Nil

Spacetime! That helped a lot. That’s what the grayscale is; it is time slowing down. That sensation I had against Orga then was seeing a few seconds into the future. Now, how necessary is my to using that ? We were in the carriage riding back to the castle. Uncle Nez was watching me with an amused smile. I guess my is unique which would interest him. I took some deep breaths, getting that sensation going again. It’s getting easier. All eyes shot to me. I’m not using the dangerous form. My mom went to say something, but Nez stopped her. Thank you. I focused the sensation on my eyes, as the odd grayscale began overtaking the carriage. We’re getting there. I moved my head around and could oddly observe things within my . How do I test this? I could sense Nez was about to throw a needle at me. As the needle went to leave his hand, I put up a barrier. Yes! It’s working! I could sense mom was about to start lecturing Nez.

“He was helping me mom.” I stated before she started.

My mom looked confused, as did nearly everyone else except Nez. How am I maintaining this easier? That was worth figuring out. Or did my near-death experience make me stronger? Maybe the ? Uncle Nez was about to ask me if I figured it out.

“Figure it out?” Uncle Nez inquired. His voice sounded quite distorted.

“Kind of.” I answered.

Then that that nearly killed me must have brought time to a halt. Or close to it. Maintaining this was giving me a massive headache; I stopped so my head didn’t split in two. I rubbed my temples trying to alleviate some of the agony. Good news, I know what that is now. Physics I know to an extent; space and time are linked. I guess can’t control time at all. Lux used on me which fixed my headache.

“Thank you, Lux.” I stated as I felt better.

“Uncle Nez, how do work?” I probed. I needed a better idea of how it worked.

“What do you mean? What are you asking?” Uncle Nez checked. How to phrase my answer a way a child could?

“We all have , right? How does the become a ? Is it just the picture I have?” I clarified. Uncle Nez began smiling wide.

“That’s an excellent question Nil! You’re asking about I’m assuming as are about creating a designated effect and augmenting that effect. are about realizing an image from your mind into reality. The better you can visualize the effect, how the effect should work, and the process of the effect the greater the result. The grander, stronger, and more complex the effect, the greater the strain and on you.” Nez explained for me.

“I see. So, it’s free?” I asked. That was helpful.

“In a sense. There are limitations, but as long as you can envision the and can withstand the effects of it, it’ll work.” Nez informed me.

“Interesting.” I mused.

From current experience bringing time to a halt had devastating effects on me. I imagine turning time back might flat out kill me. I was able to sense a few seconds into the future without too much effort. What about sending something forward? A simple needle. Can I throw a needle a few seconds into the future? How would it work? I launch the needle and a few seconds later it appears where I want? Just in case, aim this somewhere unimportant. Uncle Nox, you’re up. Think. How to do it? The needle leaves my hand. It slips through time. It reappears at full speed at the correct location. We’re moving too. I made a small ball of , tossing it up. I counted the seconds before it hit my hand. Okay. I did it a few more times. My family was looking on with tense expressions. Relax. This likely won’t harm me. I tossed the ball outside the window, counting how long it took to hit the ground. I also saw how far behind us it was. I have a good guess. We’ll be about six feet ahead of our current position.

“Nil dear, what are you doing?” Mom checked in a tense tone.

“Timing something.” I answered as I formed a needle.

“Timing what?” Dad probed as he slowly shifted forward.

“This.” I replied.

Everyone in the carriage leapt to stop me. Wow. I launched it. The needle vanished in an instant. My took a massive hit. Oh, that has a drain. I had nearly all my to start and was on fumes. Manipulating time takes massive amounts of . Everyone was looking around for what it did. After about two seconds Uncle Nox jumped, hitting his head against the ceiling as my needle hit him in the thigh. I was only trying to do a single second though.

“Really Nil?!” Uncle Nox snarled.

“What was that? Mom inquired having relaxed immensely.

“Spacetime.” I answered. Uncle Nez began chuckling.

“In retrospect, what the difference between the two is so obvious a child figured it out by the name.” Nez laughed as we rode along.

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“Difference between what?” Mom probed, not catching on.

“ and . Each tier usually allows the user a jump in what they can affect. It appears time and space are linked somehow, so Nil unlike Nox and Azzeck can manipulate time. It’s why that was so unnaturally clean. He literally did it in an instant; Nil went between two points at the same moment in time.” Nez explained using his hands to augment his explanation.

“No wonder the is intense. Nil, can you tell when you are about to use the that influence time?” Dad inquired.

“Yes. The world turns grayscale. It also feels like I’m connecting to something large. Like, a large that’s different than usual.” I answered, trying to visualize it better.

“Could you demonstrate? Just touching the .” Nez requested as he place his hand on me.

