“I cheated.”
Viviane blinked. “I... I beg your pardon...?”
After concluding her match with Krista, Sakura had returned to the forest clearing with Viviane. The sound of the academy’s bell rang across the campus grounds, but the two girls paid it no mind. After all, there were far more important things to do this morning.
“There were a few reasons why I picked this spot. It’s far and out of the way, and more importantly, it’s surrounded by trees,” Sakura explained. “Hidden.”
Viviane tilted her head to the side, not quite understanding.
“Lady Viviane. Tell me, have you heard of ‘ki’?”
“I haven’t.”
Sakura nodded. “I thought not. What I am about to tell you is one of Higashi’s greatest secrets, so you may not divulge this to anyone. Understood?”
Viviane gulped as the air turned heavy and serious. She nodded.
“A long, long time ago, there was a revolt led by the knights of our country. They had grown tired of the aristocracy and sought change. The aristocracy was unprepared for this, and their attempts to fight back were feeble at best. After all, a noble’s greatest strength lies in our Crest, yet we cannot access it without a knight as our conduit.
“After the revolution ended, Higashi’s government was reformed into the triumvirate that still remains today. However, the point of this is not the history lesson, Lady Viviane. Rather, it is the ability of our people to hold grudges. Particularly the nobility. Because of this, my ancestor centuries ago delved deep into research and meditation. In the end, he discovered it. Our family’s greatest secret. Ki.”
Viviane nodded, listening intently. History was always one of the classes that she’d actually managed to get decent grades in, after all reading about the past was always one of her favorite pastimes. Had she not managed to manifest a Crest, she probably would’ve wanted to become a librarian.
“Since mana is considered the energy of the heavens, ki could be considered the energy of the earth. With it, we can enhance our bodies, granting us strength and speed equivalent to even that of a knight in short bursts. This was the discovery that allowed us to stand on equal grounds with the knights of Higashi, and this is what you must master before you can even stand a chance against the princess.”
“E-Eh...?” Viviane stared blankly at Sakura, not entirely understanding the foreign noblewoman’s explanation. “Um... So what exactly is ki? Is it in the air like mana?”
Sakura shook her head. “Not exactly. It is refined in the body, but it also exists wherever there is life. Fish, animals, people. Even plants. I could teach you how to use the ki you already have within you, but it is vital for you to refine and grow your capacity first.”
“Oh... Okay? So, um... How do I do that?”
Sakura gestured for Viviane to sit. “Seat yourself and relax, then close your eyes and focus on the sound of your heartbeat. Feel each pulse intimately and imagine as if the whole world stopped and started at its rhythm.”
Though still confused, Viviane did as Sakura asked, trying her best to conjure the image that Sakura had suggested.
“Good,” Sakura said, walking around the now-seated Viviane and kneeling. She placed both palms against Viviane’s back. “Relax. Now, remember this feeling.”
Viviane didn’t know what Sakura was referring to, but she knew that she didn’t need the entire world at the behest of her heartbeat. She only had one simple wish.
If only our hearts could beat in tune, Medrauta. An innocent smile danced on Viviane’s lips as the thought passed through her mind, and for some reason, she felt an indescribable warmth. The kind that she’d only experienced when she embraced her family at home.
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“...p!”
Ah... Father, mother. How I miss you so... Viviane’s head was a blur of memories, all of them pleasant. She remembered her first birthday, the first time she’d accompanied her mother to town, and even the first time her father picked her up.
“...op!”
And then, a new memory inserted itself into that wonderful chain. One that wasn’t from her childhood. Rather, it was a very recent but very dear memory. The one and only time she’d been able to resonate with Medrauta. If only I—
“STOP!”
“U-Uwaah!” Viviane’s eyes suddenly snapped open as Sakura shook her violently.
The normally poised foreigner looked exhausted. Sweat dripped from her brow and ran freely down her cheeks. A trail of blood leaked out of one nostril, and her eyes were bloodshot.
“E-Eh...? W-Wha!? Lady Sakura! Lady Sakura, are you alright!? I-I’m so sorry! I don’t know what happened!”
Despite her sorry state, Sakura only smiled. “Oh, thank Aluvsha. You’re alright.”
Viviane blinked, tears welling up in her eyes. She always cried easily, but hearing Sakura’s concerned words and seeing her gentle smile only made it impossible not to shed tears.
“Ah... I’m so glad I managed to stop you in time...” Sakura said as she hugged Viviane close.
It was only then that Viviane witnessed the magnitude of what occurred. All around her, there was nothing but gray. Gray grass, gray leaves, gray logs, and gray stumps. The withered husks of the surrounding trees likewise stood lifeless and gray, their thin branches almost like twisted talons trapping her inside this horrific nightmare of her own creation.
She reached a finger toward the blades of grass next to her, only to have them crumble into dust upon contact. Horrified, she jerked her hand back.
“W-What happened!? What did I do!? T-This... I-I couldn’t have... R-Right!?”
Sakura shook her head. “It is completely my fault. I failed you, Lady Viviane... I did not expect that you would have been so adept despite this being your first time. The blame is mine and solely mine.”
“W-What...? What do you mean? I don’t... I don’t understand...”
“Earlier, I said that ki could be considered the energy of the earth. That... was not entirely correct. More accurately, it is what sustains that which belongs to the earth. It is life force incarnate. I picked this spot not only because it was hidden, but also because of the abundance of life force.”
“S-So then I... I did all this...? I destroyed everything here...? I... I sucked the life out of everything!?” Viviane’s ears rang with Sakura’s words. She couldn’t believe it. She refused to believe it.
“...Yes. But it was my mistake. Places abundant with ki are capable of rapidly replenishing their reserves, just... I did not expect you to take all of it at once.”
“A-And you...? Is the reason why you look like that because of me!?”
Sakura turned away. Though her lips remained sealed, that alone was an answer enough.
“N-No... I... I don’t...” Viviane grasped her head in terror. Her eyes widened, unable to accept the reality that she had wrought. “I... I didn’t want this...!”
Oh, shit. Sakura’s mind raced. Why the hell did this have to happen!? If she breaks down now with that amount of unrefined ki inside her... She’ll turn into a Jade Beauty for sure! I won’t let that happen!
Sakura quickly grasped Viviane’s hands, prying them gently away from her head. “Lady Viviane! Do not despair! We can fix this, but I need you to focus!”
“I... I can fix this...? I can... bring everything back to life...?”
Sakura nodded emphatically. “Yes! We can do it together, but only if you listen to me and clear your mind!”
For a moment, it looked as if the light had returned back to Viviane’s eyes. But then, they glazed over suddenly, and a poisonous green tinge crept into the whites of her eyes. Her lips twisted into a monstrously crooked smile, and her hands clenched around Sakura’s tightly. Her skin grew dreadfully pale, almost translucent, and her veins were a glowing bright emerald underneath.
Horror and dread filled Sakura’s very core as Viviane underwent a monstrous transformation. The color drained from her face as she attempted to tug herself free from Viviane’s grasp, but Viviane’s now talon-like nails dug painfully into Sakura’s skin.
N-No! It can’t be! Sakura panicked, wincing as her skin was flayed from the back of her hand. Still, she threw herself away from the Viviane-looking creature that now stood up.
Viviane’s impossibly wide smile somehow widened even more. And then she spoke, her voice like the buzzing of a thousand locusts.
“And what if I don’t want to?”