Time had passed. How much of it, Lev didn't know, but he could tell that days were going by quickly.

Most of the hours were occupied by his erratic thoughts, jumping from one concern to another, or sometimes just reminiscing about all the time he had spent with some precious people.

It took a while for him to sort through them and actually focus on the second reason for entering the pond. Opening his senses, he beheld a much clearer and surprisingly stronger aura. It enveloped the pond in a suffocating presence, much too vast for the small illusionary room he was present in.

Here goes nothing, he breathed in and tried to recall his aura inside his body. Like usual, it retreated closer, but struggled to fit inside his visage. To cloak it meant to completely hide it in his body, something Lev hadn't made any progress for.

Starting with his usual exercise, he tried to pull the aura surrounding his hand into his palm. The ethereal extension of his being clinging to his skin struggled, yet the difference became obvious immediately. With only a small amount of resistance, the aura covering his hand sank into the flesh underneath, effectively cloaked from mundane means of observation.

That was far from enough, however. With enough Perception, one could train their sensitivity to auras, something Lev had an upper hand in from the start. Hiding his emotions was still going to take a lot of time, starting with having a tight hold over them.

Still, it was a good start. Following the sensation, Lev began absorbing the aura inside his body. Things progressed with unexpected deftness, telling him in no uncertain terms just how badly his scattered state of mind was affecting his aura.

In… Lev couldn't tell how long had passed. Pressure slowly began building up in his body before he could fully absorb it, forcing him to speed up the process. By the time it was all inside the confines of his body, a small grimace was constantly on his face.

This is… uncomfortable, he tried to flex his aura inside his body, finding it moving with far more difficulty. More importantly, it threatened to burst out of his body at the smallest change.

Willpower tried to take over the process, only to fail miserably. Since it was an extension of his subconscious, one that had yet to learn to control his aura, there was no way it could do the same yet. Lev needed to practice a lot more before automating the concealment of his aura became possible.

Fortunately, after a certain point, the pressure stopped rising. He didn't know if it was his nascent mastery slowly improving, or if it was a quality of auras, but only a consistent feeling of cramped fullness remained in the wake of the cloaked aura.

Letting out a slow breath, he spent several minutes just getting used to the new sensation, finding it distinctly unpleasant. It permeated his entire being without a noticeable start or end, just omnipresent in his body.

I hope there's a skill for this, he lamented, taking deep breaths to settle his mind. Otherwise, I can't tell how people can keep it contained all the time.

There was bound to be some secret, because Sherron and Hakim had always looked relaxed while only letting a small bit of their presence leak through. Enough to warn people of their location but not much else.

Seems like there is a lot of work to be done, he mused and focused deeper, ready to stay submerged as long as it took to control it to an acceptable degree.

****

Some subjective hours later, Lev was trying to get his aura to gather in front of him. It was spread out in the room, though considerably skewed towards the intended destination. Regardless, actually manipulating it to that degree remained a dream for now.

Harun's aura, which was always weighed on the ponds, suddenly vanished. Lev's concentration threatened to break, but he kept focusing, trying to mold the intangible, unnoticeable, yet strangely malleable, ethereal force into his desired shape.

Actually perceiving the aura was impossible. He was slowly starting to learn that it didn't have anything close to a physical form, only something far purer. How humans could notice it, he didn't know. All he knew was that it was related to the soul, and his own was quite special.

The aura compressing until it was only gathered in a large circle with a radius of about three meters was proof enough. Lev was quite sure people didn't learn to handle their auras so quickly. Another advantage had presented itself, yet it was also the one with the least obvious uses. Sure, he could hide his emotions better. But how often was he going to need that?

Minutes passed as he squeezed it even closer, managing to pull it in until the whole thing was just barely twice as wide as him. His breath was labored at that point, and sweat poured out into the pond as he struggled.

Lev gave in before the aura, unable to muster the strength to keep it there any longer. The moment his hold vanished, it spread out into the whole room again, returning to how it normally was.

A smile remained on his lips, still. Not only was the aura 'cleaner' and 'smoother' than before, but it was also considerably stronger in strength. The latter wasn't nearly as significant as the former, but Lev didn't think the progress would be wasted. He just had to learn a use for auras one of these days.

