Aethernea
Page 84
Besides the ability to alter reality, spells had an extra function the mages could take advantage of – an ability to extend the senses of the mage. The spell became the extension of the mage, an extra limb with its own senses.
An Accelerate spell gave mage the ability to feel the velocity of the target so as to control it better; a Temperature spell made the mage very sensitive to the temperature of the target, and similarly, the Morph spell allowed the mage to feel the shape of the target, which was one of the reasons why using it to shapeshift was much easier than if one tried to achieve the same result with an Acceleration spell.
The mage’s ability to “feel” through their spells was directly proportional to the density of their spell roots and their spell control. And Kiel’s dense net of mana coupled with his fine spell control allowed him to directly feel all the little parts of his broken body through the Morph spell.
His whole body including his inner organs was bruised, and three of his ribs were broken. Yet, miraculously, his skin wasn’t badly burnt at all. It was red and painful, steam was even rolling off it. But, these burns… were just first degree burns!
How is this possible?! Kiel’s mind reeled, but he had no time to ponder over the matter. He needed to fix himself up. He had no intention to give up on this exam.
Kiel gritted his teeth and accelerated his broken ribs back into place, then he used the Morph spell to weld them back together. He was no healer, and he didn’t know if Morphing broken bones like this would cause future troubles, but this body was just a Replica. He didn’t need to worry about future consequences.
If he wanted to continue this fight, he couldn’t have his ribs threatening to poke holes inside his organs.
After his ribs were put back into place, he found it easier to breathe. He attempted to sit up but ended up almost biting off his own tongue from the pain.
Not only was his skin burnt but the muscles underneath were shredded into large bruises.
He gave up trying to get up and tried to calm his breathing.
It’s alright.
I’m fine. I suffered no serious injuries.
In fact, I’m not even that burned. I’ve had way worse!
This is nothing!
The dust started clearing, occasional ray of sunlight traveled through, illuminating Kiel’s scrunched up face.
Kiel released his Morph spell and attempted to create a similarly intricate web of spell roots, this time deciding to cast a Velocity spell. He needed to be ready to escape at a moment’s notice. Since his body couldn’t move, he would need to completely rely on magic to move it.
However, before he could finish it, a faint sound of footsteps entered his ear. Slowly, they were approaching him, getting louder and louder with each step.
Every step caused his heart to feel like someone was squeezing it.
Through the dust Kiel could see a head of crimson hair.
As he saw Deora, Deora saw him too, and he gaped. “Why the frakk aren’t you burned to a crisp?!”
Kiel’s eyes narrowed into a glare, his lips pressed tightly together, refusing to respond. His hands felt around, searching for Elaru’s egg. He needed to buy some time to recover.
His Velocity spell was incomplete, if he finished it now, only half of his body would be covered by it. If he accelerated in such a condition, with a single mistake he could easily end up tearing his own limbs off.
The egg…! It’s gone!
Kiel’s heart skipped a beat. He concentrated on his mana sense and quickly pinpointed the location of the egg. It had been blasted out of his hand during the explosion and ended up quite a distance away from him.
Hastily, he attempted to cast an Acceleration spell on the egg, hoping that he could make it fly towards him in time. Unfortunately, his Acceleration spell seemed to interfere with the spell the egg was enchanted with, making it shatter before it could form.
Kiel’s pupils shrunk, staring at the red ball of flames coming his way.
The reflection of the fire inside his eyes covered up their original pale blue color.
The fireball appeared to fly extremely slowly, but it was upon him before he could even blink.
Kiel’s heart sunk down into the pit of his stomach.
He knew.
He knew that he wouldn’t be able to dodge it in time.
He didn’t even have his sword at hand to try a last-ditch defense. It had also been blown away and was in an even more miserable state than him – half melted.
Is this the end?
Is this how I will die?
He could almost hear the voices of the examiners.
“He has reached his limit.”
“Is this all he amounts to?”
“A pity. He is nowhere near Rhur Rroda’s level of ability.”
Kiel closed his eyes. He hated those flames, he’d rather not look at them any longer.
Images of the past flashed in front of his eyes in a blur.
It was as if time flowed in reverse.
He remembered how he met Elaru, he recalled his time in Beyd, he remembered his first time in the Rroda mainhouse.
The stream of memories flew faster and faster until it became a blur.
Just as the fireball covered up his entire vision, the time seemed to freeze.
And the memories also came to a sudden stop.
* * *
(12 years ago)
“Why aren’t you coming out?”
A voice sweeter than chocolate and more musical than bells tickled the boy’s ears. He opened his bloodshot eyes only to meet two large lime green orbs. He froze, unblinkingly staring at the flawless small face in front of him. Am… I dreaming?
He blinked his eyes repeatedly. A girl so pretty can’t possibly be real…
However, no matter how he tried blinking the hazy image away, those two beautiful eyes still stared back at him. Those eyes were like two jewels, so bright that even the red flames couldn’t cover up their green luster.
