Kano floated on the dark water of the void, a voice, his only companion in an expanding mass of darkness. An horizon that stretched for miles on end without the least light. The water was freezing to the touch. At its depth, a cocoon wrapped in blue stripes continued to sink, deeper and deeper still.
"Why let him sink that deep? Does this body not belong to him?"
'Asi— no, Master….compose yourself. It would appear that vision of Abyssal Corona has left some much distasteful confusion. You are Asim Binger.' He saw his surroundingssuddenly begin to glitch when he recalled:
~
Having left Tondra, I headed to a nearby river to gather water as well as fish. I remember feeling this uncontrollable urge to spill blood. He sat by the river, hoping nature's tranquil rhythm would sooth his throbbing heart. His chest continued to tighten when he felt a sudden jolt from above. He looked up, only to be met by an axe kick that dislocated his shoulder and sent him sliding against the ground.
He grabbed his shoulder, panting as he could barely keep himself from screaming. He sat up only to see vines wrapping themselves around him. He attempted to pull off. Even with all the might he could muster, he couldn't even break free from one. They wrapped themselves around him, hoping to suffocate him.
He stopped struggling. Failing unconscious to the ground as they had successfully contained him. They unwrapped themselves from him before returning to their caster. They coiled around his arm. Adjusting neatly to form a giant stake. One he intended to drive through Kano's heart.
No sooner had he gotten closer than he whispered to himself, "I can do this—its not like he will die for real." He thrust, before it bounced off Kano's chest. His eyes widened when he tried again, it simply bounced off. Frustration began to set in as even though Kano's top ripped, his flesh was still something he could not pierce. No sooner had the hoodie ripped off than he saw a multitude of crystalline stitches that held together Kano's body.
He began stepping back, "There is no way—with these kinds of injuries….he should be dead. How is he breathing still?" He sat down, watching the stitches shift as they pulled together his ripped muscles.
He is not human(there is no way he could be), he should be dead—,he should be dead…(there is no way he couldn't be) A gentle breeze blowing past them when he felt the air thin out. It turned brittle, much too difficult to breathe….it was though what ever air he had in his lungs had began to flee.
He gasped for air when Kano opened his eyes. He looked at his chest where a black fog leaked out. Right? I died~ He clutched his chest, Calida…is she safe? I hope they didn't kill her. He looked around him where he saw someone wrapped in vines. His surroundings began to glitch as he felt a splitting headache, he grabbed his head, screaming as he fell to his knees, he bashed it against the ground as he saw fog surrounded and consume him. At the depth of that fog, he saw a slithering serpent.
It had sharp carnassial teeth, flames left its mouth each time its mouth each time it breathed. It glanced at him, it's dilated eyes locking with his. It moved up and devoured him, his body resting against its tongue. Laying on its tongue, its teeth, piercing against his knees. He felt calm again.
Seeing his suddenly stop moving, the man wrapped in vines took off before he heard, "Let my blade be adorned with water…my body, darkness. I am the edge that ripples the calm—..the water that is defiled." When he turned to look, he saw a hand placed on his back.
"Storm eye." Water materialized around Kano's arm, revolving before piercing the latter's back. He screamed in pain as his only defense felt paper thin in the presence of the rampaging water. From Kano's palm, his crystalline blade materialized, piercing through him. He fell to the ground trembling as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
Kano looked to his hand. They were drenched in blood. He licked off the blood, allowing his mind to dwindle from the shear amount of pleasure he was experiencing. He smiled, before seating down.
~
"Were those my memories?"
'That they were. The act of savagery was one you could not accept so you pretended it was not your own. Even I too was fooled. You enjoyed it, yes? The feel, the awe and ripping of flesh… nothing can compare.'
Kano's gaze grew vacant, "What are you doing to me?" Tears ran down his face when he opened his eyes. He was the cave, watching as Tondra continued to slumber. He punched the wall. Stone cracking upon impact, "Damn it!" why did I feel so overjoyed?
~
Tondra opened her eyes, wondering why the ground felt soft. Her head comfortably rested against his lap. Hardly had she realized when she sat up. "I am sorry…sorry, I seem to be doing that much too often."
Kano stared at her; his gaze vacant still, "Why are you apologizing? I was the one who had you there. Don't think too deeply on it." She faced down, tapping the tips of her fingers together. "Who are you?" She muttered, My father must be the one who sent him. That must be it, otherwise, there is no way~
"Don't think like that. The confusion will only get worse. I just happen to be someone who relishes in destruction." His eyes widened, a grin rearing its head. An unmistakable frustration permanently staining his eyes.
"But don't all shadows crave that—"
"That's bullshit!"
"I am sorry….I must have overstepped." Silence grabbed hold of the room. The whistling wind, it's only competition.
"How about we discuss your power, Tondra?" he said, gathering his wits about him. It was a desperate attempt to gain control over a mind that was slowly escaping from him.
