YUKINA AYLING

I ran my mother through with my sword and stood in denial as I watched her fall to her knees. A surprise, one I didn’t imagine. Although that was fatal under normal circumstances, I didn’t panic. I knew it wasn’t enough to kill her.

For the first time, I took a proper look at her face, and I couldn't describe the expression she was wearing in a single word. It was a rough mixture of pain and disbelief, and I could have sworn that I saw her lip curl up in a faint smile.

“This is just not right,” I bemoaned.

Her face looked a lot like mine, maybe she looked just like me when she was younger. I vividly remembered all the while I saw her in my dreams, waking up to ponder about who she was. Then, it became evident that the dreams weren't just dreams, rather they were fragments of my memories long lost. I remembered hearing the words from Lord Edger, “Yukina, this is your mother, Eliora,” and for the first time in a long while, I cried. I finally found a missing piece of my life I had searched for a long time. With the passing of each day, I increasingly grew attached to her. She wasn't in most parts of my life, but it didn't stop me from loving her.

I wanted to apologize to her, but before I had the chance to, she drew out my sword and tossed it over to me. Her demeanor changed and before I could react any further, she came at me at a frightening speed. Thankfully, my battle instincts took over just in time to meet her already-swung sword. I could easily tell that her strike came with even more power and I was lucky enough to still have my sword in my hand. I couldn't anticipate her next move, but precautionary, I strengthened my body with my stillbring. The precaution paid off as two boulders clattered me in between, fast enough to catch me before I could react.

The pain I felt was wild but my body was intact. I couldn't catch a break as a continuous rock formation launched me upwards, crashing me against Hastled’s barrier. I felt the burn because it pinned me against the barrier, but I was still trying to get a hold of my spatial orientation since everything was happening so quickly. Mom ran up the rock formation almost instantly, sheathing her swords just before she reached me. Her fists were covered in fire as she landed repeated blows on my face. At some point, I thought I would go crazy bearing the pain I felt. She knew I could still feel pain despite my stillbring and she wanted to inflict as much as she could on me. Even though I had a high pain threshold, I still had my limits so I had to break free from her as quickly as possible.

Luckily, Svan came to my aid, as he used his spell to pull her away from me. I couldn't tell what he planned to do, but the events that happened after he pulled Mom away from me left me in utter shock. Just as he had dragged her towards him with an invisible pull force, she’d already conjured ice spelliforms ready to take effect the moment he released the intent of his spell. Svan didn't anticipate what came his way. Mom had a pretty good understanding of how Svan's ability worked and used that knowledge against him. Svan tried to swing his sword in her direction but was met with an unpleasant surprise. All I could do was helplessly stare as the ice daggers pierced through him. I wouldn't have had to worry about the first two daggers that pierced him, but the third one went right through his chest. The disbelief in my eyes knew no bounds.

“Did Mom just kill Svan?” I muttered as he fell to the ground. I screamed so loudly and at some point, the sound of my voice was no longer audible to my ears. I found myself running in their direction as tears flowed freely from my eyes. Mom turned her attention to me and our eyes met. In the spur of that moment, I began to doubt if she was my mother. The woman in front of me was something else, no mother would do what she just did to her child. I was burning with so much anger, and I couldn't think straight. I wanted to do to her what she did to Svan though I knew the odds were stacked against me.

A fireball came at me but I wasn't fazed since I was already armed with Phantom Steal. All it took was a few swings of my sword and the fire dissipated. Mom appeared in front of me immediately after, parrying my sword with hers. We had a few exchanges before she sent me crashing against the walls of the ground. Debris from the crash fell on me as I struggled to stand to my feet.

“This isn't fair, she is just better at everything,” I bemoaned. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to, and though the rage still fueled me, it wouldn't last forever. Finally, on my feet, I wiped the blood off the corner of my mouth. I had nothing else to offer, other than resilience and a stubborn effrontery. Her battle skill was brilliant, and she always seemed to be one step ahead of me. I felt that she just wanted to beat me at my own game since whenever I triggered Phantom Steal, she didn’t cast any attack spells, rather she used reinforcement spells to boost her speed, engaging me in a sword fight. There was no way of knowing for sure what she was planning on doing so I had to be prepared for whatever came my way.

