Mesmerised, Ash motioned to step forward, but glimpsed a crimson light with the corner of his eye. It was bright and hot, like the Inquisitor’s power. He could feel its warmth from all the way across the hallway. He turned away from Damien, and hurried towards this new, brighter, and more powerful source of mana like a moth to a flame.
On the girls’ side of the hallway, a single door was wide open, and Maya was sitting inside, just like Damien. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and beads of sweat occasionally rolled down her forehead. But none of those mattered to Ash – his gaze was fixed on the Celestial mana heart that was floating in front of her.
It was a deep, dark crimson colour on the outside, but Ash could see the bright and hot flames roaring within the crystal. Mana flowed from the heart to Maya like a river, fast and uncontained. While she was able to absorb about half of it, the remaining half spread around her room, even spilling into the hallway.
Ash stepped closer to her room’s door, his feet entering the knee-high crimson mana calmly floating in the hallway. A warmth crawled up his legs. He stretched his hand forward. The immense heat radiating from the mana heart touched his fingertips, causing him to quickly pull his hand back.
He couldn’t get any closer to that mana heart, even if he wanted to. He looked at Maya, wondering how she could even survive in such immense heat.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A voice startled him. He quickly turned around to see Fionna leaning against the wall by the entrance to the hallway. “It is to me,” She continued after a yawn, “Though I’m sure what you see is even more beautiful.”
“It’s breath taking.” He replied, then chuckled. “You scared me, sneaking up like that.”
Fionna raised her eyebrows. “I called your name a few times, Ash.” She tilted her head, narrowed her eyes, and pursed her lips. “You didn’t even respond.”
“Oh.” He hadn’t heard her at all. Was he so lost in thought? It was odd, he wasn’t usually so careless. “Sorry,” He awkwardly smiled. Fionna shrugged, “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re out of the hospital though.”
They stepped away from Maya’s room. “How long does it take to absorb a mana heart?” Ash asked as they left the dormitory. They walked towards the cafeteria with a comfortable pace, occasionally stopping and stepping aside to give way to large groups of mages, guards, and sometimes even military personnel.
“Depends on the Mana Heart and the person.” Fionna explained as they once again stepped aside to get out of the way of a large group of soldiers escorting a tall lady. She didn’t even spare a glance at them. Fionna shot her an annoyed look once they had passed. “I’m guessing Damien and Leon will finish absorbing their Mana Hearts tomorrow or the day after. Maya still has a way to go, Celestial Mana Hearts are wholly different issue – she needs to be incredibly careful.” She scowled, and folded her arms as her gaze followed the lady. “This place has become suffocating.” She whispered with such a low voice that even Ash barely heard her.
A few minutes later, they reached the cafeteria and picked a remote table to sit down after getting their lunches. “You wouldn’t know since you were in the hospital, but ever since the incident at the Auction House, the Tower’s been crowded like this.” Fionna explained, noticing Ash’s confusion as he watched the crowds. “Nobles are frequenting this place, bringing their guards and all. Word is, the Royal Prince was also seen, though the upperclassman I spoke to wasn’t entirely sure.”
Ash’s ears perked up. “The prince?” He asked, trying his best to keep his voice neutral. “Do the royals not come here often?” Was it really that odd to see the prince here? Both Princess Aoife and Prince Daith had come here after all. Sure, they had taken a more secluded path instead of going through the main entrance, but still, it seemed odd that just seeing one of them was such a big deal.
Fionna shrugged. “I don’t know.” She paused to take a sip out of her tea. “I also heard rumours that the Cult has begun moving again, ever since the Apostle escaped.” She leaned back on her chair, her gaze drifted off. “I can’t believe she got what she came for, and escaped…”
Ash lowered his gaze. It was because of him that the Apostle had gotten the chance to escape. He bit his tongue and kept silent.
“Oh, Professor Maple has also taken a break from teaching because of his wounds. He told me to return to the fields outside and continue with my practices.” She suddenly said, breaking the silence. “I’m heading there after we’re done here. You should come with me.” She scowled; a fire lit in her green eyes. “I couldn’t do anything when the Apostle attacked. I was useless, no, worse than that.” She hissed. “All I did was slow everyone down.”
Ash opened his mouth, but all he could think was that she was right. She was useless. But so was he, and Maya, and Leon, and even Damien. They all were – they had just escaped, potentially leaving Professor Maple to die. And none of them had hesitated. Not one of them had stopped to see if the professor was still alive. They had just escaped. And because of their uselessness, the Apostle had been able to escape with the pendant.
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No, it was because of Ash that she had been able to escape.
“None of us did anything useful.” He bluntly said.
“Exactly!” Fionna exclaimed. “And I’m still useless, I’m not even ready to receive a mana heart yet!” She clenched her fists. “So, let’s go to the flower fields. Let’s catch up with Maya and the others!”
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Ash couldn’t help but nod. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
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The millennia old tree’s mana reminded Ash of the mist that sometimes rolled out of the woods, covering the Serenpetal fields. He always hated that mist as it made the birds go silent and made it impossible to see far away. It made him feel vulnerable, as he couldn’t see the dangers around him.
