At the fingertips where nothing existed, a small light soon ignited.
“Hey!”
“Things like this are cooler when you see them firsthand, not in fairy tales.”
The flickering light grew larger and trembled violently, as if it would engulf Ludian’s right hand.
And then,
“…!”
The flame transformed into the shape of a small leopard, darting around the room before completely dispersing in the air.
“What if the kid got scared…!”
Perdi’s expression stiffened.
Instinctively, Perdi embraced the small child in his arms, and sparks flickered in his eyes. It was an instinctual protective reaction.
It felt like sparks would fly between the two brothers at any moment.
At that moment, while Perdi was glaring at his reckless younger brother.
“She don’t seem surprised. Look.”
Ludian pointed at Thiel, who was in Perdi’s embrace.
Perdi turned his gaze to his younger sister in his arms, rather than continuing to glare at Ludian.
Thiel’s slightly dilated pupils confirmed her surprise. However…
“Wow!”
Thiel was not afraid of Ludian’s flames.
What frightened Thiel was the freezing ability used by her grandfather, Zander Nestian.
It was the chilling ice that could freeze her entire body.
‘As long as it’s not ice, I’m not scared.’
Contrary to Perdi’s expectation that she would cry out in surprise, Thiel was looking at Ludian’s fingertip with a slightly excited expression.
Perdi and Ludian exchanged puzzled glances.
Thiel reached out her hand toward Ludian.
Ludian naturally handed his right hand, which he had just used his ability with, to Thiel.
Thiel fearlessly toyed with Ludian’s right hand, then slowly raised her head with blushing cheeks.
“I want to use my ability properly too, like you, big brother…!”
“If you want to use your ability properly, just use it.”
Ludian said with a puzzled expression.
Perdi and Ludian had been able to awaken their abilities early on without having to learn how to use them separately.
But Thiel’s situation was different.
Thiel had awakened her ability late, and she had no one to teach her how to use it, so she couldn’t use it properly.
Of course, Perdi and Ludian didn’t know this fact.
Perdi and Ludian exchanged glances for a moment.
The two brothers were aware of Thiel’s ability thanks to what they had heard from Cassius.
The legendary ability of light.
But she couldn’t use it?
The puzzled gazes of the two boys met in the air.
The fact that Alpheus and Cassius had abused her in Nestian and that Thiel was a child who didn’t have an ability in the first place were not mentioned, so it was natural for the twins to be puzzled.
Everyone in the Krasion Empire has been taught that the superpowers in legends are incredibly strong and amazing.
“Well, the thing is…”
Thiel trembled and clenched her hands tightly.
Although Ludian easily said, “If you want to use your ability, just use it,” it wasn’t as easy for Thiel as he made it sound.
Since then, she had tried many times to use her ability, just like in the basement, but she could only summon a small fish at most.
The small light that flickered in her hand.
It was undoubtedly Thiel’s ability, just as Cassius had said.
Thiel looked down at her small palm, covered in scars.
In this world, being born with an ability different from one’s parents symbolized their parents’ denial or an individual with significantly inferior abilities.
But Cassius said that Thiel was a very special child with a very special ability.
That’s why Thiel loved her ability so much.
Memories of the days when she was abused for not being able to use her ability flashed through her mind.
Now, Thiel felt relieved that she didn’t have to endure persecution for not being able to use her ability. She was overjoyed at the thought.
That’s why she wanted to use her ability in a more impressive way.
She wanted to use her ability, hone it, and become a support for the kind Asterian family.
As if shouting that Zander should have done that for Thiel…
Since Thiel remained silent for a long time, a bewildered Ludian bent down and checked Thiel’s face.
“Are you crying? Thiel, are you crying?”
Ludian was a genius when it came to utilizing abilities, even more so than his older brother, Perdi. He had hardly taught or received any instruction on how to use abilities from anyone.
So he couldn’t possibly teach Thiel something like “how to use her ability” properly.
“Thiel, what I mean is…”
“It’s fine, Ludian. Thiel, do you want to learn how to use your ability properly?”
Perdi pushed Ludian’s face aside and spoke. His gaze was directed at Thiel. Perdi smirked.
‘Perfect.’
This was an opportunity to test whether Thiel’s ability was truly the ability of light.
If it wasn’t the ability of light…
With that thought in mind, Perdi nodded his head as if giving his approval to Thiel. Thiel eagerly nodded her head in response.
