Chapter—The Auramasters Practice session
The moon hung low over the city, casting long, skeletal shadows across Luke's bedroom. He sat on the edge of his bed, his chin resting in his hands, staring at a notebook filled with scribbled names and diagrams. The devil's final words in the Indian jungle were a recurring nightmare in his mind: Ten nodes. Ten rot-spots in the garden of humanity.
"Ten nodes," Luke whispered into the silence. "They could be anyone. Politicians, guild leaders... even friends."
Auru floated beside him, her soft silver glow pulsating with the rhythm of his anxiety. "You are worried that the roots go deeper than the Council, aren't you?"
Luke looked up, his eyes weary. "Yes. If the devils were smart enough to infiltrate the Council, they were smart enough to target the people we trust most. What if a node is someone from Aurafiest? What if it's someone I see every day at college? If they resist the purification, we'll be forced into an internal conflict. We'd have to fight our own people."
Auru hummed thoughtfully. "The closer the person, the harder the strike."
Luke nodded, but then he glanced toward the corner of the room. Koru was hovering near the window, staring out at the dark horizon. Usually, Koru was a chatterbox, complaining about hunger or mocking Luke's serious attitude. But for the last few days, the small spirit had been eerily silent.
"Koru?" Luke called out. "You've been quiet. Is something wrong?"
Auru turned to her counterpart with a mocking smile. "What happened? Are you so hungry that your voice died? You haven't said a word since we left the jungle."
Koru didn't look back. He merely twitched his translucent wings. "Shut up," he muttered, his voice unusually flat. He flew a little further away, retreating into the shadows of the ceiling.
Luke's eyes narrowed. He felt a sharp prickle of anxiety emanating from Koru—not the usual hunger-induced crankiness, but something deeper. Fear? Guilt?
"Koru's behavior is off," Luke thought. "It's like he knows something—a hint of the future he isn't allowed to reveal. I can't ignore this. If even my spirits are hiding things, the ten nodes are only the beginning of our problems."
The countdown continued, and Sunday arrived with a heavy sense of purpose. The training grounds of the Global Guild Headquarters were filled with the elite of the world's defenders. Nearly 193 Auramasters stood in formation, their various colored auras creating a shimmering rainbow against the morning sky.
Kaizen, Evelyn, and Auron stood on the raised dais, overlooking the assembly.
"Listen well!" Kaizen's voice boomed, carrying the authority of a man who had seen the brink of apocalypse. "This session is not for combat. It is for preservation. We have confirmed the existence of ten 'nodes'—individuals manipulated by the devils who are leaking our secrets and sabotaging our progress. One of them could be listening to us right now too."
A cold murmur rippled through the crowd.
"To find them," Kaizen continued, "we must use a technique that has been lost for generations: Aura Purification. It is a link of the soul that can strip away the devil's influence and reveal the truth. Auron, if you would?"
Auron stepped forward, his silver presence commanding instant silence. "Aura Purification requires more than just power," Auron explained, his voice echoing through the speakers. "It requires a string of connection. You must link your intent to the person you wish to scan and purify. If they are a node, the purification will trigger a reaction. If they are safe, the aura will simply refresh their spirit."
"We need subjects," Evelyn added.
Auramaster Mizu, Auramaster Celine, and the Auramaster Volkov stepped forward. They stood before the three leaders.
"Watch closely," Auron commanded. He placed his hand a few inches from Mizu's chest. A brilliant, emerald-green light began to swirl around his palm. "Link the string. Feel the thoughts. Purify."
The green light enveloped Mizu, glowing intensely for a few seconds before vanishing into a gentle mist. Mizu blinked, looking refreshed.
"Nothing happened," Auron noted. "That means Mizu is clean. No manipulation, no dark nodes."
Evelyn performed the rite on Celine, and Kaizen on the Volkov. In all three cases, the green light dissipated harmlessly.
"This is the technique you must all learn today," Kaizen declared. "Go into groups of two. Purify each other. This serves two purposes: you learn the skill, and we ensure that none of the Auramasters themselves are nodes."
The training ground became a sea of green light. Under the watchful eyes of Auron and the others, the Masters practiced. Some failed initially, their auras too jagged, but with Auron's,Kaizen's and Evelyn's guidance, they slowly mastered the delicate string-link. By midday, every Auramaster had been purified. No nodes were found among the elite.
"Good," Kaizen breathed a sigh of relief. "But the work isn't done. Now, you must go back to your nations. You must purify everyone close to you—your lieutenants, your family, your closest friends. Do not leave anyone out because you trust them. That is how the devil wins."
As the Auramasters departed to begin the hunt for the ten nodes, the three leaders remained on the field.
"You think they'll find them?" Kaizen asked, looking at Auron.
"I hope so," Auron replied. "But our duty is just starting. Kaizen, you're buried in Council work. Let me handle the high-ranking guilds nearby. I'll start the scans immediately. It feels wrong to doubt those close to us, but we have no choice."
Kaizen nodded. "I understand, Auron. I'll call the top-ranking guilds to the center tomorrow. You can scan amd purify them all at once."
Auron gave a sharp nod and took flight, heading back toward his home district. As he soared through the clouds, Auru whisper in his mind.
"Luke, what are you going to do when it's your turn to be scanned?" Auru asked. "Aura Purification is a powerful force. If you tries to scan your 'Luke' illusion, the energy will likely cause the illusion to dissipate. You'll be exposed."
Auron stared ahead, his mind working through the logistics. "I've already thought of that. When the time comes for Luke to be scanned, I will switch places. I will become the real Luke, and I'll create an illusion of Auron to stand beside me. The 'Auron' illusion will perform the purification on the real me. It will look like Auron is scanning a normal student. Since I'm not a node, nothing will happen."
Auru laughed. "Clever. Using your greatest secret as a shield for your identity."
Auron didn't laugh back. He looked down at Koru, who was trailing behind them, silent as a ghost.
"Koru," Auron said firmly, stopping in mid-air. "Enough. You've been quiet for three days. You didn't even mock the Auramasters during the training. What is it? Is there something I missed today? Something in the purification?"
Koru stopped, his small form flickering. He looked at Luke with eyes that seemed far too old for his playful personality. "Nothing," he said quietly. "I'm just... hungry. My energy is low."
"Are you sure?" Auron pressed. "If there's something you know about the nodes—something you saw that I didn't—you have to tell me."
They arrive at there home. Auron deunify.
Luke asked again to Koru is there anything happen.
But koru replied—
"I told you, I'm just hungry!" Koru snapped, his voice cracking. He surged ahead, flying toward Luke's apartment at a speed that contradicted his "low energy" excuse.
Auron watched him go, a cold pit forming in his stomach. He's hiding something big, Luke thought. Koru never stays silent, especially not during a major event like today. He's behaving like someone who is trying to stop himself from speaking—like he's keeping a secret that could change everything.
Luke touched his shaft . The ten nodes were out there, and one of them might be closer than he ever imagined. If even his own spirit familiar was acting as a barrier to the truth, the ten months remaining felt like they were shrinking by the second.
"I have to find out what Koru knows," Luke whispered to Auru. "Before the shield, and before the devils find us first."
End of Chapter.