He was unsure how he knew, but he was certain the temperature was lower than -200°F. That was when the creaking reached its peak, pipes all around them bursting. As the water cascaded, it was immediately frozen, creating an array of crystalline flowers about the room. Anaar could feel the temperature plummeting at an even greater rate, more destruction following in its wake.
Anaar finally managed to rouse Phavian, but to his eyes he noticed something he had not expected. Phavian’s skin was discolored. Upon further examination, Anaar could see he was suffering from frostbite. The groggy Phavian was still unaware of the current situation, even his injuries not fazing him. Tapping his face lightly Anaar desperately sought to gain his attention.
“Phavian! Phavian! Wake up! You have to turn it off!”
Phavian had begun to be responsive, finally answering Anaar’s call. “Turn off what?”
“Your powers! You are creating a localized ice age! It is at -300°F and dropping!”
Suddenly lucid, Phavian’s fears had come to pass. He had not lost control of his powers since his Freshman year, and he hoped it never happened again. Checking his internal thermometer, he found Anaar was correct in his reading. What he could not understand was how he was creating such a large and powerful field. Even in a very small area it took him an extraordinary amount of time to reach such temperatures. By his calculation it was still rapidly falling, already passing -375°F. There was no doubt about it, rather than slowing down, it was speeding up.
He tried to with all his might to grab hold of his power and rein it in. Something about his body was stiff and had begun to burn. No matter what he tried, nothing in him could find where he was causing the issue. In the most minute of fluctuations, Phavian finally found something.
“I can’t stop it!”
Anaar was rapidly losing his ability to think, but he did his best to hold firm. “Why not?! How can your powers be this out of control?!”
Phavian’s next words nearly caused Anaar’s heart to stop.
“Because it isn’t me.”
All at once it felt as if Anaar was being hit with a vicious feedback loop. If Phavian was not the cause of the disturbance, who could it be? Anaar retreated into himself to search for the culprit and internally choked at what he found. Radiating intensely was a manifestation he was all too familiar with, it was his boyfriend’s claim to fame. So why was it emanating from him?
Whatever the reason was, he knew he had no choice but to get himself far away from others. Falling backwards into a portal, it closes with a wide eyed Phavian unsure what was happening. Anaar fell backwards into the snow, his new clime feeling like a sweltering jungle compared to what he had just left.
Back at the peak of Mount Everest which had become his place of serenity, he checked again to find what read as ‘Energy Manipulation’ was still present and active. He had hoped his senses were scrambled by his frost addled brain and he was instead reading Phavian, but the truth could not be refuted now. As his mind became clearer, he noticed something else was even more vibrant, yet he had chosen to ignore it. In fact, he had been ignoring it for quite some time.
Anaar desperately needed to understand the correlation between the enigmatic manifestation Assimilation he had obtained, and the newly found Energy Manipulation he had only known Phavian to have. He knew it was no longer possible to ignore the changes to him that were not causing issues on the surface. Pouring over what he knew and scraping together what he could find, the conclusion he came to left everything he knew in tatters.
Phavian had never thought he would be subjected to his own abilities in a way that made what he could do look like child’s play. Even though Anaar had gone and the temperature had ceased its freefall, nothing could deny the sobering fact that he was sitting in a space that was less than -450°F. He found that his body could not move, he was essentially paralyzed. He always thought he was immune to cold. This experience clarified he simply had a heavy resistance to it.
Of course he would have thought it was a full blown immunity. What sensible person thought they would ever have the opportunity to be subjected to temperatures difficult to create on minute scales in the most sophisticated of labs? Though the outer layers of his skin were all frostbitten, his extremities all but lost, at least it seemed his organs and more importantly his brain boasted a heavier resistance to the cold.
Phavian was doing his best to figure out what he would do about the situation when a portal appeared and from it sprang Anaar. Only ten or so minutes had passed, which caused Phavian to worry that he would still be causing a disturbance. The first thing Anaar did was rush over to Phavian, stripping both of them down and pulling them together in an embrace. His body turned into a raging flame, something Phavian had concerns about, but it seemed Anaar was more in control now and had thought ahead.
Though he was in his Flame form, he had layered his body in thin barriers to protect Phavian from the scorching flames, while offering the intense heat. Even though such an intense heat and also the dramatic shifting of temperatures in a short period would cause irreparable damage to Phavian’s body, Anaar had accounted for that as well, releasing healing pulses as his body warmed back to a normal temperature.
It only took another five minutes of Anaar’s care to restore Phavian completely. Though he was grateful to have such an amazing man by his side to care for him, he could not simply dismiss him being the cause if the incident in the first place. With their clothes back on, they surveyed the damage. Anaar remained in his shielded Flame form as the cold was still too much for him to bear. Though the cold did not bother him, he could already feel the effects taking hold of him again. With Anaar no longer creating the problem, he could focus on preventing Phavian’s body to succumbing to the frigid conditions again.
