SVAN CHORYTH

The relationship between Yukina, Evren, and I had undergone a remarkable transformation, showing lots of improvement. The constant bickering didn’t go away, especially between Yukina and Evren. They didn’t ever seem to agree on anything. Weirdly, that was how they got along with each other. It was the easiest way they communicated without feeling awkward. At first glance, it appeared as if they were always engaged in never-ending arguments, but upon taking a closer look, it was clear that they listened to, and cared about each other.

Their competitive nature remained unyielding, as was evident whenever they trained together or sparred against each other. One would be left wondering why they never take it easy on each other. For me, it was okay. I saw it as a healthy rivalry.

Three of us were having breakfast together when an attendant came to relay a message to us.

“Lady Evren, the High Lord requests your presence at his study. Lord Svan, and Lady Yukina, Lady Eliora wants to meet you both at the training grounds.”

“Hope they didn’t say we should abandon our breakfast and meet them immediately, because I am not leaving this place until I am done eating,” Yukina said, with her voice slightly muffled with a food-filled mouth.

The attendant responded politely, “Of course not. Please take your time,” before bowing and departing.

It was natural to wonder why they requested our presence separately. Mom usually had breakfast with us every morning. Although she didn’t join us this morning, it didn’t strike me as unusual. I assumed that maybe she had duties to attend to. However, upon hearing the attendant’s message, a sense of intrigue started to settle as it was apparent that she missed breakfast on purpose.

Evren asked the question that was on everyone’s mind,

”What’s going on.”

“We are just as clueless as you are,” Yukina replied.

“Maybe the High Lord is about to give you an earful while we train. Why else would we be summoned to the training grounds, while you are being called to his study?”

Evren bought my suggestion quite easily even though it was meant to be a jest.

“But I haven't done anything wrong.”

“That’s not for you to decide. Hopefully, he has more than just a scolding in store for you. A fitting punishment, perhaps,” Yukina chimed in, her face lit up with a playful grin.

“Be nice, will you? It's too early,” Evren responded. Sensing Evren’s mood, and the need to prevent the situation from escalating, I interjected,

“Come on, I was just joking. I am sure there must be something important he wishes to discuss with you.”

“I hope that’s the case,” Evren conceded as she resumed her meal.

“Aren’t you being a bit too sensitive today? You can’t even tell when someone is joking, Yukina asked. Though it was a question she threw in the air, it was directed to Evren.

“Not again,” I silently groaned.

“Was I?”

“Yes, you were. What happened? Did you get rejected after a love confession?”

I unintentionally burst into laughter. Hurriedly, I covered my mouth with my hands but it was already too late.

Yukina was right; Evren was being too sensitive. The good thing was, she handled it well and humored her way into asking what was wrong with her.

Evren laughed too,

“I guess you are right, I’m sorry.”

“It's fine. I would gladly switch places with you. I'm too tired to take a beating from Mom.”

I continued eating but still wondered what could be going on before I heard Darya’s voice,

“You think a lot for your age. Relax, it might just be nothing of concern.”

Darya had become more than just a friend; she had become my confidante and my partner. Within the course of a few days, we’d had countless conversations, especially about questions I needed answers to. Though I didn't have access to her thoughts as she has to mine, she was open to answering any question I asked her.

Sleeping at night had transformed into an event I eagerly anticipated since I paid her visits whenever I slept. I did visit her more often, or rather, she made me visit her more often since it was something she controlled. The first thing I needed clarity about was how she was able to take me to my mother, after what happened at Ausbane. Darya explained that every person had a unique mana signature, and she could locate anyone she wanted to, provided she remembered the mana signature of the person. It was a pretty straightforward answer, although I didn't fully comprehend how she was able to do that. She further broke down the events that happened that day, as she stated that all she could do was hope my body didn't break down.

I got to understand Femryn’s Jolt better. Initially, thought it was a spell that pushed or pulled anything I desired, but Darya made me understand that femryn’s jolt didn't work on objects or people, but rather on the space surrounding them.

Darya also explained the explosion spell too. According to her, it was the result of clashing the push and pull forces of Femryn’s Jolt.

As I tried to grasp the concept of space, I discovered that it was something I wasn't familiar with. Initially, I thought it was just the emptiness that surrounded us, only to discover that there was a lot more to it. Darya tried to explain it to me based on the questions I asked her, but my understanding was vague in general. Sometimes it seemed easy a concept, and other times, it was just impossible to understand. I wasn't worried, I knew I would be conversant with it in time.

