95. Finishing Touches III (Patreon)

The days slowly ticked by, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t unoccupied.

I spent most of my time fighting Fynn with the help of Amira, and it only became more obvious as time went by why people called him the Ceaseless Storm.

He would not give up. He would not rest. He would not cease.

With our mana pools combined, Fynn would run out of mana far faster than Amira and I, yet he only took small rests. And those breaks weren’t even to rest his mind or body, but to regenerate the lost mana.

At first, it seemed odd to me that a mage with a mana pool as big as Fynn’s could be able to regenerate it in fifteen minutes, but then Amira told me that her arcane field-type spell, appropriately named Mana Field, basically operated like an upgraded Mana Oasis, allowing all of us to replenish our mana pools faster.

Fynn’s mental strength was surprising, even overwhelming. At some point, it was Amira and I who needed to rest. Our mana was topped, but our minds couldn’t keep it any longer. I had to be quick on my feet all the time and try to beat Fynn, whilst Amira was weaving ten and eleven-star spells constantly to keep the High Arcanist persona.

And even then, I didn’t stop.

Sparring sessions lasted for ten hours out of the twenty a day had. I didn’t sleep much these days, not that I needed it, so that left me with another eight hours to spare.

Those were occupied by healing training.

My body was already faltering, and the spartan training didn’t help it. I couldn’t abuse Regeneration like before, so I had to train myself in other healing spells with the help of Alatea.

That presented a new problem altogether.

My soul was growing big. And fast.

With every passing day, it was getting harder and harder to keep my soul from forming a singularity and manifesting on the corporeal plane. Such negligence in the control of my very essence prompted Alatea to be even harsher with me.

“You need to extend your soul wider; how does it even clump up together?” The healer inquired.

“I honestly don’t know,” I revealed. “The moment I relax, my soul wants to take its original soul, meaning it becomes ellari-sized, but that also means it’s getting compressed.”

“Then don’t get distracted.” She stated as a matter of fact. “You should know better than let your concentration falter.”

“Of course, how didn’t I think about it before? Just focus, of course!” My sarcasm was more poisonous than a leyline. “Why even sleep? That’s only a distraction!”

“Oh,” Alatea muttered in realization. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that you meant that...”

“Do not apologize,” I sighed, as I pointed at her with my open hand. “It’s all my fault. Bursting out like this and letting my soul fester like a physical wound. I should have listened to you and worried about the consequences before.”

“Edrie, you are literally suffering because you are too powerful for your own good.” The healer spoke with a hurt yet sensible tone. “That is no wound.”

“Then what do you suggest? That I grow weaker?”

Alatea avoided my gaze.

“I believe you should focus on learning new spells.” She sang like a broken record. “I have no solution of my own, but we are both of the same star, Edrie. At this point, it is you who needs to come up with new solutions, I can no longer work as your mentor, only an equal. Learning new magic, especially outside of your comfort zone, will give you new perspectives and perhaps allow you to find an answer to your problems.”

I did understand her logic, but that didn’t mean I accepted it. Pressure was building up, and my own soul was getting lethal to my body. If at least it were just that source of damage that was destroying my body, it could be tolerable, but the High Arcanist sparring simulacrum was quite literally killing me. And the single-focused mind of Fynn would not accept a no for an answer.

“I... I guess I could teach you something.” Alatea added with a hesitation unbefitting of her. “It’s a powerful spell, it may be useless to you, considering how you can avoid death, and if you weren’t already capable of that I wouldn’t even mention it, but I believe it will bring you new insights.”

Alatea unrolled a scrolled on her table. The ink and paper revealed an intricate piece of magic that every mage in the world would kill for. It was an eleven-star spell.

But the rank wasn’t important, but it’s effect.

“Oh.” The sheer awe left my mouth.

Alatea didn’t know it, but everything could change if I learned the spell in the remaining days I had.

If.

**********

I lay on the grass, enjoying the cold breeze of the night, reminiscing about the last days.

This was it.

Tomorrow Fynn and company would assault the Arcane Sanctum. I obviously wouldn’t remain behind, I was too implicated to not make an appearance, but I was nervous. If everything went well, the reign of En’yen would end. If the Ceaseless Storm lost... well, we may not lose, but everything will be tainted in magenta.

