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POV: Alark & Ana

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"You know, don't you? Just what she is."

Her voice was cold and held a coarse friction, as if the words themselves were not easily spoken.

Bathed in a numbing darkness, Alark could only faintly make out the glint of Ana's purple eyes somewhere off to his side.

It was difficult to tell just how far she was from him, her voice directly against his ear, deftly puncturing the veil of his thoughts; those words, like acid running through his brain—or maybe that was fear.

But what unnerved him the most, was the tone she spoke with, like nothing else mattered—like he knew a truth that couldn't be known.

Surely, she was toying with him; trying to manipulate him some how... but there was something more visceral to her behaviour--she was normally so removed, as if playing a character she didn't care for.

Alark found himself at a loss for words, unable to comprehend what she was trying to get across to him. Yet she was so confident that he 'knew' that he couldn't just play ignorant either—she had already been too revealing.

The way she turned her eyes... she took his stoic silence as an acknowledgement, but wasn't pleased by his disregard of her status.

However, not even within a breath's time, a biting cold pierced the skin of his neck, and his body turned as rigid as stone.

He was not proud of his unreaction, but it was the right move.

Alark carefully began backing away, only to lightly smack into a wall.

Wincing, he put his hand to his neck. It wasn't deep, but he could feel blood trickle out from beneath his palm.

"You're lucky I don't kill you immediately. But your skills... will be useful to me... To think such a thing would fall into my hands like this, it's the karma I finally deserve."

She trailed off for a moment, but Alark didn't have the time to parse through the underlying meanings of what she said.

She raised her voice again; it was clear she did not think much of what he had to say.

"I don't think you realise just how alone you are, Alark. Mistake after mistake—the sanctuary was one thing, but did you not consider what she might do to the evolution stone? This is your responsibility, and you don't have what it takes alone."

She was trying to use him. He knew this, yet still her words stabbed at him.

It was the violently bitter taste of unfairness that pestered his tongue and made his face contort.

It's not as if he even had a choice, yet she still played this game with him; perhaps it was fun for her.

He had not been an apprentice for long, but he still knew that she set the tone and that he couldn't voice any complaint.

"Elech is all too eager to make you a servile pawn, fancying himself a man of great potential, but he's just an old coot forever hiding from the angels."

Ana's words now threw confusion into his mind.

'What's that supposed to mean...?'

"But I have bigger aspirations. That girl will be mine; then you can have this place for all I care."

He wasn't an idiot. She was pushing him to agree and make the choice himself, but he would be lying if he said he entirely wanted to disagree. This could be his best chance—his only hope to evolve again and become a contractor.

"But how did you find out she was a natural... Ah, it must have been that girl you've always been with. Karin, I believe. "

She spoke with a slow pace, with a apparent discrete annunciation to each word.

He quickly looked at her, the first colour of true emotion plastering his face in the darkness. He was sure Ana could see him, but even though he couldn't see her, he could feel the malicious smile pointed in his direction more sharply than her blade.

However, as the tension rose, she turned away and began quietly muttering to herself, only slightly loud enough for him to hear.

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"Hardly a position difficult to replace..."

His blood ran cold. Why did he hesitate? She was more ruthless than she let on.

"Alright, alright, I'll do whatever it is you need. Just don't bring her into it."

He spoke swiftly and with as much conviction as his panicked heart could muster.

She remained turned away and was silent for some time.

The sweat pooled in the crevices of his tense back; her silence made him feel suffocated.

It was not the reaction he was expecting.

"You will lure her to the room, untouched by neither shadow nor light. It is a room Elech uses to train his pathetically weak soul, which he believes nobody knows about. She is young; she will not be able to resist the first contract..."

A new wave of shock jolted Alark's thoughts into action.

'Contract!'

The word resounded in his mind.

'How does she have the class? She's barely evolved. Just what don't I know?'

Alark quickly wiped the expression from his face before Ana could finish turning around. He couldn't give away his true ignorance on this now...

"A-and where is this room?"

"Third floor, and a one half rotation from the room you came to see us in before. "

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I found myself sniffing around the entrance to one of the growing rooms. It was the one I had seen earlier, but currently it was empty.

