her cheeks slightly blushed, which she tried to hide.
Evolis, noticing it, stepped closer, his smirk playful as he leaned in just enough for the air between them to thin. "You look like your thinking about something interesting, Aeliana."
She blinked rapidly, taking half a step back, her blush deepening as if she was just caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. "N-nothing. I-I just need a second to process this" She said and then, "You just look really hot doing things that are supposed to me impossible." She muttered so softly that nobody should've been able to hear it.
Yet Evolis, who's hearing had been advanced due to his upgraded physique, smirk widened after barely catching what she said, golden eyes gleaming. "Take all the time you need, princess."
Aeliana rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, but her blush didn't fade.
Orion groaned. "Oh great, now he's gonna be even worse."
Evolis laughed, stretching his fingers. He wasn't sure what this discovery meant just yet, but one thing was certain—his path had just changed forever.
As Evolis flexed his fingers, watching the lingering traces of golden energy fade, a thought struck him.
If it was really this easy—
Then what else had been locked away inside him?
What other abilities, what other knowledge was waiting, hidden beneath the surface, just waiting to be uncovered?
He exhaled slowly, his smirk returning.
Whatever the answer was—
He intended to find out.