“Another failure,” Ravina muttered again. She sighed and sank back into the comfortable chair, the movement causing the massive piles of blackened dust to flicker in the air. She sighed again, holding up a hand and watching the dust collect on it. “κενός, voided mana particles,” she mused. She inched her fingers over the palm of her hand, mushing up the silky material. The κενός never stuck together; like dry sand, it flowed freely, yet there was an undeniable bond between the particles.
“Gawhh,” she groaned as she rose and tossed the dust away, watching it fall unnaturally. The dust didn’t respond to the whims of nature or the flow of air; instead, it was tied to something unseen by both eyes and the science of man. “And to make matters worse, there is an entire wing of the tower dedicated to the study of this useless dust!” She rubbed her head, transferring the black dust from her hand to her forehead, leaving streaks behind.
She started pacing around the library’s private study, ruined by her constant experiments, casting every vibrant color dull and black. “And I'm not getting anywhere…” she muttered, clenching her teeth as her pace quickened. Faster and faster she walked, until eventually, she stopped just before a mirror. She raised a hand, using two fingers to pull down her right lower eyelid. Then, with a snort, she let out a chuckle. “What the hell,” she smiled at her blackened face, smeared with κενός. “Okay,” she said after a while.
“That’s enough for today,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck as she turned to collect her things. “I suppose I should take a break.” She hummed as she packed her bag. “I suppose I should stop going to the dungeon as well.” It had already been a month since she last went into the raid. After a second trip with a cart, she had more than enough material for her research—or at least it should have been if it hadn’t all turned into the black dust of failure.
She also didn’t want to go back right now anyway, because for some reason, her usual hunting grounds were becoming more and more crowded—odd, considering that the Eternal Ruins were always avoided due to the high risk and low reward. Yet for some reason, groups were touring the place more and more, and raids had become an almost daily activity. She could always try a different dungeon, but she enjoyed the atmosphere past the third level.
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So, with a break in mind, she decided to stop her diving. After all, it was mostly for fun. She had already tested her magic enough. As if to demonstrate this thought, she twisted her hand ahead of her, picking up all the dust from the room and crushing it into a perfectly round ball, sealing it with a thin layer of everdry mana. Plucking the ball from the air, she looked at it—the surface was shiny enough to reflect light. She mused at the pretty thing as she thought about what to do next.
“Well…” As if signaled by her voice, the door burst open with a violent thud. Like a surprised cat, Ravina jumped from her spot and landed on a table.
Betsy Cain walked in proudly, calling out into the room, “Bitch, we're going out!” The petite girl with curly hair blinked, her brows knitting as she looked around, spotting Ravina standing on the table. “Whatcha doing there?”
“What am I doing?” Ravina blinked out an answer. “What are you doing bursting into a room like a troll?”
“Troll!” Betsy took a step back in shock, but that expression only lasted a blink of an eye. She stepped forward. “Listen here, I am a delicate flower of our group.” She raised her hand quickly, pointing her index finger to the sky. “Sheila may be our rose, but I'm still the next best thing.” She then struck a playful pose, leaving Ravina to watch with an awkward smile.
“Right,” Ravina relented, unwilling to point out that the girl before her was actually the group's little menace. “So what do you want?”
Betsy nodded with a smile. “Well, our little rose is a bit down, so we gotta cheer her up.” She rushed forward, grabbing Ravina under her arm. “So it's going to be girls' night! Besides, we haven't seen you in forever.”
Despite Ravina’s protest, she allowed herself to be led out of the library and was actually looking forward to this sudden girls' night that the hyper little thing proposed.