Sarah was in an uncomfortable position. The manacles around her limbs had very short chains, preventing her from shifting into a better position. The metal dug into her skin, and her leg and back muscles were tensing up. Her wounds screamed at her periodically, every time she flexed the wrong muscles.

The cell she was in was small, with nothing in it. Even the light source, a glowing white LED, was positioned on the ceiling beyond the bars. That area, a gap between the bars and the exit door, served as a location for people to talk to her. A camera above the door was pointed straight at her.

Sarah wondered why nobody was physically watching her, before realizing they were probably scared of her supernatural powers. The thought depressed Sarah.  

With nothing to do, Sarah turned inwards. The Colony was healing her wounds, like always, but it was different this time. It was so much slower than before. She approximated there to be a tenth the flow of regeneration ki as before.

Is it because I’m farther away from The Colony?

She thought a bit longer, and came up with a disturbing theory.

You know, I don’t remember eating, although I believe humans are supposed to eat. Perhaps, The Colony used an unknown method to feed me nutrients, and some ki on the side? And without The Colony feeding me ki, there’s much less ki for me to use.

Her heart sank at the thought of the lost power. Still, her current situation presented her an opportunity.

With less ki to go around, the healing was focused on only part of the wounds. Her right shoulder was still in pain, with no ki going to it. Sarah started cycling ki from her heart to her shoulder, and back again. There was nothing special about the heart- Sarah just knew that bigger cycles helped her pick up more ki.

Her shoulder started to warm up. She felt the regeneration ki flowing through her legs, and tried to copy the feelings of growth, regeneration, and healing that were infused into the ki. There was a small reaction in her shoulder, but Sarah felt that the intent she put into the ki wasn’t latching onto the wound enough.

Her current situation was a godsend, because she simultaneously could experience The Colony’s regeneration ki, while having an undisturbed wound to practice on. In the past, Sarah could never tell if she was making progress. Now, however, Sarah felt like she had both the textbook and a set of practice problems.

Two days passed. Periodically, a soldier would pop open the door, slide some a plate of food through a gate in the bars, and quickly retreat. They acted as if she could shoot lasers from her eyes.

Wait, can I shoot lasers from my eyes? She thought. Probably not, though maybe with The Colony’s help.

Eventually, a soldier would come back to pick up the plate and utensils. The first time, the guy shouted at her to push the plate through the gate. His tone was uncalled for, and she wished for Erica to come back. Luckily, the soldiers were calmer in future meals. Erica even came back once, to talk about unimportant details of her day, but soon enough Sarah was alone again.

Eventually, Sarah had a breakthrough. At one point, her ki’s effectiveness at healing suddenly skyrocketed, matching The Colony’s rate of healing.

It baffled her. It wasn’t like she had a deep revelation about the spiritual meaning of healing. She just got a little bit better at pushing regeneration intent into the ki, and suddenly the intent stuck like glue with the ki. Before she passed the threshold, it felt like forcefully mixing oil and water.

Sarah hypothesized that she needed to create intent of a threshold level of clarity/depth before ki was willing to accept it.

I can heal now. I’m a healer! I have super powers!

Sarah grinned. Happiness was new to her, and she basked in its glow.

As an outsider would most likely predict, Sarah quickly exhausted all of her ki by trying to regenerate her shoulder all at once. The Colony was already using up her ki at a speed close to her rate of ki production, so anything Sarah did burned through her ki pool.

Thankfully, The Colony stopped its own healing soon after, to save the resources required to take control over Sarah’s ki. The Colony would gladly let Sarah take the lead with healing.

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Once Sarah finished healing her wounds, she examined her body in admiration. Her skin was smooth where before there were tears, and she couldn’t even see a scar. With some spare ki, Sarah was even able to get rid of the mounting soreness in her tense back and legs.

Then, Sarah ran out of things to do. She counted five hundred bricks in the walls, and then moved on to estimating the time between flickers in the LED light. She even tried to fall asleep, despite not being tired.

Just then, the door opened, instantly attracting Sarah’s attention.

Erica waltzed into the room. Arthur entered in a brisk walk, and a cloaked person slithered in afterwards. Their cloak was bright white, with golden patterns swimming across it.

Arthur stepped forward and coughed politely. “Military headquarters views your situation with grave importance, Sarah. They have deemed it necessary to send the only U.S. mage to examine you.”

Without explaining further, Arthur stepped back and resumed his ever-present scowl. Erica interrupted the silence.

