The Fallen Light

# THE FALLEN LIGHT — SEASON I

## CHAPTER 40 — YOU ARE HERS, SHE IS YOURS

Galahad watched Percy for a long time. Finally, he broke the silence himself.

”If this method really works...”

Percy looked up.

Galahad continued:

”We can’t leave it here.”

Elizabeth Olsen turned to him. Eleanor paid close attention too. Galahad pointed at Percy’s drawings.

”We must learn it.”

”We must record it properly.”

”We must take it to the academy.”

”We must pass it on to the other academies as well.”

William raised his head:

”To all three?”

”To all three.”

Galahad’s answer was firm.

”This shouldn’t belong to us alone.”

”If it works, everyone should learn it.”

Percy smiled:

”I agree, bro.”

Galahad looked at him for a moment. Then turned to the teachers.

”I have one condition.”

Olsen:

”What is it?”

”Don’t tell anyone who came up with it.”

Percy’s smile vanished.

Arthur:

”Why?”

Charlotte was surprised too. William looked directly at Galahad. Eleanor thought for a few seconds.

Galahad pointed at Percy:

”Because he’s seven years old.”

Percy:

”And?”

Galahad:

”You don’t need to be famous.”

Percy went quiet.

”People don’t need to know who you are.”

”They don’t need to know your name.”

”They don’t need to come knocking on your door.”

”They don’t need to demand things from you.”

”You just be a kid.”

”Let the method belong to the world.”

A smile appeared on Eleanor’s face.

”You’re right.”

Percy looked at her.

Eleanor continued:

”Knowing how things are going...”

”He’s going to surprise us even more in the future anyway.”

Olsen nodded:

”I agree as well.”

Galahad:

”Percy?”

Percy thought for a while.

Then shrugged:

”Doesn’t matter to me.”

”As long as it works.”

Galahad smiled. It was the exact answer he had expected.

Percy sat down on the ground again. He knew the mistake he had made on his first attempt. External Orin wasn’t dirty. It was more accurate to think of it as energy coming from a different thermodynamic system. The energy itself didn’t vanish. However, its usability changed. Percy’s goal wasn’t to create lost energy. The surrounding Orin was already there. The problem was bringing it into a structure that the Core could accept. Percy gave it a name.

”Resonance Alignment.”

William squatted down beside him immediately. Percy drew a very small amount from the outside.

”First rule.”

”Small energy.”

”Whatever amount you think you can handle...”

”Take one-tenth of it.”

Arthur:

”Why?”

”Because we’re going to make mistakes.”

Arthur nodded. It made sense. Percy established his own Orin rhythm. He didn’t forcefully shape the external energy. He repeated his own Core’s natural oscillation around the energy. Once. Twice. Three times. The external Orin slowly began to align. William closed his eyes. He was watching with his perception.

”Resistance is dropping.”

Percy:

”Yes.”

”The external Orin isn’t actually changing.”

William understood:

”It’s being arranged according to the Core.”

”Exactly.”

Percy brought the energy a bit closer. Then let go. Did it again. This time, he took a little more. Third attempt. Fourth. Fifth. Minutes passed. Sweat formed on Percy’s forehead. However, it was different from the previous attempt. The Core wasn’t resisting. The external Orin wasn’t being forced. The two systems... Were slowly approaching the same rhythm. The energy density inside Percy increased. Clara was the first to notice.

”Percy.”

Percy didn’t open his eyes.

”I know.”

Galahad felt it too. The pressure around the Core had changed. One last small energy packet... Aligned. Reached the boundary of the Core. And passed inside. Percy’s breath caught.

THUD.

A faint wave of Orin radiated outward. William stood up. Arthur’s eyes widened.

Olsen:

”Core...”

Galahad completed:

”Six.”

Percy opened his eyes. Core 6. He had succeeded. Percy looked at his own hands.

Then laughed:

”Alright.”

Clara:

”Alright?”

Percy stood up:

”The method works.”