My day-to-day routine was pretty much the same, spending most of it training and studying. Darya refused to teach me new spells as she complained that my body couldn't even handle the ones at my disposal. So far, five spells were mine to utilize, and Darya and I had a funny argument over the names I conferred to the spells as she mocked that I was terrible with names. She was opinionated on names that symbolized the effect of the spell, and I just wanted something that sounded cool. Thankfully we found a common ground, though it was heavily based on Darya’s opinion.

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Though she suggested I discard the name ‘Femryn’s Jolt’, since I used it collectively for two spells, I didn't. Rather I modified it. For its pull effect, I called it Femryns Jolt—Attraction. I called Its push effect Femryn’s Jolt—Repulsion, and the explosion was called Femryn’s Jolt—Negation. We didn’t have any issues with Realm Slip so we left it as it was. For the last spell which trapped spells, I called it Hollow Shield.

Though I trained every day to improve in whatever area I could, I knew I still had a long way to go. As Darya said, my body couldn't handle the spells at my disposal, and I didn't forget that they were killing me slowly. Attraction, Repulsion, and Hollow Shield drained a lot of mana from me, and the destructive power of negation could only be harnessed once since I would pass out on a second attempt. The spells were very powerful, but they weren't ideal for me in a battle scene.

The three of us finished eating at almost the same time. Evren went to see the High Lord as Yukina and I headed to the training grounds. Upon arriving, we encountered an unusual sight—a lot of people gathered, nobles included.

“I knew something wasn't right,” I said to Darya through our mental connection.

“I guess you are right,” she replied.

I had never seen such many people gathered on the training grounds, and it didn't look like they were there to train. Most of them occupied the upper level, east of the ground since it was the only area that provided spectators' seating.

Yukina walked close to me and whispered in my ear,

“What's going on?”

“We are about to find out,” I said to her, still bewildered.

I saw my mother in the distance, as she waved her hands with a smile on her face. Before I knew it, we were already an arm's length away from her.

“What's happening? Why are all these people gathered here?”

Mom packed her loose hair, tying it into a ponytail while she spoke to me.

“They are here to watch us train, I guess.”

“No, something else is happening because we train every day and only a very few people watch the sessions,” Yukina snapped.

Mom heaved,

“Okay, I’ll tell you. So, I asked Hastled and Syra for help in creating a barrier during our session today. I guess word got out, and everyone here is present to witness why a barrier is needed during a training session.”

“That’s the same thing I was about to ask,” I voiced.

“Today’s session is going to be very different and a bit more intense. If I’m being honest, it's not a training, but rather, a deathmatch. I am going to try to kill you guys, and I expect the same.”

I was too stunned to speak, and I was sure Yukina felt the same way. Mom walked closer to us and patted our heads,

“Give it everything you've got, I won't go easy so I expect both of you to do the same.”

I didn't still understand what was happening, but the questions could be saved for later as I watched Mom draw out her swords. That was the signal for Hastled and Syra as a dome of fire blanketed the grounds.

Everything was unfolding before my eyes but I was still in denial which didn't last long as I was thrown off my feet and slammed hard against the walls of the ground. I found it difficult to breathe as my breathing was limited to painful wheezing. I knew I had broken a few ribs as I stared at a sizable rock laying beside me. Instinctively, Yukina assumed a defensive stance in front of me. Mom couldn’t care less, charging at Yukina at a frightening speed. Lightning crackled all over her body as she approached, I barely kept up with her speed until she engaged Yukina. My eyes couldn't keep up anymore, and my ears did its best to compensate. All I could hear was the sounds of their swords clashing as their movements were defined in blurs.

I didn't intend on just being a spectator. I wanted to join Evren, but my broken ribs didn't even let me get past standing, I had never felt such excruciating pain before.

“You need to get used to situations like this. How quickly you figure out solutions, might just be what keeps you alive on the battlefield. Come on, the grey domain, quickly.”

I didn’t think that the grey domain was an outright solution to my problem, so it didn't cross my mind to activate it when I got injured. I remembered Darya telling me clearly that the grey domain was simply a form of perception, but I also knew that the things I was able to do with the grey domain were outside the limits of non-casters. I did as I was told, thoughts about the effects of the grey domain could wait.