“Perhaps it would be better if you introduce yourself, milady, and explain what mages are?”

The cloaked figure responded. “If I must.” She removed her hood, revealing herself to be a beautiful lady with brown hair. Her hairstyle combined a French twist and a pony, with a few curly strands let loose to frame her face. Jewelry and makeup finished the look.

“My name is Isabela Sanchez. I’m the only mage in the U.S. currently, and am assisting the military as a civilian consultant. I was possessed by a specter, but I promptly ejected it and exorcised it. I came out of the situation with the ability to use mana.”

The girl was reluctant to be here, and it showed in her drab tone of voice.

“Then, during one of my prayers to the Lord for forgiveness at being sullied, I gained the ability to use my magic to purify.”

Sarah instantly made connections between her situation and Isabela’s. Thankfully, she knew the concept of religion, or else Sarah might have asked Isabela if this “Lord” guy could help her learn how to infuse speed ki.

“I’m sorry to hear you had to go through that. Are specters ghost-like creatures that possess and control people?” she asked.

“That’s correct.” Isabela blinked in surprise.

“I, myself was controlled by a supernatural mold colony. I’m still under its control, in fact, so I would be very grateful if you could help me.”

Instead of the empathy Sarah expected, Isabela wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Yes… I’ll make sure to banish your unholy evil from this world.” She turned to Arthur.

“Open the cell,” she commanded. Arthur clenched his teeth, but still did it.

Isabela slid closer until Sarah had to strain her neck upwards from her kneeling position to see Isabela’s face. The mage placed her hand on Sarah’s forehead. A chilly sensation enveloped her skin as the woman sent her mana into Sarah’s body.

Instantly, both Sarah and Isabela realized the difference between their energies. Ki felt very physical to her. It needed to be cycled, like blood in a body, to be used. Cycling ki gave her a warm feeling.

Mana, on the other hand, felt abstract. Concepts, social constructs, and human imagination felt in line with the energy. Rather than blood, mana acted like a gaseous substance that had to be condensed with human will. Isabela’s mana gave her mind the chilly clarity of a cold shower.

“This isn’t mana.” “That’s not the same as mine.” Isabela and Sarah spoke up at the same time.

“I’ve taken to calling my energy ki, as it feels more in tune with my body,” Sarah added a second later. Isabela nodded in agreement.

The next moment, Isabela’s mana came into contact with mycelium, the fungal tendrils in her body through which The Colony controlled her. Pain blossomed, and The Colony immediately took away her autonomy.

Arthur pulled Isabela back just in time to save her hand from being bitten off. Sarah’s body had turned savage, straining against her steel restraints and gnashing her teeth.

Then, Sarah glowed green, and Arthur immediately drew his gun and aimed it at her head. Isabela pushed it away. When blades of green ki flew out of Sarah’s body, they crumbled into dust upon entering a white aura emanating from Isabela.

Slicing-intent ki fought head-to-head with purify-intent mana and lost.

The ki in Sarah’s body exhausted itself without support from The Colony, and the flow of ki blades came to a stop. Isabela stepped forward, maintaining a meter of distance to prevent ‘accidents’, and pushed the white aura around her into Sarah’s body.

If I’m not in control, why do I still have to feel the pain? Sarah thought in agony. It felt like her nerves were being set aflame, which on second thought was probably very similar to what was happening.

Pressure built in Sarah’s head until blood started to leak out of her ears. Rashes formed on her body, and it felt like she had twisted her ankle, but at every part of her legs, and ten times in a row.

It didn’t actually take very long until the torture ended, but it felt like an eternity to Sarah. When Isabela took a step back, Sarah looked completely different. There was no longer any green fuzz growing out of her ears, and her previously muddy skin shined as if after a shower. Even the rags she wore looked clean.

The only thing off about her was that the diamond-shaped patch of skin on her left cheek stayed green. Oh, and blood had resumed dribbling out of her orifices, no longer scrubbed away by the white aura.

Sarah started to heal herself with regeneration ki, using up every bit that her body regenerated. It helped, but her reserves were completely exhausted, so she would have to deal with the pain for now.

“She still has that green glow,” Arthur whispered. “I think it failed.”

“It succeeded,” Isabella declared, and then calmly turned on her heels and left. The mage most likely was trying to hide it, but Sarah didn’t miss the sheen of sweat and exhaustion on her face.

“Th-thanks,” Sarah croaked out before Isabela slammed the door shut.