Murmurs broke out in the class. Percy immediately raised his hand:

”But I learned one more thing.”

William:

”Affinity.”

Percy looked at him:

”You noticed it too.”

William nodded.

Percy:

”Orin affinity doesn’t just...”

”Show how strong you can become.”

”It also affects the alignment speed.”

William’s face fell. Percy saw this.

”William.”

”What?”

”Don’t pull a face.”

William:

”My affinity is low.”

”I know.”

”So I’ll be slower.”

Percy nodded:

”Yes.”

William went silent.

Percy touched his shoulder:

”But I didn’t say it won’t happen.”

William looked at him.

Percy:

”You’ll do more repetitions than me.”

”You’ll measure more.”

”You’ll find a better method.”

”In the end, you’ll reach it all the same.”

William’s face changed slightly.

Percy smiled:

”Use your brain, man.”

William:

”I’m already doing that.”

Percy:

”That’s my brainiac.”

William rolled his eyes. But he smiled.

Hours passed. The class began trying one by one. Some were fast. Some were very slow. Some drew external Orin too early. Some disrupted the resonance. Some kept the energy quantity too large. Percy walked beside each of them.

”Arthur, don’t force it.”

”Charlotte, keep the rhythm steady.”

”Nathaniel, don’t sleep.”

”I’m not sleeping.”

”Your eyes are closed.”

”I’m focusing.”

”Your stomach is growling.”

”That’s separate.”

Marcus was progressing more stably. William, however... Was really slow. But he was measuring more than anyone. He recorded every single one of his failures. Percy smiled when he saw this. Classic William method. After some time, the class’s Core levels slowly began to rise. Six. Seven. Some had movements approaching eight. However, Percy had paused his own development. He stayed at Core 6.

Arthur noticed this:

”Why aren’t you continuing?”

Percy:

”Because I succeeded.”

Arthur:

”Your target is twelve.”

”I know.”

”Why did you stop?”

Percy pointed at the class:

”Now it’s your turn.”

Arthur looked at him for a few seconds.

Then nodded:

”President.”

Percy:

”Hm?”

”You’re doing a good job.”

Percy was surprised. Arthur turned back.

Percy:

”Arthur?”

”What?”

”Say it again.”

”No.”

”DID YOU GUYS HEAR THAT?!”

Arthur:

”SHUT UP!”

Then it was Clara’s turn. Percy sat opposite her. Clara closed her eyes.

Percy:

”Take a small amount.”

Clara:

”I know.”

”Really small.”

”Percy.”

”Yes?”

”Quiet.”

Percy went quiet. Clara drew external Orin. The initial alignment was impossibly fast. Olsen’s eyebrow raised. Galahad noticed immediately:

”Too fast.”

Percy:

”Eighty-five percent.”

Clara took a second piece of energy. Then a third. The smile on Percy’s face vanished.

”Clara.”

Clara didn’t answer. She had drawn a bit more. Too much.

”Clara.”

Clara’s eyebrows furrowed. Energy was accumulating at the Core boundary. Percy stood up. Moved behind Clara. Knelt down. Placed both hands on Clara’s back.

Clara startled:

”Percy?”

”I’m here.”

Clara tried to steady her breathing.

Percy closed his eyes:

”You’re not alone.”

Clara’s shoulders relaxed.

Percy:

”Let me.”

”Let me help.”

Clara didn’t hesitate at all:

”Alright.”

Percy expanded his own Orin perception. And... Froze. He could feel Clara’s Core boundary. That was to be expected. But there was something else. The energy Clara would accept... He could feel it. No. Not just feel it. He could separate it. This energy. Yes. Not that one. This one is a bit too much. Reduce this one. Accept that one. Percy’s fingers trembled on Clara’s back. William was watching from afar:

”What is he doing?”

Olsen:

”I don’t know.”

Eleanor:

”He’s intervening in Clara’s Core.”

Galahad instantly:

”That’s impossible.”

