Trial on the Dying Planet

  The air on the planet Faeiros churned with smoke and fire. Once a lush world teeming with life, it now quaked beneath the relentless assault of the Drekka—a savage alien species with a thirst for annihilation. Their sharp, insect-like forms swarmed the skies, their acidic projectiles burning through cities and landscapes alike. The planet's defense forces had crumbled within hours, leaving the surviving inhabitants to flee or perish.

  Amid this chaos, Magiaa and Thalor stood atop a floating shard of the planet’s fractured crust. The air shimmered with residual energy, a testament to the destruction unfolding around them. Magiaa’s black eyes scanned the devastation below, her expression as cold and unreadable as ever.

  Thalor’s breath came in short, sharp bursts as he watched the chaos with wide eyes. "What are we doing here?!" he shouted, trying to steady himself on the trembling ground. "We can’t stop this! There are too many of them!"

  Magiaa didn’t answer immediately. She raised a hand, and with a flick of her fingers, an incoming Drekka vessel veered off course, crashing into a mountain in the distance. "This is your lesson," she said finally, her voice calm amidst the destruction. "I won't intervene unless it's necessary. Survive, or die trying."

  Thalor’s heart sank. "What? You can’t be serious!"

  Magiaa turned to him, her gaze piercing. "Your enemies won’t wait for you to be ready, Thalor. They won’t care about your fears or your inexperience. They will strike, and you must respond. Now go."

  Before Thalor could protest, the shard they stood on cracked and broke apart, sending him plummeting toward the battlefield below.

  Thalor landed hard, rolling to avoid the jagged edges of debris. His instincts screamed at him to run, but a Drekka warrior was already charging toward him, its bladed limbs gleaming. He raised his hands reflexively, and a translucent wall of energy erupted between them. The Drekka slammed into it, screeching in frustration.

  Magiaa’s voice echoed in his mind, calm but firm. "That is your first aura—your Wall. It’s a reflection of your will to survive. But a wall alone won’t save you forever."

  The barrier cracked as more Drekka joined the assault, their combined strength threatening to shatter his defense. Thalor gritted his teeth, pouring more of his energy into maintaining it. "I can’t hold this!" he shouted, though he knew Magiaa wouldn’t answer.

  As the barrier strained, Magiaa’s voice cut through the chaos again. "You must go beyond fear, beyond desperation. Your aura is an extension of your soul, Thalor. The stronger your resolve, the stronger your aura."

  One of the Drekka broke through, its claw slicing toward him. Thalor barely dodged, scrambling backward. In his panic, he slammed his hands into the ground, and a glowing dome of energy erupted around him, pushing the attackers back momentarily.

  From a distance, Magiaa watched, her black eyes gleaming. She saw the fear in Thalor’s movements, but also his potential. The aura formations were rudimentary, but they were there—proof that he could adapt under pressure.

  He is not ready for battle, she thought, but the foundation is forming. He must learn faster if he is to survive what’s coming.

  She allowed herself a small motion of her hand, deflecting a particularly dangerous projectile away from Thalor without his notice. She wasn’t here to let him die—just to make him believe he was fighting alone.

  As the Drekka regrouped, Thalor found himself cornered. His barriers flickered, his energy waning. Desperation clawed at him, but so did something else—a spark of determination. He couldn’t fail here. Not with Magiaa watching. Not with his own survival on the line.

  He planted his feet and reached inward, searching for the well of power Magiaa had described. He focused, not on the fear of death, but on the will to protect himself, to push forward. His aura surged, and this time, the Wall didn’t just appear—it expanded, sweeping outward in a wave that sent the Drekka flying.

  Breathing hard, Thalor stood amidst the wreckage, his aura shimmering faintly around him. He wasn’t victorious, but he was still alive—and that was enough.

  Magiaa appeared beside him as the battle quieted, her expression unreadable. "You did better than I expected," she said, glancing at the faint glow of his aura. "But you’re still weak."

  Thalor glared at her, exhaustion and frustration warring within him. "You threw me into this without a warning. I could’ve died!"

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  "You could’ve," Magiaa agreed, "but you didn’t. And now you understand the first truth of aura: it is born in adversity. It will grow as you grow. Next time, perhaps you’ll do more than survive."

  Before Thalor could respond, she placed a hand on his shoulder, and they vanished, leaving the shattered planet behind.

  After the Battle with the Drekka

  On a small, serene planet, under a sky lit by three suns, Thalor sat on a large boulder, devouring food laid out in front of him. The remnants of his earlier battle against the Drekka still lingered in the form of scars and dirt on his face, but his appetite was unaffected. Magiaa, standing a short distance away, watched him in silence, her expression calm but unreadable.

  Magiaa: “You fought well back there, but brute force won’t always save you. Your aura is immense, but it’s chaotic. If you don’t learn to control it, you won’t survive your next battle.”

  Thalor paused mid-bite, looking at her with a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

  Thalor: “I did fine, didn’t I? Those Drekka are nothing compared to me. Why do I need to worry so much about controlling aura?”

  Magiaa: “You’re strong, but not invincible. Strength alone won’t save you against beings like the one you’ll face next. It’s time you learned about Aura Formation—the technique that separates gods from mortals.”

  The Training Begins

  Magiaa began explaining the stages of aura formation while Thalor reluctantly listened.

