Third Moon, Third Spark Day, Morning
“MISS LOREH—”
Aida dropped to the floor at the yell, landing hard on her back. “May I please speak with you?”
“Yes, of course,” Aida said quickly, dusting herself off as she stood up. She hadn’t heard Professor Kozu over the shouts and cheers of her classmates as she engaged in a handstand battle with Pritchard - no mana, only legs as they tried to kick each other over - while they waited for Professor Gemma to show up for Physical Training class.
Kozu was standing with Gemma at the entrance of the gym, concern tingeing their amusement. Aida exchanged quick glances with her classmates, but everybody looked clueless. Pritchard had also returned to his feet, and gave her a shrug.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m going to pull you from class this morning, Aida,” Professor Kozu said quietly, laying has hand towards the door to invite her to exit. “We need your help with something. I’ll explain as we head to the Healing ward.”
Aida looked at Professor Gemma for more clues, but Gemma just nodded encouragingly at her. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Kozu didn’t speak until the gym door had closed behind them, leaving only the two of them in the hallway. “This is a bit of an awkward situation, and for that I apologize.”
“What’s wrong?” Aida followed Kozu half a step behind as he began walking.
“…it’s about Ezra.”
“What’s going on with Ezra?” Aida asked, her stomach twisting. “Why is he in the Healing ward?”
“He’s been going overboard on a certain type of training,” Kozu said quietly, still walking at a sedate pace. Aida wanted to hurry to the Healing ward, but she knew she had to hear what he said. “Professor Bruce has been guiding him, but apparently Ezra is being unnecessarily reckless. Bruce finally put his foot down when he saw the state of him before class today, and has put him under Healer Luk’s supervision. Levi Ashet has advised us that you might be the only person to break through his stubbornness…for his health.”
I don’t know about that. Aida crushed the doubt into the back of her mind. “What kind of training was he doing? Is that why he’s been looking so…tired lately?”
Kozu stopped outside of the Healing ward, lowering his voice so there was no chance of the occupants in the ward hearing them. “Bruce has been teaching him how to meditate…to potentially visit the higher planes.” Aida’s eyebrows shot up. Higher planes?
Kozu nodded at Aida’s surprised reaction. “Precisely. Bruce said he felt compelled to help Ezra, because he threatened to try to learn how to do it on his own. His rationale was that if he guides Ezra, the chance of him accidentally…detaching his soul from the mortal plane would lessen.”
Detaching his soul? “And what happened?” Aida asked tightly. Kozu shook his head, his expression softening.
“Don’t worry, he’s still here…Bruce called an emergency intervention because it looks like Ezra’s spirit has been overexerted, and…we’re hoping you can convince him to stop with his efforts. Or at least…slow down.”
“Why is he doing this anyway?”
Kozu chewed on his words for a bit before he sighed. “I think it would be best coming from him.” He placed his hand on the door, and when Aida nodded he opened it, allowing her inside. “Healer Luk and I will give you two some privacy.”
Aida stepped through the door, giving the ward a cursory glance. The curtains separating the beds were open, and Ezra was in the middle bed, his eyes downcast. Healer Luk stepped out from the small kitchen attached to the ward, giving Aida a nod and Ezra a worried glance, before joining Kozu in the hallway.
“Professor Bruce says he’ll come as soon as he can to answer any questions,” Luk said quietly before Kozu shut the door. “Stay calm. We’ll come in if things get out of hand.”
Aida strode towards Ezra’s bed, catching a spare stool on her way. She thunked it down next to him and sat, staring.
He definitely looked worse than before: the dark circles she had noticed during the picnic were heavier now, distinct bags drooping on his cheeks. His hair, originally a vibrant silver, now looked limp and lifeless; just simple white strands that looked almost translucent. His jawline had been something any model would envy, and now it looked skeletal.
Ezra slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers, before flicking away.