“What are you thinking about?” Marissa asked me, her head tilted up to look at me.

I had been so focused on my thoughts that I forgot her presence for a brief instant. I was the one who had led her here.

We, or rather I, sat on the grass with my back laying on the trunk of a ter’nar of pink leaves. Marissa, on the other hand, decided that my lap was a better spot, so she lay her back on my chest. We were both wearing our academy tunics, it felt... appropriate.

Unlike our other outings, we weren’t at the academy, but at the park at Thal’mer. The forestall district, our birthplace, was elevated and it granted us a beautiful sightline of Ferilyn.

“About what’s to come,” I revealed.

“That’s why you brought me her?” I nodded to her question.

Marissa shifted her posture and put her hands on top of mine, which were enveloping her waist in an embrace. Both of our hands were cold, but together, they felt infinitely warmer.

“That’s why you have been occupied these last weeks, isn’t it?” I nodded again. “What is it, Edrie?”

“Do you remember our conversation when we graduated from school?”

“I do.” She responded solemnly. “It was ten years ago, but such a declaration is difficult to forget. You talked about taking down the Violet Sky.” Marissa’s expression shifted in panic. “Edrie, don’t you mean to...!” The words died in her mouth.

“Tomorrow, the Ceaseless Storm will duel the High Arcanist,” I explained. “If he’s successful, the Violet Sky will come down. Otherwise, we may experience the war the High Arcanist talked about two decades ago. This time though, it won’t be limited to a single skirmish.”

Marissa broke the embrace and stood up on her knees, looking at me directly. “But are you going to take part in the duel?” Her face was serious, and her soul was shrouded in fear and worry.

“That isn’t the plan, no.” I negated. “I’m just a healer.”

I said the last part with a comedic undertone because Marissa herself knew I was more than that, but her expression didn’t show any amusement. She raised her hand, for a second I thought she was going to slap me even if her soul told me otherwise, and then she caressed my cheeks, closing them into a sandwich with her palms.

“You wouldn’t tell me about it if it was that simple if you were just going to stay on the backlines.” She spoke sweetly, strands of her light blue hair trickling down. “Tell me, are you going to be in danger?”

For a moment, I thought about denying it. But Marissa knew me very well and that would only earn me a slap. She had a nice shot prepared already.

Instead, I whispered one word. “Yes.”

I hoped, wanted even, that Marissa would cry at me or slap me, but she just brought her lips closer to mine in a sweet kiss. It was shallow, just the lips. A warm caress. There wasn’t any tongue wrestling like in previous exchanges. This wasn’t a kiss born out of lust, but love. And a hint of sadness.

“You won’t listen to me, I know it,” Marissa said after our lips separated. “But promise me you will come out alive.”

“I won’t promise only that.” I gazed into her icy eyes, and in a way, I couldn't. I didn't even know if I would survive with or without the intervention of the coup. “I swear I’ll take that Violet Sky as I promised a decade ago and then we will the night sky together.”

Marissa smiled at me and then turned to look at the contaminated sky. With the city-wide arcane barrier in place, it was virtually impossible to see any stars in the night sky. She sat down between my legs once more, grabbing my hands and tying them around her waist in another embrace. I shallowly patted her belly.

“That would be nice, yes.” She sang.

Even if I couldn’t see her face from my position, I knew she was smiling. And I also knew that smile was loaded with sadness.

I tightened my embrace.

“Whatever the case... I’ll protect you...”

**********

Marissa slightly turned her head upward to see Edrie’s sleeping visage. The pink leaves of the random ter’nar swayed behind him. The graceful moment of the canopy was the complete opposite of her heartbeat.

How can you fall asleep after saying those things? Her face became a bit brighter as she thought about the words he had spoken. Marissa led her hand upward, caressing the violet visage of Edrie’s with the back of her hand. Her hand slightly approached the mystic's enticing ears, but she hastily got hold of herself. Edrie looked like he needed all the rest he could get.

Honestly, how can the man who defied the very rules of nature just to save me be this cute while sleeping?