I shook in fear upon hearing the sounds of lightning crashing around me and a few just missing me by a hair’s width. I had to evade incoming spells, and still defend myself against her blade. I was slowly burning out, drawing closer to the losing line. I concentrated most of my stillbring on strengthening my body against spells I couldn't dispel with Phantom Steal. It meant I couldn't keep up with her speed. At some point, I didn’t pay attention to the details of my techniques anymore. I just swung my sword against any spell I could meet, or to meet her sword if I could. I dragged on until all I could do was take all the hits without putting any tangible defense against them. I had been tunnel-visioned on my fight, trying to hold on for as much as I could, and didn't even notice how much damage that could have been. The training ground was wrecked and Halsted’s barrier was barely hanging on. For a moment, I wanted to feel proud given that I was able to withstand all the damage done, but that was a luxury I couldn't afford. My eyes met Svan’s body as it lay motionless on the ground. I was so tired and the anger in me stopped burning. A wave of sad emotions washed over me and tears flowed from my eyes again. I didn't have the strength to fight anymore. My sword felt heavy in my hand so I let it fall.

Mom approached me, there was no hostility in her eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked in a burdened voice.

Her response came in whispers,

“I am so sorry sweetheart.”

Those words felt like a ripple on still water and before I could react further, I felt the cold of steel inside my body. I looked down in shock staring at the sword that went through my chest. I was still conscious and was certain her sword pierced my nexus and through my heart. I couldn't even heal myself even if I wanted to, so it meant that the end was near. I wanted to talk but instead of words, blood spilled from my mouth. Mom pulled her sword from my chest as I dropped to the ground.

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My breath was shallow, I was slowly slipping out of the realm of consciousness. It was difficult to tell what state I found myself in. I couldn’t see or feel anything around me, but somehow I knew I was still alive. I felt something sipping out of my pierced nexus but I couldn't tell what it was. All I could tell was that it took different courses spreading throughout my body. Though it was spreading, I could feel its concentration around my nexus. My pierced nexus came alive again, and my wounds began to heal spontaneously. The feeling in my body was changing in different ways, and slowly, I regained consciousness.

I got to my feet with ease, the stab wound had disappeared, and I looked completely fine. I was still struggling to understand what had just happened to me. I could still feel whatever sipped out of my nexus inside me, and I had no control over it. All I could tell was that It had a strong interaction with my already-healed nexus, and was responsible for the changes I felt in my body. My sense of perception was heightened, and every emotion within me was suppressed. There was an irresistible urge to trigger my stillbring, and I gave in almost easily. There was a second urge to kill my mom who stood in front of me, but I didn’t give in to that, I couldn't.

Upon triggering my stillbring the flow of mana in my body felt different, I felt like it was being guided by what was released by my nexus, and I had no control over that too. I intended to channel mana to use my speed stillbring but noticed something different. Manifesting a stillbring required a precise interaction of mana between my nexus and my brain. I was proficient in all three stillbrings but just couldn't manifest two, let alone all three simultaneously. The difficulty did not stem from strain or the toll it could take on me. Rather, it was because stillbrings manifest from a linear mana flow. Trying to manifest two stillbrings at the same time felt like trying to inhale and exhale in the context of a single breath. It looked like an impossible feat, but I’ve always had a lingering feeling that it could be achieved.

That feeling became a reality. Whatever it was that spilled from my nexus created diversions from linear mana flow that manifested my stillbrings and all three of them came alive at the same time. The surprise was written all over my face and Mom noticed it. I looked at Mom, puzzled, “Don’t tell me this was her plan all along,” I said inwardly.

SVAN CHORYTH

“Am I dead?” I asked myself as I gazed at my lifeless body. It was strange looking at myself from a third-person perspective and what was even weirder was that, as an observer, I couldn't see myself in any shape or form. The last thing I remembered was being daggered in the chest by ice spikes. I turned around as my gaze pursued every direction, hoping to find Darya but was left disappointed.