“So…Kozu told me a bit about what happened, but obviously I don’t understand everything he said. Can you explain?” Aida asked softly, trying to keep her voice from trembling. She waited, matching her breathing to his. His mana was sluggish, unresponsive - and pliable. There was none of that resistance to him that she was familiar with: firm, strong, unwavering.
Finally, Ezra let out a shaky breath. Even his voice was weak and wispy. “When I was out in the Deep Western Woods with Class 1 on that assignment…”
Aida braced herself, preparing for the worst. First Sue, now Ezra…what happened to him?
“…I felt the same mana that attacked us before the Festival recess. It didn’t attack me directly this time, but I felt its presence as the surroundings shifted around us.”
Aida blinked, trying to process what he said. Ezra continued speaking, his speech increasing in urgency. “I’m certain it was the same thing that attacked us. So I started thinking: it’s most certainly one being wreaking all this havoc, so if we could find this being, then we can finally accost it. But the dilemma is that we can’t find it.”
Aida nodded slowly, listening to his voice, feeling his mana. What he said was what she was thinking, so that was nothing new. But his mana, despite taking on more vibrancy as he talked, was still sloppy.
“So I started reading the ancient texts on Ascension Meditation, and it confirmed the modern myths we were told as children: if one achieves Ascension, they are connected to the world, so they can witness everything happening at once…”
“Hold on just a moment,” Aida objected, his words finally sinking in. “So when Kozu said you were trying to ‘visit a higher plane’ - he was serious? He wasn’t speaking in metaphor?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“…what are you imagining when you say this?” Ezra asked warily.
“I don’t know, but he specifically said something about ‘detaching’ your soul from the mortal plane. And to me, that sounds like death.” Aida glared at him.
“I - that would only occur if the practitioner wasn’t skilled enough…” Ezra trailed off as Aida’s glare intensified.
“I notice you’re not denying Kozu’s description of what you’re doing,” Aida said lowly. She took care to keep her mana under control, aware that her heart was racing. It was being obnoxious; it was thrumming in her ears, so it made it difficult for her to hear Ezra’s hushed justifications.
“That is a risk, but Professor Bruce has been training me so that doesn’t—“
“So why is it that he decided he had to call an ‘emergency intervention’ to get you to stop - doing whatever you’ve been doing?” Aida demanded.
Ezra’s head slumped again. “…I didn’t listen to his warnings.”
“What warnings?” Aida struggled to keep her voice down, aware that Kozu and Luk were still lingering outside the room. She appreciated their courtesy in keeping their mana muted, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.
“I’ve been practicing the meditation techniques outside of his supervision,” Ezra mumbled.
Aida waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. She didn’t have enough background knowledge to understand everything that happened, but based on how seriously the professors were taking it…that probably meant Ezra came far too close to severing his connection to the mortal realm.
“And why did you do that? When you had the option of practicing safely under Professor Bruce’s supervision?” Aida asked softly.
“…because the longer it takes for me to be able to get to that level, the more havoc the being can wreak,” Ezra replied just as softly.
Aida leaned back and crossed her arms, holding her emotions in check. “…and why can’t Professor Bruce do the same search you’re taking upon yourself? If he knows how to Ascend safely.”
“Because he never interacted as closely with the being’s mana as I have,” Ezra said quietly. “He’s been hunting for it during his meditations, but…when you’re in the Ascended state, everything is…foggy. If you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, then…it’s hard to find it.”
Aida let out a hissing breath. Of course there’s a mechanic to find The Evil.
“He’s been trying,” Ezra repeated. “But despite his experience in the Ascended state, he is still blinded by all the minutiae…and I have a better chance of finding it, because I just have to search for that identifiable mana.”
Aida buried her head in her hand, thinking. Ezra’s willing to risk his life to find it. This is the thing we all need. And he’s a main character, with the best mana control out of everybody, so he should be protected by plot armor.
But what if he’s not? He’s already wrecked his mana enough for the teachers to actually stop him.
An insidious thought snaked to the forefront of her mind as she argued with herself.
