Chapter 15 - Refining the Balance

  Eo moved through the vast waters, his mind filled with newfound understanding. The battle had sharpened him, and through it, he had glimpsed something greater—a balance between bloodlust and the mist. One was chaos, raw and untamed, while the other was control, fluid and steady. When used separately, each had its limits, but when intertwined, they created something more.

  He had to refine this.

  The mist was always present, lingering in his surroundings like an unseen current. It wrapped around him, subtle and unyielding, responding to his presence in ways he had yet to fully grasp. Bloodlust, on the other hand, was a force he could summon at will, surging like fire through his being.

  He had learned to suppress it. He had learned to release it. But now, he wanted more.

  Eo focused inward, channeling both forces at once. He let a thin veil of bloodlust leak into the water, feeling the shift in the current as the weaker creatures reacted in fear. At the same time, he guided the mist, weaving it through the pressure of his aura, testing how the two forces interacted.

  Something changed.

  The mist did not merely exist—it moved.

  Before, it had been nothing more than an unseen presence, but now, he could feel it responding. The more he focused, the more he realized that the mist was alive in its own way, shifting based on his will. It wasn’t just a passive force—it could be directed, manipulated.

  Eo stilled.

  He concentrated, letting the mist flow with his bloodlust rather than against it. The result was immediate. The water around him trembled as the two forces blended, creating an invisible wave that spread outward. The nearby creatures did not just sense his presence—they hesitated, confused by the unnatural shift.

  It was not just fear anymore. It was pressure. A tangible force that distorted the space around him.

  Eo pushed further.

  The mist thickened, forming an unseen shroud around his body. It was like a cloak, suppressing his presence yet amplifying his control over the surrounding area. His bloodlust, when carefully restrained, no longer felt wild and reckless. Instead, it became focused.

  Then, he tested something new.

  Instead of letting the mist simply exist, he moved it.

  He concentrated, guiding it through the water like an extension of himself. For the first time, it did not just drift—it obeyed. He willed it forward, and the mist spread. He pulled it back, and it coiled around him once more.

  It was not just a part of the environment. It was an extension of his will.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  The realization struck him like a wave.

  If he could move it, if he could control it, then he could use it.

  The mist wasn’t just something to absorb—it was something to wield.

  Eo exhaled, letting his bloodlust fade as he fully embraced the mist. It wrapped around him like a second skin, shifting with his every movement.

  This was more than just power.

  This was potential.

  And he intended to push it even further.

  Eo drifted in silence, his mind unraveling the complexity of what he had just discovered. The mist and bloodlust—two forces that seemed so different—had more in common than he initially believed. One was external, woven into the environment like an unseen current, while the other surged from within, a primal force born from survival. Yet, the way they spread, the way they influenced the world around him, followed a similar pattern.

  The mist was water, an element that naturally moved, adapted, and filled the space around it. It was fluid, shifting with ease, dispersing into the surroundings yet always present. Bloodlust, though originating from his instincts, behaved in a similar way—it spread outward, influencing the creatures in its path.

  If mist and bloodlust both flowed, then perhaps they could be manipulated in the same way.

  Eo focused on his bloodlust first. He had always used it as a release—a surge of aggression that flooded his surroundings, forcing creatures into submission. But what if he treated it like water? Instead of letting it explode outward, he controlled its movement, guiding it like a current.

  He pulled it back, suppressing its presence within him. The energy coiled beneath his skin, no longer leaking recklessly into the water. Then, carefully, he allowed it to flow outward like a gentle ripple instead of a crashing wave.

  The effect was immediate.

  The creatures nearby did not panic. They did not flee. Instead, they hesitated, their movements uncertain.

  Eo stilled. He had hidden his bloodlust, just like the mist concealed itself in the water.

  This was more than just control—it was a shift in how he used his power.

  But there was more to test.

  If bloodlust could be suppressed like the mist, could the mist be released like bloodlust?

  Eo concentrated, this time on the mist that surrounded him. Before, he had always thought of it as an external energy, something he absorbed. But now, he willed it outward—not in a passive drift, but as an active force.

  At first, the mist resisted. Unlike bloodlust, it did not respond to emotion. It was calm, steady, lacking the wild hunger of predatory instinct.

  Then, he adjusted.

  Instead of forcing it outward in an explosion, he let it flow—like water spreading through a current. He guided it, shaping its movement as if it were an extension of himself.

  The water around him changed.

  The mist did not simply move—it thickened. The creatures in the distance hesitated, their motions sluggish. Their awareness dulled, as if they could no longer perceive him properly.

  Eo’s focus sharpened. The mist was not just an unseen presence—it was a field of influence.

  Bloodlust made creatures aware of him, triggering fear and survival instincts.

  Mist made them unaware of him, clouding their senses, dulling their reactions.

  One force created terror.

  The other created confusion.

  A realization struck him like a crashing wave—he could blend them.

  He let both energies seep into the water, weaving them together like opposing currents. The mist flowed outward, subtle and fluid, while his bloodlust coiled within it, hidden beneath its surface.

  The surrounding creatures reacted instantly. Some flinched, sensing danger but unable to pinpoint the source. Others moved in uncertainty, their instincts wavering between fear and blindness.

  Eo’s body trembled with excitement.

  This was no longer just control.

  This was harmony.

  The mist and bloodlust were not two separate abilities—they were two aspects of the same force, flowing together like the tide.

  And now that he understood this, he could take them even further.