Chapter 9
The silence that followed the professor's words wasn't uncomfortable—it was heavy, as if everything that had just happened had left an invisible mark in the air. Leo could still feel a faint tingling in his hands, an echo of the energy that had passed through the skull; it wasn't pain, but it wasn't something he could ignore either. It was as if his body was beginning to remember something his mind still didn't understand.
The professor watched him calmly and said, —What you did can't happen like that again.
Leo raised his gaze, still tense. —The resonance?
The professor nodded slightly. —Yes, because it wasn't your decision.
Teodora, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, added, —And next time it might not be a weak object.
Leo clenched his fists and stepped forward. —Then teach me how to control it.
The professor shook his head without hesitation. —No. First, you need to learn how not to do it.
Nando let out a small nervous laugh while scratching the back of his neck. —Sounds like we're going backwards.
The professor continued, ignoring him. —Your problem isn't that you don't know how to use the energy, it's that your energy doesn't have a clear boundary.
Leo frowned. —What do you mean it doesn't have a boundary?
Teodora turned her head slightly toward him. —It means you don't clearly distinguish between yourself and what you're touching.
The memory of the backyard hit him instantly; that moment when the spirit had responded to him, not as if he had dominated it, but as if it had understood him. Leo lowered his gaze. —So… what do I do?
The professor raised his hand slightly and the atmosphere shifted immediately; there was no light or sound, but the air tightened, as if something invisible were taking shape. —Close your eyes, he ordered firmly.
Leo obeyed without hesitation.
The professor took a slow step around him. —Don't search for anything, don't try to control it, just recognize.
At first it was confusing, only scattered sensations, small variations in the environment, as if everything were slightly out of place.
Teodora watched him closely and said in a low voice, —Don't resist.
Little by little, something began to separate within Leo's perception; one part felt stable, calm, familiar… and another felt denser, colder, foreign.
The professor tilted his head slightly. —That… that difference.
Leo breathed more slowly, focusing.
Teodora added, without taking her eyes off him, —If you reject it, you tense up.
The professor continued firmly, —And if you accept it, it stops being "something else."
Leo gave a slight nod, still with his eyes closed. The sensation became clearer, more defined; he could feel where he ended and where the other began, and that gave him control… not over the energy, but over himself.
The professor lowered his hand and the pressure disappeared.
Leo opened his eyes, exhaling slowly. —That… was different.
The professor looked at him intently. —That's the foundation. If you can't do that, everything else will destroy you.
Nando lifted the glasses and waved them slightly in the air. —Alright, and what about me? Is there training for mortals too, or am I just the audience?
Teodora glanced at him. —If you stay, you learn.
Nando raised an eyebrow. —Not sure if that's a threat or an invitation.
The professor extended his hand toward him. —Put them on.
Nando hesitated for a second, but obeyed. He carefully put on the glasses and blinked a couple of times, adjusting his vision. —Okay… I don't like this anymore, he muttered, going still.
Leo took a step toward him. —What do you see?
Nando narrowed his eyes, looking around more carefully. —It's not just one thing… there are several, like stains, but they're not on the wall… they're on top of it.
Teodora turned her head, focusing in the same direction. —Yes, they're there.
Leo looked at her, confused. —You can see them too?
Teodora nodded calmly. —Of course, but they're not just stains.
The professor stepped forward, watching the end of the street. —They're residues.
Nando swallowed without taking the glasses off. —Residues of what?
Teodora answered naturally. —Cursed energy, places where something happened… or is starting to happen.
Nando turned his head slightly and pointed into the distance. —There are more in that direction.
Leo couldn't see them directly, but he could feel a faint pressure in the air. —Yeah… it feels different there, he said quietly.
The professor glanced at him. —Good. Then he looked at Nando and added, —The glasses only show you the surface. Don't trust it too much.
Nando slowly took off the glasses. —Believe me… this is enough. He looked down for a moment and added, —If that's the surface, I don't want to imagine the rest.
The professor didn't respond, his attention still fixed on the end of the street. —This isn't normal accumulation, he said finally.
Teodora tensed slightly. —It's concentrating.
Leo felt a chill. —The same as last night?
The professor nodded. —Yes… but now it's growing.
The wind passed between them, lifting a bit of dust, and Leo felt how that air moved through those invisible areas, as if it were colliding with something that shouldn't be there. —Then we have to do something, he said, more determined.
The professor looked at him seriously. —Not yet.
Leo frowned. —Why?
Teodora answered before him. —Because if you rush in like that, you'll react again.
Silence returned, but this time it wasn't uncertainty—it was restraint.
Leo took a deep breath, more aware now. —Then… what's next?
The professor turned around calmly. —Training.
Nando looked at him, pointing at himself. —And me?
The professor paused for a moment without turning. —You too.
Nando blinked, surprised. —Seriously?
The professor answered calmly as he resumed walking. —You don't need energy to fight… you need to know where to strike.
Nando looked down at the glasses and then at his hands, and for the first time, he didn't feel completely out of place.
Somewhere in the distance, in another part of the town, something moved. No one saw it directly, but all three felt it… and this time, Nando did too.