Saturday, October 20, 2019, marked the first training session for Shane and his friends.

  As Shane, Alicia, and Arthur arrived at the cave, they saw Nathan, Alexa, Ivan, Everett, and Elena already waiting for them.

  Shane had told Arthur the previous night that he had told them the entire truth, and they wanted to help. Arthur was hesitant at first, but seeing Alicia so determined to help, he gave in and decided to help them awaken their powers.

  “Well, it looks like we're all here. Sorry for doing this so early in the morning, but it takes a while to awaken your powers,” Arthur said as he looked at everyone in front of them.

  “It's not a problem. We wanted to help, so we’ll do anything.”

  The first to respond was Everett. Everett always had a strong personality, and he had always been the first to stand up for Shane when he got picked on for his hair colour as a child.

  “Alright then, let’s get started.”

  As they all entered the cave, they still felt uneasy as they felt the Founder’s presence. The cave was cleaned up a bit because the previous day, they spent time cleaning the area so that when they trained, they wouldn’t hit anything on the ground.

  “Shane, you help Alicia awaken her powers since you already know the steps to awaken the angel side of a person. I’ll help Alexa and Nathan awaken their demon side. The rest of you, sorry, but I can’t help right now since Shane is the one who needs lend you his powers.”

  “That's fine, we’ll be able to wait until Shane is ready. We don’t want to cause him any problem,” said Elena as she looked at Shane.

  “Alright then, you can do whatever you want for now. You can even practice your swordsmanship, it's crucial since if you want to fight alongside Shane, you need to have an understanding of the blade, and Shane can infuse his power into blades that are made from the angel world.”

  “Alright then, we'll use these wooden swords to practice. And Elena, don’t you know a bit about how to handle a sword?” asked Everett as he looked towards Elena

  “Well, I know how to handle one since my parents made me take fencing as a child. I haven’t done it in a while since I joined the astronomy club in high school.”

  Shane had never seen Elena handle a blade, but he was able to tell that she had excellent swordsmanship. He had realised this when he saw the number of trophies that she had won in fencing when he visited her house to study.

  “So Elena, can you teach us how to use a blade. We know you're very good at handling a sword.” Franco said, looking at Elena.

  “Sure. I don’t mind. But I won’t go easy on any of you. It takes time to understand fully,” Elena said as she looked at Franco, Ivan, and Everett.

  “Don’t worry, we're all committed,” said Franco as he picked up one of the wooden.

  As Shane saw the rest of his friends pick up the wooden swords nearby, he looked at Alicia.

  “So are you ready, Alicia. This will take a while.”

  “Yeah, tell me how to awaken my powers. I’m ready.”

  As Shane looked at Alicia, he could tell she was ready. He had known Alicia since he was a child, and he knew that she would never back down from a challenge. He knew that she wouldn’t back down now, so all he could do was make sure she remained safe.

  “Ok, I’m going to tell you what your dad told me when he helped me awaken my powers. So make sure you pay attention to everything I say.”

  “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. I’ll listen to everything you say if it means I can awaken my angel side.”

  “Alright, so the first thing you want to do is close your eyes. The moment you close your eyes, you have to focus on happy memories that you spent with people you care about. Don’t let anything else enter your mind, just focus on your happy memories,” Shane said as he looked at Alicia with concern.

  As soon as Alicia heard what Shane said, she closed her eyes and focused on her happy memories. Shane, who was looking at her, hoped that she wouldn’t have it as difficult as he did.

  As Shane looked at Alicia, he noticed that ice began to form around her. It was the same that had happened to him when he tried to awaken his power the week prior.

  When Shane got closer to Alicia to make sure that she was safe, it got colder. It had felt like it was snowing in the cave.

  As she opened her eyes, Shane was able to tell that she had completed the first step to awaken her powers. Alicia didn’t have any scars, and she was still conscious, which was the complete opposite of when Shane had awakened his powers.

  Looks like she was able to complete the first step more easily than I did. What was the difference between us that led to such different outcomes? Shane thought to himself as he looked at Alicia.

  “How do you feel, Alicia? Are you alright?” asked Shane as he went toward Alicia.

  “I feel fine. Did I do it, Shane?”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Well, you completed the first stage, and you did it a lot better than I did. I got scars, and I passed out for two hours.”

  “So, what you're saying is that I’m better than you,” Alicia said with a smug face.

  “Sigh. No, it just means that your power isn’t as powerful as mine. Our powers are different. Yours seems to be ice while mine is lightning.”

  “If you say so. So what’s the next st…”

  As Alicia was about to finish her question, she was suddenly cut off by two explosions across the room. When Alicia and Shane looked across the room, they saw two balls of flame, one red and the other pink.

  Arthur had noticed that Shane and Alicia were looking their way and decided to call over.

  “Hey Shane, come over here, I need your help for the second step of awakening their powers.”

  As Shane looked over at Arthur, he was confused because Arthur said that he was the only one who knew the second step for awakening power.

