Fin sat under Mount Veyra's starlit sky, the shallow overhand cool against his back. His thumb traced the jagged edge of the hilt where the blade had shattered during his battle against the golem.

The power in his core was both exhilarating and terrifying, a constant reminder that he was no longer who he had been when he began his ascent a week ago.

Headmaster Elijah sat beside him, robes pooling like ink against the stone, seeming to absorb even the faint starlight that filtered through the pine boughs. His eyes glinted with unreadable depth as he gazed out over the forested slopes below. The silence between them was heavy with unasked questions, while Veyra's pines whispered secrets far below, as if the mountain itself knew the weight of this moment and chose to listen rather than speak.

Fin's mind churned with calculations and possibilities, scenarios spinning through his thoughts like equations seeking solutions. Yet he kept silent, carefully guarding his deepest secrets: his Earth past, memories of a world without mana; his encounter with Kailos; and most critically, the System's mysterious "Anomaly" tag. Electromagnetic Synchronization buzzed more intensely as he tried to read the Headmaster, anything to give him insight into the man's intention.

But Elijah was a void to his senses, not a natural absence, but something deliberate and practiced, a mastery of concealment. It was like trying to detect a hole in space itself.

Fin shifted, adjusting his position against the cool stone.

"You sensed it, didn't you?" he said finally, voice low and careful, testing the waters. "The... storm up top."

Elijah's lip twitched, not quite forming a smile but acknowledging the deliberate understatement. "A Tribulation, young Aodh. Something that should only be seen when advancing to Tier Six." His voice was smooth as ancient stone worn by countless years of flowing water. "I came to see who dared to do such a thing with students climbing the mountain. But I found you, alive, Tier Two." He paused, eyes reflecting starlight. "I watched from the shadows just to make sure you were safe."

Fin's breath hitched. He swallowed hard, carefully avoiding any mention of the deity's name or the Anomaly label that the System had branded him with. Better to focus on what he could acknowledge safely.

"I... Imprinted," he started hesitantly, but Elijah's hand cut through the air between them, sharp and decisive.

"Don't," Elijah said, voice firm but surprisingly warm. "No names, no details. Plausible deniability." He winked, a sudden flicker of mischief in those ancient eyes. "Keeps me from having to lie to anyone about you. You never know when a Royal Inquisitor will come questioning."

Fin's brow furrowed, Convergent Equilibrium automatically steadying his pulse as his mind processed this new information. Plausible deniability? Royal Inquisitor? The terms indicated layers of political complexity he hadn't encountered in his relatively sheltered time on this world. The System's unseen gaze felt somehow closer, heavier, while his core's persistent hum seemed suddenly louder, a beacon announcing his presence to whatever forces might be searching.

A question burned inside him, not about the Imprint, clearly a topic Elijah wished to avoid, but about his newly evolved skill with its unusual designation. It seemed safer ground, and potentially crucial information.

"One of my skills evolved," he said cautiously, keeping the description deliberately vague. "Its rank has a plus sign. I've never seen that before. What does it mean?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow, a look of genuine surprise crossing his features before settling into a soft chuckle. "Eh? The plus is simple, Fin. Means the skill's stronger than its rank suggests, but not quite enough to jump to the next tier."

He gestured with one hand, as if conjuring a lesson from the air between them. "Take a fireball, for example. Common rank? Small, hot enough to leave a scorch mark on stone. Common+? Burns a clean hole right through that same stone. Uncommon? That's when it explodes, shattering the rock entirely." His eyes sharpened, probing Fin's reaction. "Your + skill, it's got more kick than whatever rank it normally would be, but it's not fully... whatever comes next. Rare thing, that rank marking. Means you're pushing boundaries."

Fin nodded slowly, mind racing as he integrated this knowledge with his existing understanding. What could be beyond Unique rank. In theory, Unique means singular, so what is after. Was that why the System watched him so closely? He kept the thought internal, Convergent Equilibrium tamping down his curiosity before it could lead him to ask questions too dangerous to voice aloud.

"Thanks," he said, voice steady, but Elijah's words lingered in his mind, simultaneously a warning and a spark of possibility.

"Why sit here, then?" Fin pressed after another long moment of silence, the question coming out sharper than he'd intended. "If you're not asking questions…"

"Because others will." Elijah's tone hardened, eyes suddenly piercing as they fixed on Fin's. "Your core, Fin, it's not just Tier Two. It feels closer to a fresh Tier Three. Too loud, too bright. Every mage, beast, and spirit from here to the Academy will sense you coming." He paused, his gaze softening slightly. "You need to quiet it, or questions won't be the worst you face."

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Fin's chest tightened at the implications. He thought about his father panicking when he first learned about Fin's unusual affinities, the desperate choice he'd made to lie about Fin having an Embodied Lightning affinity instead of revealing the truth. That lie had protected him then. What would protect him now?

"What can I do?" Fin asked, voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

Elijah leaned forward, his robes rustling like dark wings against the stone. "Mask it. A skill Instructor Mara and I learned when we were younger. You wrap your mana tight, compress it to your skin. It was the skill that eventually evolved into what causes us to appear as a void to perception skills." He gestured with one hand, a faint shimmer briefly coating his fingers before vanishing entirely. "Start simple. Thin layer, press it close. Go ahead and try."

