Chapter 80: Beach Side Testing!

The sanctuary settled around him once more with a familiar hush, its wards humming softly as if nothing had disturbed them at all.

Jax rose from where he stood near the central platform, golden eyes flicking briefly toward the translucent barriers. The sky beyond had deepened into rich twilight.

"Sundown," he murmured. "Perfect timing."

He could still feel the faint echo of divinity clinging to him, a residual pressure that hadn’t fully dispersed yet from his journey into the Divine Realm.

Jax exhaled slowly and rolled his shoulders, letting the echo fade. His attention returned to the sanctuary itself. Even now, Ashanti’s presence lingered everywhere, traces of compressed mana woven into the stone, the water and even the air.

~CLICK~CLICK~CLICK!~

"You’re here," Jax said, turning around and spotting Ashanti who returned in a new outfit.

Gone was the ceremonial attire, no layered silks, no restrictive wraps meant to minimize movement.

Instead, she wore fitted but comfortable travel clothing: dark trousers reinforced at the thighs, soft boots designed for uneven terrain, and a sleeveless tunic that allowed her wings to rest naturally without pressing against fabric or enchantments.

Her wings themselves were no longer tightly folded.

They rested half-open behind her, feathers catching the low light in muted silver-blue hues.

She stopped a few paces away and bowed her head politely, "King Jax."

Jax turned fully toward her, eyes taking in the details without lingering in a way that would make her uncomfortable.

"That’ll do," he said easily. "You look ready."

Ashanti hesitated, then nodded, "I... tried to choose something practical. I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate."

"You chose correctly," Jax replied. "You’re not going to be standing around."

Her fingers twitched slightly at her side. "Lady Xara said you were... confident."

Jax smiled faintly, "Well she’s right about that,"

Ashanti blinked, then, surprisingly, let out a small, breathy laugh.

"Ready?" Jax asked.

She took another deep breath. Then another.

"Yes," she said. "I think so."

"Good."

He turned and gestured toward the exit. "Then let’s stop wasting daylight."

He said, and they immediately moved to leave Aurelion’s Fall.

Leaving Aurelion’s Fall at sundown was an experience most of its residents never had.

The air beyond the city felt different, less filtered, less regulated. Mana flowed unevenly here, thick in some places, thin in others, responding to terrain and ley lines rather than civic planning.

Ashanti noticed this immediately.

"...It’s louder," she said softly.

Jax glanced at her. "The mana?"

She nodded. "In the city, it’s... flattened. Smoothed. Here it feels like it’s breathing."

Her wings fluttered faintly, feathers shivering as if responding to a call she hadn’t heard in years.

"Don’t fight it," Jax said. "Just listen."

They continued outward, Jax leading without hesitation. He didn’t bother concealing his presence; anything strong enough to take issue with it would announce itself long before it became a problem.

Ashanti walked beside him now instead of behind, posture still careful but no longer rigid. With every step away from the city, the subtle tension in her shoulders eased, just a little.

"How far are we going?" she asked after a time.

"Far enough," Jax replied, "We’re not camping near the Capital."

Her brow furrowed, "Then where, "

The land ahead opened abruptly. The horizon fell away into vast, moonlit expanse where they could spot the Ocean stretching endlessly before them, a pitch black sea.

The scent of salt filled the air, mana here was

wild,

and beneath the surface, shapes moved. Large ones.

Ashanti stopped short.

"...The sea," she breathed,her gaze flicked to him, wide. "You brought me

here

?"

"Yes."

She swallowed. "That’s... dangerous."

Jax smiled calmly. "That’s the point."

He stepped closer to the cliff’s edge, hands in his pockets, utterly unconcerned by the abyss below. "Water amplifies instability due to its constant movement and natural pressure. If your control has grown, even unconsciously, it’ll show here."

"And if it hasn’t?" she asked quietly.

"Then we learn something useful," Jax replied. "Either way, you don’t die."

She glanced at him sharply.

"I’ll handle any fallout," he added, voice steady and absolute, "So just focus on yourself,"

The certainty in his tone settled something deep in her chest.

"...I’ve never fought near the ocean," she admitted. "They kept me away from it. Said my resonance could, "

"Cascade," Jax finished. "Yes. I know."

He turned to face her fully now. "We’re not going to start with combat."

Ashanti frowned slightly. "We aren’t?"

"No," he said. "First, I want you to let your mana

move

."

He gestured toward the sea. "Just stand. Feel it. Don’t shape it. Don’t suppress it. Don’t direct it."

Her fingers curled. "That goes against everything I was taught."

"I know," Jax said gently. "That’s why we’re doing it."

She hesitated.

Then, slowly, she stepped forward to the edge beside him.

The wind caught her wings, lifting feathers that shimmered faintly as her mana began to respond. The air around her thickened, pressure rolling outward in subtle waves that disturbed the grass and sent ripples skittering across the ocean’s surface far below.

Ashanti gasped softly.

"I, I didn’t push it," she said. "It’s just... happening."

"Good," Jax replied. "That means it’s been waiting."

The sea answered.

Far below, something massive shifted. A low, resonant sound echoed through the depths, part roar, part song.

Ashanti stiffened. "Something heard me."

"Yes," Jax said calmly. "Several somethings."

Her wings spread instinctively, mana surging higher, brighter, no longer compressed into suffocating stillness. The ocean responded in kind, waves rising higher, currents twisting unnaturally as beasts beneath the surface began to stir.

Fear flickered across her face.

Jax placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"I’ve got you," he said. "Go ahead."

She looked at him, searching his expression for doubt.

She found none.

Slowly, deliberately, Ashanti let go.

~BOOM~BOOM~BOOM!~

Mana surged outward expansively, the air itself trembling as a massive shape breached the surface below, scales glinting briefly in moonlight before sinking back into the depths.

Ashanti stood trembling, breath unsteady.

"I can feel them," she said, wonder coloring her voice. "They’re reacting to me. Not attacking. Watching."

Jax nodded, "Predators recognize pressure. They can sense you can kill them, so of course they won’t attack you. Natural selection after all,"

Her wings folded halfway, settling more naturally than they ever had in the sanctuary.

"Now move onto the next part," Jax said, "Try to pull one of these Beasts out of the Ocean without killing it, using your natural mana control,"