Crazy And Stupid

”How else would I find it? How else would I scale past it?” ~Frein Nivan, the Visitor

Frein looked at the High Palace from above, Art fatigue almost settling in. He regulated his breathing, and enforced his stamina with Siffera. It was a lot harder to do now that his meiyal system was stressed beyond its limits.

Elizzel silently urged him from within their Mind Palace. She resisted the instinct to verbally push him, knowing that such a thing would actually cause a distraction.

Frein refused to stop. At this point, his mind had done everything it could to send him alarms that his stamina was running out, or that his meiyal system couldn’t breathe anymore, or that his donated heart would burst if he kept it up.

But he refused to stop.

Frein kept running. It was all a trick of the mind. His heart wouldn’t explode. He could still push his meiyal system even further. His stamina was far from depleted.

One foot after another, the Visitor ran at top speed on the encircling cloudbark, doing laps since Katherine fell asleep.

He only had one goal, to see how long it would take for him to reach Art fatigue if he drove everything he had to maximum from the beginning. Hours had passed, the moons had set and the blue sun had risen high in the sky. And even then, he kept going.

Frein had already lost track of time. He guessed it was almost noon; he had forgotten breakfast and had even been too busy to consider lunch. His mind was only focused on running. Running like he had never done before.

Still not empty.

He Gathered and Milled continuously at the same rhythm as he took his breaths. His momentum came to a ceiling, and he kept it there for as long as he could.

Frein lost count of how many times he’d circled around the High Palace. But there were still more he could push. He scraped everything he had, pushing himself by any means necessary. His brain desperately begged for release, but he convinced it to stay focused by showing it the worst case scenarios.

He thought of everyone. His friends here in Brymeia. The images of them dying because of some unknown force. Them losing their lives because of his failures. He convinced himself, that if he couldn’t push further beyond what lied beyond his limits, that if this was all he could give, they would surely all die.

Like a snap, Frein found his second wind. He propelled himself, his mind no longer in contention with himself, pushing with all its might instead.

It might’ve been minutes, or it might’ve been hours, but he was finally completely empty. The last step, now no longer filled with meiyal, fell past the cloudbark. He plummeted down, his eyes blurry.

Elizzel was in a panic, but before she could even materialize, George appeared from the clouds and caught Frein.

“Remarkable!” The King Cloudbark Worm said. “Truly remarkable, indeed! Reckless, but admirable! A true testament to commitment—”

“Thanks,” Frein said, putting all of his focus on breathing properly. His ears heard nothing but his exploding heartbeats. “Can you please… put me somewhere… isolated?”

“Ah, as much as I would like to grant your request, Great Visitor, I regret to say that the Second Princess has caught our attention. I am oathbound to respond to her summons if I can for as long as she is in the High Palace.”

Frein’s head struggled to process George’s convoluted explanation, but he eventually got the gist of it. “That’s fine. Take me to her.”

“At once.”

Fortunately for Frein, Scuti was in an open courtyard behind the High Palace proper. She was in an extravagant, tiled open area that was wide enough to allow for her training. Gardens surrounded the circular arena, making the space somewhat isolated.

“Woah,” Scuti said as he saw Frein dismount from George’s head. “You’re at full Art fatigue, Frein. What happened?”

“Training,” he said, promptly lying on the floor. “Just give me a sec.”

“You sure you were only training?”

“What can I do for you, Princess Scuti?” George asked, leaning close with his absurd smile. Frein couldn’t stop the urgency his instincts always sent him whenever the Cloudbark Worm came too close to anyone. He always felt that the creature intended to swallow them whole.

“I was just curious why you suddenly popped out of the cloudbark. Usually you stay hidden,” Scuti said.

George turned towards Frein in a creepy way. “Ah. It is because of the Visitor here. He requested that I monitor him while he exercised.”

“That’s some exercise.”

The way George snapped back to Scuti made Frein’s heart skip a beat, but the Second Princess didn’t even flinch from it.