Fin nodded, focusing inward. His core thrummed steadily, the Taranis Imprint pulsing with each heartbeat. He drew a thread of mana, thin as spider silk, and attempted to wrap it over his skin like a second layer, compressing it tight against his body. Almost immediately, pain pricked along his nerve endings, his core seemed to resist the constraint, Convergent Equilibrium interfering with the process, filtering ambient mana inward like an inexorable tide.

It's balancing too fast, Fin thought, careful to keep his frustration internal. The skill was automatically seeking equilibrium, sucking in mana from the environment and breaking the layer he was trying to establish. He gritted his teeth, trying again, wrap, compress, hold. The mana slipped from his control, flaring outward in a brief flash that made his core's hum even louder.

Elijah watched in silence, his expression revealing neither disappointment nor impatience, just calm observation. Fin's frustration grew with each failed attempt, but Convergent Equilibrium responded to his emotional spike like a storm, becoming more chaotic rather than settling.

Then, a spark of insight hit him, Theoretical Physics Application clicking into place with an elegant solution: Don't fight the flow. Match it. Instead of creating a void, which worked against his core's nature, he could blend with his surroundings, mimic Veyra's ambient mana patterns, the pines' green pulse, the stone's steady rhythm. He adjusted his approach, weaving mana to mirror the environment around him, not suppressing his core but cloaking it, like a chameleon adapting to its surroundings.

The mana settled into place, forming a thin veil over his skin, vibrating in precise sync with the ambient mana of the mountainside. Electromagnetic Synchronization confirmed the effect, just background noise that blended seamlessly with Mount Veyra's natural mana signature. The System chimed softly in his awareness:

[Skill Offer: Ambient Cloak (Unique)]

Masks the user's core by matching ambient mana patterns, blending with the environment. Reduces detection by perception skills.

Fin accepted the skill immediately, feeling it lock into place alongside his others.

He blinked, sensing his core settling into a steadier rhythm, the veil holding firm around him. Elijah's lips curved upward, forming a true smile for the first time since he'd appeared.

"Not my skill, but it works," he said, voice warm with what sounded like genuine approval. "Clever, Fin."

Fin exhaled slowly, feeling Ambient Cloak laying softly against his skin, his core's presence now quieter, less a beacon to anything with perception abilities. He'd test its effectiveness further during his descent tomorrow. "Thanks," he said, then paused, half-hoping for an easier solution to the journey ahead. "You teleporting us back to the Academy?"

Elijah laughed, a rich sound that echoed off the stone overhang. "Walk." The single word was both command and dismissal. Before Fin could respond, the Headmaster's form shimmered, dissolving into shadows that seemed to melt into the night itself, gone as if he had never been there at all, leaving only starlight and silence behind.

Fin scowled, annoyed at being abandoned so abruptly. Cryptic old man, he thought, the mental grumble tinged with reluctant respect.

With the Headmaster gone, the night seemed emptier somehow, the stars colder. Fin rolled his shoulders, easing tension that had built during their conversation. So many questions remained unanswered, but perhaps that was Elijah's intent, to make him find his own answers rather than relying on authority.

The night wind whispered through the pines below, carrying the scent of resin and wild herbs. It reminded Fin of the Eastern Reaches.

His stomach growled. He rummaged in his pack, pushing past frayed straps and worn fabric, the ascent had been harder on his equipment than he'd anticipated. His fingers found a small cloth bundle tucked safely in an inner pocket, a cookie, carefully baked and wrapped before beginning the climb, saved specifically to celebrate reaching Tier Two.

The timing felt right. Despite Elijah's abrupt departure and the many uncertainties ahead, he had accomplished something significant. His core had evolved. He had survived Tribulation. He had faced Taranis and emerged changed but unbroken.

He unwrapped the cloth slowly, revealing the slightly crushed cookie within, oatmeal and honey, a taste of Earth's comfort in Aetherys' unforgiving wilds.

The first bite was sweet and comforting, crumbs falling onto his lap as he chewed slowly, savoring the simple pleasure. Above him, stars wheeled in patterns. Below, the path wound down through forest and meadow, eventually leading back to the Academy with its libraries, training grounds, and dormitories.

He took another bite of cookie, letting the sweetness ground him in the present moment. Tomorrow would bring its challenges. The Academy, the questions. But tonight, for just a little while longer, he would sit beneath the stars and simply be.

The night deepened around him, Mount Veyra's ancient presence a silent witness to the boy with lightning in his soul and determination in his heart. Ambient Cloak keeping his presence hidden from those who might wish him harm, while his mind turned toward what awaited him below. Not with fear, but with resolve.

One step at a time. One problem solved after another. It was how he had climbed the mountain. It was how he would face whatever came next.

Fin finished the cookie, carefully folding the cloth and tucking it back into his pack. Even small comforts had value in this world. Even small victories deserved acknowledgment. He had reached Tier Two. He had Imprinted with a Prime.

He leaned back against the stone, eyes on the stars, while Electromagnetic Synchronization kept watch over the sleeping mountain. Tomorrow would come soon enough. But tonight belonged to him, to rest, to reflect, to prepare.

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