Percy was thinking the exact same thing. Yet he was doing it. He wasn’t dominating Clara’s Core. He wasn’t making decisions in Clara’s place. Just... He was selecting the energy Clara could accept. And Clara... Wasn’t rejecting him. On the contrary... Her Core opened to the energy Percy selected. One energy packet passed. Then a second. A third. Clara’s Core accelerated. Core 4. Core 5.

Arthur stood up:

”Wait a minute.”

Charlotte:

”What’s happening?”

Core 6. Olsen’s eyes widened:

”It can’t be this fast.”

Galahad looked at Percy’s hands:

”Percy is doing it.”

Eleanor:

”How?”

Galahad:

”I don’t know.”

Clara took a breath.

Percy:

”A little more.”

Clara:

”Okay.”

Percy selected the next energy. And released it into the Core.

THUD.

Orin radiated from around Clara. Her hair flew up. The ground vibrated slightly. Core 7. And... The world fell silent. Percy’s eyes opened. Clara heard it too. Galahad heard it. Eleanor heard it. Olsen heard it. The whole class heard it.

THE VOICE OF THE UNIVERSE:

”BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE ACHIEVEMENT!”

No one breathed.

”LOCK UNLOCKED.”

Percy looked at Clara. Clara couldn’t turn around. Both of their eyes had widened.

”PERFECT MATCH +0.1”

Silence.

”YOU ARE HERS.”

Percy’s heart almost stopped.

”SHE IS YOURS.”

Absolute silence. Then...

Arthur:

”WHAT?!”

Charlotte:

”WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!”

Nathaniel:

”WHY DID I HEAR THAT?!”

For the first time, William couldn’t find an answer:

”Perfect...”

”Match?”

Olsen’s face was pale:

”I’ve never heard of such a lock.”

Eleanor:

”Me neither.”

Galahad looked at Percy. Then at Clara. Then back at Percy. A huge grin slowly formed on his face:

”My, my, little commander.”

Percy turned beet red:

”BRO, SHUT UP!”

Clara was in a worse state. *You are hers.* The sentence was spinning in her head. *She is yours.* Clara covered her face with both hands.

Arthur pointed at Percy:

”Even the universe said it, man!”

Percy:

”ARTHUR, CLOSE YOUR MOUTH!”

Charlotte ran to Clara’s side:

”CLARA!”

”Don’t talk.”

”BUT—”

”Don’t talk, Charlotte.”

Nathaniel:

”What is **[Perfect Match]**?”

William:

”I don’t know.”

Nathaniel:

”IF YOU DON’T KNOW, WE’RE SCREWED.”

Percy pulled his hands off Clara’s back. Clara immediately turned around. The two looked at each other.

Percy:

”Um...”

Clara:

”Um...”

Galahad:

”You are hers.”

Percy:

”BRO!”

Eleanor burst into laughter. Even Olsen was laughing now. Clara held Percy’s hand. Though embarrassed, she didn’t let go this time. Percy didn’t let go either.

William was still thinking:

”This might not be a romantic expression.”

Everyone turned to him.

William:

”It might express Core compatibility.”

Percy:

”YES.”

Clara:

”Definitely.”

William:

”However, the phrasing used...”

Percy:

”WILLIAM.”

William went quiet.

Smiled:

”Alright.”

A short while later... Galahad came beside Percy.

”I’m going to try.”

Percy looked at him:

”Bro?”

”I’ve been Advanced 12 for two years.”

Percy’s face changed:

”Two years?”

Galahad:

”Yes.”

”No matter what I did, I couldn’t pass it.”

Percy stood up:

”Alright.”

Galahad sat on the ground. Percy sat opposite him.

”Bro.”

”Hm?”

”Think of Orin...”

”Like the effort you expend while running.”

Galahad frowned.

Percy continued:

”While running, with every step...”

”You spend a little energy.”

”But you take a breath.”

”Your body draws resources from outside.”

”For two years...”

”You’ve only been trying to burn what’s inside stronger.”

Galahad’s eyes widened.

Percy:

”Don’t burn.”

