Chapter 206 - Outside The Box (Patreon)

Mayalyn Aloyhee

Mayalyn leaned back in the tub with a blissful groan. Blisteringly hot water enveloped her, easing the aches and pains from days of no sleep. Every hour had been filled with the work of hauling debris and removing corpses. The blast wave that swept down on them from the north had devastated much of their defenses, and though casualties had been light due to their entrenched positions, there were many injured and few capable of healing efficiently. The Forkara had suffered the worst, the majority of their forces being airborne at the time, which left the Imperials and even her own people, picking up the slack wherever necessary. The cleanup required to free space to allow reinforcements to the front lines was a herculean task all its own. 

Thankfully, the new wards survived and the ruined city had been stocked with supplies which only needed to be carefully extracted from beneath tons of rubble. Mayalyn still had no idea why she volunteered for the duty, it simply felt right when Olive begged for someone, anyone, to do it during the last meeting of their ragtag commanders. Possibly, it was because half of those gathered (the matrons and Forkara elders) couldn’t understand a word she said, and the warriors truly did need to eat.

Twice they had been attacked from behind by the Voicers, and twice Jiran’s sentry formations had warned them in advance. Both times only tier fives and sixes had made the attempt. The healthiest and strongest Forkara were quick to respond once alerted. Despite their injured and exhausted forces, their new weapons and armor did wonders to dismantle any foe beneath the eighth tier that dared face them. 

Between the inexhaustible Graymin and the threat of an unknown and powerful foe at their backs, all four of the alliance’s camps were on the edge of panic, hence her current attempt at relaxing. Mayalyn had invited the one person she could rely on to help ease her worries, largely due to her companion being the most stressed individual in the entire army: Alike rivers flowed together after all.

Olive sat across from her, holding her face in her hands. The water gently lapped against her shoulders as she hunched forward. She looked up, sending a few droplets of water scattering through the air, “I can’t believe I let you and Father talk me into that! It’s been two days and I’m still embarrassed!”

“What you have to embarrassed for?” Mayalyn spoke in Imperial, her stilted accent more proper than Olive’s manicured dialect, even though she still mispronounced some words while leaving others out entirely.

“Jiran completely rejected me!” Olive shrieked before dipping her face beneath the water to scream, releasing a torrent of bubbles.

Mayalyn chuckled at her friend's overreaction, her tone turning soothing, “That is not what happen. When we worked on formations, he thought of you almost every minute. He is very serious about these matters, even if he does not speak of them often. Remind me, did he say no to you?”

Olive tilted her head enough to peer at Mayalyn with one twinkling cerulean eye, “Well… no, not exactly. But he didn’t say yes either! What if he does say no? Agh! Why did I listen to you back in Mortan? If I had ignored it like I wanted, I wouldn’t be like this right now!”

“I only mention you were masking feelings and if you join us, I would welcome you. All else was your choice.”

Olive deflated, sitting up and leaning back in a copy of Mayalyn’s posture. “I-I know. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault, I’m simply terrified he’s hurt or dead. It’s been two days,” she bit her lip. Even without the crinkled worry lines etched into her brow, Mayalyn would have known her best friend was nearly overwhelmed with concern due to the smell of her aura.

“He is fine,” Mayalyn reiterated for the tenth time that morning. It was refreshing, almost enjoyable to have someone else as worried about her Aajiran as she was.

It is precisely as Mathra said. Having a bond-mate to share my worries with is indeed preferable to shouldering all the stress and worry alone. I hope Jiran decides to accept her. Though, if he attempts to add another, I will castrate him. A man is only permitted to be so greedy.

“What about that explosion?” Olive prodded, rousing Mayalyn from her musing.

“We have discussed already. There is chances that caused by his new formations, but I do not believe. The smaller explosion that came slightly before is more likable.”

“Likely,” Olive corrected reflexively, “If he needed to use something that flashy, wouldn’t that mean he was in trouble?”

“Whatever trouble he was in, that likely solved it. Now, he doing what only he can do, or what he believe best. He is fine, he is always fine,” Mayalyn’s confident tone only wavered a touch.