Various portions of his walls, ceiling and floor bore ruptured pipes with ice arrangements sprouting from them. His bathroom was in shambles, glass shattered, products exploded, and similar displays of ice sprouting from places. His kitchen and living area suffered similar fates, the damage too much to put into words.
They found the lock frozen when they tried to open the door to leave the room, though Anaar was able to easily thaw it. He turned off his Flame form before exiting, finding the corridor had begun to buzz with activity. Thankfully Hobb had alerted the proper authorities long before Anaar’s outburst had reached its apex. As such, crews were already responding and proceeding with rescue efforts and tending to injuries.
They later found that both the floors directly above and below were equally affected, even some of the farthest from the epicenter having temperatures below -100°F. What became known as the ‘Iceborne Calamity’ displaced over thirty students, many of them hospitalized for severe hypothermia and frostbite. The entire first, second, and third floors required extensive repair as they were no longer habitable. It took three days alone to just return everything to a normal temperature.
Once Phavian and Anaar had checked in with the hospital staff to assure them they were unharmed, Anaar brought them to his room, a heavy pall of shame weighing upon him. Neither of them knew what to say to one another, so they simply sat in silence, separated from one another for the rest of the night. In the early morning before the day had moved into full swing, Phavian finally found the courage and will to confront Anaar.
“I hope you have a really good explanation for what happened last night.”
Anaar found his mouth dry, words not escaping easily. “Not a good one, but I have a fairly decent understanding of the situation. I lost control during a manifestation.”
“A manifestation? That is all you have to say?! You destroyed half my building with my powers! I couldn’t begin to do that on my very best of days, nevertheless when I first manifested! Of all the new powers you could manifest, as if you didn’t have enough, why did it have to be mine?! Why did you have to go on a rampage with my powers?!”
“You think I wanted that to happen?! Yep, you are right, I had that penciled in
to my calendar!”
“I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. I know it wasn’t intentional. I just feel so bad because I promised everyone it wouldn’t happen again, and here it is one hundred times worse! At least no one got hurt last time… Of all the crazy coincidences, to manifest my ability…”
“It isn’t a coincidence at all.”
Phavian’s head raises from his lap as he stares in Anaar direction. “What do you mean it wasn’t a coincidence? You said you didn’t ask for it to happen!”
“I didn’t!”
“Then how is it not a coincidence?!”
“Because… I finally found out what Assimilation does.”
“Assimilation? Oh! That random power you got that you said is attuned to the Life element? I thought it was some random passive ability that didn’t matter and you had forgotten about it.”
“That is actually much closer than you realize. I don’t think it is intended to be passive, but because I didn’t know what it did, I had never attempted to control it.”
“So? What does it do?”
“It allows me to steal other people powers.”
“What?!” Phavian checks, finding that his own abilities are very much still present. “My powers still work just fine.”
“Well, steal is a bit inaccurate. I suppose copy, or perhaps imitate would be a more apt expression.”
“But you didn’t copy my immunity to cold. You woke me up shivering like no other.”
“Yeah, and you don’t have an immunity to cold. There is some break point where even your body can’t handle it.”
“Because the copy shouldn’t be far better than the original!”
“Well at least we know now that you should be more cautious with the cold.”
“I’m pretty sure you are the only asshole who could push me past my limit anyway, so I think I’m safe. Wait, do you still have my powers?”
“Yes.”
“Let me get this straight. You are just going to start eating up every power you come in contact with?! You already have way too many!”
“I don’t think it works like that. I think it is an active ability, I simply didn’t know I was using it. Looking back on it, my breakthrough with my Biokinesis came after hanging out with Pryshka. If I borrowed her Centripetus without knowing it, that would explain the rapid understanding of it. I don’t have her ability anymore, so I think it has the capacity to be temporary. Who knows, yours might fade away too. It could be lingering because I spend so much time with you.”
“So the more time you spend with someone the longer it lasts?”
“I don’t have enough information to confirm or deny that theory. What I do know is that I don’t think it is limited to manifestations. I don’t have any evidence for that, but in studying it, nothing about it specifies manifestations, or even things related to attunements only. I can only read it as ‘traits.’ That seems pretty broad to me.”
“To recap, you are now some sort of power vampire, but to make things worse, rather than copying them as they come from the host, they are subject to that stupidly absurd echelon of yours?”
“Not exactly how I would put it, but close enough. There is something else though that I realized.”
“What else could it possibly be?!”
“I don’t think it simply copies the manifestation in its current state of evolution either.”
“Break it down for the non-geniuses here…”
“You can only drop the temperature, not raise it right?”
“Well duh, it only goes one way. If it went the other way it would be Radiant Heat.”
“Apparently not. Your ability is just a much better version of Radiant Heat. At least eventually. Similar to how Hydrokinesis is a better version of Buoyancy in many ways, though I suppose Buoyancy can affect any liquid…”
“Are you saying I should be able to heat stuff up, I’m just too stupid to do it?”
“Definitely did not say that, but it is true it has not evolved to that point yet.”
“And yours has?!”
