A large purple construct hovered over the entirety of the Ravenstein estate, but none of the guards or Ravensteins roaming around seemed to care.
Atticus was already outside alongside Avalon and Anastasia. He had informed both of them about his plans to go to the Starhaven sector to train.
Anastasia had been reluctant, but she knew she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Atticus was no longer just the young master of the Ravenstein family or her baby. He had become so much more.
Because of this, she couldn't hold him back due to her fears. So many people now looked up to him and relied on him. That was why she had given him the earlier go ahead to train however he wanted.
Regardless, it didn't change the fact that he was still her baby, and she was worried.
Anastasia's hug was tight, long, and incredibly warm.
Both she and Atticus stood there for minutes until she finally decided to let go, though she was still not satisfied. Luckily, Avalon came to his rescue.
"Knock 'em out," Avalon said, ruffling Atticus's hair with a smile.
Atticus nodded, smiling back as he quickly rearranged his hair. He was getting all too used to having it messed up.
'I should get a haircut later. I wonder which style,' he thought.
After saying his goodbyes to his parents, Atticus turned and gave Arya a nod. The day before, he had already said goodbye to the Ravenblade. He knew how she was, saying goodbyes in public was out of the question for her.
A moment later, a purple glow surrounded Atticus and the others accompanying him. In the next instant, they ascended skyward toward the massive construct.
Aside from Atticus, Yotad, his Ravenblade hidden in his shadow, along with Dario and Niall, were also traveling with him.
As they reached the purple construct, Atticus's eyes landed on Seraphina, who was smiling at him.
"You took too long, sweetie. For a second there, I thought you'd changed your mind."
Atticus approached her. "I'm sorry about that… auntie. I had a training goal I wanted to reach before I shifted my focus."
"Hmm, alright. But you're going to have to make it up to me later."
As Atticus noticed the smug smile on Seraphina's lips, he suddenly got a bad feeling.
'That doesn't sound good,' he thought, gulping.
Seeing his reaction, Seraphina chuckled loudly. Her laughter sounded melodious and smooth.
A little embarrassed, Atticus diverted his gaze and walked to one side of the construct to stand.
Meanwhile, Dario had long since bowed and offered his greetings. As someone well versed in politics, he understood how important it was. No matter how approachable Seraphina seemed, she was still a paragon.
Only Atticus could interact with her so casually; none of the others dared to.
Seraphina hardly paid attention to Dario, but her gaze lingered on Niall far longer than it should have. The beast hadn't bowed. Niall refused to bow to anyone who wasn't his sovereign, but Seraphina didn't seem to care about such trivialities.
Instead, she was intrigued. Since Niall would be accompanying Atticus, Magnus had taken the liberty of informing Seraphina about his origins. She was particularly interested in the fact that Niall was a sentient beast, far more than his role as Whisker's subordinate.
Niall shifted uncomfortably as Seraphina studied him. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't move. His gaze looked for Atticus, but the latter was already lost in thought.
Atticus's eyes were fixed on the construct they stood upon.
'It's not mana,' he realized.
Atticus could feel it. The construct was made of energy, but it wasn't mana. Mana carried a raw and primal feeling, untamed, coursing through the world without any bias. It didn't have a personality, nor did it judge or care; anyone could use it.
However, the energy used to create this construct was different. It felt refined, calmer, and ancient. Unlike mana, just being in close proximity to it evoked a strange feeling of peace within him.
Atticus's mind churned.
'So the spirit element is a separate energy from mana? How does it work?'
In this world, almost everything alive relied on mana. Even those unable to awaken still had mana coursing through their bodies. The only exception to this fact was the Nullite race. How their race came to exist was a mystery, considering that they negated the very force that sustained the world.
Mana was so universal that even the elements were reliant on it, making it hard for Atticus to believe that another energy could exist.
'Where is its source?'
Atticus wondered. Mana was spread out in the planet, its source being the planet itself. But what about the spirit element? Was its source the spirits? If so, where did they come from?