The whole area was grim and appeared as a dimly lit forest. My body lay in a medium-sized clearing, surrounded by twisted trees one would easily mistake for giant skeletal fingers. It was dead silent except for the eerie howl of a distant unseen beast that seemed to disturb the tranquil at intervals. The air was thick with an arid scent of decay, and heavy mist clinging to the ground which was covered by a carpet of decaying leaves.

I struggled to make sense of the whole situation and became increasingly convinced that I was dead. I looked at my body again and my eyes were met with another surprise. My body became transparent and I could see everything beneath my skin. I didn't get excited or taken aback as I stared curiously at what my eyes beheld.

I saw what my nexus looked like; glossy, purple, and crystalline. I took a closer look and noticed it was cracked, and that was my mother’s doing.

I couldn’t see how my nexus processed mana but I could see how mana flowed throughout my body through various channels. The flow of mana grew weaker with each passing moment and It wasn’t difficult to understand since there was damage to my nexus. Just before the flow of mana stagnated, something happened. My nexus seemed to crack even further, and instead of the mana which had a purple hue to it, something black seeped out.

I watched curiously as the black hue with a lot more vigor, latched onto the feeble flowing purple one. The two colors didn't mix to birth a new single color, rather, they interlocked with each other and flowed in the same path. It was fascinating to watch, and I almost forgot that everything was taking place inside my body.

The mana that flowed in my body came alive again, thanks to the black hue which seemed to be in control. I couldn’t tell what happened, what the black hue did to reinvigorate my mana flow wasn't clear to my eyes. My injuries healed, leaving no scars and my body was seemingly lying in a perfect state. My nexus which looked like it could shatter at any time held still, but didn't return to its original state. The cracks remained but everything else was fine. There was a constant interaction between the black hue and my nexus which I believed held it in place.

“So this is what makes one an Arcane?” I mumbled.

Just after I spoke, My body disappeared, and the scenery changed.

I found myself sitting in a dark room, I couldn't see anything but felt the edge of the table in front of me. It was a narrow table, about the same width as the chair I sat on. I heard someone’s finger snap and a candle stick was lit. The radiance from the candle fell on Darya’s face as she sat on the other edge of the table.

“You love to put on a show, don't you?” I asked her.

“You can say that,” she replied.

“What I saw earlier, was it your doing?”

“Yes. Some things are better off seen than explained.”

I nodded,

“I agree, but you didn't have to scare me like that, I thought I was dead.”

“That was exactly what I wanted you to think. But you still have to understand something, that's why I brought you here. This thing you have is great, but your body won't hold for much longer.”

“Why is that? Isn't this supposed to be the remedy? You saw how it fixed me up, didn't you?”

“Yes, but it doesn't affect sources, just like it couldn't fix your nexus. It reacts when you are in distress or when you engage in combat and It acts on mana, maximizing its efficiency, and utilizing everything at its disposal to keep you alive. Makes you emotionless with literally no blind spot. Now you've got two abilities of contrasting nature at your disposal, and it's contrasting nature, you would experience when you use your stillbring. Normally it’s impossible to wield both of them, but you can now. Everything comes with a price and this price, you pay with your life force. If I wasn't here, you wouldn't face such problems. My presence alone was a burden on your life force already, and now this... I am sorry.”

“We don't have to go over this again. I just prefer to remain optimistic, so we will leave it at that.”

There was a guilt-ridden smile on her face, but I chose to ignore it. My mind was occupied with something else as I thought hard about my nexus and the new substance it released. I was convinced that it wasn't my Feel. Based on Darya’s explanation and the clearest understanding I have, the Feel was an integral part of the mana refined and stored in the nexus. This was something different and I couldn't wait to ask my mother about it.

The scenery faded again and I found myself lying in my bedroom. It was daybreak which meant I was out for long hours. I got out of my bed and walked to the mirror, just to be sure my body was intact, and surprisingly, it was. I didn’t experience any weird sensations from inside me either. My nexus seemed to be fine even though I knew it had cracks all over it. My eyes looked exactly like my mother’s, and somehow, I was uncomfortable with it. The blue hue to it became brighter and would easily catch anyone's attention in a single glance.

There was a knock on my door as I turned in its direction. I had a rough idea about who was behind the door and I stood waiting in anticipation, hoping I made the right guess, then the door creaked open.