“I don’t know if you can technically call it an evolution when it starts out that way, but for simplicity’s sake, yes it has.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?! How do you steal my power, and not only is it stronger, by like a lot, but it also has even better functionality! That’s like you taking my dick, and when it is put on you, it is bigger and better!”
Anaar scoffs at Phavian. “Where do you come up with these analogies?!”
“Whatever, you know what I mean. Does that mean we have to stay apart now so my powers can wear off or something?”
“I don’t believe we have that luxury. Like it or not, I am stuck with you since I am responsible for destroying your room. At least we have cured your snoring.”
“You didn’t have to say you are stuck with me… Oh! So I was thinking, if you can cure my snoring, can you modify other things? You said it was like modifying someone’s genetic code right?”
“I suppose… What idiotic scheme are you cooking up?”
“I was thinking, this benefits you so it only makes sense. Can’t you, ya know, make something bigger?”
Anaar realizes what he is implying and immediately turns away. “Nope.”
“Come on!”
“It is big enough! Plus you are 23 years old! Pretty sure you are done growing!”
“Not if you give me a little push!”
“Be careful what you wish for. Remember we are on the sixth floor.”
Anaar leaves Phavian to grumble and beg in futility since he had committed to ignoring him. He was far too concerned with how he was going to explain his way out of his current predicament. The day was still early, and word would not have had a chance to properly circulate. Once it had, the gossip and speculation would be endless until it had been addressed. There was also the matter of all those hurt by his negligence. He made a promise to go heal each one of them so no one would be faced with permanent injury or scarring.
He went about his day, aware that the news had spread even quicker than he expected. With it being all anyone could talk about, he decided to pay Ixnes a visit to come clean. When he arrives, it seems he was expected since he found her lounging in one of her favorite chairs, poised to greet him.
“It seems that boy of yours has truly outdone himself this time. I looked into it, and do you know there are no proper countermeasures for temperatures close to absolute zero? I will have to make do with what exists until I can have Miles dream up something better. Why do I sense you had some part in this?”
“Well, I’ve come to tell you that you are wrong.”
“Oh? That comes as a surprise. I had not expected the boy to have advanced so far on his own.”
“You are wrong because the blame rests solely with me. Phavian had nothing to do with it.”
Ixnes shifts in her chair, her lip quivering slightly with excitement. “Explain.”
“Ugh, I have a feeling this is something I am going to be repeating a lot so I will keep it short and to the point. I seem to have the ability to absorb the traits of others. Unaware of this and given my constant exposure to Phavian, I took on his ability, and in my lack of control caused all the problems you are very aware of. I am deeply sorry and want to find some way to make amends. I already healed most of the victims, everyone should make a full recovery, though I can’t erase the trauma, nor replace their belongings.”
“As to be expected, you never fail to keep me on my toes. Though you singlehandedly caused hundreds of billions in damages and hurt your fellow students, it seems you will get a free pass in this instance.”
“How so?! It is all everyone is talking about. There is no way people will let it go without an explanation.”
“You children these days seem to be so averse to proper communication. That boy of yours, no doubt recognizing he was the only one known to be able to cause such a phenomenon, has already issued a statement accepting full responsibility and issuing
a formal apology.”
“What?!”
Ixnes sends the link to Anaar as he sits down in a chair to watch the message. On his overlay he sees Phavian, dapper as ever, standing with his back straight, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“To my fellow students, particularly those who live in the Ivory Twin, I want to start by apologizing from the bottom of my heart. Early this morning I had an episode that harmed many of you, and destroyed belongings and property alike. Because of my irresponsible actions I have caused an undue burden.
“Some of you may find this incident painfully familiar. This is because it happened on a much smaller scale during my freshman year. Back then I was only embarrassed since no one was hurt, and mainly I was the only affected party. I promised it would never happen again, but I have failed to stand by my word.
“This time I have created a situation far worse which only exacerbates my broken promise. I know I am not deserving, but I please ask your forgiveness. I will not run from my responsibility, and as such I will bear any scrutiny that is sent my way. It is a meager offering, but it is the very least I can do to begin atonement. Thank you and I once again beg your forgiveness.”
Anaar finished the broadcast, his mouth ajar is disbelief. With just one video, all his problems had vanished in an instant. No longer did he have to worry about how to do the right thing whilst retaining his cover. He had not expected such a bold move from Phavian, but he knew it was the most pragmatic course of action, even if he could have never requested it from Phavian himself.
Within minutes of the broadcast going live, there were already two major camps forming. The first and much smaller group was made up of those who were quick to condemn Phavian and the chaos he had wrought. Their contention was that people with such volatile abilities needed to bear greater consequences for losing control. It was no surprise that given his close association with Phavian, his name was thrown into the mix of the conversation.
The other much larger group vacillated between awe and fear. Though he was known to be extremely formidable, no one had ever seen a display of Phavian’s power on such a scale. Compared to what had occurred many years prior, he was being lauded for his tremendous growth in such a short time. What this served to do was further solidify his status as the undisputed best the school had to offer, considering he had never once used such power and was still so dominant.
Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4) Page 12