I did a few deep breaths, feeling flow around me. I’m getting better at getting into this state. I need to practice until I can maintain and use it, or figure out the most efficient way to. Maybe hop in and out depending on what I need. The world turned a bit grayscale. If I heard them correctly, it should be an innate part of me. The more specific test was able to differentiate between the two . I tried feeling it without the . Unlike when I used my , I almost instantly replenished my as there was a massive influx of . I could feel my near forcefully get expanded from it. I severed the connection as quickly as possible. Okay, so my is not necessary to do it but does help control it. There were pins and needles going through my body. That is an unpleasant sensation. My getting an influx like that made it feel like snakes were slithering beneath my skin. Uncle Nez was looking a bit wide eyed.

“I need to research something now; that should be impossible. Either something is wrong or misunderstood.” Uncle Nez stated with a massive smile.

“What do you mean, impossible?” Mom probed.

“According to current interpretations, of the Lords is the same as the we all use. Nil just used something different. It’s why that technique is so unsettling.” Uncle Nez informed them.

Interesting. I mulled over how to use it as we rode. The are wildly impractical with my current body. I needed to train rigorously if I wanted to use it more. The is doable. Using my to glance into the future was something I could maintain for a little bit. We arrived at the castle, and I immediately sought out a space with Lux. She wanted to go nap in our room. When she sensed I really want to spar, she got off my shoulder and began stretching. Lux was getting ready to spar as I began activating my . I need to give it a name.

Spar? Lux checked.

“Yes.” I confirmed.

That’s all Lux needed to attack. I could see her path so clearly as I immediately adjusted to kick her. The worst part about being able to see Lux’s path was knowing how fast she was going to dodge me. I’m too slow. Her ability to become light was obnoxious. I tried the pivot technique I was practicing aiming for where she was moving to. Good news, it worked. Bad news, I think I cracked my ribs. Lux looked like she was seeing stars as I was writhing on the ground.

OW! Lux whined.

My ribs. I told her.

Grandma and Grandpa walked in, saw us, and began chuckling. Grandma checked me first, feeling my ribs. Lux’s eyes were checked next. Several moments later my mom appeared looking at us. She healed both of our injuries before looking ready to lecture us.

“Nil, I know you like testing your , but you need to learn restraint.” Mom lectured near instantly.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized.

“That was probably the first time he properly did the pivot kick correctly. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t properly reinforce his body to withstand such a sharp motion.” Grandma explained. Lux was glaring at me.

I will get revenge. Lux informed me.

Tonight, we rematch. I told her. The two of us got a quick swat from Grandpa.

“Do not plan round two while getting lectured for round one.” Grandpa chided us.

“Sorry.” I apologized. Lux was giving her best appeasing face.

“We’re putting a moratorium on you two sparring for now. You two are at a point where your ability to hurt each other exceeds your ability to properly reinforce your bodies.” Mom informed us. We both grimaced. They aren’t wrong though.

“You two are now getting much stricter lessens on and now as well.” Grandma informed us.

“Okay.” We moaned in unison.

Mom dropped it there as Ein walked in excitedly looking for Lux and me. The three adults gave us a stern glare. We’re always careful with Ein. Not that their concern was entirely unwarranted. We ran off to the castle grounds.

“What game do you want to play little brother?” I checked, kneeling down a little for him.

“Can we play heroes?!” Ein requested.

“Okay!” I chimed excitedly.

Ein set the scene that we were heroes on a quest to defeat the bandits attacking merchants. The bandits in question? The shrubbery. These blasted plants robbed their last caravan. We fought for the people, valiantly battling the bandits. Several attempted to be thorns in our side, but we persevered. The bandits branched out, trying to defeat us. We couldn’t leaf a single one behind. The plants needed to pay for their crimes.

“WHAT ARE YOU THREE DOING?!” Helga roared at us.

“We are defeating the bandits!” I declared.

“They have been robbing the merchants!” Ein added happily.

“Fine.” Helga sighed as she went to inform our parents that we were doing some landscaping.

We resumed our campaign against the bandits. They fought valiantly against us as we attempted to root out all evil. Who knows where their evil might stem to. After a solid thirty minutes of battling, we managed to defeat all the bandits. The three of us did high fives looking at our victory.

“We did it Nil!” Ein cheered as he hopped up and down.

“We did Ein!” I agreed.

“Can you make us fly again?” Ein requested.

“Okay!” I agreed.

I used like my dad did to make Ein, Lux, and I do little flying maneuvers. I made sure we didn’t go that high off the ground just in case I ran out of . The three of us glided around the outer grounds for about ten minutes before I had to take a break. Wait. I recalled what I did with Uncle Nez earlier. Use my to control the influx of . I activated my , tapping into the to refill my reserve. It shot in, filling my slightly more than before. My felt a little better too. It was quite slight. But what if I repeat this over and over again?

“Let’s play some more Ein!” I chimed happily. Lux gave me a knowing stare.

What? Lux inquired.

I have a slightly better method of training my . I need to double check with Uncle Nez though. I answered. Lux shrugged, eager to resume playing.

I flew us around for about an hour before my head was ready to split open. Okay, the one issue with training my using this method. My was lacking to maintain it. It’s a bunch of small gains all around. I sighed as I needed to take a break. Lux at least helped me recover a bit with her . I’ll need to practice even more.