”Take a breath.”

Galahad closed his eyes. Felt the external Orin. Drew a small amount. Aligned it. First attempt. Second. Third. Percy watched silently. Galahad’s Core... Suddenly changed. Galahad’s eyes snapped open.

Percy felt it too:

”Bro...”

Galahad:

”I feel it too.”

A massive pressure of Orin formed. Eleanor stood up. Olsen’s eyes widened. The energy around Galahad... Suddenly collapsed inward.

THUUUUUD!

The ground shook. The air grew heavy. Arthur retreated instinctively. Charlotte held her breath. William’s eyes opened.

Percy shouted:

”BRO!”

Galahad’s Core hadn’t broken. It had expanded. The Advanced boundary... Was gone. Galahad opened his eyes.

AWAKENED 1.

No one could speak. Galahad looked at his own hands. Two years. Two whole years. He had trained every single day. Every method. Every book. Every teacher. Every battle. Every failure. And now... With a single sentence from his seven-year-old brother... The wall was gone.

Percy stood up joyfully:

”BRO!”

But then he stopped. He felt something. The energy around Galahad hadn’t ended. No. Behind the exit point... There was a much larger mass of Orin. Percy’s eyes widened:

”Bro.”

Galahad looked at him.

”Don’t stop.”

”What?”

”At the exit point...”

”There’s massive energy.”

Galahad’s face shifted.

Percy:

”Try drawing that too.”

”Percy...”

”You can try it.”

Galahad closed his eyes.

Percy moved behind him:

”I’ll help.”

Eleanor:

”Percy, it might not be like Clara’s.”

Percy:

”I know.”

He set his hand on Galahad’s back. And instantly realized. It wasn’t like Clara’s at all. Not at all. Percy could feel Galahad’s energy. But couldn’t select it. Couldn’t feel the Core’s door. Didn’t know which energy it would accept. There was no **[Perfect Match]**.

Percy gritted his teeth:

”Alright.”

Galahad:

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

”Percy, stop.”

”Shut up, bro.”

Percy used his own Orin. Began comparing external energy one by one. What was natural with Clara... Was calculation here. Trial. Forcing. Sweat dripped from Percy’s forehead. The first drop of blood fell from his nose.

Clara stood up immediately:

”Percy!”

”I’m fine.”

”You’re not.”

”I’m helping my brother.”

Another drop. Then another.

Galahad:

”Percy, let go.”

Percy:

”No.”

”Percy.”

”BRO, KEEP GOING!”

Galahad went quiet. Percy’s hands were shaking. One energy piece. Then another. Wrong. Discard. Another. Right. Send. One more piece. Percy’s vision blurred. Clara clenched her teeth to keep from crying. Eleanor wanted to intervene.

Olsen held her arm:

”A little longer.”

Eleanor looked at her. Olsen’s eyes were on Percy:

”He knows what he’s doing.”

Percy was barely standing now.

But he smiled:

”Bro...”

Galahad:

”I’m here.”

Percy’s voice was very small:

”It worked.”

He directed the last energy. And Percy’s body fell backward. Clara ran. Caught Percy before he hit the ground.

”PERCY!”

Percy’s eyes were closed. The blood from his nose was trickling down his cheek. Clara cradled him in her arms. Galahad wanted to open his eyes. Percy’s voice came to mind: *Keep going.* Galahad closed them again. And continued.

Percy woke up.

”Bro?”

Galahad was standing before him.

AWAKENED 2.

Percy smiled. Galahad walked over to him. Percy held out a hand for a high-five. Galahad didn’t stop. Pulled Percy into a tight hug. Percy froze. Galahad said nothing. Just held him tight. Percy slowly wrapped his arms around Galahad too.

”Bro?”

Galahad’s voice trembled:

”Two years.”

Percy went quiet.

”Two whole years, Percy.”

”Advanced 12.”

”Every morning I woke up.”

”Trained.”

”Every night I trained again.”

”Asked teachers.”

”Read books.”

”Fought.”