“It was admirable. Admirable, indeed,” the colossal, levitating worm said. “A true display of commitment and passion!”

“I just… ran as much as I could,” Frein said, finally recovering his breathing. His body was still heavy and aching, and he still suffered from Art fatigue. “What’s so impressive about it?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it!” George’s body coiled around atop the stage. “Throughout all my years, I’ve seen all manner of feats of strength. I’ve seen practitioners render clouds asunder, or split entire lands in two. I’ve witnessed the breaking of the world when the great Zerax’thum fell. But never, in all my days, have I witnessed a single man run laps around the High Palace until he had nothing more to give.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“It was such a beautiful thing to experience. For hours on end, doing nothing but that singular task, not thinking of anything else. You turned something monotonous into a unique display no one else could imitate.”

“No one else?” Scuti asked, shrugging. “It’s just running.”

Frein agreed.

“No, no, I must disagree, Princess Scuti. Anyone could run, but not everyone could run until they couldn’t anymore. The mind becomes the enemy, you see. It’ll convince you that you’ve reached your limits in order to avoid any unnecessary strain on your body.

“Only during times of desperation, at the height of adrenaline, could the mind be persuaded otherwise. When a hero digs deep beyond what they could imagine and achieve miracles, it is always under duress, under pressure. But you, Frein, you are different.

“You push yourself beyond what’s beyond. You desperately grasp at miracles even if you don’t need them just for the sheer curiosity of it. And when you do make the miracle, you’re still not satisfied. You still want more.”

“Are you… are you reading my mind?” Frein asked. George’s smile twisted wider.

“Much like some Forest Jaws Lurking In The Forest have a pseudo-Nature’s Favor, some Cloudbark Worms develop pseudo-Heart’s Will. The entire time you were running, I was monitoring what was going through your head. As some wizened, elder people would say, ‘It could make an old man cry.’”

“You’re a real flatterer, aren’t you?”

George responded with another creepier, open smile. Frein saw tongue, throat, and all the saliva he could stand for the day. But he also realized that it was the worm’s genuine showing of delight, and he would not be one to condemn such a positive, brightened behavior.

At the very least, he was beginning to understand why people called them angels.

“Well, it was a pleasure watching you run, Visitor Frein. If there’s nothing more you need from me, Princess Scuti, I shall be on my way.”

“Thanks, George,” Scuti said, waving the Cloudbark Worm goodbye. She turned to Frein while pulling something from her Spatiera. “Want some water?”

“Oh, thanks,” Frein said, sitting up. The Second Princess lobbed a bottle of water. He caught it with one hand, popped it open, and chugged it down. It was rejuvenating.

Is there meiyal in this drink? Frein couldn’t verify it without being able to Draw. And for something so trivial, he couldn’t push himself to make the effort. He dismissed it as the placebo effect, since his Art fatigue wasn’t going anywhere.

“You owe me one gold coin,” Scuti said.

Frein spat out a shower.

“Ew!” The Second Princess hopped away just in time. “I was kidding!”

His nose hurt, and the uncomfortable sensation of water existing where they shouldn’t be bothered him to no end. He pushed it out.

“Yuck!”

“Wasn’t prepared for that at all…” Frein’s head spun, but he pushed himself on his feet. It was irritating, but he finished the bottle with his entire guard up this time. “Are you okay?”

Scuti’s facial expression was stuck on disgust. “Yeah… are you?”

“Yeah. Just Art fatigued.”

“I can see that.”

“Yeah…” Frein lazily gestured towards the Second Princess. “What’re you doing? Before I got here, I mean. Thanks again for the drink.”

“Training,” she explained, nodding. “I skipped classes yesterday, so I’m taking double right now.”

“Where’s your trainer?”

“She’s taking a break. I’m the only person who needs to extend.”

“Oh, so it’s an honesty system?”

Scuti smiled as she took a ready stance, Drawing her sword Meiyal Art. She started swinging. “The High Palace Network closely monitors this place. They’ll know if I’m not training on my own.”

