[Third Person's PoV]
Hecate snapped her fingers, and the scenery around them changed. A purple mist swept through the room, and it was as if they had been instantly transported elsewhere.
They now stood inside a plain, empty room with four walls, devoid of furniture or decorations except for the purple tiles lining the floor.
"Sit," she ordered, conjuring a chair behind herself—but none for Lucian.
Lucian, unfazed, sat cross-legged on the ground, watching her attentively.
"It seems like you're becoming more interested in your lineage, huh?"
"Mostly in learning how to perform Light Magic and properly manipulate it," Lucian admitted. "I've controlled darkness and shadows my entire life, but working with their opposite has been much harder."
Hecate nodded in understanding as she crossed one leg over the other, resting her arm holding a wine glass on her knee. "I see… Yes, that makes sense. You are quite the anomaly, I must say. You wield two conflicting elements, thanks to your parentage. The Underworld's famous broader grants you control over darkness and shadow, while little Medea's legacy has given you an affinity for the Sun—the source of all light. And not just light," she added with a smirk, "but heat as well."
Lucian rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but I haven't really been able to tap into my affinity with the Sun… I just don't know how."
Hecate swirled her wine before taking a sip. "Lucian, an affinity isn't something you access or control—it's something you possess. It's a part of you. In other words, you've always had access to it." She paused, then smirked. "And you have been using it. You were just too stupid to notice."
"Ouch…" Lucian muttered, blinking at her in confusion, wondering why he was suddenly being insulted.
Hecate merely shrugged. "Sorry, but it's the truth. Take your black flames, for example. Why do you think you have them? Where do you think they come from?"
Lucian tilted his head. "My father?"
Hecate scoffed. "Since when have you ever heard of him using black flames? If Hades wielded fire, it would be green and tied to spirits."
She leaned forward slightly, studying Lucian. "You don't have a strong connection to spirits, so how is it possible for you to summon the Flames of Darkness?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "The answer lies in your affinity—it's a combination of your darkness and your connection to the Sun. Haven't you noticed how unnaturally gifted you are when it comes to fire and heat?"
Lucian frowned. "No… I just thought I was naturally talented overall. And besides, I figured my Sun affinity had already merged with my darkness to create my ability to summon soldiers from the dead."
Hecate sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "I see the real issue now. Lucian, you don't know the difference between Shadow and Darkness, do you?"
Lucian's eyes darted side to side. "Of course, I do… One is… darker than the other?" he said, feigning confidence.
Hecate let out a dry chuckle. "I'm starting to get the full picture now. Lucian, your talent is holding you back."
Lucian blinked. "Huh?"
"I should have realized it sooner," Hecate said, downing the rest of her glass in one gulp before it magically refilled. "Your talent has blinded you. You're so naturally gifted that you skip the fundamentals and progress without obstacles. You pick things up so easily that you never bother asking questions—you just do it."
Lucian looked at Hecate bashfully. "Sensei, if you keep complimenting me like this, even I might get embarrassed."
Hecate stared down at him with pure disgust. "That wasn't a compliment, you brat. You need to actually understand what you're working with. All you've been doing is following your intuition, but that can only take you so far. I mean, look at the problem you're facing now."
Lucian shrugged. "So what's the difference between Shadow and Darkness? Because the only answer I can think of is 'shade.'"
Hecate's shoulders sagged slightly as she replied, "Darkness is the absence of light. Shadow is an obstruction of it."
She watched as Lucian's brows furrowed in confusion, and her eye twitched in irritation. "What part of that aren't you getting?!"
"No, no, I get it," Lucian reassured her. "It's just… I already knew that. I just didn't think of it as the answer."
Hecate nodded. "You instinctively understood it, but you never truly grasped its meaning. You subconsciously mix Darkness and Shadow together, treating them as the same thing. But once you learn how to manipulate them separately, that's when you'll start to understand how to wield Light Magic."
"I see…" Lucian muttered, adjusting his posture and resting his palms upward on his thighs.
From his hands, two distinct energies began to rise.
On his left, a thick, congealed Darkness seeped out, swallowing the surrounding light. It was impenetrable, consuming everything around it like a void. To Lucian, it felt as if the light itself was feeding the darkness.
On his right, wisps of shadowy smoke danced above his palm. Unlike the heavy, suffocating Darkness, this energy was more malleable, lighter, almost playful. While the darkness on his left was dense and consuming, the shadow on his right moved freely, shifting with the faintest breeze.
If Darkness was the supremacy over Light, then Shadow was the perfect balance between the two.
"I think I'm starting to get it now…" Lucian murmured as he observed the natural behavior of the elements without manipulating them.
Hecate sighed, leaning forward and swirling the wine in her glass. Through the glass, she studied Lucian's concentrated expression, her lips pressing into a thin line.
A possessive glint flickered in her eyes. 'I quite literally just gave him a single sentence to guide him, and he's already sprinting ahead. A single sentence was all it took, and he's already on the path to figuring it out. Talk about monstrous talent…'
'If only…'
Hecate abruptly stopped her thoughts before they wandered down a dangerous path. She downed her drink in one gulp and dismissed the glass with a flick of her fingers. 'No. Let's just leave it at this. Being my student is enough… for now.'
FLASH!
A sudden burst of light filled the room, causing Hecate to squeeze her eyes shut.
Then—
"AHHHHHHHH, MY EYES!!! MY EYES!!"
Hecate rapidly blinked her vision back into focus, only to see Lucian rolling on the ground, clutching his face as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"YOU IDIOT, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EVEN DO?!" she snapped, all traces of admiration immediately vanishing.
Lucian tried looking at her, repeatedly blinking his bloodshot eyes, still wet with tears. "I saw how the darkness was absorbing the light around it, so I made it absorb a lot more… and then I got curious about what would happen if I released it all at once."
Hecate whacked him upside the head with her fist.
"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Lucian shouted, rubbing the sore spot.
"YOU SERIOUSLY HAVE THE NERVE TO ASK ME THAT, YOU STUPID DUMBASS?!"
"IS THAT ANY WAY FOR A GODDESS TO SPEAK?!"
"I'LL SPEAK TO YOU HOWEVER I DAMN PLEASE, YOU STUPID BRAT!"
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