This isn’t a game. Chills ran down Aida’s spine.
A significant part of her had clung to the idea that there was still some game logic to the way events were unfolding. That had allowed her to take a step back from being led astray by her emotions - worries about everyone’s safety, concerns about the destruction of civilization, fear of what that would mean for her future.
But now, if she took an even further step back - if she treated everything like the game it was, that would mean she had to completely divorce herself from her emotions. She had to see everybody as game pieces. And with Ezra willingly offering himself as a pawn - she found she didn’t have it in her to commit to that kind of commander mindset.
“You’re so STUPID.” Ezra flinched at her shout. “Is your life worth so little that you’ll sacrifice yourself just for a chance that you’ll find the monster that’s causing all these attacks?”
“My life isn’t worth more than everyone else’s,” Ezra protested. For some reason, his response infuriated Aida even more.
“If you die, the world will lose one of the strongest Metal practitioners it has ever seen, and guarantee even more people will die because you aren’t here to protect them.” Aida stabbed a finger into Ezra’s chest at every emphasis, causing the boy to cover his body with his bony hands. “Even if you can’t find the monster, just because you’re here, you have the chance to protect the people who can’t protect themselves.”
Aida glared at Ezra, fuming. He looked so small and vulnerable right now, curled protectively around himself as he tried to shield himself from her anger. “But fighting is a reactive response…this is the only way we can proactively find the monster…”
“That might be true,” Aida allowed, her voice icy. “But think about it: none of us know anything right now. Based on Professor Bruce’s expert assessment, he thinks you’re being unnecessarily risky to the point you might accidentally kill yourself. And honestly, look at yourself! You barely have a grasp of your mana! I can manhandle you right now!”
Aida’s mana swarmed Ezra, completely enveloping him and quenching his feeble tendrils as he tried to stop her. She pulled back a split second later, terrified to realize how weak he really was.
They stared at each other, the fear reflected in both their faces.
“Please…please stop doing whatever you’ve been doing,” Aida whispered, not trusting herself to keep her voice steady at normal speaking volume. “Please just…take care of yourself. It’s not worth gambling your life away.”
She stood up with a clatter, knocking her stool over in her haste to exit the Healing ward.
Aida flew through the door, ignoring Kozu and Luk standing on either side as she ran towards the staircase. She didn’t stop running until she reached the third floor stairwell, certain that she was alone.
She blinked the angry tears out of her eyes, plopping herself on the steps.
Witnessing Ezra’s weakness - as a result of pushing himself too hard - enraged Aida beyond words. It’s not a noble thing to do! It’s just stupid!
Taking unnecessary risks - he already had Professor Bruce’s support in learning the dangerous technique, and all he needed was time. But no, for whatever reason Ezra decided the smart choice was to martyr himself - what on earth is he thinking?!
“Good job.”
Aida swiped the lingering tears away with her wrist as she looked up at Kozu standing over her.
“I think you convinced Ezra to slow down.”
“He’d better,” Aida muttered. “He’s so dumb.”
“Just like every other teenage boy,” Kozu chuckled as he leaned against the banister. “I think you’re a good influence on him.”
“One hopes.” Kozu’s lips quirked at Aida’s terse responses.
“It’s true. Ezra’s precise mana control, though commendable, I would say is a result of him repressing his emotions. You are probably the first person who presented Ezra with…unfamiliar feelings. Feelings that knocked him off balance. Feelings that made him irrational. This may be what he needs to become an even more powerful practitioner.”
“I don’t know about that,” Aida said flatly. “It sounds like he started pursuing Ascension Meditation after we broke up.”
“Of course,” Kozu said courteously. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to stroke your ego. I’m not saying I know the specifics of what happened between you two either, but what I have observed during classes is…interesting, to say the least.”
Aida looked up at him skeptically, convinced he really was trying to stroke her ego. He smiled.
“Let’s just say…Ezra’s still in a state of fluctuation. He just needs time to mature.”