Chapter 260

Time Out, A Safe Place For Kids…

Danger.

There was an odd tingling sensation going off in my mind. One that told me kids, people that were young, impressionable, and most of all disenfranchised due to war were now here under my care.

I had asked for them to be here, as such, it was now my responsibility to ensure that they were taken care of.

My goal had been to make sure these kids had training, skills to fall back on, a place to feel safe.

Apparently, we had gone too quickly.

Not only did the kids feel safe, but they became wild. They seemed to want, no need to act out. That’s when I realized all of this was their form of trying to get attention. Well most, there were a few clear instigators, people who were regressors like me. People who had taken a second shot at life and began life with the Child flaw. Whether this was their first or last life didn’t really matter, as they were older and should theoretically know better.

This was how they seemed to hold sway over the other students, and seemingly encourage the blatant outbursts from the other students due to their indifference.

How could I tell that these were fellow regressors? It’s odd, and subtle.

By all accounts there should be no difference, at least nothing that should be gained from a single glance.

Instead, there were multiple subtle cues that spoke of everything.

There were the ways their souls seemed somewhat tainted. A child’s aura, that is their true aura is boundless and wild, able to be crafted and molded as needed to survive or meet their individual curiosities. These regressors on the other hand had auras that were deformed, or jaded. Sharper in some areas, while lacking the ability to expand and adapt that the others had.

Almost like each of these regressors knew where and how they wanted to evolve when they eventually became old enough to get their classes.

Those were of course the students I mentally tagged with my own markers.

As for the other hooligans, and right now they were hooligans, wild children that were lashing out in a safe spot, as they finally felt a semblance of control. Even if that control was to try to instill anarchy into a beneficial situation.

Their actions proving their own ability to enact change and control over the world around them, even if that control is used to break something beautiful.

I can respect that.

However, just because I can respect the students and their actions, that does not mean I have to accept their actions.

That is why I decided to go full teacher mode.

Now that Mickey was gone, and it was just me and the students I took a deep breath and began channeling my inner Marry Poppins.

“You have until I get to the count of three, to calm down. Or I will put you all into time out.” I state, my voice amplified by magic to sink into the mind of all students within the class, even drowning out all other background noises.

Then before I can even begin to count, the kids go wild.

“Haha!” A few of the little monsters cry out as they hurl spit balls, trash, and an assortment of weapons at me.

Splash.

While my Danger Sense did help me block, dodge, or deflect the various weapons. It failed to do anything to help warn me of the impending debris that still managed to splatter on me and the area surrounding me.

“You can’t make us do…” One kid, the lead kid calls out mockingly.

But before he could get any further in his comment, I shout, “three!”

Then with a fierce application of Wind magic, I create a burst of wind that blows from behind me and slams forward into the crowd of students.

While the winds were not of a lethal level, they were of a violent gale force wind. One powerful enough to cause and debris being flung forward to instantly reverse its trajectory and go right back to sender.

Splat.

The few remaining lobbed projectiles made their way back to the instigator, or in some cases the person behind the initial instigator. But I was not done.

For as the wind blew from behind me, I made sure the mana grabbed hold of the ephemeral energy particles that I was manifesting in the form of my ephemeral wings and carried that same pixie dust up and out wards, towards the mass of students.

The result caused a cascading wall of egg-shaped domes to land on the students directly in front of me and slowly grow back.

Almost in the way a wall of ice would suddenly spring up and envelope the unsuspecting kids in a cocoon of cold.

However, the cocoon was not cold to the touch, but rather warm.

Many of the students in the back tried to move, tried to leave, but they soon found their bodies held in place by Telekinetic hands that firmly grabbed them and held them in place, all while gusts of wind carried clumps of charged ephemeral energy right at the students, coating each and every student in a thin layer of the substance.

This was not an elegant blending of magic energy types by any measure. More crude than refined, but it was still the first time I managed to bypass the main limitation of ephemeral energy, that of needing direct skin contact, in a productive manner that gave the intended effect.

Of note, the children that were being held in place with a Telekinetic grip required less overall energy to being their time in the Time Stasis spell of Fae magic.

There are a few practical applications of Fae magic that I have been exposed to, Glamour, Charms, and Time Stasis in all. I’m sure there are more, like being able to force physical change on a body.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

My wings and Mallory’s scythe are two examples of direct physical changes that can be performed by ephemeral energy. I’m sure there are more examples of where and how physical changes can be forced by ephemeral energy, but most would be fleeting.

Maybe the whole Cinderella story could be done by ephemeral energy, creating a set of dazzling clothes that accentuate the body and form of the wielder. Not exactly sure how to make a glass slipper calling card that remains after the ephemeral energy left, unless the shoe was the source of the power, and thus losing the one shoe caused the partial glamour effect to dissolve.

I don’t know, there are so many things that need to be tested with this arguably the most powerful of energies.