I guess they all got some time off because of the ceremony...

Well, this is fine too; it's less risky.

Quickly walking in, I lowered my head to the multi-layered stacks of plants. I wanted to get a close look and a good smell since that was what I was used to, but found that my hair kept falling into my face.

In the end, I chose not to lean in as far but also to hold the hair back... Hm, maybe I should find something to pin it—I could totally show off this horn too.

Oh, this is the one. The same plant I saw them working with in the other room before. Its scent is like the air after my lightning magic—a kind of watery, metallic smell. Not that this is all I'm going by; I mean, these leaves are a shimmering purple, and there's even some faint luminous violet arcs tracing the stem, like veins.

This is perfect.

Looking around once more, I made sure no one was around to watch me.

The plant stacks had been designed in such a way that the roots were easily visible and accessible. I'm guessing this kind of access makes all sorts of fine control over the plants' growth possible, but I'm not really keen on trying to replicate that for now.

It is useful, though, since I can see just how much I should try to grab.

Hmm, but this might be difficult... Hopefully it can survive with just half its roots—that's probably all I can handle.

Crouching down, I pressed the palm of my hand against the moist earth, and I furrowed my brows at the tickling touch of the roots against my new skin; however, I maintained my concentration.

It would be easier with my eyes closed, but I need to keep them open in order to gauge the size properly...

Steadying my breathing into a strict rhythm, I dug around in my mind to find that feeling once more.

To push it into my arm, into my palm, and out into the world.

To reign it back in—into my body and back into my soul.

I timed it with my breath. It was extremely difficult to maintain the feeling alone, and this was only a partially obtained ability...

A swift swirl of emerald energy formed around my hand, and the small vortex expanded into the dirt below.

Pulling my hand away slightly, it became apparent that some of the earth had come with it.

Fascinating

It needs to ride the current and fall into the 'eye of the storm'.

But it needs to be larger.

My breaths grew deeper, and I forgot to blink at the sudden onset of intense concentration, but it was working, and the vortex grew in size and speed in tandem with my actions.

A good portion of the earth around the plant was pulled away, but I knew if I wanted the plant itself, I would need to take it all at once.

I should be able to push it for a short time... I'd better be able to anyway.

Bracing myself, I held my breath: this probably isn't even necessary, but it helps to visualise what I'm trying to achieve.

At that thought, the vortex grew by nearly an order of magnitude.

It was immediate; the earth had all but vanished, and the plant was following suit, vigorously pulling inward as its roots tangled around in the swirl of energy.

My face grew red, but it was almost there.

The instant I saw the final leaf leave my vision, I thwarted my concentration and fell to one knee.

Breathing heavily, I watched a few droplets of sweat fall to the ground from my forehead.

How much mana did that use?

[Mana: 43 / 53]

Relief washed over me.

Thankfully, it seems the actual assertion of it doesn't completely equate to the mana expenditure.

After some (more relaxed) breaths, I stood to my feet and instinctively blew upwards to cool my face. Though I didn't really notice what I was doing while so deep in thought.

Ok, I should be able to get inside then.

Hmm, is it even "I" that goes in there... or if it's just a ghost of myself?

Closing my eyes, I focused on that inner-world with my mind's eye.

Thanks to my experiment, I'm getting a vague feeling as to where it went—which is absolutely nowhere.

Well, kinda... I was pulling inwards towards the area nestled by my collarbone, but before it could all fall into some non-existent hole, it flew outwards. At least, that's what it felt like I think—like my grasp of it was flung off to infinity somehow.

It's always so strange; why can't it just go how I assume it will..?

Hah, whatever.

I focused on pulling my awareness towards that point, letting go of the many Synesthesic sensations I would ordinarily block out, and letting my mind drift into that place without intention.

But that was easier said than done...

To be honest, I'm not really sure how I was doing it; maybe it was easy and I was hallucinating all this non-sense that made it feel so mystical.

Before I could continue the stray thought, I suddenly felt my consciousness fade, or perhaps split apart and flown to a realm infinitely far away...