"Coooooool," I breathed, awe flooding my voice as I took in the panoramic view before us.

We stood atop the abandoned building, the wind whipping through our hair as we gazed out over the sprawling district below. The cityscape stretched as far as the eye could see, a tapestry of concrete and steel painted in the warm hues of the setting sun.

"You've been training here?" I asked, turning to Noarin.

She nodded, a hint of pride in her eyes. "Yep. Three years now, and it's still my favorite place." With fluid grace, she perched herself on the edge of the building, legs dangling over the dizzying drop.

I cautiously lowered myself beside her, my heart racing at the proximity to the ledge. "Three years since you got your ornaments?"

Noarin shook her head, her expression turning wistful. "Nah, I got them when I was seven. But I didn't realize my power until I was ten."

Curiosity piqued, I pressed further. "How did you realize it?"

Her answer came flat and emotionless, a stark contrast to the weight of her words. "I accidentally burned my house down."

image [https://i.imgur.com/5FT5IH3.jpeg]

The statement hit me like a physical blow, leaving me stunned. As the implications sank in, I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. Of course, the awakening of pyrokinetic abilities would likely involve an accidental fire. How thoughtless of me to ask such a potentially painful question.

I glanced at Noarin, but she seemed lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the darkening sky above. The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken emotions.

"I'm sorry," I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories."

Noarin turned to me, a gentle smile softening her features. "Don't be. It's not the worst thing that could happen." Her resilience amazed me, and I found myself admiring her strength.

"How about you?" she asked, skillfully redirecting the conversation. "How did you realize your power?"

"I saved a cat after it fell from a tree," I replied, a hint of pride coloring my voice.

"That's awesome," Noarin said, genuine admiration in her tone.

I couldn't help but smile wryly. "Thanks, though after that, everyone thought I was a lunatic."

Noarin's expression turned thoughtful. "Can't blame them. People don't believe what they don't understand." She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "Let's begin, shall we?"

I nodded, rising to my feet with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. "Alright."

"We'll start with something simple," Noarin said, positioning her hand as if grasping an invisible hilt. In a flash of light, a gleaming sword materialized in her grasp.

"Whoa," I gasped, eyes wide. "Yeah, I've been wondering how you do that."

"An ornament can take the shape of any weapon the holder wants to use. It channels the magic power through the weapon." She gestured for me to try. "Think of any weapon you want and imagine the magic flowing from your arm."

I nodded, positioning my arm as she had done. The only weapon that came to mind was a bow, a remnant of my high school days in the archery club. While I had never competed, the familiar form felt right.

Closing my eyes, I envisioned the bow's shape, feeling a strange tingling sensation coursing through my arm. In an instant, a shimmering bow materialized in my hand, its ethereal form both solid and translucent.

"Smooth!" Noarin's praise bolstered my confidence. "Now, try shooting upwards."

Anxiety crept into my voice as I voiced my concerns. "Shoot? Is it safe? What if someone sees us?"

Noarin shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "We're in a less populated area. A little supernatural activity on this building shouldn't be a problem."

I looked at her, confusion evident on my face. "I don't even have an arrow, ma'am."

"You have to project it with your other hand," she instructed, taking a few steps back to give me space.

"Sure, projecting it. Shouldn't be hard, right?" I mumbled, more to myself than to her. Positioning my other hand, I aimed upwards and began to concentrate. To my amazement, a beam of light coalesced into the form of an arrow.

"Wait, is this really okay?" I shouted, sudden panic gripping me. "Don't blame me if I hit something when the arrow comes back down!"

"Shouldn't be a problem!" Noarin called back, her confidence unwavering.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself. "Well then, here we go." Drawing back the bowstring, I focused all my energy into the arrow. As I released, the arrow shot upwards with blinding speed, the recoil knocking me flat on my back.

Noarin rushed to my side, concern etched on her face. "You alright?"

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"Yeah..." I groaned, gingerly rubbing my sore backside as I stood up. "Light travels at light speed in any form. Noted."

I gaze at the sky. "How far do you think the arrow will go?" I asked.

Noarin followed my gaze, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Eh, maybe too far. It might just crash into a planet or star."

Despite the ache in my body, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at the implication of my power's reach. Noarin seemed equally impressed.

"You learn pretty quick," she said with a grin. "Want to jump to the next lesson?"

I winced, my bruised posterior protesting at the thought of more training. "Can I get a timeout, ma'am? My ass hurts."

Noarin chuckled, reaching into her bag. "Alright, alright." To my surprise, she pulled out two lunchboxes. "We haven't eaten breakfast, have we?" She handed one of them to me.

"Eh? Yeah... Can I?" I hesitant. Noarin nods. Who would've thought this time would come, a girl's handmade bento! It's literally every man's dream food! To think that I got the chance to experience it. I open up the lid and see the contents, at this point it looks like opening a treasure box. There's egg rolls, some beef cut, and salad. Probably my healthiest food in this past 6 months.

"You look like you've never had a lunchbox before," Noarin remarked, studying my awestruck expression.

Flustered at being caught in my moment of culinary rapture, I admitted, "Yeah, it's pretty much my first handmade meal in six months."

