Mash’s explanation was obviously lacking. He had tried his best to explain, but he didn’t have anything to add beyond what he had seen with his own eyes. He wished he could have anything substantial to give them. It felt like he was disappointing them somehow, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault. He should have been paying better attention to his own world.
“You should take a bath.”
Red spoke while pointing to the bathroom which Luke had left earlier. By now he had put on a shirt and was nodding along to the suggestion. Mash was going to protest and try and remain until Jill woke up, but he decided to take their advice. He hadn’t had a bath in the past two days. Honestly, he hadn’t done much outside of sitting around. Now that he was considering it, he realized that he hadn’t even gone to the bathroom. That was strange considering that he kept eating regularly. The thought was alarming.
[Your body had slowly been improving, but it seemed to change faster while you were in your own world. Even now, I can feel your body is still becoming more optimal.]
Mash didn’t verbally respond to Priscilla, but he started walking toward the bathroom while considering what her words meant. He could tell that his body had changed and was still changing, but he didn’t understand what that implied. He found that he needed to ask a question. It was surprisingly important to him.
[Wait, does that mean I’m not going to shit anymore?]
It probably shouldn’t have mattered, but he felt like that would be the most unbelievable thing. Would he even be alive if that was the case? Every living thing needed to do that, right? He was moving awkwardly, far slower than he would normally. He could feel the other’s eyes watching him as he left, but he paid more attention to Priscilla’s response.
[No, but your body is more efficient and produces less waste. I imagine you will eventually abandon the basic needs altogether.]
The idea bothered him, and he almost snapped at Priscilla in response. However, he caught himself and changed what he wanted to ask. Priscilla was not to blame; he had chosen this class and would need to adjust to what it provided.
[What do you mean? Are you saying that I won’t need to eat anymore?]
[Possibly, however, I am not sure to what extent your evolution will go. You may no longer need food or water. But you could just as easily lose your need for air. Or it will just make it so that you need those things less frequently.]
Priscilla’s lack of knowledge was concerning. She tended to have a good idea about the operations of his body. He decided that a changing body was not at the top of his list of concerns. That felt like everyone's problem, his case was just a little special. Which he expected would become a standard situation for him.
He walked into the bathroom and was a bit surprised by how nice it was. The floors were made of the same black stone as the rest of the building, and he saw an indentation where the bath was. There was a constant stream of water falling into the indentation on the floor. Either Luke forgot to turn it off, or it just constantly ran. He considered entering the stream immediately but paused when he saw his reflection against one of the walls.
The stone had been polished enough to act as a mirror. The person that looked back at him barely looked normal. He didn’t know how to feel about that as his friends hadn’t commented about it. His eyes looked like they were sunken into his face, and his hair was a disheveled mess. That was probably from his flight earlier. The bigger problem with his condition was the blood that partially stained his arms and clothes. Even his hair and face had some flecks of blood on them. He hadn’t realized that he had been wiping his forehead so much, but the streak of red there made it evident. Seeing his state, he was a bit surprised that his clothes had matched even that. He took a long breath, before deciding to enter the bath. He dropped his clothes on the floor knowing that their state would match his own. They would be as clean as he was.
It wasn’t a hard stream; the water fell gently but it didn’t break apart as he expected it to. It fell cleanly enough that he could catch his own warped reflection against it. It reminded him of the fleshy abomination that still haunted him like a specter. He swiped at the water with his arm and stepped into the stream. The image broke completely as he moved within the stream. It was almost like it had washed away along with the blood and dirt. As he washed, he considered how to clean Jill’s body had been. She had been bleeding, but he hadn’t noticed any dirt stains or anything. Now, that he was thinking about it, he couldn’t remember the last time she looked dirty. He knew it was a product of one of her skills and felt a little jealous as the water changed colors at his feet. The water became muddied by dirt and blood.
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He breathed out the water, spluttering around his mouth. Noticing some kind of bar in an indent in one of the walls, he reached out for it. It felt slick in his hands, and he guessed it was soap. The shape was odd as it was rectangular, but he got used to it quickly. He used excessive force as he scrubbed and stayed in the bath for a while after. He could still see the others with his domain, and he knew they were talking about something. He had been avoiding doing anything intrusive, but he noticed Jill starting to wake. She moved a little, and Mash took that as his signal to leave. He finished up quickly and ran out within a few seconds.