Her brow then wrinkled as she sniffed the air, scenting the coppery tint of fresh blood. With a frown, she snatched Olive’s arm and lifted it from the water, discovering a deep cut on the back of her wrist that was slowly oozing, “You are bleeding, what happen? Why have you not healed it?”

“N-no reason,” Olive stammered, gently but firmly withdrawing her arm and holding her hand over the cut. 

She turned her head to the side to face the mountains to the north and her gaze grew distant as she sighed. Not understanding what was going through her friend's head, but noticing her anxiety only mounting, Mayalyn decided to lighten the mood, “It is good you no longer deny your feelings.”

Olive’s complexion turned crimson, her aura flooding with embarrassed exhilaration, “W-well, that is, uhm. Yes. I’ve never felt this way before, never let myself feel this way before. It’s strange, and painful, but exciting and fun too. I swear if he’s dead, I’m going to kill him for making me feel like this!” She smacked her palm against the water, splashing them both.

Mayalyn wiped the steaming water from her cheeks and repeated what her Grandmother told her whenever she allowed her emotions to get the better of her, “All life is mirrored in the tides with their ebbs and flows. The suns rise and fall, the seasons arrive and depart. Most important, good times always follow bad. If we can survive this storm, clear skies will greet us. We must not let emotions born from difficult times consume us, as they will be fleeting as the tides. Will you practice with me?”

“Practice? Practice what?” Olive looked around the small stone room questioningly, wondering what they could possibly practice in such a small, hastily constructed space.

“Breathing!” She emphasized the word by flashing her brows twice then continued in a mysterious tone, “As the tides ejects detritus upon the sands, we can do the same with our negative emotions. Inhale deep and force tension from your body with exhalation, like so,” Mayalyn took a long, slow, and steady breath, her shoulders drooping as a touch of the tension left them at the end.

“Like the tides? Okay, okay, I can do this,” Olive nodded and followed her lead. Several cycles of breaths later, the princess was noticeably more relaxed and new emotions began sprinkling through her aura. 

A predatory smile inched up the corners of Mayalyn’s lips, “You should have told him long ago. You holded the feelings inside, and they fester. When he returns, you will be so nervous you will be unable to hold his eyes. He very much enjoys holding eyes.”

“What? Holding… Oh, yeah, I’ve noticed that too… When he returns…” Olive fell silent for several minutes, wringing her hands the entire time. Eventually, she worked up the courage to ask, “You two have, you know… Haven’t you?”

Mayalyn responded with a huge grin and a deep nod, her eyes glowing with mischief, “Oh yes, many times.”

“R-really? W-what’s it like?” Olive swallowed hard, her aura quivering with a bevy of emotions thick enough to choke on.

Happy to have successfully redirected her, Mayalyn laid it on thick, “It is amazing! I call him my big worm because he burrows so deep inside my dirty—”

“Ahh! No, stop! That’s too much detail!”

“Oh no, we are only beginning. The way he fills me with his mana while he—”

“I said stoooooop!” Olive squealed, covering her ears and dunking back under the water, which did nothing to block out Mayalyn’s cackling.

My Aajiran, return to us soon, we are waiting for you.

Jiran of Feylon

The revenants released wails bursting with frustrated anguish as the explosion of condensed gases blasted Jiran away from them, simultaneously scattering their cloudy forms. The energies contained within those piercing screeches crashed into his back and broke through his defenses. The attacks slithered down the tap in his neck and his soul wall squirmed in agony. The backlash from being hit by three of them at the same time turned his skin blue as freezing cold enveloped his entire being.

Jiran didn’t take the time to heal himself or even look back to see if they had recovered enough to chase him. He pushed more and more condensed, liquified fuel from his feet, the continual explosive force propelling him forward truly testing the limits of his new durability. As his vision darkened into a tunnel, he cut off the flow, shooting through the sky like a meteor.

Can’t… panic. If I keep going like this, I’ll only attract more of them. I need a plan, and for that, I need answers.

The alacrity of his thoughts returned in a rush as his acceleration dwindled. Wind and snow blasted against him but inside the shell of his skin coated in a thick layer of mana, he barely felt a thing.

