Solum (24.11.9978 AS)
“… And today Ai came to me and excused herself for being rude to me the other day, she told me she was just a little overwhelmed by my friendliness” Laura smiled happily.
“It won’t take long till we’re friendly enough with each other, so we can reveal ourselves to her and convince her to come with us to Umbra!” Laura’s smile got even brighter expecting a praise by Erika.
But-
“Do you have an idea where he went off?” Erika asked Laura with an anxious tone.
“No clue, yesterday he said though, it would get late for him.” Laura answered with an annoyed tone.
“Yeah, I know what he said, but I still can’t relax, it’s not wise for a young Demon to roam through the streets of Solum without other Demons! The Seraphs are just waiting for one of you guys to get cocky and careless to strike them down.”
A small gleam fear sparked through Laura’s dark brown eyes as she heard Erika’s words.
“Well, it’s not like they will attack out of nowhere, but one can’t be careful enough, especially in turbulent times like this.”
*Sigh*
‘I should better contact the guards.’ Erika stood up and walked out of the room and Laura took out her Commu and called Tristan.
“Where are you? Aunty is getting really anxious!” She said with an accusing voice.
“Tell her not to worry about me; I’m just hanging out with a friend. I’ll be back before ten!” Tristan said irritated.
“Well, I don’t care about what you’re up to anyways, but aunty says this city isn’t safe and we have to pay more attention than usual walking through the nights.”
“Oh, thanks for the warning, but I know to take care of myself.”
“If you say so, like I said I don’t care, but right now she’s going to check on you, so you better give her a call.” Laura said and hung up on Tristan.
“She hungup.” Tristan said to Ai who was close by listening to Tristan’s call.
“So, are you going back?” Ai looked troubled.
“Nah, not yet, I still have time till my curfew, my aunt just likes to worry a lot.” Tristan gave a fake smile and put the Commu by side.
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“So where were we again?”
“I was telling you about my special ability.”
“Oh, yeah, you mentioned you had a special ability no one else has and that’s why you’re better at magic than most of us. You also said that ability might be useful for our cause.”
Ai nodded slightly. “Yes, I have a special ability that allows me to see mana.”
“I hate to break it to you, everyone can see the mana when a spell is activated.”
“No, I don’t mean the light one sees when a spell manifests; I talk about that I can see the mana even after the spell was activated.”
“Wait, you mean you can see the mana-signature of things?”
“I don’t know what you mean by mana-signature, but I can see the different colors of mana that were used and can also see the intensity of mana that was used to create certain spells.”
“That’s exactly what the mana-signature is. Only the most skilled of Dem- MAGES are able to feel the mana signature of spells and artefacts.” Tristan swallowed his saliva and took a deep breath.
“I once read in a book that there is a theory all living individuals have a mana-signature and that they would pass it down to others living or not living things by using magic… The book also mentioned that the theory is not proven yet, because most of the Demo-MAGES lack the ability to feel the mana to that extreme.”
“Well, let’s say that theory seems 100% spot on because I just can’t feel the mana, but I can see the different colors of it! And it’s true, everyone has a different color of mana.” Ai smiled happily.
“So, what’s my color?” Tristan asked with a playful voice.
“Pitch black.”
“…”
“And the intensity of it is scary. I’ve never felt someone leaking so much mana like you. Not even your sister is on that level. She also has crazy amounts of mana, but she doesn’t come close to you. Seeing your mana is like staring into nothingness.”
A chill ran down Tristan’s spine.
‘Did she realize we aren’t humans? No, maybe she just thinks that we’re crazy talented, but still I have to be careful around her by not unleashing my full powers in front of her.’
‘As if you were hiding your power, unleashing your full strength won’t change anything if you can’t feel your mana to the point you can perceive the world like that human girl!’ Schattenklinge butted in in Tristan’s thoughts.
‘I can’t still believe that someone that can see magic circles like you lacks the ability to feel mana!’ Schattenklinge said with a mocking tone.
‘Shut it!’
‘You can’t deny the truth.’
Tristan smiled wryly towards Ai.
“Hey, I agreed to teach you about magic for free because I thought, I didn’t have anything else to learn from you, but now I want to learn to feel mana with your help. How about it? You help me to learn to feel magic and I help you with magic theory… Since you can feel and see mana to that extend, I’m sure your mana control is impeccable.”
“Yeah, my mana control is pretty good; I just like the knowledge of the correct spells.”
“So, you’ll help me?!”
“Yeah, but only a little.” Ai answered blinking to Tristan.
‘Hey Missy, someone is coming rapidly closer!’ Schattenklinge warned Tristan.
‘How many?’
‘Six, but don’t worry, they’re with you.’
‘So, why did you warn me?’
‘Because the girl will get suspicious if she sees them.’
‘Good point.’
Tristan took out a book from his backpack and gave it to Ai.
“Please read it until our next training session. There are a few good spells I thought you’d like to learn in there.”
Ai took the book and smiled and answered with a sad voice. “Thanks, does that mean that’s all for today?”
“Unfortunately, yes, it’s almost time for my curfew, but don’t worry tomorrow we’ll train a lot and not just talk like today. I’m already looking forward to it.”
“Me too.” Ai said as she waved behind Tristan who was already on his bike.