”Pushed my Core.”

”Came to the limit over and over.”

”And nothing happened.”

Galahad held Percy a bit tighter:

”After a while...”

”I started thinking I couldn’t do it.”

The smile on Percy’s face vanished.

Galahad:

”I didn’t tell anyone.”

”Because I was the top student in the academy.”

”Fourth-year president.”

”Everyone was looking at me.”

”Awakened with ninety-three percent affinity.”

”People called me...”

”The next great mage.”

Galahad laughed. A bitter laugh.

”And I...”

”Was stuck in the exact same spot for two years.”

”Every time I failed...”

”I asked myself the same thing.”

”What am I doing wrong?”

Percy’s hands gripped Galahad’s shirt.

Galahad continued:

”Then you showed up.”

”Seven years old.”

”Annoying.”

Percy’s lip twitched.

”Stubborn.”

Percy:

”Bro...”

”Shut up.”

Percy went quiet. Galahad’s voice trembled again:

”When I first saw you, why I liked you...”

”There was a reason.”

Percy already knew. But Galahad had never told it like this.

”Six years ago...”

”In the Second City...”

Galahad’s breath hitched. Eleanor lowered her eyes. Olsen went silent. Clara stood beside Percy.

”When my family died...”

”My mother went.”

”My father went.”

Galahad swallowed hard.

”And my brother...”

His voice cut out. Tears welled up in Percy’s eyes. Galahad forced himself to continue:

”My brother went too.”

”I couldn’t protect him.”

”I was a kid.”

”I know.”

”A thousand people told me that.”

”It wasn’t my fault.”

”I couldn’t have saved him.”

”I know that too.”

”But Percy...”

”Knowing...”

”Doesn’t stop you from feeling.”

The first tear fell from Percy’s eye. Galahad felt it. But didn’t let go.

”Then I saw you.”

”The way you walked.”

”Your stubbornness.”

”When you set your mind on something...”

”How you wouldn’t listen to anyone.”

”How you celebrated stupid things.”

”When someone was sad...”

”How you’d just stand beside them not knowing what to do.”

Galahad’s voice broke:

”You were so similar.”

Percy was crying silently now. Clara’s eyes were full of tears as well.

Galahad:

”And I hated it.”

Percy tried to raise his head. Galahad didn’t let him.

”Don’t misunderstand.”

”Not you.”

”Myself.”

”Because every time I looked at you...”

”I saw him.”

”As if protecting you...”

”Could somehow protect him.”

”As if if you were okay...”

”I could somehow fix...”

”What I couldn’t do in the past.”

Percy’s breath shook:

”Bro...”

Tears fell from Galahad’s eyes too:

”Then one day, I realized.”

”Now when I look at you...”

”I don’t see him anymore.”

Percy raised his head. Galahad held his face. Both of their eyes were full of tears.

”I remember him.”

”Every day.”

”And I will remember him until I die.”

”But when I look at you...”

”I see you.”

Percy’s lip trembled.

Galahad:

”I see Percy Grant.”

”Who gets mad when I call him little...”

”Who yells BOOW YEAH...”

”And gives the whole school a headache...”

Percy laughed while crying. Galahad laughed too.

”Obsessed with saving people...”

”Even while his own nose is bleeding...”

”Who won’t stop helping his brother...”

”I see my little brother.”

Percy couldn’t hold it in anymore. Hugged Galahad tightly again. Sobbed out loud. Everyone went silent. Seeing Percy like this... None of them had ever seen it. Clara had seen his eyes well up perhaps. Eleanor had seen him in pain. But... Percy Grant was truly crying now. Like a seven-year-old child.

Galahad stroked his hair:

”Cry.”

Percy:

”Bro...”

”Cry, little commander.”

”Don’t call me little...”

Galahad laughed through tears:

”Alright.”

Percy’s voice trembled:

”I don’t want to lose you.”

Galahad’s face shattered.

Percy:

”I don’t want to lose anyone.”

”I can’t bring your family back.”