Why is it the most powerful of energies? Well simple, ephemeral energy by its very nature allows us to mold and shape the world to our imagination, one swath of personal bubble space at a time.

When used in conjunction with mana, the range of ephemeral energy increases dramatically, as proven here.

There is a pause, a moment when silence overtakes the room as each student begins to grow a massive cocoon around them.

Unlike the dark black cocoons that I returned to Timult, these are clear and show the look of horror on the faces of the kids inside. Well horror, shock, and a myriad of other faces they were making when their bodies were frozen in time.

Silence.

I pause, taking a moment to enjoy the silence.

Then I make sure to cast Forced Selective Hearing over the entire classroom.

This way even though the student’s bodies are held in place inside a protective barrier, my words can easily make it into their mind and be heard.

“Good, now that we have that settled. This is Time Out. You all are perfectly safe here. There is nothing that can get you while you are in Time Out. Use these moments to pause and reflect on the opportunities that you have been given here. You do not have to be here. Know that your coming here is completely at your own discretion. Meaning you can leave at any time.”

I pause, before wolf whistling.

Or I try to, I still can’t. I curl my tongue, I put the fingers in my mouth, but still nothing. I don’t understand how Mallory does it, and it still bothers me.

“KUJO!” I shout, adding a flare of mana behind the words so that they ring out past the hidden confines of this underground training center. A center that is clearly part of an old elven building of some kind. Just by looking around with my Angel’s Sight, I am sensing that this will become its own deep Labyrinth of traps and trials that will serve the Thieves Guild well.

Then once that moment of introspection is over, I continue talking. Realizing that either Kujo will come, or he won’t, but regardless I still have a classroom of children to wrangle in before Mickey comes back from his break. This means I need to make sure I nail the landing so I don’t have to keep coming here and checking in on these kids.

“That said, as one of the disciplinarians here, it is my job to ensure that this is a safe place for you all to learn skills that can help you survive just a bit longer once you are old enough. This means that it is my job to make sure that you don’t hurt yourself or others.” I state as I begin darting around between different stasis pods, touching a few and recharging the timer with a dollop of ephemeral energy each.

This way it has both an intimate and eerie point to it, as I know the kids can see my fingers dance around where their necks would be.

“Know that it is a fine line between being a student of these hallowed halls, and a person that is forever excommunicated.” I state.

“ARF!” Almost as if on perfect timing Kujo chooses that moment to appear and bark right at the center of the classroom.

“Thank you for coming Kujo, will you show what happens to those who are noted as excommunicated by our syndicate?” I ask.

“GRRRAAWWWRRR!” Kujo roars loudly, I make sure to force his growl to go full force into the minds of the children as well.

With that I nod at Kujo, a smile filling my lips causing Kujo to sit and preen happily at the front of class. As he does, his tongue comes out and releases a bit of his saliva.

Sizzle.

Saliva that drops down to the floor and begins to burn away a portion of the flat stone flooring.

“Oh, look at you Kujo, you are such a good boy.” I state, before Teleporting over to him and scratching him behind his ears.

Slurp.

Kujo takes that same acidic tongue and slurps it over me. Oddly enough, the tongue feels just fine. Maybe it is a protection of my layer of ephemeral dust that constantly seems to cover me now. Or maybe Kujo can just tell when he needs to ham it up with burning acid saliva. Either way, the end result is clear. Kujo is safe, sound, and happy. While I am at it, I go ahead and decide to mark out the three regressors, as a precaution to Kujo.

“That said, you all have a blank slate.” I begin, but then pause. “Or rather you all had a blank slate. But now that I am here, acting in my official capacity as a disciplinarian, I feel I must take action.”

I pause, letting those words sink in.

I can all but feel the nervous tension building up from the kids who, while completely safe inside their stasis pods, know that that safety is an illusion. One that I grant them to have.

“Yes, I’ve determined that there are three instigators that are now one strike away from being excommunicated from this order.” I state.

Poof.

In an instant I Teleport over to the pod containing the first regressor.

“This one,” I state, tapping on the pod and sending a thread of ephemeral energy and spiritual mana as a spike through the capsule to the head of the disruptive child. The minute the energy lands, it begins to swirl into a bright glowing mark on their forehead that glows in the same way a magical tattoo would.

“GRRR!” As I make the mark, Kujo always so smart begins to growl, directing his full attention and snarling teeth at the first marked regressor child.

Once that mark is complete, I immediately Teleport to the next regressor capsule.

Poof.

“This is number two,” I state.

As I move, I can all but hear the gasps of the students who all fear being marked and singled out by me in this way.

Once again, I send another thread of ephemerally infused spirit mana through the stasis bubble, where it pours down and lands on the forehead of the second regressor. If the student could move, no doubt their tiny body would be crying in fear. Instead, their face just scrunches up and contorts into a grimace of fear.

