Lea’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he grinned from ear to ear. “A fire spell? Yes! Finally, something cool I brag about!”

  Isa’s expression was more subdued, but Helios could see a glimmer of i in his eyes. “Wind, huh?” he murmured, as if testing the idea out in his mind. “That could be useful. Thank you, Helios.”

  They found a quiet spot oskirts of the city, where they wouldn’t draw too much attention. After passing eling magito the two allowing them to grasp the essence of the element. Helios then instructed them to stand a few paces apart, emphasizing the need for caution. “Alright, let’s start simple,” he began, turning to Lea first. “Fire spells are votile, so you need trol, and focus on the heat inside you. Imagi as a spark that you’re shaping into a fme.”

  Lea looked at Helios, clearly ready to try. “Alright, I’ve got this.” He held out his hands, trating hard, though his expression quickly shifted from determination to mild frustration as nothing happened.

  Isa raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you need more than just enthusiasm, Lea.”

  Lea shot him a pyful gre. “I’m just warming up, okay?”

  Helios chuckled, then demonstrated a basic Fire spell, juring a small, trolled fme in his hand. “Like this,” he said, letting the fme flicker before extinguishing it. “Keep it small and steady to start. You’ll work up to bigger oer.”

  This was the first time he used a fire spell without relying on darkness but he found that he could easily do so by simply removing the darkness from his Dark Firaga.

  Lea watched closely, his brow furrowed in tration. This time, he seemed more tered, and after a moment, a tiny spark appeared at the tips of his fingers, flickering into a small fme. It wobbled uainly but held.

  Lea’s face broke into a grin as he looked at the small fme he’d jured. “Hey! Look at that—I did it! Did see that Isa? Memorized my greatness.”

  Helios nodded approvingly. “Not bad for a first try. Seems you have an affinity for fire spells. Now keep practig, and remember: don’t let the fme get too big until you’re ready. I’m serious I ’t have you burning down anything.”

  Isa chuckled softly, a hint of pride in his expression. “Looks like there might be a fire caster in the making after all. Or maybe an arsonist. So rather thaness it might be more infamy.”

  Lea’s grin only grew wider as he extinguished the fme, looking at Isa with a teasing glint in his eye. “Haha real funny. Now let’s see if you’re as impressive with wind!”

  Helios turo Isa, demonstrating a basic Aero spell, a ge trolled gust swirling around his hand. “For wind, it’s all about feeling the movement in the air around you. Imagihe wind ing around your fingers like threads a flow.”

  Isa closed his eyes, breathing in deeply, and Helios could see him fog, as if he was feeling the air shift in respoo his i. After a moment, a light breeze stirred around Isa, ge distinct. He opened his eyes, the fai hint of satisfa on his face.

  “Good,” Helios said, impressed by Isa’s posure and trol. “That’s the right way to start. Your affinity for wind is impressive, even I couldn’t master it so quickly. With practice, you’ll be able to shape it into a barrier or even a small vortex.”

  Isa nodded, his gaze thoughtful. “Thanks, Helios. I’ll make good use of it.”

  The three of them spent the hour practig, ughter and banter filling the air as Lea experimented with his fme, nearly singeing his sleeve at one point, while Isa steadily strengthened his and over the wind. Watg them, Helios looked on with anticipatioed using these kids but like Kurai said he had something he wanted and he o focus.

  Finally, as the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a golden hue over the city, they decided to .

  “That was amazing!” Lea excimed, practically boung on his feet. “Thanks, Helios. You’ll be seeing more of these moves soon enough.”

  Helios smirked, feeling a sense of pride at their progress. “Just keep practig, and don’t push yourselves too hard. You don’t want Merlin catg on that I’m sharing his lessons.”

  Isa nodded, giving him a genuine smile. “You’ve given us something valuable, Helios. Thank you.”

  They parted ways for the evening, each promising to practid meet again soon. As Helios made his way baerlin’s cottage, Kurai’s voice echoed softly in his mind, with a tohat was half-amused, half-critical.

  “You’re pying with fire, Helios. Quite literally,” it murmured. “So why did you teach them? Did you… remember that they may cost you dearly iure. Attat weakehe stro hearts.”

  Helios’s face hardehough he kept his inner voice calm. “I haven’t fotten. But these skills—they serve a purpose, Kurai. Just like everything else.”

  Kurai’s response was a dark, approving chuckle. “Sure as you say. Just don’t fet I’m watg.”

  Afterward, Helios decided to head over to Cid's workshop. The sun was setting as he arrived, casting long shadows over the quiet streets. Wheered, he noticed immediately that Cid wasn’t there—but his puter was still on, its s dispying an intricate blueprint. Helios raised an eyebrow as he took a closer lonizing the Gummi Ship design on the s. It was the Highwind, the ship that Sora would one day use, but as Helios examihe details, he noticed several pos out of pce. The ship, as it was, wouldn’t handle well in open spaor would it have the resilie would need.

  Sighing, Helios took a seat, his fingers moving over the keyboard as he adjusted the design. He sketched out structural improvements, modifying the ship's thrusters for better stability and adjusting the shield pos to reinforce its durability. Piece by piece, the Highwind took on the appearance he remembered from his memories, the version that would withstand the trials of inter-world travel.

  He became so engrossed in his work that he didn’t notice the sound of footsteps behind him. Cid had returned and was standing quietly in the doorway, watg Helios work with a curious, appraising expression. When Helios finally leaned bad stretched, satisfied with his adjustments, he nearly jumped at the sound of Cid’s voice.

  "Well, kid, I gotta say," Cid drawled, walking into the room, "that’s some mighty fine work. I like the design."

  Helios tried to keep his surprise from showing, giving a casual shrug. “Oh, hey, Cid. Sorry, I didn’t mean to mess with your pns. I just… noticed a few adjustments that might make the ship stronger and easier to handle.”

  Cid grinned, crossing his arms as he examihe blueprint more closely. “You call those a few adjustments? Kid, you just overhauled the entire design. And, I’ll admit, it looks damn near perfect.” He gave Helios a pyful nudge. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve dohis kind of thing before.”

  Helios ughed it off, saying, “Beginner’s luck, I guess.” But he felt a sense of satisfa as he watched Cid’s approval.

  “Well,” Cid said, still grinning, “if this is what you do as a beginner, I ’t wait to see what you e up with when you’re a pro. Heck, you’re practically a Gummi engineer already.”

  Helios chuckled, but deep down, he khat his knowledge of this ship and the future it held had guided him.