Lassim finished tying the last knot of his belt, his purple and gold martial robes neatly falling into place. Vaela stood by the door of the room before walking out first and Lassim following shortly after.
They stepped out of the inn into the cooling twilight. The sun had dipped behind the dunes by now, leaving the sky a deepening shade of purple, casting the desert in a serene, almost otherworldly light. The village was quiet now, the earlier battle only a memory, and the rogue cultivators locked up under Vaela’s orders.
They moved to an open area just outside the village, where Vaela stretched her arms out, drawing her lance into existence from her inner heart world with a faint crackle of lightning. "Alright, so I think it’s better if I show you more than just explaining it. It should be easier. Watch closely," she said, as she started channeling her lightning mana.
"The first thing to understand is that when I create a replica of my lance, I’m not creating a simple shape of a lance out of lightning. I’m replicating the structure of my exact weapon from the inside out—the density, weight, balance, and even the distribution of mana that flows through—all of it."
Lassim watched closely as Vaela’s lightning mana surged into the lance. She was taking the time to slowly showcase the technique in a manner for him to follow along, controlled and directed through specific channels and routes both externally and internally through the weapon..
"The key," she continued, "is in understanding the weapon’s internal structure. You can’t just think about what it looks like on the outside. You have to know how the core of the weapon is balanced, where the stress points are, and how the mana flows through it during an attack. Every detail matters.
You were gifted your elemental weapon by the gods, as we all were, but truly understanding it and having better familiarity with it will drastically help improve your overall control as well."
Vaela lifted her lance higher, and as Lassim watched, another lance began to form in her other hand. But it wasn’t simply conjured out of thin air as she was drastically slowing the process down for him; instead, it crackled and surged from the original lance, sparking as it branched off like a bolt splitting through the sky.
The energy condensed rapidly, arcs of electricity twisting and converging in violent, jagged lines. Each pulse of lightning built upon the last, forming the shape of the weapon piece by piece, before it finally solidified into the second lance—an exact match, buzzing as she held it still in the air.
It was like she said, she wasn’t just shaping mana into a crude copy or mass of lightning energy that he might’ve assumed earlier. She was mimicking the physical properties of her weapon with lightning, binding the mana into a precise form that even mimicked the grooves and lines of her elemental weapon with the care of a craftsman.
"The internal framework is what stabilizes the form," Vaela explained, her eyes glowing slightly with the charge of her element. "If you try to just throw lightning around and force it into a shape, it’ll typically fall apart. You have to build the core first, the skeleton of the weapon, and then mold the lightning around that, layer-by-layer."
She demonstrated by holding both lances in front of her, then launching one toward a nearby dune of sand. The lightning lance struck with a sharp burst, and the dune exploded into a big cloud.
Lassim furrowed his brow, thinking deeply. "Hmm. It sounds easy in theory, but…"
Vaela nodded in understanding, "Well, no use overthinking it. Give it a try," Vaela said, stepping back to give him space. "Start with your halberd, but don’t rush it. Focus on the internal structure first—how the mana naturally flows through it when you rotate your cultivation, the balance of weight, the tension points.
Then, when you’ve got that, start by trying to build it before you focus on building the outer form."
Lassim took a deep breath and summoned his halberd into his hand. The weapon appeared with a familiar surge of energy, the rune covered blade and pole glowing in the twilight.
He closed his eyes for a moment, visualizing the halberd in his mind. He thought about every aspect of it, the way the runes empowered it, the weight distribution between the blade and the pole, the way the mana channeled through it to enhance his strikes. He knew this weapon as an extension of his own body, instinctively and magically but understanding it on this level felt different.
More demanding.
Slowly, he began channeling his water and lightning mana through his body, guiding it toward his hands. He tried to mimic the pathways Vaela had described, imagining the core of the halberd first—the solid structure, the tension in the handle, the weight of the blade. He let the mana flow, trying to build that internal skeleton.
But as the energy gathered in his hands, his lightning and water mana didn’t cooperate the way Vaela’s lightning did. Instead of forming a coherent structure, the two elements clashed and swirled, creating a chaotic mass of unstable, storm-like, energy.
Lassim’s brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to force the mana into the shape of his halberd, but it refused to hold. The lightning surged unpredictably, the water element trying to stabilize it but only creating more turbulence. The result was a chaotic storm of energy, not the sleek weapon he envisioned.
Vaela watched him struggle, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Ah, I hadn’t thought about this issue." she said calmly. "That’s quite the conundrum. You’re going to have to work with two different elements to make the shape of your halberd since it uses both..."
Lassim felt a little frustrated, but tried again after thinking about it for a moment. Instead of just doing equal 50-50 parts, he focused on the internal structure of his halberd being created more with a majority of water instead. But again, the result was the same—a chaotic clash of water and lightning that refused to stabilize itself.