They were trying to eat my aura. Thank the Fathers they don’t have a ranged ability like Enthralling Touch. First thing to figure out is how they found me so I can stay the inferno away from them. At least until I figure out how to kill them. I can’t see a blasted thing in this blizzard, yet three of them managed to find me easily enough. And that first one almost seemed to need the snow to see. It didn’t resume its attack until the blizzard enveloped us again. If that’s the case, then they don’t rely on regular sight, and considering they’re immune to elemental light, that makes a lot of sense.

Everything in this arena has been geared toward aura, so it's safe to assume that’s how they found me. Both times they showed up, it was right after I used my aura. Their ability to drain it on contact is all the more reason to keep my aura sealed. If it helps make me harder to spot, even better. I wonder if I’m leaving trace amounts of aura on the framework, allowing them to track me. That’s certainly not something I’ve ever noticed, but being extra paranoid right now seems like a great idea.

Jiran compressed his Manabody into the tightest ball he could form and wedged it in the middle of his chest. He completely surrounded it with a thick, hardened layer of mana, hoping that would obfuscate the energy enough to keep them from spotting him.

Crazy that I can’t hurt them at all. How am I supposed to fight something like that? The system’s instructions to survive are making a lot more sense now, because fighting my way through a group of those would be impossible. What’s my next move? I can’t keep wandering around in the open like this. Even if hiding my aura works, it's only a matter of time until I wander right into one of them. They’re too hard to spot in this blizzard. Mana Omnis is useless if there’s so much refracted light blinding me.

Refracted light… that’s a thought. And now that I know what kind of beasts I’m up against and that mana is useless against them, there’s no more reason to hoard it. Between wasting it to retreat, or splurging it in an effort to avoid them in the first place, the choice is obvious.

Jiran cycled through a dozen mental variations of what he had in mind. Unable to utilize his aura, he relied on raw mana to latch onto the framework and slow his fall. By the time he crashed into the ground in a spray of snow, he was ready to begin. But first, he held perfectly still, making sure he lost the three from before and that his meteoric descent hadn’t attracted another. 

His flight had taken him closer to whatever was causing the anomalous weather. The freezing temperatures insidiously slithered beneath his skin, bypassing the protective layers of mana and eating away at whatever warmth it could find. Afraid his chattering teeth would give away his position, Jiran didn’t wait long to get started. 

His mental image consisted of a thin, tight layer of cloth that covered a single hand. He stuck a finger into the hard stone ground and Mana Confluence spread his mana out, breaking down the material on an atomic level. Rock and trace quantities of ore turned to fine dust before wrapping around his hand. He didn’t spare a single thought toward his newest creation protecting him from the chill; this was no natural cold and the mana cost of making clothing that could defend him from a soul-rending blizzard that he didn’t even begin to understand would be astronomical.

He directed all of his focus toward blocking any and all traces of his aura. As with Forming, Mana Confluence could turn any material into any other, the only limiting factors being mana cost and imagination. As with all things involving the magic of Madra, understanding and knowledge were the cornerstones of efficiency. Jiran may not have understood how the beasts could find his Manabody, but he was intimately familiar with exactly what the Manabody was, and the image of a cloth that could stop or insulate aura was simple enough to conjure up.

His mana went to work, converting the stone dust into a thin, ultra-fine weave of cloth that snugly formed around his hand. Mana Omnis had no issue piercing the veil it created. He watched his mana through it, the energy dancing to his desire. He drew a filament of aura from the bundle in his chest and pooled it inside his palm, then directed some of his mana into the middle of that spool. When it vanished from his sight, he smirked.

It cost a staggering five percent of his mana to make the glove, mainly because he had never even heard of a material that could block the sight of aura. No surprise, since humans lacked a skill to see aura in the first place. After scouring it with every sense available to him and coming to understand it slightly better, he was able to make an entire skin-tight suit of the material for a mere eight percent of his remaining mana.

His new suit made little noise as it smoothly slid across his skin with each movement. It was delicate to the touch, though that may have been because his nerves were deadened from the blistering cold. With one of his two problems hopefully solved, he moved right on to the next.