Surprisingly, the grey domain did the trick. The pain was gone. I picked up my sword and joined the fight. Thanks to the grey domain, their movements were a lot more readable.

I swung my sword in my mother's direction and in a swift motion, she drew out her second sword which was sheathed to meet mine. So far, the only spell she’d used was lightning, and that was to boost her speed but she was so good at it.

“You said my mother was a lot stronger than she is perceived to be right? I guess we are about to find out.”

“I really have a bad feeling about this,” Darya replied.

ELIORA AYLING

I had to keep telling myself that what I was doing was for the best, even though I literally had to kill my children. I wasn't so sure that they had similar Feel characteristics with mine since our mana attributes were completely different, but there were signs as Edger pointed out. I wasn't confident and left to myself, I would have left their awakening to fate’s hands.

I bit my lip, and said to myself,

“You really are the worst parent.”

Facing Svan and Yukina, I could easily read the confusion on their faces. Sometimes, I found it difficult to believe that they were my children, they grew up so well, thanks to Edger. Strength-wise, they were exceptional too. Though I felt I had this fight under control, it was still within the scope of possibilities that I could lose. The only clear advantage I felt l had was that I had a pretty good understanding of their abilities.

Using their hesitance to my advantage, I slammed Svan against the wall with a rock. I had to incapacitate him first because his ability was a pain to deal with. Using lightning to boost my speed, I charged at Yukina. Our swords clashed. I had to admit, that she was an excellent sword wielder. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find an opening. Her speed matched mine and on some occasions, she was even faster.

Svan recovered a lot quicker than I had expected. I knew I did enough to make sure he was injured and I knew he couldn't heal any physical damage to his body, so I was quite surprised to see him join the fight. Luckily, I was able to react just in time to stop his sword.

If my deductions were right, I wouldn't have to worry about Svan’s spatial abilities if I stayed too close to either him or Yukina. For me to do that, I have to depend on sword combat but I would eventually be overwhelmed if I kept up with it.

The lightning tendrils I cloaked myself in began to disappear like it was being sucked away. I knew it was Yukina’s doing—Phantom Steal, as she called it. I remembered her saying she had improved it and could do new things with it. What she'd just done had to be the improvements she talked about because I could remember clearly that she only used it to cut through conjured spells before now. From the corner of my left eye, I could see Svan's approach. Their Synergy had improved a lot. Though they didn't say anything to each other, they knew what they were doing. Phantom Steal slowed me down enough, creating an opportunity for Svan to land a clean strike. I didn't have enough time to change my position, but luckily, I could react just in time. I told them that this was a deathmatch, but they didn't still see it that way. Svan would have gone for my head if I was an enemy, instead, he aimed at my arm.

I discarded the lightning and reinforced my arm with ice. It cracked, but it didn't shatter. Svan withdrew his sword immediately, as he didn't want to see his sword frozen. My problems were far from over. Almost immediately, Yukina landed a blow on my belly. She hit me so hard that I was thrown a few feet in the air.

“This is bad,” I said inwardly.

I had failed at keeping a close distance with Yukina, and I knew what was coming next. Everything was happening so fast. To make things worse, I couldn't do so much airborne. Suddenly I felt a force throw me back in Yukina’s direction. I clad my body in ice as a precaution, but it was futile.

My eyes widened in shock, as a searing pain accompanied by the cold of steel went through my stomach. I fell on my knees. My ice armor couldn't stop Yukina’s blade. It was a mistake on my part, I forgot her Phantom Steal was still active. Yukina wore a shocked expression on her face. She thought that somehow, I would have avoided her sword. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words formed. Although not anticipating her Phantom Steal was careless on my part, there wasn’t much I would have done.

My nexus quaked, and slowly, I became overwhelmed by a familiar feeling. I was aware of what was happening to me, but I didn't have any control over it. I couldn't feel any other emotion, just the desire to kill. My senses were heightened and I felt a surge of strength. I drew out Yukina’s sword from my stomach and watched the wound heal.

The shocked expression on her face remained as she assumed a defensive stance. I stared at her and smiled. I knew who she was, she was my daughter but there was a strong urge within me to go feral and rip her apart. No matter how hard I tried to resist, I couldn't. I tossed her sword to her, and just as she caught it, I charged.