”I can’t bring your brother back.”

”But...”

Percy tried to take a breath:

”I’m here.”

Galahad closed his eyes.

Percy:

”You’re here too.”

”I...”

”I might not be your real brother.”

Galahad instantly held Percy’s shoulders:

”Don’t ever say that again.”

Percy went quiet. Galahad’s voice turned firm for the first time:

”Never say that again.”

”Blood...”

”Doesn’t make a person a brother.”

”I chose you.”

Tears fell from Percy’s eyes again.

Galahad:

”And you chose me.”

”As far as I’m concerned, the matter is settled.”

Percy smiled through his tears:

”Alright, bro.”

Galahad rested his forehead against Percy’s.

”You aren’t the brother I lost.”

Percy closed his eyes.

Galahad:

”You’re the brother I still have.”

Percy started crying again. Arthur turned his face away. Charlotte saw his eyes fill with tears. Said nothing. William raised his hand as if to adjust his glasses despite not wearing any. Then gave up. Nathaniel wasn’t thinking about food for the first time. Olsen quietly wiped her eyes. Tears streamed down Eleanor’s face. Clara, meanwhile... Walked over to the two of them. Galahad looked at her. Clara knelt down. Held Percy’s hand. Then placed it on top of Galahad’s hand.

”Bro.”

Galahad raised an eyebrow. Clara had called him that for the first time.

”Yes?”

Tears fell from Clara’s eyes:

”This time...”

”No one is going to protect anyone alone.”

Galahad listened silently. Clara squeezed Percy’s hand:

”We’ll protect each other.”

Percy looked at her.

Clara:

”You’ll protect him.”

”I’ll protect him.”

”He’ll protect us.”

”We’ll protect you.”

Tears filled Galahad’s eyes again.

Clara:

”We can’t change the past.”

”But in the future...”

”We won’t go through the same thing.”

Galahad ruffled Clara’s hair. Clara didn’t object this time.

”So you became my sibling too?”

Clara sniffled:

”If you’re Percy’s brother...”

”You’re my brother too.”

Percy:

”Wait a second.”

Clara turned to him:

”What?”

Percy:

”Don’t steal my brother.”

Clara:

”You are hers.”

Percy froze.

Clara smiled:

”She is yours.”

Percy turned beet red:

”YOU CAN’T USE THAT LIKE THAT!”

Everyone laughed through their tears. Galahad pulled both of them under his arms:

”You two are both my trouble.”

Percy:

”I’m the sweet one.”

Clara:

”No, that’s mine.”

Eleanor smiled from afar:

”Now they’ve become a real family.”

Olsen nodded:

”They already were.”

Eleanor looked at her.

Olsen:

”They just said it today.”

Minutes later... Everyone had gathered themselves a bit. Percy was wiping his eyes. He thought no one was looking at him. Everyone was looking.

Percy:

”What?”

Arthur:

”Nothing.”

Charlotte:

”Nothing.”

William:

”Nothing.”

Nathaniel:

”I saw nothing.”

Percy:

”Good.”

Nathaniel:

”Our president was sobbing—”

Percy:

”NATHANIEL.”

Nathaniel ran off. Percy was going to run after him. Then stopped. Something Galahad had said... Had just reached his head. Percy slowly turned back around.

”Bro.”

Galahad:

”Hm?”

”Just a second.”

Galahad looked at Percy. There was a strange expression on Percy’s face. William had realized it too.

Percy:

”You...”

”You were Advanced 12 for two years.”

Galahad:

”Yes.”

Percy calculated. Galahad was eleven years old. Two years. Percy’s eyes widened:

”BRO.”

Galahad:

”What?”

”When you were nine...”

Percy’s voice rose:

”YOU WERE ADVANCED 12?!”

Silence. Arthur’s head snapped toward Galahad. Charlotte’s mouth opened. Nathaniel stopped running. William had already done the math. Marcus looked genuinely surprised for the first time.

Clara:

”Wait a minute...”

Galahad:

”Well.”

