034

 

34.  The Deossifier

 

It had been so long since Vance fell off the cliff that he no longer possessed any sense of time. He was delirious, exhausted, and frustrated beyond belief. His bones ached. His jacket and shirt were off to the side, damp with sweat. He’d fallen over and over again since he first began, and there was no hope in sight.

 

The moon had finished its descent, and the sun was on the rise. Vance could see the end of Averyl's cloak floating from the top of the cliff. Asshole's probably up there laughing at me while he eats his damn fruit. Maybe he really is trying to kill me.

 

Vance was thirsty, hungry – and worst of all, his psynergy was completely drained. So far he'd barely made it more than a quarter of the way up, which meant that he wasn't even half as strong as he needed to be. Despite how impossible it all seemed, he knew that someone like Azuka would be able to do it effortlessly. But how? It seems like I'm pulling all of the psynergy out from my body that I can. I feel completely empty... Am I missing something else?

 

A dark shadow cast over him, and he noticed Averyl had once again moved to the edge of the cliff. In his hands, he held two ripe oranges.

 

"What are you doing?" Averyl called down. "Don't you want to come back up?"

 

"Shut up."

 

"Still so mean..." Averyl shook his head. "You should be nice to your mentor, you know."

 

"You're no mentor," Vance replied. "You're trying to kill me."

 

"Now why would I want to do that?" Averyl smiled. "I'm simply giving you a new point of view through which to look at things."

 

"Whatever."

 

"There you go again..." Averyl smiled. "You'll never get anywhere if your vision is clouded, you know."

 

Vance stared at him, humorless.

 

"I'm going to tell you a story," Averyl continued. "Once upon a time there were two stubborn men sitting in the middle of a road. Decades ago, they got into an argument so severe that they could no longer face each other without getting mad. But they both refused to move from where they sat, because that would show a sign of weakness to the other...so they sat there for a very long time.

 

"The side of the road that the first man faced was home to a beautiful grassy field, complete with flowers and trees. The second man's side was a barren wasteland, filled with skeletons of the dead and vultures feeding upon them, but both of them had been sitting there so long that they’d forgotten what was on the other's side.

 

"Every day the first man would begin the morning by crying out 'Oh, what a beautiful day!’ And the second man would always reply with 'You're out of your mind! This world is a festering cesspool!'

 

"The first man would grumble, furious at the second's contrarian nature. The second man felt that the first was merely trying to get on his nerves, so he refused to move and let the first have his way.

 

"And so, the two sat there forever, until they became old and grey and their bodies deteriorated into dust scattered by the four winds. For their entire lives, they were each trapped in a solitary dimension of their own making. They refused to look at anything from a different angle. Well, Vance? What do you think the moral of the story is?"

Vance glared up with tired, exasperated eyes. "Don't be a stubborn asshole? I don't know!"

Averyl snickered. "There are so many other dimensions out there, Vance, more than you could ever dream of. To become truly powerful, you must learn to see all of them just as they are, without letting your own fears and feelings color them. You must learn to take nothing at face value, for some things are never what they seem to be. Even universal ideas like good and evil are no more than notions created by flawed creatures. Everything differs in the eye of the beholder. This is one of the many things you must learn..."

 

"Is that why you threw me down a pit?!" Vance screamed. "So you could stand up there and spout off your little spiel like some mental health guru?! Thanks for the motivational speech, Averyl! I'm really moved!"

 

Averyl shook his head, turning back around. "Looks like you still need more time..."

 

As he moved away from the precipice, an orange slid from his hands and tumbled down the cliff's wall. Vance ran toward the juicy fruit with a desperate lurch as hunger took precedence over his pride. It entered his palms with a smack and he began to peel it ferociously. The cool juice exploded over his lips and dripped across his dry tongue as he stuffed it into his mouth. It was the most delicious orange he’d ever tasted.

 

The nutrients re-energized his fury, and psynergy crackled

 

*************

 

around her hands as Eden molded another orb of energy. Eden and Cliff had been sparring for the past two hours, and she had been holding up surprisingly well.

 

Cliff was clearly not attacking her with the intent to kill, but Eden wasn’t hold back. She fired constant psynergy blasts toward him, ducking and rolling, trying to hit him from every possible angle. He blocked them all, and even had the chance to counterattack and punt her across the ground. Captain Azuka stood by in the shade of the mountain, watching and analyzing their moves.