“GRRR!” Again Kujo is unrelenting in his role as violent attacker. As he too Teleports, or rather Phases through space to appear right behind the first trapped child, where he claws at the pod, sending it toppling over and rolling on the ground.

Clatter.

As the first regressor’s capsule falls to the ground, it begins to rattle around and roll into some of the other pods that are jostled slightly from the impact.

Then once the final trickle of magic lands and marks the regressor, I again Teleport to the third regressor.

Once again I make the third and final marking on the third regressor’s forehead, while Kujo Phases behind the second marked regressor and again knocks his pod over with a taloned swipe from behind.

“And finally, this one.” I state, as the last of my energy pours into the pod and permanently marks the spirit and forehead of the third regressor who managed to infiltrate my Thieves Guild.

Poof.

“GRR!”

No sooner am I back up at the front of the room, than Kujo is standing over the toppled pod of the third child. As Kujo stands there, he slowly rolls his paw to the right, then to the left.

Crink, crink, crink.

As Kujo rolls his paw over the ovular pod of the third regressor, the pod rolls wildly. As it rolls, it clatters and clinks against the ground.

Now the look of the student in stasis is one of complete fear. The type of fear that can only come from being held in place against your will, knowing that the only thing that separates you from danger is a thin film of untested magic.

Realizing that the moment of teaching is over, as a slight general probing of Telepathy tells me that all of the students are more than frightened at this point, having seen me go about confining an entire classroom of level 0 kids in place, and then marking three of the ones I deemed to be the biggest trouble makers. I can tell that my message has been well received and that for the most part, these kids are suitable cowed.

While it hurst me that these kids fear me, that is fine. I am willing to take on that role of the monster if it means they take these courses seriously and learn skills that might help them survive later on.

“Thank you, Kujo.” I coo, letting Kujo know that he no longer needs to try to intimidate the stasis bound kids.

At that Kujo quickly raises his paw off the third regressor and instantly comes up to me to get more head scratches.

“Such a good boy.” I say, letting my voice go in that high octave that denotes happiness. Hearing my voice, Kujo wags his tail wildly, throwing around the desk, a few chairs, scattering papers wildly.

One would think I went full showboat wrestler and flipped tables in anger, had they looked at the classroom right now.

“That said, the other kids still deserve a chance.” I say, again knowing that each and every student can hear my comments, as I am projecting my words directly into their minds. “All but those three that were marked. Treat them as kibbles if they so much as step a toe out of line.”

“ARF!” Kujo barks loudly and smiles brightly at the comment as he continues to wag his tail excitedly.

“That means, you see them where they shouldn’t be. Doing things they shouldn’t be doing. Stealing documents from leadership here, and well you can stop them how you, or your family sees fit.” I state.

“Arf.” Kujo again barks excitedly at the comments of being able to eat the marked regressors, particularly if they are away from the areas they are supposed to be.

“As for the others, well, let’s just hope they don’t come to the same fate as the others.”

“Whimper.” At that Kujo let out a sad little whimper at the need to hold back.

“I know, I know. But given the way they were acting here today. I think they too will be close to being marked for excommunication as well. So, we will have to see if they truly want to be here and learn, or if they want to live with the fear that you and your pack will be eagerly awaiting them to step out of line again.” I state.

By now the protective barriers that held all the students in place began to melt, causing fear and panic in many of the students who were now able to move and see the size of the acid drooling Kujo.

The next thing the students invariably looked at was the magical marking that I inscribed into the foreheads of the three different regressors.

Patting Kujo one last time, I give him the three quick taps on his cheek that lets him know my need for him is done. With that, he disappears, but only after giving one last glare at all the students before disappearing completely, no cloud of smoke, no rise of energy, just there one second and gone the next.

At that, I too look over the kids. Kids who are all quiet and staring up at me with a bit of fear, and dare I say trepidation.

Seeing them in this state, I pause as I finally notice the notification of an ability I just used.

New Ability Used: Soul Marking: An ability created by Dr. Cassiopeia Spiritlight that leaves a permanent marking on a regressor’s soul that will transfer with them to the next life.

Note: Must be reapplied monthly. After one year's time effect will be permanent.

Current Status: (1 / 12)

Seeing the spell and its description, I pause for a moment, before just shrugging. Not quite certain why that is noted as an ability versus a spell, until I realize it was a combination of ephemeral energy and mana? Which meant that a new mixing of the different energies was recognized and apparently accepted.

While I had intended to be able to keep track of these regressors in their next lifetime, should they die and try to come back for revenge, I didn’t think it would come through with this marking. Still, I couldn’t deny the end result, as it was exactly as I wanted. Also, the fact that I needed to reapply it monthly for a year made it so I had to want the effects to continue.

Then pausing, I wait for the inevitable system message that would cause Mallory to hunt me down, but nothing.

Slam!

Then wondering if I somehow missed the message, I turn my consciousness to see what new challenge I need to deal with.