“How long do you intend to sit there?”
Only when the girl’s soft lips parted did he realize that he wasn’t dreaming. There was a girl on the other side of the window!
The boy’s eyes widened, and he hurried to respond with a raspy voice. “The door is locked. I… I can’t break it open…”
The girl’s chest heaved up and down, her white dress stuck to her glistening skin like glue. “… the barrier… why aren’t you opening the barrier?”
The boy felt as if his heart got pierced through with a knife. Is that why no one is coming to help me? Because they can’t enter through the protective barrier surrounding the house?!
He clenched his fists so hard that he yelped in pain. “I… I don’t know how to use magic.”
The two large eyes stared at him unblinkingly for several seconds. Those two unfathomable eyes looked as if they held an entire universe inside of them. The diamond shaped pupil inside of them had shrunk down to the size of a needle.
The girl whispered softly. “You are…” Her gentle voice paused briefly before it struck Kiel’s heart like a hammer. “…weak.”
* * *
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The boy bit his lips, his unyielding nature finally rearing its head. “What is wrong with you? Are you going to stand there or help me?!”
Suddenly the plank above Kiel’s head snapped and fell towards his position.
“How… how did you come in?” The boy turned his head to look at the small blonde girl.
His resolution seemed to ripple through time and space.
It was too fast. Faster than thought. Faster than time. Faster than reality.
His blood seethed to the point in which the hot turned into cold. It boiled not from anger nor hate, it wasn
’t anxiety either. It was something else.
Deora’s face darkened, fury burned inside his yellow eyes. “Congratulations! You’ve successfully pissed me off!”
* * *
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Episode 106 – Willpower
Episode 106 – Willpower
Previously:
The day of the practical exams is finally here and Kiel is inside a large arena created by the Replica Dungeon. Nelaira tricks Deora into attacking the Rroda brothers, and Deora ends up pursuing Kiel with a barrage of fireballs. Kiel runs away, dodging the fireballs, however, Deora manages to hit him with an explosive airball. Kiel loses his consciousness and remembers how he got trapped inside the burning house as a child.
* * *
The girl’s chest heaved up and down, her white dress stuck to her glistening skin like glue. “… the barrier… why aren’t you opening the barrier?”
The boy felt as if his heart got pierced through with a knife. Is that why no one is coming to help me? Because they can’t enter through the protective barrier surrounding the house?!
He clenched his fists so hard that he yelped in pain. “I… I don’t know how to use magic.”
The two large eyes stared at him unblinkingly for several seconds. Those two unfathomable eyes looked as if they held an entire universe inside of them. The diamond shaped pupil inside of them had shrunk down to the size of a needle.
The girl whispered softly. “You are…” Her gentle voice paused briefly before it struck Kiel’s heart like a hammer. “…weak.”
Weak…?
Yes.
He was weak.
So very weak.
He wished he could save his mother.
He wanted to save Clawy and Arnold.
Yet he couldn’t even save himself.
He had thought that he was smart, that he was talented, capable; he hadn’t even started going to school yet, but he could already read well.
Yet now, in this greatest moment of need, he couldn’t do a thing!
Not a single thing!
A fresh round of tears started rolling down the side of Kiel’s small face as he sobbed: “I… I… it’s not my fault I wasn’t born a mage…!” His mouth upturned and he managed to glare back hatefully through the tears. “And… and… I’m just six…!”
The girl cut him off. “Age doesn’t matter. Birth doesn’t matter either. People are not born equal. But so what?”
Her face scrunched up into a frown. “Age? Birth? Unfairness of fate? Are you going to keep coming up with excuses for your own weakness? Does that make you feel better about yourself?”
The boy bit his lips, his unyielding nature finally rearing its head. “What is wrong with you? Are you going to stand there or help me?!”
“What’s wrong with you? Are you going to just sit there and await your end?” The girl countered. “Are you just going to let luck control your life and death?”
The boy’s eyes blurred, the girl’s small figure turned into a blurry blob of blonde, black and white. “No! Of course I don’t want to!!”
The girl’s eyes flashed with an emotion Kiel didn’t manage to catch. “Then become strong enough to control your own fate! If your birth locks the doors around you, then break a hole through the wall! ‘A path’ is only a route someone else has traversed. Instead of following someone else’s footsteps, become the person whose footsteps others will follow!”
Kiel’s mind shook, and pupils dilated. The girl didn’t give him any time to process her words – she reached out her hand towards the glass.
“Wait…! It’s hot!” The boy gasped, but even before he managed to finish his sentence, the girl’s palm had reached the window.
The girl didn’t yelp in pain as he expected her to.
On the contrary, the glass around her hand seemed to be the one yelping in pain. It moved aside, as if it was water, creating a hole large enough for a child to pass through.