Here, he could barely see the tree’s pink and white flowers, but this mist wasn’t scary like that one. It was soothing and beautiful. As he stepped closer to it, he felt his body relax. The air he breathed in was cold and crisp yet refreshing and rejuvenating. He walked closer to the tree and sat between its tall roots.
Looking up, he could see various colours of mana swirling between the tree’s branches. Blue, green, golden, crimson colours swirled, brushing against the colourful flowers and its leaves. He watched them for a few moments, but then breathed out a sigh and looked down, allowing his mana to surface.
Grey; a dull, dead colour. He felt that void again, hungry and craving for something. Closing his eyes, he forced his mana to slowly begin to cycle, to swirl around the void like a vortex. He didn’t need to open his eyes to see white streaks appearing in the dark grey vortex of his mana.
The hunger of the void began to sate as hours passed. Beads of sweat rolled down his chin, but he didn’t dare move to wipe them away. It felt like if he moved even only a little, he could lose what control he had on his mana. The vortex would vanish, and the void’s hunger would return. So, he sat there motionlessly, allowing the vortex to draw the power of the millennia-old tree.
“A bold place to meditate.” A man spoke, startling him. His eyes shot open. A cloaked figure approached him through the white mist. The mist seemed to move aside, letting him pass. Soon, he was close enough that Ash could clearly see his face.
“Inquisitor!” He exclaimed as he recognised Maya’s father. He started on his feet, then bowed. He was a noble, and one of the most influential and powerful people in the empire, after all. The Inquisitors were the hands of the emperor, may he be blessed. They acted on his behalf, as his eyes and ears, and spoke his words.
“No need for that,” Inquisitor Victor said with a faint smile. “Sit down and continue with your meditation.”
Ash shook his head. “I was nearly done anyways, sir.” He straightened his back but didn’t sit down. There was no chance of him being able to focus well enough to move his mana again. Not with the inquisitor here, anyways.
“Is that so…?” He asked, his hawk-like gaze lingering on Ash. “Well, I suppose that is good timing. I was told your classmate, Fionna, also came out here with you. Do you know where she is?”
Ash quickly pointed towards the patch of tall bamboo not far off from the dirt path. “She should be meditating as well. She chose the place with the highest concentration of golden mana.”
Inquisitor Victor nodded. “She did well. Golden mana is rarely found in the wild, and if I remember correctly, the High Tower had a great deal of difficulty cultivating it here within its gardens as well.” He looked up at the tree. A few of its pink and white petals had fallen to the ground, and on Ash’s hair.
“Your choice is… less orthodox. I assume your professor explained some things about grey mana.” He phrased it like a question, to which Ash nodded. Thoughts swirled in his mind; questions surfaced one after another. Why was the Inquisitor here? Why was he asking about Fionna? Was something wrong with her? Had she also been touched by dark mana?
“I see,” The Inquisitor scowled. “This tree has been here even before the High Tower was built. Frankly, it’s not very useful – pure white mana isn’t something humans are capable of using.”
Ash raised his eyebrows. “Why not?” He blurted out. He had seen it used before, after all.
Inquisitor Victor shrugged and approached the tree. He pressed its palm against its reddish-brown bark. “It’s too pure – too powerful. It’s the exact opposite of Soul Magic, and neither extreme is something a human’s mind can handle without breaking.” A smile touched his lips. “Of course, pure mana doesn’t cause corruption, it’s not inherently evil like it’s counterpart. So, it’s safe for you to use like this – you’re absorbing it and allowing your own mana to change it into grey mana.”
Ash scowled. He was certain he had seen wisps of white mana before. Had he seen it wrongly? Was it perhaps a very bright golden or something along those lines? “I understand…” He muttered, though he couldn’t help but feel like some of the Inquisitor’s words weren’t quite right, like he was mistaken, though he would never dare imply that.
“In any case, please go and find Fionna, and bring her here.” The Inquisitor absentmindedly said. Ash quickly nodded and darted off towards the patch of bamboo. As soon as he was out of the Inquisitor’s sight, his steps slowed down. With a scowl on his face, he tried to picture the wisp of white mana he had seen. In his memories, it was white, not some other colour.
His steps soon brought him to where Fionna was meditating. Sitting amidst bamboo plants, she seemed serene and focused. Her golden mana swirled, absorbing the mana around her with an alarming speed. He clenched his fists; he couldn’t absorb mana so fast. When he tried, it was slow and exhausting. Fionna didn’t seem tired in the slightest.
“Fionna,” He called out, wondering if something was wrong with how he tried to meditate. Was Fionna using some kind of technique that was more effective and faster?
She opened her eyes, allowing her mana to slowly dissipate. “I’m almost there!” She blurted out with a beaming smile. “I’m almost ready for my first mana heart!”
For some reason, her words struck Ash like a knife to the heart.
What was he doing wrong?