"Six months?!" Noarin's shocked exclamation made me wince. "What have you been eating then?"

"Food from convenience stores," I answered, my tone flat with embarrassment.

Noarin paused, her eyes filled with a mixture of pity and concern. "How are you still alive?"

"I'm getting a weird déjà vu here," I muttered, taking a spoonful of the delicious food.

As we ate, Noarin's curiosity got the better of her. "Why not cook for yourself?"

"I can't cook," I admitted sheepishly.

She looked surprised. "Huh, I thought since you live alone, you'd know how to cook a thing or two."

"Sorry to break your expectations," I replied, savoring another bite of the homemade meal.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence, focusing on our breakfast while taking in the breathtaking view of the city below. It was a surreal experience, one that I knew I'd cherish for a long time.

After our meal, we delved into exploring the extent of my powers. I practiced various techniques: projecting light from my palms, refracting objects and even my own body, and – at Noarin's somewhat reckless suggestion – shooting concentrated light rays.

"Is there any safe way to try this?" I asked nervously, my hand poised and ready.

Noarin thought for a moment before suggesting, "Shoot it downward?"

Following her advice, I unleashed a beam of pure light. To our shock and slight horror, it bored a hole clean through the entire building, possibly extending even further below.

"Ahaha... Success?" Noarin laughed nervously. I swear one step wrong, and we'll bring the whole building down alongside us.

Our final experiment of the day involved attempting to move at light speed. Result? I ended up slamming into a wall, nearly breaking my arm in the process. We decided it was best to call it a day after that.

image [https://i.imgur.com/OIYV0Le.jpeg]

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"That's quite the reckless stuff you guys were doing there," Saria remarked, her tone a mix of amusement and concern.

Noarin smiled wryly. "He's got quite the offensive and supportive attributes. I was curious to see how much he could do."

Saria nodded sagely. "Any attribute can be offensive or supportive if you think creatively enough." Her expression then turned serious. "Anyway, I've been looking for clues while you two were having fun. It seems some people are starting to discover the existence of ornaments."

"How do you know?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

Saria's explanation was both fascinating and alarming. "I can monitor magical activities in this world. There are 247 different magical traces being created as we speak."

The implications of her words sent a chill down my spine. "If people from this world can quickly adapt with new laws and rules against magic, then it might not be so bad. But if not..."

"The world would start getting more unbalanced," Saria finished my thought. "Everyone who can use magic might do whatever they want without any rules to govern them."

"There would be conflicts between Holders and regular people," I murmured, my mind racing with potential scenarios. The discrimination, the superiority complexes, the hatred – it was a powder keg waiting to explode.

"Is there any way to stop it from happening?" I asked, desperate for a solution.

Saria's answer was measured and thoughtful. "We can't do anything about the ornaments already in this world, but we can prevent more from coming here. That would slow the rate of discovery and give us time to introduce magic to society gradually."

"What's causing ornaments to come into this world anyway?"

"A breach" Saria stop walking and look up at us. "There's a spatial breach that connects your world with mine, allowing objects from our world entering yours"

"So if we can find that breach, we can do something about it?" Noarin ask. Saria nods.

"But right now, we have no way to look for the breach or how to close it. The only clue we could get may come from someone with a space attribute ornament," Saria continues, her voice tinged with frustration. "Also, remember, someone is intentionally creating a breach between our worlds. So, we also need to find a way to confront that person."

"You said they might be working together with that steel and wind Holder you fought yesterday right? Maybe we can get some clues from him" I suggest.

"Yeah but we don't have any way to locate that Holder either" Noarin replied. She's right, this is becoming more and more hard to solve. Even though we managed to find that Holder, there's a chance that he won't tell us or just straight don't know anything about the mastermind behind this breach.

"We might could have a grasp of his whereabouts" Saria speaks, continue walking.

"Wait, how?" I ask, curious. Saria just turns her head.

"Social media, your world doesn't have those?"

Wait, that's right! We could look for any supernatural related news to get some clues! It didn't cross my mind since I rarely use social media. Yeah, I'm those kind of person who couldn't care less about newest trend or popular things.

I pulled out my phone and began searching for any supernatural news. While I didn't find anything directly related to our steel and wind-wielding adversary, my eyes locked onto an unexpected post.

"Noarin..." I said, my voice tight as I showed her my screen. Saria climbed onto Noarin's shoulder to get a better look.

The post contained a picture of a brilliant beam of light shooting skyward from an abandoned building.

"Huh, that light seems familiar..." Noarin muttered, her face paling slightly.

Saria's voice dripped with sarcasm as she hopped down from Noarin's shoulder. "Congratulations, you guys made it into someone's social media post."

I turned to Noarin, who looked increasingly nervous. "A little supernatural activity on this building wouldn't be a problem, huh?" I quoted her earlier words, unable to keep the irony from my voice.

Noarin pouted, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Shut up. Less populated doesn't mean there's no one there," she grumbled, looking away to hide her face.

I sighed, pocketing my phone as we continued our journey home. The weight of our newfound responsibilities and the potential consequences of our actions hung heavy in the air. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the city, I couldn't help but wonder what challenges tomorrow would bring in this rapidly changing world.