To top it all, I had to do each delivery in under an hour. Walking from one end of the Commercial District to the other usually takes an hour and a half. He refused to give me any further instructions had I not achieved his impossible task. I had six hours between midday and sunset. I had to deliver six heavy barrels. 

If I failed, I'd have to do it all over again the next day. If I failed for seven consecutive days, three barrels will be added to my count. Two months had pa.s.sed. I was already at thirty barrels. Oh, I had grown stronger, strong enough to carry two barrels at once, but it wasn't enough. 

Each morning I'd work on my breathing exercises. I'd observe my conduits and the energy that flowed through them. Omega usually attended my morning exercises and guided me through them. I suspected he enjoyed the view from my room too. Cicero had placed me in the highest tower in his invisible castle. You could see the entire city from above, even the Chancellor's puny castle. 

"Your conduits only carry your energy from one point to the other," Omega told me that morning. "By now, you should be able to follow their trail. Find the source of all your energy, then you may redefine the impossible." 

I did as I was told. From what Cicero had told me, Omega was one of the most powerful beings in existence. Some even compared his might to that of the Primordials. He was on friendly terms with more than one of them. 

My mind turned at such a concept. I only heard of the Primordials. I even thought they were but legends. Now I was the student of a friend to the Primordials. It was all surreal. Moreover, Omega's teachings were more useful to me than I expected. 

In the span of two months, my energy had strengthened considerably. I was now as strong as when I defeated Lemien, the necromancer. I was probably even stronger, since I could now mould my energy to my will. I couldn't transform it into any major element yet, but I could send it as shockwaves that dealt blunt damage. 

Omega had shown me that trick too. It was especially useful when cornered. You could easily blast your foes away and create an opening to slip through and turn the tides of battle. 

He also showed me how to absorb energy from external sources. Some minerals, such as crystals and diamonds for example, can store vast amounts of neutral energy. I learned how to draw from it. Omega promised to teach me how to fill them if I ever succeeded in my ch.o.r.es. 

I'd draw from crystals he'd collected to nourish my conduits. I'd then a.s.similate them to make them my own. It wasn't the most difficult process, but it was time consuming. Omega said it was necessary to prepare for my transition. Which transition? I hear you ask. Well, I have no b.l.o.o.d.y idea...

I diverted to using my own sense of deduction. For instance, the more I a.s.similated foreign energy, the stronger my conduits became. And as I grew stronger, my conduits expanded, allowing for more energy to flow through. 

I was surprised to realize how much they'd shrunk at first. The Time Fragment had given me a considerable boost in power and I wasn't even aware of it. 

"From what you've told me, you received your Fragment before your conduits were open," Omega had told me once. "That's usually impossible. It's insane even to think about it. You, however, my dear peculiar pupil, you used to wield a Fragment since you were born. It allowed you possess a Fragment even though your conduits had closed."

"How did they close?" I found myself asking. 

"You became a mercenary," he replied. "You resorted to using brute force and never gave your conduits any thoughts. If you don't feed them, they simply close. Now focus on your breathing. Find that source."

Thanks to my strengthened conduits, I could now clearly trace my energy and try to find its source. As I deeply inhaled and exhaled, I observed how the energy flowed.

Every morning, I'd manage to follow it but I get lost as soon as the conduits converged. I'd lose my focus and I'd have a head splitting headache. Every morning, I'd wake up promising myself that today would be the day. 

That morning, two months after I began my training, I had a breakthrough. I saw through the convergence and found my way to the source. It was a small ball, barely the size of a rice grain. 

Golden rays of energy, as bright as sunlight, blasted off of it in all directions. They'd each find a conduit and travel through it, circling around my body then landing back into the core. It was breathtaking. Who knew such a magnificent thing lived inside of me?

When I came to, it was already midday. Omega was smiling at me. 

"I believe you've finally found it then," he said. 

I nodded. I described what I'd found to my master. 

"Now we can finally begin your real training," he said. "From this point onwards, the sky is the limit. You'll follow on your grandfather's footsteps. Since you want to partic.i.p.ate in the Holi Wars without a Fragment, you'll have to take the hard road. 

"The good news: we have all the time in the world to prepare you. We can even take a hundred years, but you can't live that long, can you?" he asked with a mocking grin. "Anyway, concentrate on using your energy to help you transport the barrels today. Look at it from the source, and beckon it forward. Force it to obey your will. It's still a wild animal. If you don't tame it, it will consume you." 

That afternoon, I raced against time. The barrels were definitely lighter, but I struggled to balance three on top of each other and walk as fast as my legs could carry me. No matter how I looked at it, the exercise was rigged. 

It was only by the end of the week that I managed to deliver ten barrels in one afternoon. By then, three more were added to my count. The odds were getting stacked against me...