“Yes, I want to learn how to use my ability properly!”
“Alright, then, should we go to the practice arena for a moment? We can teach you properly there.”
Perdi closed the fairy tale book he was reading.
He checked his watch.
Although it was late, the practice arena exclusively used by Perdi and Ludian, the twin brothers, was always open, so it seemed like there would be no problem going there.
Thiel’s eyes widened at the mention of the practice arena. She grabbed onto Perdi’s clothes and asked.
“The practice arena?”
“Yes, you said you wanted to learn how to use your ability properly. So we need a comfortable space where you can learn and use your ability.”
Perdi lifted Thiel up and stood her on her feet. Then he tightly held her small hand. The child’s hand felt cold. Perhaps it was because of the sapphire. Perdi’s face wrinkled slightly. The boy gently used his ability, warming up the palm of Thiel’s hand that was in contact with his.
“Hold my hand too, Thiel! Not just Perdi!”
“Yes, please…!”
Ludian reached out his hand to Thiel. After a moment of hesitation, Thiel tightly grasped Ludian’s hand.
Ludian’s simple face brightened immediately. Thiel, Ludian, and Ferdie walked out of the room while holding hands.
“Oh, my lord and young lady, where are you going?” Lia asked when she saw the children leaving the room.
Perdie glanced at Thiel for a moment and replied, “To the training grounds.”
“The training grounds?” Lia asked confusedly.
“Yes, because there’s something I want to teach Thiel there.”
Lia had an awkward expression upon hearing the word “training grounds.” She seemed about to stop the children, but Ferdie and Ludian paid no attention and passed by her.
Thiel kept looking back anxiously, watching Lia’s reaction. The child cautiously asked Perdie, “Is the training grounds a bad place?”
“What?”
“Well, Lia seems to dislike it…”
“She’s worried about your safety. People usually practice using their abilities in the training grounds.”
I see. Thiel nodded.
It was understandable for Lia to be concerned because using abilities could be dangerous.
Thiel remembered the ice shard that grazed her cheek from Zander’s ability.
‘But I don’t think Perdi and Ludian would use their abilities recklessly on me.’
He couldn’t be certain, but he had a feeling that they wouldn’t do that.
Thiel firmly held the warm hands of Perdi and Ludian.
The hands that were cold before were now pleasantly warm.
***
The three children arrived at the training grounds soon.
It was located at the northernmost part of the Asterian mansion. It was a training ground exclusively for the twins, which they received as a gift when they were five years old.
Ferdie and Ludian had been using their abilities in the training grounds since they were only four years old. However, due to the tremendous power of their abilities, other people who trained with them often got hurt.
That’s why Cassius had built a separate training ground just for the two of them, and this was it.
“Wow…”
Thiel exclaimed in admiration upon entering the training grounds for the first time.
The training ground was a large round building with an open ceiling, allowing a clear view of the night sky.
The dense starlight seemed like it would pour into the training ground at any moment.
Perdi snapped his fingers, and small chairs appeared from somewhere, each equipped with soft cushions.
“Sit here for a moment, Thiel” Perdi lifted Thiel and placed him on the chair.
Thiel sat on the soft chair and nodded.
“Yes, Thiel. Sit there and watch carefully. This is how you use abilities… Like this!”
Ludian enthusiastically waved his hands.
A massive flame emerged from his hands.
The flame quickly grew, flickering as if it would engulf the training ground.
The heat was intense. Thiel looked at Ludian with a slightly rounded body, wide-eyed.
“Like this, you use abilities… and then…”
Ludian waved his hand again, and the flickering flames turned into a black shape.
“See, it’s used like this.”
Ludian said, pointing the black shape toward the night sky.
There was no explanation in the process, but Thiel applauded in response to Ludian’s gesture.
Although he didn’t understand it well, he could tell that Ludian’s abilities were amazing.
Perdi looked at Ludian with a slightly disdainful gaze and flicked his hand, signaling him to move aside.
“You foolish swordsman, Thiel doesn’t want that.”
“You brat…! Since we’re in the training grounds, how about a match? Take out your sword, Perdi!”
“I don’t want to. I need to teach Thiel how to use abilities.”
Ferdie ignored Ludian.
He tidily tied his hair with the hairband on his wrist and spoke.
“Thiel, you use abilities with your mind. You have to imagine the image in your mind.”