Frein hummed curiously and observed for a while. The Second Princess’s form was standard, as far as Iristan Knight training was concerned. It wasn’t that much different from Earth. Placing the sword in front for a balanced stance was just too much of a natural step for it to be any different despite being galaxies apart.

Scuti swung, not minding the audience. Her trainer would’ve done the same, so there wasn’t anything too different to their current setup. Still…

“You’re not taking this seriously, are you?” Frein asked.

“Huh?” The Second Princess’s tone rose to return the accusation. “I’m right here swinging as much as I can!”

“Yeah, but you look bored. Like you’d rather be anywhere else. You have your form down to a science, and quite frankly, it’s honed to a level that’s above what someone your age has any right to have. But! Your heart’s not into it.”

Scuti didn’t budge from her training sequence, despite her irritation. “What did you expect? I’m here rather than spending time with my friends. Not everyone’s as gung-ho at getting stronger as you, you know?”

Frein just nodded. “Good point.”

“And swinging a sword like this isn’t any more entertaining than listening to a lecture I’ve already heard a hundred times.”

“Want to spar, then?”

At that, the Princess stopped. “With you? In your condition?”

“You can dull your sword, right?”

“Sure, but you can’t Draw.”

“And I think that’s perfect.”

“You’re crazy…” Elizzel’s voice echoed from within their Mind Palace. “I know you’re crazy, but in case you just find joy in hearing it all the time, I’ll just say it again. You’re utterly crazy and stupid.”

“Are you crazy?” Scuti asked.

“Look, here’s the deal,” Frein began, rubbing his ear after hearing the accusations both in and out of his head. “You win if you can hit me once within the next thirty minutes. I’ll do whatever you want for the rest of the day.”

“You’re taking this seriously…” Scuti’s realization was quicker compared to the other people that Frein had had to convince. “Alright, then. What if you win?”

“Then you’ll do more training.”

Without waiting for a signal, the Second Princess moved like a blur. Frein had a split second to respond. Without relying on his Siffera at all, he extended his leg, predicting exactly where Scuti would appear.

It felt like getting hit by a baseball bat. He endured the pain while the Princess tripped over, tumbling and recovering, but her face was in full disbelief. Then it twisted in anger.

Frein smiled, knowing she would try again. He stepped to the side, stretching out an arm just in time to slip through between Scuti’s swing. Twisting on his pivot leg, his entire arm caught the Princess by the neck. At the same moment, he placed a leg behind her, and with single motion, reversed her entire momentum against her.

The sudden switch caused her to lose balance completely, and she flopped to the ground. Her recovery was instantaneous, but she was too shocked to move right away.

“That kind of stare means you’re Drawing an observation Meiyal Art,” Frein said, smirking to provoke the Second Princess further. “You should try and be more subtle about it. And to be perfectly clear, I never said I wouldn’t Draw.”

Scuti ignored his taunt, flabbergasted by the entire exchange. “You’re not even using Siffera! How?”

“I’ll tell you once you start your next training segment.” Frein smiled, beckoning his opponent over. “Time’s running, Princess.”

The Second Princess stood, resting in a stance. This time, she didn’t recklessly attack. Good. Returning to a neutral position made predicting her attacks a little more interesting.

But before she could engage, Elizzel manifested into reality.

“Who?” Scuti did a double take. “Kristella?”

“You sure you’re alright to show yourself?” Frein asked the faunel.

“Yes,” Elizzel said. “I’m not Kristella, Princess Scuti. My name is Elizzel. I’m the Faunel of Freedom and Consequences. I don’t have much time, so you may ask your questions to your sister, or we can talk later after your sparring match.”

The faunel started walking towards the High Palace, the actual palace.

“Where you going?” Frein asked, as if it wasn’t obvious. He was more curious of the ‘why’.

“Clearly someone has to knock some sense into you, so I’m dragging Katherine out of bed.” She continued on, waving. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone see me.”

“Well…” Frein shrugged. “Change of plans then. You have until Katherine gets here.”

Scuti charged in desperation.