  “Alright, Alicia, looks like they need my help. So we should head over there.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  The moment Shane and Alicia began walking towards Arthur, they felt pure sorrow and hatred. As they got closer to them, the stronger that feeling grew.

  When they got closer, Shane felt like it was the same presence that he had felt whenever he saw the fallen angel version of himself. It was as if that version of him wasn’t even an angel but a demon.

  Along with the uneasy feeling, it felt like summer had come early. The flames Alexa and Nathan had created while trying to awaken their powers had heated the cave.

  As Shane and Alicia approached Arthur, Shane asked, “Why did you say that I was the only one who knew the second step to awaken our powers? I thought you knew both steps?”

  “Well, your father and I never really had a full understanding of how our kids could awaken their powers, so we thought there was only one step. I only figured out that there was a second step to awakening one's power when I saw you fully awaken your powers.”

  When Shane thought back to a week ago, he did remember Arthur saying that the last time someone who was half-human awakened their power was over a thousand years ago, and it wasn’t even an angel but a demon. So, Shane was the first one to awaken their powers in over a thousand years.

  Is the second step the same for both angels and demons? Just how many secrets does this world have?

  As Shane finished his thought, he noticed that the balls of flames in front of them had dissipated. When he looked back at where the balls of fire had been not too long ago, he saw Nathan and Alexa covered in ash.

  “Well, it looks like they completed the first step?’

  “What was the first step for them?” Shane asked, looking at Nathan and Alexa.

  “Well, for the most part, it was the same as it is for Angels. The only difference is that they had focused on memories of sorrow and hatred.”

  “How do you two feel? Are you both alright?” Alicia asked as she went towards Nathan and Alexa.

  “I feel fine”

  The first to respond to Alicia's question was Alexa, as she was trying to brush off the ash on her.

  “Well, I feel good. I would feel better if I weren’t covered in Ash,” Nathan said as he also tried to brush off the ash on him.

  “So what's the next step, Shane?”

  “To be honest, I don’t know much about the second step. When I fully awakened my powers, I was in a completely different state. I was barely able to move. The only thing I could think it could be is what you desire to do with your power. So just think of what you want to do with your power, think of its purpose.”

  “Alright, we’ll try that to see if our powers fully awaken,” Alicia said as she started to think about what she wanted to do with her powers.

  As soon as Alicia finished speaking, her, Nathan and Alexa began to think of the purpose of their powers.

  As Shane looked up, he noticed that the first to awaken their power was Alexa. As he looked at her, he saw that she had a medieval broad sword with pink flames coming out of the blade.

  “Hey, look, I did it. I was the first to awaken my powers fully.” Alexa said, looking at Nathan to gloat, that she had beaten him in awakening their powers.

  “That's good for you, Alexa,” Shane said, looking at her.

  The second to awaken their power was Nathan. He had a similar medieval broadsword to Alexa's; the only difference was that the flames that came from his blades were dark red.

  “Well, it looks like I awakened my power,” Nathan said as he looked frustrated that his sister had beaten him.

  “That's good for you, my dear younger brother. It seems like you're always second to me,” Alexa said as she tried to tease her brother.

  The last to awaken their power was Alicia. Alicia had a similar katana to her father's, the only difference being that a cold mist came out of the blade.

  “Yay. I was actually able to awaken my powers,” Alicia said as she looked at her blade.

  “Well, at least you awaken your powers,” Shane said as he looked at Alicia.

  “Um, Shane, how do we hide these swords so no one else sees?” Alexa asked as she looked at the sword in her hand.

  “Well, for that, close your eyes and focus on your sword. Memories will play in your mind, and the moment you hear its name, your sword will glow, and that will be its name. After you have its name, say close your soul, then its name.”

  As Shane saw them close their eyes, he noticed they all began to focus on their swords.

  The first to open their eyes was Nathan.

  “Close your soul, Rhys.”

  The second to open their eyes was Alexa.

  “Close your soul, Ember”

  The last to open their eyes was Alicia.

  “Close your soul, Kori.”

  “Well, it's great you kids were fully able to get a grasp of your power today.”

  “Thank you, Dad and Shane.”

  “It was no problem. By the way, where are our other friends?”Shane asked as he looked around the cave to find them.

  “We were outside so we wouldn’t interfere with you guys awakening your power.”

  As Shane looked in the direction of the voice, the only person he saw was Elena.

  “What happened to the rest?” Alexa asked, looking at Elena.

  “They're still outside. It looks like they couldn’t handle the training I put them through. I even challenged all of them to see if they could even land a hit. They all lost and are currently sulking outside.”

  “Wait, did you challenge them to a 1 versus 1 or all of them versus you?” Nathan asked, looking fearfully.

  “It was all of them versus me. Even with an advantage, they lost.”

  “I knew you were good, but it's terrifying that they all came at you and still lost,” Alicia said while looking at Elena with fear.

  “Well, she had won multiple trophies, so it makes sense,” Shane said as he looked at Elena with admiration.

  “Alright, I think we should call it for today. You all seem tired, and tomorrow the real training begins,” Arthur said as he looked at the kids in front of him.