When Cen came to, she made Kur’s anger look like an amicable disagreement between two team leads.

Nar hadn’t known she could be so loud.

She had Tuk almost in tears, apologizing. She made him swear that he was going to be training every single night into the AMs, and informed him that from now on, she would be personally supervising him. This was pending his full recovery, and she would be the one to deem him ready to start practicing again.

Eventually though, she relented, and congratulated him on his success.

Fortunately, after only a day, Kur and Cen both agreed that Tuk was well enough for their party to keep going. But he was, under no circumstances, allowed to join in on any of the fights.

“And if I even see the shine of a ring, I’m taking them!” Cen threatened.

An outsider might have found the scene funny. The tall, lanky trugger nodding and swearing of his good behavior, while the small lengos waved a tiny finger at him.

Not Nar though.

He felt for Tuk. The new Cen was terrifying, and he’d do anything to stay in line.

And so did Tuk.

For the next two fights, he stayed put, and not a sound came out of him.

He was rewarded by Cen deciding that he was well enough to start practicing again, a few days later. And so, Tuk, Jul, Nar, and now Cen, spent their nights after dinner helping the trugger master his new [Aura] attack.

Slowly, he got it to fly right every time, and then, even more carefully, he got the hang of catching the ring back. And then, of throwing it back out again in the smooth, continuous way that he usually did.

Nar celebrated his success with him and the others. One, because it thoroughly made him happy to see Tuk succeed, and two, because Tuk’s good cheer was just impossible to resist. It spread across the party like a virus. Even Mul, taciturn, grumbling, in a permanent bad mood Mul, found himself roaring with laughter and slapping the trugger’s back with more intensity than Tuk was comfortable with.

However, at the back of his mind, Nar was worried.

The worry that had begun when Cen had first revealed her [Aura Projectile], and had afterwards fed greedily on the fact that none of the casters present at the battle had unlocked magic, was now becoming something that was near impossible to ignore. With Tuk’s new [Aura] attack, that worry had fully rooted itself in his brain. It was like a gnarly piece of wiring that no matter how much he pulled and cleared, still managed to get caught on to something else and stay firmly stuck to the pile.

No matter how much he rationalized it, or tried to logic his way into bullying the thought into submission, he couldn’t. He simply couldn’t let go of the vague idea that something was not right. That the whole [Aura] attribute non-sense was a surprise waiting to pileslide over his head, and smother him.

Why were they gaining [Aura], if not to use it? Why had Cen only become an effective caster after she had embraced her [Aura]? And Tuk was now heading for the same result. His ring had punched straight through the 4-inch armored shell of the soldier guardian. Not only on the way in, when the ring was supposedly at its strongest, but on the back as well, when it was at its weakest part of the flight.

If both Cen and Tuk had received an immense power boost by embracing their [Aura]s, who was to say it wouldn’t happen for him?

But the worst was yet to come.

“Hmm, everyone,” Kur called, one night, as they ate. “I have something that I need to tell you.”

“What did you do now?” Mul asked. “Finally caved and ate that second cracker?”

Kur glared at the brawler, but then he sighed, and shook his head.

“No. It’s something else. Something I’ve kept hidden from the rest of you.”

Nar sat up straighter at that.

“The truth is, and, this may not come as much as a surprise to the any of you, but the truth is, I too, have [Aura]. And I have a lot of it.”

Nar stared at him. Kur was right, he didn’t know if he was surprised at the revelation or not.

“I think that, by now, it would probably be better, if we all came clean with it,” Kur said, looking around. “I very much doubt that me, Cen and Tuk, are the only ones that have it.”

Silence descended upon the party, and for a moment, nobody spoke.

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“Fine,” Mul grunted. “I have it too.”

“Me as well,” Gad said.

“Yes,” Viy said, simply, not lifting her face to look up.

“Me too,” Jul said.

Kur looked at Nar, and after a deep breath, Nar nodded too.

That was it. Just like that, one secret was out.

“You’ve all had it?” Cen asked.

Nar grimaced. They had piled on her for keeping it secret, and yet, they had all done the same.

“I’m sorry, Cen,” Kur said. “It took me some time to get to grips with it. I’m sure it’s the same for everyone. After all, we all do want magic, and are worried what having [Aura] means for us.”

Cen frowned, but gave him a stiff nod.

“You’re saying this now, because Tuk can use his [Aura], right?” she asked the party leader.

Kur nodded. “It’s not fair on you to be the only one using [Aura], risking your path. Before, I figured there was no reason, or point in saying it. But now that we could all potentially learn to use it, I think it’s time to come clean.”

“I think the same,” Gad said. “I’m sorry, Cen. I should’ve come clean sooner.”

Cen crossed her arms, and considered the revelation.

“It’s okay,” she said eventually. “We didn’t know if it could be used. And even now, that we know, I don’t think anyone should be forced to do it. Like I said, I'm doing it for my own reasons.”