This one reacted more like his [Hydroburst] technique and just exploded into a giant burst of steamy water everywhere.
Vaela gave lassim an annoyed look as he realized his mistake and saw she was now drenched from head to toe. She then placed a firm gripping hand on his shoulder as the vein above her forehead began to bulge.
"If you weren’t the Sect Master’s disciple, you’d be in a world of hurt right now." She then sighed, wiping the wet strands of hair from her face to the side before continuing, "I’m not quite sure how you’ll figure this out, but maybe if you keep playing with the ratios and balance it may work?"
He tried again and again and again for the next hour. He played with making more lightning focused attempts and even pure lightning only, but those seemed to react even worse when he tried to shape it into his halberd’s form.
The best attempt was making it purely out of water, but the dripping and water shaped weapon just didn’t seem like it’d be sturdy enough to hold up in battle or even be all that useful. There was something crucial he was missing or just something else he just couldn’t quite figure out. Most of the attempts were just a chaotic mess and mass of lightning and water mana.
Lassim sighed in frustration, letting the mana dissipate. "I’m not quite sure," he muttered. "I can control both elements, so it shouldn’t be this complicated. I mean, you make it look so easy."
Vaela stepped back, crossing her arms. "Because you’re trying to force two elements into a form they don’t naturally want to take. My lightning is straightforward—it wants to move, to strike. Your situation… it’s a little more complicated."
Lassim frowned, staring down at his hands. He knew she was right, but it didn’t make the failure any easier to swallow. To him, this wasn’t just about copying Vaela’s technique—this was about finding something that could be used or inspire him to make his own fighting style and signature technique for the future.
He really liked the idea of this kind of battle art, but there didn’t seem to have much affinity with him.
Trying not to be disappointed, he tried once more, this time focusing on his water mana first. He let the energy flow through him like a river, imagining it forming the internal structure of his halberd. The water mana was easier to control, more fluid, but as soon as he introduced the lightning element, the balance broke again.
He tried again, and again, and again, and every time when he added the other half, his lightning surged wildly, refusing to conform to the shape or layers he wanted. The whole thing dissolved into a misty spray of water droplets and erratic sparks.
"Dammit," Lassim muttered under his breath, clenching his fists.
Vaela tilted her head, watching him carefully. "It’s not going to work if you keep trying to force it. You might be thinking too much about the end result and not enough about the process. The reason my technique works is because I understand how my lightning behaves. You need to do the same with your elements. You might just need more time to get there."
Lassim let out a frustrated breath. "I know my elements. I’ve used them in battle countless times."
"But this is different," Vaela countered. "You’re trying to mold them into something they don’t want to be. I struggled a lot with it at the beginning too. I wasn’t joking with the time it took me to get where the technique is today."
Lassim’s shoulders slumped slightly as he absorbed her words. He had been so sure that he could replicate her technique, that he could form his halberd from his elements just like she formed her lances. But the more he tried, the more it became clear that his elements didn’t want to cooperate in the same way.
Vaela’s expression softened. "Look, it’s not about mastering this technique specifically. It’s about finding what works for you. I’ve been developing [Raindown Lances] for over three thousand years. I’d have been even more shocked than seeing a twin elemental user had you been able to master it immediately. This almost makes you seem quite normal by comparison, so don’t be so down."
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Lassim nodded, though his frustration lingered. He had hoped this would be the breakthrough he needed for his own fighting style, but instead his elements weren’t responding the way he wanted them to, and the more he tried, the more chaotic the result became. 90% of his attempts just turned into that same mass of chaotic lighting and water.
Sometimes the ball began to swirl, making it even more messy to try and get into the shape he wanted.
Vaela gave him a reassuring smile. "You’ll get there. But it might not be with this technique. That’s why you’re traveling around, right? You’ll eventually develop your own style using your own strengths. Don’t try to force yourself into someone else’s mold."
Lassim sighed, releasing the last traces of his mana. "Yeah… maybe you’re right."
They stood in silence for a moment, the night desert air brushing coolly against their skin as the last traces of light disappeared beyond the horizon.
"You did well today, Lassim," Vaela said softly. "You held your own in that battle. And this?" She gestured to the dissipating remnants of his attempt. "This is part of the process. Failure doesn’t mean you’re not making progress."
Lassim nodded, though his mind was still turning over the failed attempt. There was something he was missing—something that didn’t quite fit. He just didn’t know what it was yet.
As they turned to head back to the inn, Lassim couldn’t shake the feeling that this failure was telling him something important. The problem wasn’t just trying to replicate someone else’s technique—there was something else there. He felt it intuitively.
But for now, that answer remained just out of reach.