Percy:

”WHEN YOU WERE TWO YEARS OLDER THAN US?!”

Galahad:

”Yes?”

Percy’s mouth remained wide open.

Arthur:

”WHAT DO YOU MEAN YES?!”

Charlotte:

”ADVANCED 12 AT NINE YEARS OLD?!”

Nathaniel:

”WHAT IS THIS GUY?!”

William spoke very calmly:

”Statistically speaking...”

Paused.

”Never mind.”

Percy was staring at Galahad:

”Bro.”

”Hm?”

”Are you a monster?”

Galahad:

”No.”

Eleanor laughed from afar:

”He is.”

Galahad:

”Aunt Eleanor.”

Eleanor:

”Advanced 12 at nine years old.”

”You’re a monster.”

Olsen was still staring at Galahad:

”I...”

Paused for a moment.

”I saw your records.”

”But I didn’t calculate your age like that.”

Arthur pointed at Percy:

”You call him brother.”

Percy:

”HE’S MY BROTHER, MAN.”

Arthur:

”Both of you are abnormal.”

Clara:

”Agreed.”

Percy turned to Clara:

”You’re eighty-five percent.”

Clara:

”You’re one hundred percent.”

Percy went quiet.

Clara:

”Quiet.”

Percy:

”Okay.”

Galahad burst into laughter. Percy looked at him. Then... Slowly smiled. For two years... Galahad hadn’t progressed. Now he was Awakened 2. Percy looked at his own Core. Core 6. Looked at Clara. Core 7. Then at his class. Between six and eight... A new world had opened. And Percy realized for the first time. At the beginning of this camp... He had wanted to develop them. Now... What they had found wouldn’t just change them. It could change all of humanity.

Later that same day... Eleanor and Elizabeth were preparing Galahad’s records. The stages of the new method were written down. External Orin perception. Low-quantity draw. Determining Core resonance. Alignment. Verification at the Core boundary. Gradual acceptance. Absolute prohibition of forcing. High affinity yielding faster results, Low affinity yielding slower results. But low affinity... Not meaning failure. William specifically had that written in. Galahad looked at the last line:

”Name of the discoverer?”

Olsen looked at Percy. Percy was arguing with Clara in the distance:

”My brother.”

”Mine too.”

”No.”

”**[Perfect Match]**.”

”STOP USING THAT!”

Eleanor smiled. Then looked at the empty line. Picked up the pen.

And wrote:

”Anonymous.”

Galahad nodded:

”Right.”

Eleanor closed the document:

”Holar will take this to the academies.”

Olsen:

”Then?”

Eleanor looked at Percy:

”To the world.”

Galahad remained silent for a long time. Then looked at his own hands. Advanced 12. Two years. And today... Awakened 2. His eyes went back to Percy. Percy was running away from Clara. Clara was shouting from behind him:

”GET BACK HERE!”

”DON’T TEASE ME WITH PERFECT MATCH!”

”THE UNIVERSE SAID IT, NOT ME!”

”PERCYYYY!”

Galahad smiled. The world wouldn’t know his name. Not yet. Maybe that was better. Because today, Percy Grant didn’t need to be a hero. Today... He could stay seven years old.

Hours later, Holar Jun set off with the initial records of the method. It would be delivered to three academies. Then to magic guilds. Research centers. Mages on the front lines. City defenses. The rest of humanity. No one would learn the name of the child who found the method. But they would learn its results. The boundary of Core development accepted as unchangeable for centuries... Had been questioned for the first time. Humanity would no longer grow solely by consuming its own energy. Learning to understand the surrounding Orin... Aligning it with oneself... And learning to accept it safely. On that day, no one knew yet. How many mages this method would strengthen. How many battles’ outcomes it would alter. How many people it would allow to return home. But Holar Jun knew. He looked at the few pages of documents in his hand. And after many long years... He truly smiled with hope for the future of humanity.

”One more chance.”

Holar looked up at the sky.

”For us humans to develop...”

”One more chance has been born.”