 

It pained Cliff to have to try and hurt Eden, but he knew they both needed to strengthen themselves. Eden had a natural speed which helped refine his senses and reflexes, and while her psynergy wasn't overly powerful, she had an amazing amount at her disposal. Physical limitations like pain or exhaustion seemed to be the only things that could keep her down, which meant she still had yet to unleash her full potential.

 

"Eden," Cliff asked as he stopped to catch his breath, "are you holding back at all?"

 

"No." Eden furrowed her brow. "Why?"

 

"Have you ever felt like you used up all your psynergy?" Cliff asked. "Like your mind was empty?"

 

Eden stared up at the dim sky, trying to think. "No, I don't think so."

 

"Okay," Cliff said, "now remember what it felt like after you chased Van Kaen away."

 

"I don't really remember," Eden answered. "I got so angry, and thought I was going to die. It felt like I lost my mind."

 

"Probably because you summoned more psynergy than your body was ready to handle," Cliff stated. "Psynergy is your life force, you know. If you overuse it and break the limit, you could kill yourself."

 

"It’s possible that Eden’s psynergy reservoir is much larger than normal," Azuka cut in. "While people have different innate traits at birth, everyone starts with the same amount of psynergy inside them, wouldn't you agree, Cliff?"

 

"Yes," Cliff said. "That's common knowledge."

 

"Well it's wrong," Azuka said. "That's just wishful thinking to give people and hope and make them feel better about themselves. The reality of the situation is that sometimes, for absolutely no reason, people are born with enormous amounts of psynergy inside them. Most of these people leave their powers dormant and untouched, but sometimes, once in a while...they tap into it. What we need to do now is condition Eden's body so that it can properly handle the vast power she possesses."

 

"But how?" Eden inquired. "Do I just need to get stronger?"

 

"No, it has nothing to do with physical strength," Azuka explained. "It's about how your mind and body respond to your psynergy. Starting now, Cliff and I are going to bombard you with psynergy non-stop. I want you to let the attacks connect, so don't worry about dodging or anything like that. Stand your ground, keep a barrier up, and most of all, concentrate your psynergy at a single point. We're going to try and bust down all the barriers you’ve got."

 

"Let's just hope we don't bust her down in the process." Cliff shot a worried glance at Azuka.

 

"I'm confident in my own control..." Azuka smirked. "But if you think you don't have what it takes to assist Eden, then by all means, sit this one out, Walden."

 

This insinuation made Cliff's face warp into an indignant scowl, after which he promptly turned back to Eden. "Ready?"

 

Staring nervously at the two, Eden slid her hands across her chest and drew out a thick barrier of psynergy.

 

"She's ready," Azuka announced, then released a stream of yellow psynergy from her hands. It smashed into Eden, driving the girl backwards. She worked frantically to restore her barrier as Azuka's attack eroded it. Cliff watched in awe as Azuka continued to pump her psynergy into the blast, driving Eden farther back along the dirt.

 

"Look how well she's keeping up," Azuka said. "On top of that, her barrier's growing stronger. See, if I push just a little harder..."

 

Azuka leaned into her stream, pushing her psynergy forward so that it began to smother her student. Eden closed her eyes, searching for more power from a deeper source. As she let citrus psynergy flow out from within, Eden could feel her shield spread out around her, fusing not just with her barrier, but her entire body.

 

Then, Cliff launched a golden-tan ball of his own psynergy toward the girl, but Eden didn't budge, her barrier easily deflecting the blast.

 

"Faster!" Azuka shouted, then followed through with an array of multi-colored blasts.

 

The blasts hit Eden hard, but despite their varying speeds and sizes, the individual power of each strike wasn't enough to do long-lasting damage. A single blast could dent her barrier, but the damage would be repaired long before the next one closed in.

 

Azuka shot her arms out faster, forcing the blasts to hit twice or thrice at a time, which jostled Eden's body around. But no matter how fierce the assault became, the girl's power never wavered.

 

Cliff joined in again. Eden could handle Azuka's dispersed onslaught, but as Cliff's psynergy began knocking out chunks of Eden's barrier, it became too much to handle. Suddenly, Eden collapsed in exhaustion, and her orange psynergy dissapeared. Azuka and Cliff immediately ceased fire, but the last couple of stray blasts hit Eden head-on and knocked her backwards into the dirt.

 

"Eden!" Cliff rushed over. Eden's arms were bruised, and there was a bloody burn across her abdomen.

 

"You did pretty well, Eden," Azuka said as she walked over. "How did it feel?"

 

Eden's eyes cracked open, "It was...interesting," she coughed. "I felt like I was opening gates up inside my body and just letting the psynergy spill out."

