I waved goodbye to Astra and let her rest. The last couple of hours were fun, relaxing even. It was nice to have someone react to all the cool magic stuff I gained.

And while the implications of my barrier incantation were promising, it was but one new addition.

Not that I can do much studying on a one-way portal.

The keeper and the resulting emerald flames received a very interested reaction from the Grimm. As did my axe, which I only realized throughout the retelling that I still haven't named it. I knew I should. It was a weirdly instinctual feeling that crept along in the recesses of my mind.

But that could wait.

As we made our way down the hallway, I stopped and growled. "Damn."

"What's wrong?" Alice asked as she started reaching for her axe.

I slumped forward and groaned. "She's sleeping now, so it's too late. But I wanted to show her the scroll Grim gave me."

"He gave you something?"

In response, I reached for my satchel and pulled out the slightly crumpled scroll. I unraveled the parchment and stared at the numerous diagrams and scratchy writing. It looked like someone dipped their claw in ink and used that as a pen.

Wait. Maybe that is what he did. Why?

Alice leaned over, peered at the diagrams, and pointed out the incantations. Unlike the rest of the text on the parchment, the incantations were written in neat lines with much more care.

"He gave you incantations?"

"Apparently," I said. "Wasn't expecting it. But they sound cool. This one looks like a thunderstorm."

"And that one is a scouting incantation," she pointed out.

The second diagram showed a crude drawing of a wolf surrounded by short people hidden behind bushes.

Wait no. That person has pointy ears and sharp teeth. Not people.

There were three incantations, something about channeling the heavens, the scouting one, and another that was hard to understand.

The drawings depicted a wolf eating something and the very shocked face of a woman in a witch's hat.

"Wanna test these out? Or you got other plans?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Let's use one of the training halls. We don't have to worry about making a mess."

I grinned. "Perfect. Whisper Tunnels?"

"No. It's nearby."

Oh.

It was fun to use the magic tunnels to get around places, but oh well.

As she led the way, I heard the clashing of metal and smelled the musk of sweat as it drifted through the tunnels. There was a growl and a grunt of pain before the clattering of something solid rang across the floor.

We turned the corner and my eyes widened at the familiar faces.

"Good parry, but your stance was too wide. When you make yourself a bigger target, its easier to push you over," Adeline explained as she walked over to where the spear rested.

She used her foot to launch it into the air before catching it and setting it against the wall. The training room was decently sized, with small tables outside the ropes sectioning off the sand pit.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Adeline grabbed a canteen and chugged before spotting Alice and promptly spitting her drink across the floor.

"A-Alice?! What happened to your hair?" Adeline demanded.

I glanced over at the still blue end bits and shook my head. Kierra panted as she laid on the ground but she smiled when I waved.

"I thought your gift was a monster," Alice explained.

"And?!"

"I attacked. It exploded."

I nudged Alice's side. "I thought Adeline gave you the gift herself. You telling me you attacked an inanimate piece of food?"

"Yes," she replied, completely serious.

A chuckle escaped before I could rein it in, and Adeline's expression grew even more bewildered. It didn't help; I kept chuckling till even Alice joined, albeit for only a second.

Adeline closed her mouth and cleared her throat. "It's good to see you, Cain. I didn't recognize you with the new hair."

I shrugged. "Got a new passive. Now I look weird."

Kierra shook her head. "No. It looks good. But the sides look uneven."

"Thanks," I groaned. "It's not easy cutting your hair with an axe.

She stood up and walked over while holding out her hand. I stared, and she lowered it before reaching behind her back and unsheathing a familiar knife.

"I'd like to return the favor."

Feels like forever ago.

I agreed and plopped to the floor. Adeline caught up with Alice while picking at her hair, so I glanced behind me before Kierra forced my head forward.

"How's it been? I see Adeline is putting you through your paces."

She had a gentle touch as she ran the blade across my skin. She trimmed down the sides, bringing it far closer than I had with my axe before going through the mess in front.

"She is. It's been nice. It's different from Earth," Kierra replied. I never thought I'd learn to fight with a spear."

"Implying you'd learn to fight with other weapons?"

She paused and flipped the blade around before twirling it between her fingers. The sharp blade came dangerously close to knicking her skin, but when she stopped, her hand remained unscarred.

"Yes."

I dusted away some strands and leaned back at her prompting. "You have to tell me your story someday."

"Only if you tell me yours."

"Unfair. I'm amnesiac."

"I remember."

She finished my hair and backed away as I shook off all the cut hair. My collar still felt itchy, so I pulled out my flask and used it to wash away the rest.

"Now you look good," Adeline teased.

"Haa haa."

Adeline smiled, but there was tension in her shoulders. Instincts told me she was uncomfortable, and when I met her eyes she flinched.

I crossed my arms and stared. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied too quickly.

"Really?"

Her eyes hardened and she growled, but I didn't back down. Crimson colored her irises till she looked away.

"You smell different."

I smell?

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "It smells different. It's hard to describe. It makes me uneasy."

How was I supposed to interpret that? Astra didn't have a problem with me. Neither did Volto or Alice. But Neina did.

It's probably the soul thing.

"Okaaay."

Alice hopped inside the sandpit and waited. I glanced at Adeline, but she smiled awkwardly.

"She said you wanted to test something. And I'm curious."

"What about your training?"

"We're actually finished for the day. If you hadn't arrived, we would have cleaned up and gone to town to eat," Kierra interjected.

I shrugged. "Good chance we fail to do anything. It took forever to learn the last two incantations. And we cheated."

I pulled out the scroll and tossed it to Alice.

She unfurled it and skimmed the page. Her finger tapped the middle of the paper, and she flipped the scroll around. "This one seems easier."

We spent five minutes studying it and memorizing the mental image, though the drawings were distracting. I ignored the different wolf pictures and focused on the diagram explaining the steps of the mental images.

I took a few steps back and closed my eyes.

I don't understand you at all, Grim. Why these incantations? Why give me anything? What's the point?

Nothing made sense, not that it was anything new.

Then again, I wasn't about to turn down learning new magic.

So I shut off my senses and pictured the void. The mental image started off as a small red bead. It rolled endlessly in the nothingness till I stilled it and filled the shape with mana. The flames began to corrupt but the shadows coiled around it and stilled the fire. The bead swelled to the size of a baseball.

Slowly, I pictured the runes forming stroke by stroke until they hovered above the ball. When I pressed them into the image they slid in without struggle.

It wasn't a flame incantation, yet it complied so easily.

Why?

The lava greedily rushed forward, eager to fill the bead until it exploded. But the shadow mana was faster, rushing into place before the lava could reach it. I hadn't even started the verbal casting, so I let the mana through uncontested.

The red bead turned jet black and began to leak a black haze that joined the void with only a glowing white outline separating the ball from the void.

In the physical world, I opened my palm and let the mana swell.

“Gríp lyktar, ljóstra blóð.”

The runes blazed, and the ball exploded in a wave of black and white.

I opened my eyes, but meaty claws grabbed my shoulder and lifted me into the air. Bewildered, I blinked at the swirling black lines roiling across Adeline's body. They crisscrossed and left whispering trails.

They blazed in my sight, drawing me to them even as Adeline's teeth elongated.

“Cancel the incantation! Now!"