“I know,” Kur said. “For now, this is just a coming clean. A bring out of the secret. I won’t touch on this topic for a bit, and just see how things go, and what everyone decides to do about it. And whether to learn it, or not. But I thought that in the spirit of fairness, now that we know it's possible, that I should come clean. Is that okay by you, Cen?”

“Of course!” she said.

“Tuk?”

The trugger snorted. “I’m like Cen, I’m doing this because I want to. I never meant for it to become something that everyone has to do.”

But in the end, I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen, Nar thought.

How could they just rely on the two of them? Hide behind them? Also, did they even have a choice?

They had yet to bring down one of the enhanced soldier guardians by themselves, without Cen’s, or now Tuk’s, [Aura]. What if the enemy would just keep on getting stronger, and the only way through was by embracing their curse?

Or worse. What if there was no magic awaiting him after all?

What if [Aura] was all that he would ever get?

Sickening, painful, disgusting [Aura]?

To be fair, he still did not know the extent of his pardon. Would they be welcomed by the Crystal with open arms, or merely tolerated? The ones that had escaped their proper punishment in the cubeplants? They had no way of knowing.

“I’ll also not ask how much [Aura] everyone has,” Kur said. “That’s for people to reveal, or not, depending on whatever they decide. And for now, we’ll leave at that.”

That was a small relief to Nar. He wondered how the others would have reacted, had they known just how much [Aura] he had, and how he had come about it.

However, he would probably have to come clean about it at some point. And then, what argument could he use to refuse using his [Aura]? Especially when it was, probably, the most ready and easiest solution to his weak DPS?

Why are we even gaining it? Nar wondered. It still made no sense to him.

It flew in the face of “you are what you do”. Everything else, as evidenced by his new path, seemed to be properly governed by that tenet, so why was [Aura] the only exception. Why was it still being forced down their throats?

He didn’t know, but the question kept him up late that night.

From there, the Climb had continued with no more surprises.

On their twentieth fight since their forced break, according to Kur, who was keeping track, Nar managed to stop all the bolts for the first time. Every single one of the potentially hundred bolts that had been flung his way.

He had felt a sense of elation like no other, as he spun and danced, catching every single one of them. He had been so in control, so in tune with his senses and his attributes. For a moment, he had glimpsed the promise that Gad and Kur believed for his path, and it had been beyond words. He had felt so strong. So capable. Like he could truly contribute to the party, and one day come back down, even stronger, on his own.

That was also the fight where Kur let Tuk use his [Aura] again for the first time. And it went splendidly. Tuk’s ring flew gracefully over the soldier guardian and managed to catch the poisoner in the dark with its wide, flying arc. It had even caught one of the adjutant guardians and the soldier itself on its way back.

One hit, and he had ended the fight! Just like that. The second adjutant had run away, but no one had cared.

Tuk roared his triumph, and Nar ran to him and the two of them melted in a happy embrace. Jul hovered nearby, wiping her eyes, and Tuk dragged her in, and the three of them jumped and shouted while holding hands. Three happy crazy Climbers.

Cen wiped tears also. Mul grinned like a fool. And Kur and Gad looked on with solemn, but proud expressions, like parents, whose children had just done them proud.

Only Viy held back, but she faded from Nar’s mind as they celebrated. And celebrate they did, and for that night, at least, Nar forgot all about his [Aura].

For the first time, to both himself, and everyone’s delight, awe and horror, Nar and Mul ate two whole crackers. He felt delirious as he devoured it, spurred on by the cheering of the others. He enjoyed every bite, craved the moment he could swallow his food and chuck another piece of cracker into his mouth. The pleasure, the taste of it, was sublime. The act of eating had never felt so good in his entire life. But the moment he swallowed the last piece, the guilt and shock that followed were like a punch to the gut.

How could he have just eaten two months’ worth of food in less than a minute?

He felt sick.

“Don’t overthink it!” Tuk shouted, reading the angst in his expression. “It’s all part of it! We get stronger and we need more food to support it!”

Mul belched. “I stand by that! How else am I supposed to carry all that [Aura] around?”

That brought their laughter to a sudden stop. But only for a moment. It soon returned, even louder.

Yes, it definitely is heavy! Nar thought, as he laughed with the others, out of disbelief, confusion, and a little despair too. However, the night was too good for down cast spirits, and Tuk’s good cheer kept them going well into the night.

The moment Tuk had first used his [Aura] attack, and had nearly killed Nar twice, made the rounds again and again, to everyone’s roaring delight. The moment, which had been harrowing only a few days before, was now immortalized in the party’s history, with cheer and camaraderie.

More than that, it was a bond. One more, in a growing series of them. Each of them, ever so slightly, pushing forward the process of turning them from strangers, into a true party, and perhaps, even something more.