 

"Looks like we'll have this job done in no time," Azuka said with a smile. "And especially since I only have you to focus on now. Come on, let's go get you fixed up and have some dinner. Then we'll resume our training."

 

"I wonder how Vance is doing..." Eden let out a sigh as she stood. "You think he's lonely?"

 

"I'm sure Vance is doing fine," Azuka said. "You should focus on yourself for now, Eden. I want your full attention right here."

 

"Okay, okay." Eden cracked a smile. "Don't worry, I'm serious about this too. I know I need to

 

*************

 

get stronger..." Vance grunted, staring down at his bloody hands. "I can't let this break me.."

 

As his most recent jump reached its peak, he tried to grab on to the side of the cliff. If only he could freeze himself there for a few minutes, he could have summoned up some more psynergy and rocketed the rest of the way up. However, fatigue set in once more, and he fell, bouncing off the stone before he hit the ground. The bottom portion of the cliff was now speckled with his blood.

 

Nothing worked. But then again, Averyl wouldn't have thrown him down here if there was an easy way out.

 

Try looking at it from a different perspective... Averyl's cryptic words echoed through his head. Was it some kind of hint?

 

Whether he liked to admit it or not, Vance knew that Averyl was in control here, and therefore, he had to play by Averyl's rules. It was infuriating, but Averyl had long since demonstrated who was boss. Now, it was only a question of whether or not Vance was capable of following his directions.

 

The teenager tried to move around and physically look at the cliff from a different angle, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The precipice extended horizontally for miles, and there were no visible footholds or cracks of any kind.

 

Look from a different perspective. Vance stared up at the cliff, wondering what could cause his perspective to change as he leapt toward it.

 

Through rationing his psynergy and releasing it in longer bursts, Vance had successfully made it close to the top. This new strategy carried him much farther than before, but there still had to be something else besides mere psynergy flow that he was missing. It was a battle against gravity, and he needed something powerful that would let him pierce straight through.

 

Pierce...I need to pierce through the air, like a bullet. I'm a bullet, and gravity is a wall. His mind was gradually drawn back to Plumbro Music in downtown Pittsburgh, and the bullets that had shattered the glass window.

 

It's all about inertia. I need to stop thinking of my body as mine. I'm a bullet. I need to break through.

 

Vance grabbed his jacket and shirt and put them back on. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt like he was on to something.

 

After taking a deep breath and charging his psynergy, Vance began to spin his body in a circle. Within seconds, he picked up speed. Keeping the straight path up to the precipice in his mind, Vance closed his eyes and kept going. More...more speed, more force...I need to forfeit my body to the momentum.

 

Kicking off the ground, he shot into the air. Vance's body screamed upwards, slicing through air and gravity as psynergy burned around him. He eventually felt himself begin to slow down, and opened his eyes to face solid rock. The cliff's edge was still about twenty feet above him.

 

No! He stretched his arms out and reached for the hanging edge. I'm so close! All I need is one more tiny leap, and I'll be out of his hell hole forever. I can't fall now. I can't!!

 

As he felt his body began to dip, Vance lurched his upper half forward and did a somersault in mid-air. Gritting his teeth, he let his soul explode, squeezing out his last bits of psynergy from wherever he could as he tried to keep himself from falling.

 

His body burned, and Vance sprung upwards from his mid-air roll, hoping it would be enough. In the next instant, he found himself face to face with Averyl, who stood just a foot or two ahead of him on the edge of the precipice.

 

Vance reached out with his arms and desperately grabbed the edge.

 

"What do we have here?" Averyl smiled as he crouched down. "Looks like you learned a new trick..."

 

"I made it...now tell me who you’re searching for." Vance struggled to speak as he hoisted himself up.

 

Averyl opened his mouth in a wide grin. His hair gleamed in the lone sliver of moonlight that escaped over the mountain's peak. And then, he uttered a single word.

 

As the word filled his ears, Vance's jaw dropped, and he felt all the strength escape his body. Nothing but a small squeak escaped from his throat as he let go of the cliff, paralyzed by what had come from Averyl's lips.

 

He seemed to be falling in slow motion, head rolling backwards, vision clouded – then he felt Averyl's hands clamp around his leg.

 

Averyl stared down at the shaken boy with glee. "You know, if you fall from there, you could get really hurt..."

 

Vance’s mind reeled. He closed his eyes, summoning up what little of his strength he had left, and opened his mouth. "How..." he gasped. "How do you know my mother's name?"

Next: Flesh and Blood