Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1422: Not Fully Healed

Arthur sat in silence, legs crossed, arms resting on his knees.

He did not speak.

The others waited, though Aquan said nothing. The wind was still, and the plains around them held their breath. Tiara looked toward Arthur, her gaze uncertain. Ali simply closed his eyes again, content to rest.

Aquan didn't push. "An oath is not forced," he said finally. "It must come when the soul is ready to be bound."

Arthur gave no response.

He wasn't sure what oath to take. Every part of him rejected the idea of being bound by something, even if it came from himself. He'd spent too long clawing out of chains. Swearing new ones felt wrong.

He thought about what he wanted. About Ali's question.

What do you want?

Arthur didn't know.

So he remained silent.

***

That night, they stayed within the camp. A crystal dome was offered to them, warmer than expected, and large enough for three.

Tiara slept quickly, her breathing slow and even. Ali stayed up longer, meditating. Arthur lay with his eyes open, watching the dim ceiling flicker with reflections from the spiritual torches outside.

His mind wouldn't rest.

Was he weaker because he couldn't give an oath?

No. He didn't believe that. But he did feel... distant.

Detached.

Maybe Aquan was right. Maybe he was an ocean trying to be carried by hands.

But how do you trust something you can't control?

***

By morning, Arthur was outside before the others. The camp was quiet. A few early seekers trained with slow, deliberate movements—shaping energy, making it follow a pattern.

Arthur tried the same.

His spiritual energy didn't listen.

It flared, burned, surged. When he told it to turn, it struck forward. When he asked it to wait, it screamed.

Ali joined him after a while. He didn't say anything at first.

Then he did.

"Energy that fights back is energy that's afraid."

Arthur frowned. "Afraid?"

Ali nodded. "Spiritual energy reacts to the soul. If your soul is full of pain, it sees everything as a threat."

Arthur looked down at his hands. "I'm not in pain."

"Maybe not now," Ali said gently. "But you were. And you never healed."

Arthur didn't respond.

***

They trained again later that day. Aquan gave them exercises that involved moving energy through different points of the body. Tiara excelled. Ali was steady.

Arthur struggled.

"Control is not strength," Aquan told him. "Control is listening."

Arthur tried.

The energy screamed louder.

***

That evening, Arthur stood on a hill outside the camp. Alone.

He stared at the horizon. The plains seemed endless, but the dragon above Nexus could still be seen in the far distance—unmoving, like a mountain floating in the sky.

Arthur closed his eyes.

He reached inward. Not to shape his energy. Not to command it.

But to listen.

He didn't try to suppress the storm inside him.

He let it rise.

Pain surfaced. Faces. Names. Loss. Betrayal. Rage.

All of it.

He didn't fight it.

And then, something changed.

The energy calmed.

Not completely. Not fully. But it stopped lashing.

It pulsed, like a heartbeat.

Arthur opened his eyes.

"I don't know what I want," he said into the quiet. "But I know what I won't become."

He closed his eyes again.

His oath came then—not grand, not righteous. But his.

"I will never lose myself, no matter what I become."

His body shuddered once.

A quiet wind passed.

Then—light.

It didn't shine. It outlined.

His spiritual form sharpened slightly. Not fully like Tiara or Ali, but enough to make his shape more defined. His arms solidified. His steps no longer left a drifting echo.

He didn't smile.

But he did feel present.

***

When he returned, Tiara noticed first. "You took the oath."

"I did."

She smiled a little. "What was it?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not ready to share it yet."

"Fair."

Ali gave him a small nod of approval. "Welcome back."

Arthur didn't ask what he meant.

He didn't need to.

***

By the next sunrise, Aquan gathered them again.

"You have two more days before you leave for Nexus," he said. "We will spend them refining your control. You now have the body. Next comes the breath."

Arthur didn't know what that meant.

But for once, he was ready to learn.

They trained under the early sun, the light pale and cool.

Aquan stood barefoot on a circle etched into the ground. His arms were loose at his sides. "The breath," he said, "is how you speak to your energy without words."

Arthur stood a few steps away. Tiara and Ali formed the rest of the circle. None of them spoke.

"Breathing connects soul and body. Most seekers forget that. They treat energy like a tool, not a limb."

Aquan inhaled slowly.

Spiritual energy around him shifted, responding gently, like mist being pulled into a whirlpool.

"Match your breathing to your intent," he said. "If you want calm, breathe calm. If you want force, breathe like a wave."

Arthur frowned. "That sounds stupid."

Aquan chuckled. "Then try it."

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes. He tried breathing slow, deep, like Aquan. His spiritual energy moved, but only a little.

"It's not a lever," Aquan said. "You're still trying to pull."

Arthur exhaled. "Then what is it?"

"A mirror."

They spent the morning on breathwork. Simple inhaling and exhaling, matching energy flow with rhythm. Tiara had the easiest time. Her energy was soft and fluid, like her oath.

Ali struggled slightly, but his discipline helped. He adjusted quickly.

Arthur was last.

His energy still flared, still resisted.

"Your breath is too heavy," Aquan said. "You're trying to force silence."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "It's always loud."

"Then breathe with the noise."

Later that day, they walked outside the camp toward a stony ridge where spiritual storms sometimes passed. Aquan wanted them to train under pressure.

"Spiritual energy doesn't wait for you to be ready," he explained. "You must practice even in chaos."

As they climbed the ridge, the air grew thick. Colors bled into the sky, and static tingled across their skin.

"It's coming," Ali warned. "A small one, but wild."

Arthur stepped forward. "Good."

The storm hit.

It wasn't wind or lightning. It was pressure. Spiritual pressure.

Arthur felt it slam into him like a wall. His vision blurred. His breath caught.

"Breathe!" Aquan called. "Don't resist—guide!"

Tiara closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Her form shimmered but held steady.

Ali dropped into a meditative stance. His outline flickered but returned.

Arthur stood firm.

He inhaled—his energy surged.

He exhaled—his energy screamed.

He bent forward slightly, fists clenched.

He tried again.

Inhale. The energy listened.

Exhale. The pressure shifted.

Then again. And again.

By the sixth breath, his energy no longer fought. It didn't obey—but it moved with him.

That was enough.