‘Haha… I completely forgot I never told her…’

I breathe in, reminiscing about that night. Of course, the memories aren’t pleasant, I recall seeing things I wish I never saw, and I recall how I felt in Soulweaver’s presence. I remember how powerless I was, and how much fear I had within me during that time.

After a short pause, I reply. “Well, I guess I do owe you an explanation. It’s simple, I just talked to them.”

She raises an eyebrow. “You… talked to them? As in you convinced them to just… let you go?”

“Yeah, Soulweaver… might seem crazy, but that’s not quite true. Within that insanity, even if very small, there’s still a glimmer of reason, and I exploited that.”

She doesn't know how to respond, evident by the frown on her face. My explanation must have only raised even more questions within her. Understanding that I am being unnecessarily vague, I explain further.

I sigh, and continue. “I wasn't planning on ever revealing this, but I feel like I have to if I want my explanation to make sense. You don’t know this, but… Soulweaver let me watch the scene in front of the facility through the eyes of one of their avatars. After they took me away, I saw the conversation between you, Sebastian and Ivana.”

She looks away, a sense of guilt creeping up. “... I see…”

I pat her shoulder amicably. “Don’t feel guilty, seriously, it’s all behind us.”

Her gaze returns to me and she smiles. “...Yes, you’re right, please continue.”

I smile back, though I’m sure mine is not as captivating as hers. “When Soulweaver showed me that scene, I saw something inside them, something human. It took me time, but I understood a crucial piece of information. As surprising as it may sound, Soulweaver is someone who would never go back on their word, someone who does not tolerate betrayal, no matter how far their mind has sunk. So, making use of their wording and my own cunning, I convinced Soulweaver to let me go. That’s all there is to it honestly.”

With an unreadable expression, Sylvia stares at me, her deep blue eyes fixated on my figure. If it wasn’t for the seriousness of the situation, I might get lost in them.

Finally, she speaks. “Alright, that’s good enough of an explanation. Thank you for telling me. I think I can let it go now.”

“Well that’s great to hear Sylvia.” I say with a smile.

We direct our eyes towards the calm waters of the pond. I give Sylvia time to take in what I’ve just said. It must be hard to believe I managed to get away from such an existence with just words, but I know that Sylvia trusts me, and so, she will force herself to believe it. I’m also somewhat glad she didn’t question me any further on the matter as I’m not exactly enthusiastic about the idea of recalling that night.

A few moments pass where we sit in silence, and Sylvia finally jumps up from the rock she was sitting on.

“That was nice! Shall we go back, Alden?”

As I am on the verge of standing up as well, I reply. “Yes, let’s-”

Before I can finish my sentence, I recall something Aurora, my little sister, said a few months ago. ‘“Whenever your.. issue… is sorted. She could come over for dinner one day. We’d love to properly meet her.” She said, if I remember correctly.

‘Our issue… is sorted now isn’t it? Should I invite her over now?’

Sylvia, noticing that I suddenly froze for no apparent reason, tilts her head. “Is something wrong?”

My nerves tense up at the question and I stutter a reply. “N-no, n-nothing at all!”

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‘It wouldn’t be weird at all to ask her right? I mean, it’s not like I’m asking her on a date, and it’s Aurora who wants to see her, yes, that’s right, this is for Aurora!’

I clear my throat and awkwardly stand up straight. “A-Actually, there is something else I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh really? Well, ask away!”

“I um, or rather, my sister, Aurora, wanted to know if you’d like to come for dinner one of these days, maybe during our next break, after the competition?” I say with cold sweat running down my forehead, unable to even look Sylvia in the eyes.

Her eyes expand in surprise. “Oh? That’s definitely not what I’d have expected you to say. Aurora wants me to come, you say?”

I scratch the back of my head. “Y-Yeah, that’s right!”

“Well I can’t very well say no, can I? I’d love to come! Ever since I had a taste of that bagel, I’ve been looking forward to more of her pastries!”

I’d have jumped with joy if I could… joy for Aurora of course.

“That’s great, I’ll let her know as soon as we’re granted leave!” I say with an awkward smile

‘Somehow, I feel like asking her this question might have been even more difficult than talking Soulweaver into letting me leave…’

Now that everything that needed to be said has been said, Sylvia and I decide that it is time to head back. I had planned to return to the mountain peak to train some more, but Sylia invited me to join her and Ivana at the DaiKar fortress’ cafeteria. Thinking that I am indeed a bit hungry, I agree and we begin walking towards Ivana’s position.

