- Sky -

"Hey, Riley, quit messing with me. I didn't hit you that hard."

There was a large dent in the boy's forehead, and his head was hanging loosely. If he didn't know better, he would think the boy was dead. There was no way he died from one kick, though.

"He's dead, guys." Sky was startled by Ava's voice. He'd been so focused on Riley, he had forgotten to watch his surroundings. He'd have to be more careful in the future.

"Look, he's not breathing, his neck is obviously broken, and that skull fracture is pretty intense. You know he's not even at the peak of Chi Condensation yet? You shouldn't be surprised that you killed him." She reached out to the boy, and wiggled his head around a bit. When she did, he Saw Riley's chi flow into Ava, merging with her own. He laid the body on the ground. He realized she was right, he really was dead.

He decided that he should focus on his friend first. He wasn't sure why, or how, but Riley's chi had just gone into her body. Was it dangerous? Should he ask her about it? He hadn't wanted to tell anyone about his Sight, but he couldn't let his friend get hurt.

"Um.. Ava?" he said, "What just happened?"

"What do you mean? You kicked him, broke his neck, and then his skull broke on the cobblestones. That's what I saw, anyway."

"No, I mean, what just happened to his chi? I Saw it go into your body and blend with your chi."

Her eyes went wide, and her face paled. Again. That was happening a lot.

"Are you feeling okay, Ava? You've been looking sick lately. Now this thing with his chi. What's going on? I'm worried about you."

"Oh.. that.. it's nothing. It's just a cultivation thing. His chi was just sitting there when he died, so I just kind of took it. It's not a big deal really. Please don't tell anyone though! I really don't want people to know what kind of cultivation technique I use." She spoke quickly, and it was obvious she was nervous.

Sky remembered something. Yuma had seen his mother use that technique before. It was the Yin Demon Technique. He didn't know much about it, but he did know that, like the name implied, it was a demonic technique.

"It's the Yin Demon Technique, right?" he said. "Don't worry, Ava. We're friends. Your secret's safe with me. I'm just glad you're okay."

Ava blushed slightly, and turned her eyes to the ground. "Um.. thanks guys... Let me ask you, though, is Yuma twin cultivating with you?"

"Huh? Yeah, he is. How did you know?"

"It's just obvious. You're finishing each other sentences, and I saw how you fought."

"Oh, I didn't know I was doing that."

"Yeah, that's another thing. You also keep saying 'I' instead of 'we', and it's kinda weird."

"Oh... sorry.. I can't really help that. It's part of the technique, sort of."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"No it's fine, I get it. Anyway, thanks for not telling anyone."

"No problem. Um.... so what should I do about Riley?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing to do. He's dead."

"Yeah, but, shouldn't I tell someone?"

"Oh, right. If you want to. We have to go to the training hall, anyway. You can tell Senior Hall, if that's what you want to do."

"Right. Let's go then."

They all set off for the training hall together, with Koa taking up the rear, diligently following Ava wherever she went.

When they arrived, they found Senior Hall right away. Ava had agreed to go with him, since she had seen some of what happened. She didn't seem that interested in the boy's death, but if they were honest with themselves, they weren't that bothered by it either. People died; it was part of life. Cultivators, in spite of their potential immortality, were especially prone to violent deaths. On top of that, Riley had attacked them first. If someone attacked them, they would always do what they could to finish the fight, and worry about the consequences after.

Senior Hall didn't seem surprised when they told him what happened. He told them it was being taken care of already, then sent them to the courtyard to practice their forms. He hadn't even questioned them when they told him it was self-defense. He'd told them that self-defense was okay, and that accidents happened.

Sky thought that was strange. He wondered if values were different for cultivators. Maybe he had been clinging to the morality of mortals that Sam's and Kyle's families had taught them. Besides that, not only was it completely brushed off, but it was like someone had watched the whole thing, and already given the whole story to the Senior. He hadn't seen anyone else there, even with his sight. Then again, he hadn't noticed Ava, either, since he was so caught up in what was happening.

He chastised himself for his carelessness, then went off to practice.

By the end of the week, Ava had moved into her new house with Koa. She invited him and the other girls over. It was a small one story cottage-style flagstone buildling.

It was encircled by a grass yard, with flower planters on the windows, and had larger than normal doorways. He suspected this house had been selected for Koa's comfort, but he wondered who could have lived here before, that they would have needed such a large entrance.

Inside the cottage was larger than the outside, and he saw purple stones arranged in a deliberate manner on the walls. He found it interesting to see a space array with his Sight. Since it was his first time seeing one used this way, he wondered if all space arrays would look the same to his Sight. There were purple lines between each stone, forming a net that covered the entire cottage.

There was an entry room, with comfortable seating for guests. There was a cultivation room off to the right, with a pillow she could sit on, and a much larger pillow that was obviously for Koa. Further past this room, there was a training room with practice dummies and training swords. To the left of the entry room, was an office, which already had stacks of paperwork, and several filing cabinets, likely brought in from Senior Hall's office. Straight ahead of the entry room, was a dining area, and past that was a kitchen with a cellar that could prevent chi from dissipating from spirit-herbs, -veggies, and -meats. Attached to both the office and entry room was a guest bathroom. Ava said that her bedroom and private bathroom, shower, and laundry facilities were attached to the meditation room. There were even two guest rooms.

She didn't know how much it would normally cost, since Senior Hall had included it as a term of her employment, but Sky thought it must be expensive. He was curious to find out, too. He could deal with his bed being a bit crowded for now, but he knew he would keep growing. Since he was already in the largest room available in the dorm, he knew he would need to move out soon. Most kids would be fine staying in the dorms until adulthood, but just like Ava, he had unique circumstances that were going to make it inconvenient to stay there.

Someone came by to cook dinner for them, and they made small talk while they waited. According to Ava, all cultivators would get at least one cook, and maid with any housing they purchased, even in the outer sect.

Dinner was delicious, and when they were finished, they stayed the night in the guest rooms. Emily, Katrina, and Amanda shared a room, while Sky took the other. The guest room had a bigger bed than the one he was used to, and he slept much more comfortably in it. He became resolved to buy his own house. He had to prioritize his cultivation, of course, especially with Coyote as his mentor, but he would also need to find a way to earn contribution points. There was no way he had earned enough just by hunting spirit beasts on training missions.