As he turned the corner, he saw Jill smiling but knew that it was disingenuous. He didn’t try and force the matter though. She clearly didn’t want to let her real emotions show, but he could tell that she was struggling.
“Hey, Mash. Sorry about breaking, well everything.”
She was trying to make a joke about the situation, and he didn’t want to let her do that. Plus, he wanted to know what exactly she had done.
“The world just gained some character. But you did that? How?””
The damage he had seen was unbelievable, and it wasn’t something he thought she could do. Her reply came quickly.
“I was just trying some stuff out with my spatial manipulation. I managed to make this barrier-like thing, but it kind of exploded when I broke it…”
Her voice gradually grew quieter as she spoke. Her final words were little more than a mumble, but all three of them could hear her. The distance and their stats gave them all good senses. Mash almost angrily shouted his response but realized the hypocrisy in it. He was about to ask her if she was crazy and tell her that messing with space was dangerous. That, of course, was not something he was in the position to comment on. He loved experimenting with his skills, and he was probably pretty lucky that nothing had ended as disastrously as that. Red didn’t have the same thing holding her back.
“Are you trying to be like Mash? I thought he would be the only one stupid enough to mess with his skills like that. Space magic is considered one of the most dangerous magic for a reason.”
Red sounded more annoyed than angry, and Luke was nodding his head with fervor. Mash was not hurt by her words as he had the same thoughts. Although, he wished that he wasn’t the basis for stupid decisions, even if his track record said otherwise. Jill looked visibly shaken, not by Red’s words alone, but because the situation was slowly overwhelming her. Mash could tell through his domain that she was struggling, and Red must have noticed too. She didn’t say much else, but added one more thing quietly.
“I’m glad you're ok, but please don’t do that again. I was scared.”
Red’s final words were said even more quietly than Jill’s mumbles, and all Mash could think to do was nod dumbly. He had felt that same fear, and he felt bad for the times he had done the same to them. Dying alone was a selfish action.
The silence built after Red’s final words. Luke had kept quiet for the majority of it all. Not because he didn’t have things to say, but because he was terrified. Even now he still looked overwhelmed by everything that had happened. His terror radiated off him like an aura, and he had been mostly silent since healing Jill. Mash could feel the tension and dread that hung in the air like a thick fog. He decided to break it. Well, he hoped to.
“Um, so I decided I want to apologize. For everything, I screwed up. So, I plan on meeting with…everyone.”
Mash’s words didn’t seem to break the tension as he had hoped. It was mostly gone now, but it wasn’t replaced by something much better. Their faces were marred with doubt, and the look they gave Mash was suspicious. His words slowly tapered off, until he took a small pause before the last one. He awkwardly used his hands to brush at the bottom of his shirt. Nervousness made him want to move, but he settled for just moving his hands a little. Thankfully, he wasn’t left to dry.
“Honestly, I expected something more extreme. Don’t get me wrong it’s a stupid idea, but it could’ve been worse.”
Jill started speaking, and Red had turned to face her. One of Red’s eyebrows was raised at her. The message got across, and Jill rolled her eyes while continuing.
“I mean, if things go wrong it's not like it will be catastrophic. Plus, we can just leave in the worst-case scenario. It’s not anyone here could really stop us.”
Luke took that opportunity to speak up. The conversation had moved on from the incident with Jill, and he seemed relieved to talk about something else.
“We can’t just make decisions because we think we are the strongest people here. But, I do think Mash apologizing is a fine idea. It’s something he should do. We all should really.”
Luke seemed to appreciate Mash’s conclusion. It seemed like he had been feeling guilty too even if to a lesser degree. Or maybe he was just better at handling it than Mash. The way he spoke told Mash of his resolve. Red let out a long sigh but didn’t give any objections. It seemed like she would concede to this course of action. It was a good first step, but Mash knew he needed to tell them something else. He didn’t let himself drag on the conversation and spoke with firmness.
“I think I’m insane or crazy. No, wait, it's more like my mind just doesn’t work the same way anymore.”
They looked at him briefly, and he realized that they weren’t surprised. They tried to fake it sure, but Luke at least was poor at hiding his expression. Jill was the only one whose face he couldn’t read. Red’s aura gave her away. When they met his eyes and saw his own surprise. They looked away in unison, all of them glancing down toward their feet. That only left Mash feeling even more confused. They knew? Then why didn’t they say anything? It seemed like the kind of thing they should be addressed. Had they always thought he was mad?
“How? Why didn’t you say anything?”