Where did Harun go? he wondered and glanced up. Only dark waters greeted him, which he easily parted after swimming higher. The lush green forest was much the same, the illusion remaining untouched. Summoning his armor from the passive state, he flew out of the pond and landed on solid ground, letting all the water drip to the ground as it vanished again.

Creating a small barrier pipe, he enchanted it with a basic air flow rune and dried himself quicker. Ten minutes later, when he felt ready to tackle the world again after the long period of calmness, he moved to the room's edge.

Not knowing how to get out, Lev was about to politely knock on the illusion's walls when a door slid open a few meters to his left. Recalling his aura inside his body, something that had become second nature over the course of the meditation, he gave himself a once-over and made his way to where he could feel two Exalted auras.

One of them belonged to Harun, who had stopped keeping it spread out, whereas the other was Sherron's. Lev wasn't aware when she returned from her excursions into the center of the plains, but he was glad to see her waiting for him.

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Passing the three other illusion zones, he entered the door at the end of the straight path. It led him to a… hall of sorts, most certainly not what he was expecting. Sherron and Harun were seated around a wooden table with three chairs, the last one empty.

"I greet the Exalted," Lev bowed in the doorway, trying not to let his emotions be obvious.

Neither of the seated people said anything for a good few seconds as he remained in that position.

"Come on in, kid," Harun eventually called out to him. Both he and Sherron seemed happy for whatever reason, and Lev waited until the aura mage waved for him to take a seat.

"How long has it been?" he asked immediately after sitting down. "Time worked weirdly in there."

"Over a month," Sherron replied with a small shake of her head. "Forty-three days, to be precise."

"… Seriously?"

"I thought about checking up on you twice," Harun interjected with a grin. "And that was just in the first two weeks. You were still like a statue, except some minor emotions surfacing on your face for the most part. Only when you started practicing your aura did I know that you were doing completely fine. How'd you end up with that many inner demons to battle, boy?"

"I was born with them," Lev plainly answered.

Harun's brows rose at the immediate answer. "Your aura is crudely concealed, yet there was barely any fluctuation in it when you answered. It's good that you took the time to go over everything thoroughly."

Sherron nodded with his words, a smile never leaving her lips. Lev was starting to realize she was there for more than just seeing him.

"What about manipulating it?" Lev asked while making it bear down on Sherron, the safer of the two options. She raised an eyebrow at the abrupt move but didn't protest. "Is this good for the time I spent, or can everyone manage that?"

The glance the two Exalted shared was answer enough, though Sherron still explained. "It's much better than either of us was expecting. Concealing your aura is already a difficult task, and you're having little trouble with that. Well done."

"Oh," he said lamely. "Thanks. Couldn't say anything for certain down there."

"My ponds are quite heavy to shoulder for extended periods of time. Most people feel quite wrung out," Harun added. "You still being awake and functional is quite impressive. Few are so unaffected."

This time, it was Lev and Sherron who shared a look, because he hadn't felt literally anything of the sort. It was all quite serene, enabling him to stew in his thoughts without any interruptions or burdens.

"Well, I'm glad the experience was so smooth for me," Lev commented and changed the topic while turning to Sherron. "How did your excursion go?"

She groaned. "Ugh, please don't even get me started. It was a wild goose chase after some extremely stealthy cats that never showed themselves around more than one of us. Those jerks knew that, separated, anyone other than Hakim couldn't deal with them alone. The whole thing was a boring nightmare until we finally caught them all. Thank Monarch for monsters and their dumb instincts."

Who has the cores? he wanted to ask but held himself. They were entirely beyond him, anyway.

"Did it take long?"

"Nope," she casually replied and leaned back. "Only four weeks, and only because they refused to stop attacking us."

…

"What is it?" Lev questioned directly. "You're hiding something."

Sherron's smile turned into a grin before she pulled her chair back slightly. With a grand wave of her hand, she summoned a long, black box on the table. Immediately, a… presence overtook the room, originating from whatever was inside.

Lev's jaw kept dropping as he took in the extent of the presence, knowing it wasn't harmful, or even alive. It was distinctly different from auras in that regard, which could only mean one thing.