When we arrive, we locate our friend among the crowd. She is sitting by herself, still wearing the DaiKar battle attire, reading a book. It seems she had been waiting for us to return before eating anything. We make our way towards her and sit at her table.

“Are you two done ‘talking’?” Ivana asks when she notices us sitting down next to her.

“We are! I hope you weren’t too lonelyl, Iva.” Sylvia replies.

“A few guys did try to hit on me, but nothing out of the ordinary I’d say.”

“Are you sure you didn’t just imagine that?” I ask with a playful tone.

Of course, I know she’s telling the truth, but I think It’s time to return the favor for all the teasing Ivana has done.

“Haha, very funny. I’ll have you know that most men find me quite appealing.”

“Oh right! I remember that guy at the entrance the other day who wanted your contact info. Indeed, you do attract men, even if it’s the questionable kind…” I say out loud.

She throws daggers at me with her eyes, and I chuckle.

‘I say that but I know how popular Ivana is… and I can’t blame them to be honest, she is… not difficult to look at.’

Ivana’s complexion reddens slightly, she looks up from her book again, clears her throat, and speaks with a slight stutter. “Ahem, don’t forget I can still read minds, my dear friend…”

Now it’s my turn to blush. Sylvia looks back and forth between the two of us, confused as to what just happened, but neither of us feel like explaining the situation.

‘Damn… I completely forgot how her ability worked…’

Attempting to change the subject and resolve the awkwardness, I speak to Ivana. “Talking about your abilities, have you managed to figure out why you don’t need to touch people to hear their thoughts when they’re about you?”

“I’m also curious about that!” Sylvia says.

Ivana places her book down. “Well… yes and no. It’s complicated.”

“We have time.” Sylvia replies with a bright smile.

Ivana sighs. “So it’s like this. I’ve been trying really hard to understand my [melody], and lately, I’ve begun to sense this ‘bridge’ between other people and I. When they think about me, the bridge connects us and I can hear their thoughts— at least I think that’s what’s happening. If I touch them instead, it’s like I’m crossing the bridge myself, making it unnecessary for the connection to form. So, I think that this bridge is only necessary for long-range mind reading, but I don’t know why it forms only when my target thinks about me. Honestly, I’m not even sure if my theory is correct or if I’m deluding myself into thinking it is because I can’t figure out Professor Quill and Silverthorn’s assignment.”

“I see…” I say, stroking my chin pensively.

“Have you tried getting this ‘bridge’ to form forcefully? Perhaps by visualizing it or attempting to control it?” Sylvia asks.

“Yeah, but no results so far. I’ve also tried preventing it from forming, because as you know, I can’t turn my [melody] off, but to no avail. It’s like I’m trying to hold smoke, I know it’s there, and I can almost see it, but I can’t do anything with it. I even tried asking the Professors for advice, but they keep saying that it’s something I need to figure out for myself.” Ivana answers with a shrug.

“So this ‘bridge’ is more like a concept than something concrete…” I muse, trying to grasp the idea.

“Yeah,you could put it like that..” Ivana nods.

Sylvia crosses her arms and closes her eyes to think. I do the same, but nothing comes to mind. I can’t imagine that anything I’ll say would be something Ivana hasn’t tried yet. Plus, I don’t think I’m experienced enough to give advice on how to develop one’s own [melody] any further.

Sylvia opens her eyes and with a beaming smile, she says: “It seems I’m stumped, sorry Iva. However, you’ve made progress, and if you need any help, or test subjects, Alden and I are here for you!”

‘Did she just volunteer me to be Ivana’s test subject!?’

“Uh, y-yeah, we’re here for you!” I say.

Ivana looks at me, playful malice in her eyes. “Hmm, that sounds like an offer I might eventually take you up on, actually…”

Chills run down my spine at her statement, and just like that, a few weeks pass. Throughout those weeks, I have made sure to not only train during the classes with my Professors, but also with my team, preparing myself for the competition. Of course, the same goes for everyone else. I do not doubt that everyone has made adequate arrangements to ensure their victory. With the exciting prospect of scouts coming to headhunt promising [enlightened], every single one of us is planning to perform at the absolute best of our capabilities.

The competition is now only one day away, and I sit around a table in one of the DaiKar’s training rooms, with my team, discussing our plan.

“Let’s go through this one more time.” Sophia says.