[All attributes typically carried a psychological drawback. In case of shadows, it was the shape of their soul. Unlike most, shadows are born with a hollow space in their soul. This space, though small in newborns, typically grows directly proportional to the amount of magic possessed by the soul. Put simply, greater strength equals a stronger feeling of emptiness which forces them to seek out things to fill that void. That is why, to determine the strength of a shadow, their expression is key.]
"Umm….okay." she then recalled seeing him walk in the dome of lightning. "Wait, what was the thing you did when I lost control…I could have sworn you had stabbed me."
"It is an art in the Epsilon series of power. Spiritual dissonance. Think nothing of it. My main focus is you. Particularly, the seals that appeared all over your body. What was up with that?"
She unzipped her jacket before she replied, "They are called suppression seals." She let out a sigh, "I really hoped you wouldn't ask but they keep my overwhelming spiritual vibrations in check. They are actually on my clothes not my body."
Kano held his chin for a moment, I could have sworn I saw seals on her body as well. "Do you know how they work?" She looked to the sky, thinking long and hard before she said, "Are you familiar with Aether energy—or is it called Celestia energy now?"
"Celestia? I have heard of the Aether attribute."
"It's a form of energy known as divine energy or energy of creation. The attribute is something that follows the same principle. Aether is a force of creation that is all around us. We cannot interact with it even with divine magic…that was the theory by Lato. The seals on my clothes convert my spiritual vibrations into Aether—making their rather toxic existence, harmless."
She took off her jacket when he felt a strong tingling sensation brushing against his skin. His nostrils, all the way to his lungs. There is no way….her spiritual vibrations are so strong that they are interacting with physical matter. She put the coat back on before she added, "I am sure you could tell the difference." I really am defective.
"But there were seals on your body too…"
"Those are my natural seals. They appear when I try using my magic. My father said that they were the blood vessels of my soul." She zipped up her hoodie.
The vessels of her soul— it couldn't be. "By the way Tondra, you know quite a lot on magic theory."
She chuckled before replying, "My brother taught me—….a lot of good I did though." Her gaze grew vacant before he called to her. "Let us try again…you can do it this time."
~
Two days had passed and Tondra was nowhere closer to mastering magic release than when she started. Kano thought long and hard, wondering why her magic rampaged when she attempted to enter the state.
Why? That hardly makes sense—magic shouldn't fight the will of the host. It's enthralled by it. That's her thirtieth failed attempt thus. This is going nowhere. And, you choose now to not speak to me.
Tondrapanted, feeling lightheaded before she sat down. I am nearing my limit. I am sure he has noticed by now…how much of a hopeless case I am. She recalled:
~
"Ton, you are getting a new magic instructor today, yes?" Mounif asked.
"Yea, but he is my tenth one…I am sure he will just give up on me just like all the rest."
"Don't say stuff like that. This time for sure, you will nail it."
His eyes glittered with determination making it all the more clear how much he believed in me.
~
She looked toward Kano who was grinning. He raised his hand signaling her to wait. He then ran toward her. I have an idea.
No sooner had he arrived where she stood than he asked, "Tondra, when entering magic release, what happens to the vessels?"
"Nothing. I was told never to tamper with them. Because if they broke, there was a chance I might die."
"I know it sounds like I am asking too much but I need you to run your magic through them on your next attempt." This will work….I am sure of it.
"What?" Tondra stood wondering, I need to finish this trial. To do that, I need magic of my own…but—tampering with them was something I was forbidden from doing. What do I do? I don't know—
She recalled Mounif's words, "So what if he quit? he was a bum anyway. Good riddance, I say. You will try again…whatever it takes to make it happen, right? Because you are a genius."
"Kano—I think I will try it. I doubt it will work but I will give it a try all the same."
He took off running, building some distance. I have been pondering on the idea for a while now. If the stripes that appear around her body are know as vessels. Then it stands to reason that something must flow through them. But she said nothing does?
Something must be directed to flow through them. Something akin to blood. Spiritual Vibrations. This entire time, I have had her attempt magic release with one assumption in mind….her system functions the same way ours do. Which was a flowed assumption. If our nodes are single points, then hers— "must be a straight line."
A cluster of lightning appeared when looked back to her. "Looks like it has begun."
At the core of the lightning, she stood, her body stiffening. I feel like I am on fire…it hurts…it hurts…I feel like I can't breathe…..am I about to rip apart? The once purple stripes brightened, tinted by the color of her aura. The cluster exploded, before suddenly disappearing. She floated back to the ground. No sooner had she landed when she dashed forward, flashes of lightning left in her wake. She blitzed past Kano before she crashed into the ground.
Looks like it worked….Kano added, "You shouldn't try to run. When in magic release, the body works differently—"
"Thank you very much! I did it! I actually did!" she shouted her excitement shining through her voice. She smiled back at him. His heart throbbed when he thought, she looks like Calida being all excited like that…he returned his hands in his pockets when he continued, makes me want to protect that smile. You look so much like her…so much like my little sister.