  Magiaa: “Aura Formation is the ultimate expression of energy control. It has three stages, or ‘folds.’ The first fold allows you to manifest your aura physically, amplifying your power far beyond your natural limits. The second fold shapes your aura into a powerful form, giving it physical properties. And the third… well, we’ll get to that when you’re ready—if you’re ever ready.”

  Thalor leaned back, his usual cocky demeanor surfacing.

  Thalor: “Sounds easy enough. Let’s get started.”

  Magiaa (smirking): “You’ll regret saying that.”

  Thalor Struggles

  Over the next few years, Magiaa thrust Thalor into relentless training. She teleported him to countless planets, each inhabited by monstrous planetary-level beings. These creatures pushed him to his limits, forcing him to refine his aura control while Magiaa watched from the shadows.

  In one battle, Thalor struggled against a planet-sized serpent with venomous fangs. He managed to summon a glowing shield of aura just in time to block its deadly strike.

  In another, he faced an army of energy-absorbing colossi, barely surviving by using aura-infused weapons to carve through their ranks.

  Between battles, Magiaa drilled him in the basics of aura control, her teaching harsh and unrelenting.

  Magiaa: “Your aura is still too scattered! Focus, Thalor! A single break in concentration, and you’ll be dead.”

  Thalor groaned in frustration as he failed to maintain his aura shield, the energy flickering and dissipating.

  Thalor: “You’re asking for the impossible! It’s like trying to hold back a tidal wave with a single hand!”

  Magiaa: “And that’s exactly what you’ll need to do if you want to survive.

  After years of grueling battles, Thalor finally achieved the first fold of aura formation. During a fight against a gigantic volcanic creature, his aura flared to life, enveloping him in a radiant glow. His strikes became faster, stronger, and more precise. He even managed to manifest a glowing sword made of pure aura, slicing through the creature’s molten body.

  But his control was still limited. The aura formation drained his energy rapidly, leaving him vulnerable if he kept it active for too long.

  Thalor (panting): “I can’t hold this for much longer…!”

  Magiaa: “Then learn to end the fight before your aura ends you.”

  After one particularly grueling battle, Magiaa and Thalor visited a Cosmic Black Space in a distant universe. The sprawling marketplace buzzed with life, with countless alien species trading exotic goods under glowing neon lights. While Magiaa browsed the wares, she overheard whispers about a cosmic wolf that had devoured an entire star system.

  Trader: “The wolf’s aura radiates raw cosmic energy. They say it’s the size of a small galaxy and has the power to devour stars…”

  Magiaa turned to Thalor, her eyes gleaming with purpose.

  Magiaa: “We’re going to fight it.”

  Thalor (alarmed): “Are you insane? A star-eating wolf? How am I supposed to fight something like that?”

  Magiaa: “You’ve faced planetary-level beings. Now it’s time to see if you can handle a god-level threat. This is your chance to prove yourself—or die trying.”

  Facing the Cosmic Wolf

  They teleported to the ruined star system, where the massive cosmic wolf loomed amidst the remains of shattered planets. Its size was incomprehensible, its glowing eyes like twin suns, and its body shimmered with cosmic aura that seemed to warp the very fabric of space around it.

  Thalor froze, his confidence shattered by the wolf’s sheer presence.

  Thalor (whispering): “It’s… enormous. How can I fight something like that?”

  Magiaa: “You’ll figure it out. I won’t intervene unless absolutely necessary.”

  The wolf turned its gaze toward them, releasing a deafening roar that shook the entire system. Thalor’s hesitation melted away as survival instincts took over.

  The battle was brutal. Thalor summoned his aura sword, slashing at the wolf’s colossal legs. He dodged its star-consuming jaws and deflected its cosmic energy blasts with hastily formed barriers. But the wolf’s power was overwhelming, and Thalor was pushed to the brink.

  ---

  Desperate and bleeding, Thalor tapped into the second fold of aura formation. His aura expanded, enveloping his body in a massive, glowing form—a warrior’s silhouette with a blazing sword. For a moment, he fought the wolf on equal footing, his strikes shaking the cosmos itself.

  But the strain was too much. His aura flickered, and the second fold collapsed. The wolf pounced, its jaws closing in on him.

  Thalor (thinking): “She’ll save me… she has to…”

  But Magiaa didn’t move. Thalor’s realization hit him like a thunderbolt.

  Thalor (yelling): “You’re really going to let me die?!”

  At the last second, as the wolf’s jaws closed around him, Magiaa stepped forward. She raised a hand, her aura flaring with terrifying precision.

  Magiaa: “Enough.”

  She touched the wolf’s forehead, and its entire body disintegrated into particles of light, scattered across the void.

  Thalor collapsed, his body trembling from exhaustion and pain.

  ---

  As Thalor lay on the ground, Magiaa knelt beside him.

  Magiaa: “You fought well. Better than I expected.”

  Thalor (weakly): “You could’ve stepped in sooner…”

  Magiaa: “And deprive you of the lesson? You’ve made progress, but you’re still not ready. The second fold is powerful, but it’s also dangerous. Master it, and you might stand a chance against beings like this.”

  Thalor closed his eyes, the weight of her words sinking in. He had survived, but he knew he still had a long way to go.