The same window that wouldn’t budge no matter how much Kiel tried to break it, moved aside like an obedient little puppy.
The girl’s lips curled into a soft smile, and she moved away from the window. “If you can’t take the shortcut, so what? Take the roundabout way! Just, never stop walking!”
Suddenly the plank above Kiel’s head snapped and fell towards his position.
Kiel’s heart threatened to leap out of his chest, the weak limbs that had long ago turned so tired that he could barely feel them suddenly got a burst of strength.
His thin little legs pushed him forwards, and he fell through the hole, rolling like a rice dumpling, sheltering Clawy’s furry body in his arms.
Before he could even celebrate getting out of the house, his pink face slammed into an invisible wall. He stumbled back and fell on his behind.
He had rejoiced too soon. The barrier was still there. No one could come in. No one could come out.
The smoke had spread through the entire estate, making it difficult to see. It was as if a black mist had enveloped their surroundings.
There were many black shadows moving on the other side of the wall. Kiel could even see strange balls hitting the wall causing visible ripples.
“How… how did you come in?” The boy turned his head to look at the small blonde girl.
The girl ignored his question and stared at the invisible wall. “Open it. You know the trigger spell, don’t you?”
“It’s no use. I can’t cast it!” The boy cried out, his lungs constricted painfully. Oxygen was running out, he couldn’t breathe.
“Can’t or won’t?” The girl tilted her head to the side, her blond and black locks swaying left and right cutely.
No matter how Kiel looked it, this girl was just too weird! He was hugging his scrapped knees, wetting them with his tears, close to choking on the smoke. The world was turning dark in front of his eyes. Yet that girl just stood there calmly like she was on a picnic.
When she looked at the all-consuming flames around them, it looked as if she was looking at flowers. Like there was nothing dangerous about this situation. As if even if the sky fell down it wouldn’t be able to shake her calm.
The boy’s shrill voice filled with hiccups was barely comprehensible. “Yes, I am weak… and useless! …do you think… I want to be this way?! …I …want to be strong …stronger than anyone else! But… but… wishing for something hard enough… isn’t enough… to make it true! I didn’t choose… to be weak!”
The girl continued to stare at him unblinkingly. Even though she was breathing hard, even though she was drenched with sweat, even though her white dress was no longer white, there were no tears glistening in her eyes. “You are wrong. Weakness is a choice. You decided that you don’t have what it takes. You chose to stop fighting.”
The boy gritted his teeth, but he had no strength to respond, his eyes were glistening with tears, he could no longer see the girl’s face clearly.
As if she knew that he couldn’t see her, the girl squatted down in front of him, bringing her face towards his close enough for their noses to touch. She stared right into his eyes. “You are afraid of failure. But don’t you get it? You’ve already lost. People who fight, suffering defeat after defeat, aren’t the losers. As long as they are alive, as long as they are still fighting, they have not lost! Where there is a will, there is a way! The moment you stop fighting is the moment you lose!”
Kiel’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened, reflected in them was the most beautiful smile in existence. A smile that had the power to turn night into day. A smile that was shining brighter than the fire around them.
The girl stood up once again, extending her small hand towards him. “Life is a battle…So fight! Fight! Fight! Fight with all you have until the day you die!”
* * *
“Fight! Fight!” The melodic chant echoed inside Kiel’s head. “Where there is a will there
is a way! The moment you stop fighting is the moment you lose!”
Kiel’s pupils shrunk until they were barely visible and his heart quivered.
I’m not the same as back then!
Weakness is a choice!
And I chose to be strong!
The moment I stop fighting is the moment I lose!
He stared at the fireball in front of him. Its flames were all that he could see. They were those same all-consuming flames that he detested the most. Flames that made his chest constrict and his blood run cold.
Yet, that same blood had suddenly started seething as if it was a rampaging tide, as if it wanted to break free of its restraints.
The mana around him that stood just as frozen as the flames started seething just like his blood. It started flickering like the fire in front of it. Red flames against blue flames.
And until my very last breath, I won’t stop fighting!
His resolution seemed to ripple through time and space.
It shifted and distorted.
And then it shattered.
Countless cracks spread in front of him.
His entire vision contained only cracks.
What stood in front of him was a dome of cracked earth, shielding him from the flames.
He remembered that a thought of it flashed through his mind.
Yet, he remembered not when and how he had cast it.
It was too fast.
Faster than thought.
Faster than time.
Faster than reality.
It was an impossibility.
Yet it stood right in front of him.
Kiel felt as if fog that enveloped his mind suddenly lifted. All emotions that wrecked chaos inside his mind evaporated into thin air leaving only calm behind. Kiel’s mind that resembled a stormy sea suddenly turned into a still lake.
What am I afraid of?
Pain? Failure? Death?
So, what if I hurt? Is there a pain more excruciating than the pain of back then?
So, what if I fail? I’ll keep trying until I succeed!