"What about Will?" A girl asked after a brief moment of tense silence.
Her cyan-colored hair, reminiscent of the lush vegetation of this blue-tinged world, was a trademark of the Emberblades... the former de facto rulers of Xenith, now sworn subordinates of the Crimsons.
"As for Will; the second primary form of Essence manifestation, well..." Thaddeus paused, choosing his words carefully.
"That's something hard to explain. It's unique to every living being in existence. Essence itself is individualized, true, but Will... Will is special.
"The way it awakens is unlike anything else. There's no fixed method, no precise path..." His gaze swept over the young faces before him. "... Than just be true to yourself."
"Be true to yourself?" One of the children echoed in confusion.
Thaddeus simply nodded. "Yes, exactly that."
A few children exchanged uncertain glances, their faces contorted with confusion. "Be true to yourself?" That was hardly an explanation.
Eliot, more than a little displeased by how his brother had been called out and embarrassed, scoffed. "That's just vague. What does that even mean?"
Thaddeus' sharp gaze flicked to him, and Eliot immediately stiffened.
"You think it's nonsense?" The instructor's voice was calm, but there was a weight to it, laced in his tone.
Eliot hesitated. He wasn't foolish enough to argue outright, but his expression made his thoughts clear.
Thaddeus sighed. "Will is who you are at your core. It is the manifestation of your true self. It cannot be taught, nor forced, nor borrowed." His gaze swept across the children, lingering on Kallen for a very brief second. "It must be found."
There was another pause, heavier this time. The children sat in varying degrees of contemplation. Clearly to them, this was no simple concept.
Atticus, still smiling, tilted his head. "So, if you're weak-willed, does that mean your Will is weak?"
Thaddeus gave him a knowing look. "And what do you think?"
Atticus chuckled. "I think... some people were born to shatter mountains, and others were born to be the stones beneath their feet. Not everyone has the will to challenge their fates."
A few of the children paled at the implications of his words; some looking at him with expressions varying from shock to admiration for his brilliance, and many more sizing up Kallen's figure.
Thaddeus, did not rebuke him. Instead, he simply smiled. "You will all understand, in time."
There was a flurry of chatter among the children as Thaddeus allowed them to converse freely for a while, his sharp eyes and keen ears attuned to catch any spark of insight that might surprise him.
"Conviction of who one is, what one needs, and the line one walks, births Will... I see."
The words slipped out like a whisper, yet they resonated with the weight of a force of nature.
Silence fell over the children. All eyes turned toward the figure sitting with his head lowered, eyes closed, exuding an aura of calm authority! Like a sleeping emperor.
Though no one had seen his lips move, everyone knew it was Kallen who had spoken.
His figure remained still, his posture regal despite his small frame. His crimson hair framed his face, shadows pooling under his lowered lashes. He seemed disconnected, yet his words had tethered the entire gathering to a singular, potent truth.
A brief light of amazement flickered in Thaddeus' eyes before he nodded, the glow vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
The genius of Kallen was still making waves. His insight had hit the mark, piercing through the layers of youthful ignorance and straight into the marrow of the lesson.
"Mmh! One must follow the path and truth of the heart, know his place amongst Existence, and grasp it."
Another voice echoed through the silence, drawing everyone's attention again to Atticus. His voice was like a silken thread that wound through the silence.
Unlike Kallen's quiet force, Atticus exuded a subtle brilliance, his words dripping with a wisdom far beyond his age. His face tilted toward the blue sun, the light washing over his features.
It wasn't just the words, it was the way he said them. His voice danced on the edge of reverence and defiance, as if he acknowledged the universe's vastness yet dared to carve out his own dominion within it.
The children were transfixed. Even the troublemakers sat still, their usual antics snuffed out by the weight of the moment. Elyon, who had been so bold earlier, now sat with wide eyes, his fingers curling into the grass beneath him.
Thaddeus allowed the silence to stretch, and to breathe. He knew when to push and when to let the lesson settle into their bones.
He clasped his hands behind his back, his imposing figure casting a long shadow over the seated children.
"Yes," he finally said, his voice a low rumble. "Will is not merely strength. It is not simply stubbornness or bravery. It is the silent vow you make to yourself when no one is watching. It is the line you draw between who you are and who you refuse to be. It is YOU!"
His gaze swept over them, lingering on Kallen, then Atticus. Two flames. One smoldering, one crackling. Both capable of setting the world ablaze.
"Take this to heart. Some of you may not fully understand now," Thaddeus continued, "but the day will come when you must choose: to follow the truth of your essence, or to be swept away by the will of another.
"When a man fails to make decisions for his own life, the world decides for him, placing him beneath the soles of those who hold the strings of control at their fingertips..."
A breeze rolled through, rustling leaves and tousling hair. It seemed to carry the words, threading them into the fabric of the world around them. And as the children sat there, shadows and sunlight dancing over their faces, a seed of understanding took root.
In this world, Will was authority, and only those who could hold their own would ever be truly free.
"Alright!" Thaddeus spoke again after a long while, his voice a quiet rumble that cut through the simmering quiet. The children, already sobering from the weight of his previous words, sat up straighter, instinctively bracing themselves.
"We've got a special assessment today... Let's see how strong in body and heart you are."
An unseen force rippled through the air, soft as a whisper yet dense and unyielding. It slid over their skin, cool and insidious, like shadows threading through a forest at dusk. Some of the children shivered, a prickling sensation running along their spines.
Goosebumps rose on their skins, and a chill seeped into their bones, not from cold but from the uncanny touch of the force.
It wasn't painful, nor did it bear malice. It was gentle, almost tender, which only made it more unsettling... like the caress of an unseen ghost.
It coiled around them, brushing against their skin and pressing into the space between breaths.
"Don't resist," Thaddeus' voice wove into the force, soft and unhurried. He spoke as if to lull them into acceptance, but it could as well be counted as formality.
As a 4th Ascendant powerhouse, forcing them away was as easy as breathing for him, all without causing any physical harm. The warning was more to prepare their minds and steady their nerves against the shock.
For a few, the command washed over them, easing their taut muscles and steadying their hearts. Others clenched their fists, nails biting into palms, trying to match the calm with their own resolve.
The force wound tighter, like a velvet grip that left no room for movement. It pressed against their chests, their legs, their very thoughts, cradling them in an embrace that felt both safe and suffocating.
And then, with the inevitability of a tide pulling back to sea, they vanished.