The journey to the Starhaven sector had begun, and the massive construct entered the golden pathway that connected the entire human domain.
The tension and sounds that initially filled the construct gave way to silence. Seraphina and the others turned toward Atticus, noticing he was deep in thought, his gaze fixed on the construct.
Seraphina smiled faintly.
'He started training already…'
Her attention shifted to the aura surrounding him, and her gaze narrowed.
'The spiritual energy around him is thickening,' she observed.
Before the Nexus event, Seraphina had sensed a faint trace of spiritual energy in Atticus. She had been utterly shocked and struggled to comprehend how it was possible.
In the entire human domain, only those of certain bloodlines, primarily the Starhaven family, could interact with spirits, possessing what was known as spiritual energy.
While there were tier two and tier three families in their sector who could interact with spirits, they were originally branches of the Starhaven family.
Each of these families retained only specific spirit related abilities, unlike the Starhaven family, who could utilize all. Over generations, these families branched out and formed their own legacies.
Regardless, one fact remained indisputable: only those of Starhaven blood could interact with spirits and have spiritual energy.
Atticus shouldn't have even a faint trace of it.
But now, the faint energy Seraphina had sensed before had intensified manifold, growing stronger with every passing second.
The others didn't seem to understand what was happening, but they noticed the shocked expression on Seraphina's face.
Was the monster kid pulling off something mind-blowing again?
Minutes passed, and no one disturbed Atticus. Eventually, he came out from his thoughts, a frown appearing on his face.
He had tried to make sense of everything but could only come up with assumptions.
'I need to be sure,' he thought. But assumptions weren't enough, he needed answers. Only one person came to mind.
Atticus turned to Seraphina, and as their gazes met, she smiled.
Without saying a word, Seraphina tapped the space beside her, and Atticus approached and sat down. Both faced forward as Seraphina began explaining everything about the Starhaven powers.
Atticus absorbed the information at an incredible pace.
According to Seraphina, the Starhaven family's power was tied to spirits, beings of pure energy that existed in a sacred realm on another plane of existence in Eldoralth.
The entrance to this sacred realm was near an ancient, towering tree known as the Eternal Canopy, located in the heart of their sector.
At the age of seven, every Starhaven underwent an awakening. Afterward, they would travel to the Eternal Canopy, where spiritual energy and spirits of various tiers, ranked from 1 to 7, were abundant. Tier 7 spirits were the most powerful.
Like mana, the type and tier of spirit a person could bond with depended on their spiritual energy, talent, and alignment.
Most people in the sector typically bonded with Tier 1–3 spirits. Only individuals from tier 1 and 2 families had the potential to bond with Tier 4 and Tier 5 spirits.
Tier 6 spirits were exceedingly rare, so rare that usually, only one person in the Starhaven family could bond with such a spirit. That person often became the paragon.
And Tier 7? Seraphina explained it simply: they were a myth.
To Atticus, this was one of the most informative experiences he had ever had. He listened attentively, soaking up every word and loving every moment.
Once bonded with a spirit, the individual gained access to the spirit's unique abilities. These abilities varied depending on the spirit:
Every tiered spirit already had an established power, but the individual could not access its full potential unless their body could withstand it and they had enough spiritual energy.
Over time, they could develop their spiritual energy and mana, allowing them to unlock more of their spirit's power.
Like mana, spiritual energy could be intricately controlled and manipulated. However, only a select few could perform advanced applications, such as shaping their spiritual energy into constructs.
They could also perform Partial Transformation, which involved altering parts of their body to mimic the spirit's traits. At the peak of this ability was Spirit Merging, a complete fusion with their spirit, transforming them into a hybrid of themselves and the spirit.
By the end of the journey, Atticus felt enlightened in ways he hadn't thought possible. It was as though a new world had opened up to him.
Soon, the blitzing construct came to an abrupt stop.
Atticus's gaze landed on a breathtaking sight.