It was an item.

"Is that…" Lev trailed off and gulped, unable to ask the question. Sherron nodded twice, just as excited as him. Harun stayed quiet in the meantime, understanding that it was an important moment for Lev.

Hands shaking, he reached out to the box and pulled it closer. The weight was low enough that it slid over without producing much sound, only a slight grinding against the table. With a deep breath, he pushed over the cover to reveal Stargazer in all her reforged glory.

[

Stargazer - Superior

Enchantments: Lethal Edge, Gravity Core, Arcane Focus, Supreme Mana Conductivity, Everlasting Durability, Mana Focus, Mana Recharging, Dexterous Glaive, Regenerative Core.

]

Ignoring the enchantments and rarity, Lev's fingers trailed along Stargazer's haft, recreated larger to account for his own growth. It was still pitch-black with bright blue veins streaking through her form, going all the way from the butt to the empty blade. Where they were just a decoration before however, these blue channels carried a large amount of mana, constantly keeping the glaive powered for instant use.

She was just as beautiful as the day he had lost her.

Pulling her out of the box, Lev set her on the ground vertically. Stargazer had seen a massive increase in length, now standing taller than his head by more than a foot. Similarly, her empty blade base was also longer, something Lev couldn't wait to try out in the near future.

He inspected his new glaive from every angle possible, drinking in all the small details. The first thing that stood out was the tons of mana in her form, always coursing through her enchantments without a hint of waste. Without his will, the enchantments remained inactive, but that was designed to change at a moment's notice.

Then there was the actual amount of mana stored inside. It wouldn't even be an overstatement to say that his pool effectively doubled with Stargazer. There was so much of it inside the glaive, he was having trouble accepting it.

More things were no doubt waiting for him to discover them, but that would have to wait. Two Exalted were patiently waiting for him, and he didn't want to remain lost in his own little world, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I…" he tried to speak, only for words to fail him. Stargazer was akin to a national treasure now, except she was his weapon, something he was going to be using all the time.

"What do I even say?" Lev let out a disbelieving chuckle. "I don't feel like I'm good enough to wield her anymore, what the hell?"

"Oh, it gets even better," Sherron's smile turned slightly terrifying. "To quote Jimmy's words, 'whatever the boy is using right now will be a disgrace to the glaive.' Take this."

A long strip of… cloth? was thrown his way. Grabbing it mid-air, Lev Identified it.

[

Pole Cover - Epic

Enchantments: Greater Lightning Converter, Greater Fire Converter, Restoration Converter.

]

He read the description a few times before shrugging. Since he was already getting a Superior weapon, the extension didn't feel that extraordinary. Its length also perfectly matched Stargazer's pole. Wrapping the cover around it, he sent a bit of mana inside. It tightened instantly and scanned for the optimal position, settling into a second skin for the glaive's haft before turning invisible.

"Neat," Lev remarked and tested his grip, finding it no different from before. Only, there were three extremely strong new converters available for him to use now, vastly superior to the skinsuit he was wearing underneath his clothes.

"They sure are," Harun nodded. "I know for a fact that Jimmy doesn't have the formations required to create those two greater converters. How he managed more than 95% efficiency on both is beyond me."

It wasn't beyond Lev, though. There was only one Exalted who had the best collection of runes. He had a part of it in his ring as well.

Sherron got up after that, and so did Harun. Lev wondered what was going on before the aura mage spoke.

"You're free to visit more often, Sherron," Harun subtly chided, though his smile took away all of the sting. "My estate is always open for you."

"I'll try to make time," she replied with a polite smile and turned to Lev. "Let's go."

He wasn't in a hurry to follow. Taking a step back, Lev needed to get across his heartfelt gratitude.

"Thank you," he voiced as sincerely as he could and bowed. "I had no idea how much I needed to be here, so thank you for letting me use the pond."

A firm hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. Lev gazed into Harun's eyes, finding them to be almost… sad.

"I suspect you will need these ponds more than anyone, boy," the Exalted spoke gently, not hiding his regret. "The same offer extends to you as well. You're always welcome here."

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