36.
Transmogrification
At the foot of the mountain, Averyl set up a fire along with several jugs
of water and bundles of bread, vegetables and fruit.
"Where did you get all this stuff?" Vance asked. "It's
like you keep pulling things out of thin air."
Averyl faced Vance with a prideful smirk. "I took a quick trip to
another dimension, Vance. Is there anything else you need?"
Vance thought for a moment. "I could use some new clothes."
"A wise idea." Averyl smiled, then placed his hands on his chest
and pulled outward. As if he was splitting his clothing apart, another identical
black cloak phased out from his own, following his fingers. He moved his hands
from the neck of the cloak and returned them to his chest, pulling again and again
until the brand new cloak slipped all the way out, glowing with a thin layer of
purple psynergy.
"That came out from your body?"
"It's a little trick I thought up. My own special trick,"
Averyl said. "Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed using psynergy to create.
I wasn't content with simply destroying, or manipulating. I wanted to make something
entirely new for myself. At first, I could only make shallow imitations, but
after much practice, I became skillful at materializing things purely from my
own psynergy. There are some things I still can’t make, though...no matter how
hard I try. Like a new Victoria..."
Vance grimaced. "So you're controlling that cloak?"
"Not controlling...I merely produced it using my mind. It takes a
certain amount of psynergy for me construct an object, depending on its density
and composition..." Averyl replied, " And once it's removed completely
from my body, that psynergy is forever lost. The object will remain, though...indistinguishable
from the real thing."
Vance's eyes moved from the cloak to his uncle. Averyl had perfected his
own style of psynergy, and could now procure whatever he desired – he wasn’t just
strong, he was a genius. Just like Captain Azuka, Averyl had developed a unique
power that no one else possessed.
Averyl tossed the black cloak to Vance. He put it on, letting the warm
material envelop his skin. The two men now looked more alike than ever.
"It's made from psynergy," Averyl explained, "so it will
resist other psynergy, just like mine."
"Thanks," Vance said, smiling up at Averyl. "Can I have
something to eat now?"
"Help yourself..." Averyl gestured to the food.
Vance did as he was told and gorged himself. Averyl stood to the side,
filing his long fingernails with a thin silver blade.
"So," Vance spoke up once he was full and tired, "what
are my chances of becoming stronger, Averyl? I mean, how long did it take you
to get where you are? Will I be able to match up to anyone at the tournament?"
"It took me quite a while," Averyl said. "But I was on
my own for a big chunk of it. Guidance is a key factor in education of any kind.
You and I, Vance...we shall accomplish great things together."
Vance's monochrome eyes were locked with Averyl's. "I want to develop
a special power, just like you."
"You will...and you must," Averyl said. "If you wish to
stand a chance in the tournament, that is. All the fighters there will be top-notch,
each of them with their own tricks and specialties."
"Great." Vance stood up, revving his neon purple psynergy.
"Shall we begin?" Averyl asked.
"Of course." Vance's voice had a competitive edge. "What
are we going to do?"
"Let's play a little game, to start off with..." Averyl placed
one hand to his heart, pulling forward as he had done before with the cloak.
This time, a long broadsword with a golden hilt appeared, shining as if it was
fresh from a forge. He tossed the sword to Vance, who quickly side-stepped and
reached out toward the shining hilt.
Vance grabbed the sword around with both hands and pointed it at
Averyl. "A sword fight?"
"Exactly." Averyl smiled and procured a dagger-toothed blade
with a dark iron hilt.
"Hey, that's not fair." Vance frowned. "Yours is way
cooler."
"I'll let you use it if you can hit me once..." Averyl grinned.
"Don't go easy on me." Vance stood poised, and ready to attack.
"I'm prepared this time, not like before when you jumped me."
"Is that so?" Averyl's eyes lit up, and he dashed straight toward
his nephew.
Vance braced himself for the impact, holding out his sword to parry. He
tried to imbue as much psynergy as he could into the blade, grasping it tightly
with his aura. As a psynergy-constructed object, it was easy to power up.
Averyl's sword came smashing down onto Vance's, knocking it backwards
and away from his body. He held on with an iron grip, not willing to back down
from the first strike. He was just proud that he had managed to block it.
Averyl thrust forward again, and Vance quickly dodged to the left, swinging
around with his own counter-attack aimed toward Averyl's midsection. The tall
man brought his sword around, catching Vance's inches away from his cloak.
Vance pulled back and tried dashing to the right, which would have been Averyl's
blind spot if they were fighting a normal battle.
However, the word normal had a very different meaning when it came to psynergy.
As Vance swung his sword toward the lower right side of Averyl's back, he saw a
shiny metal blade shoot out from his Uncle. It materialized out of Averyl's side,
skewering Vance's sword in its center and cracking the blade to pieces with a
sharp snap.
"Oops..." Averyl spun around guiltily. "Sorry, I couldn't
help it. You did a good job, even though I wasn't using psynergy, so I had to use
that, or else I would have been hurt..."
"You weren't even trying, were you?!" Vance growled.
Averyl chuckled. "Be careful what you wish for..."
Vance dropped the now-useless hilt onto the dirt. "How am I supposed
to get any practicing done with you breaking my damn weapon?"
"We could always play bare-handed, if you want..." Averyl offered.
"Fine with me." Vance lifted up his fists, padding them with
blazing psynergy. "But no tricks this time, you hear me?"
"Alright, alright..." Averyl nodded. "I promise."
Vance dove at his mentor, spinning in the air and bringing his left leg
out to try and kick Averyl's face. Averyl blocked the attack easily and grabbed
Vance's calf in mid-air. The boy brought his right leg back, trying to hit Averyl's
other side, but that was caught too. Both his legs were in Averyl's grasp now,
and he was frozen in a mid-air split.
Powering up his fist, Vance aimed to punch Averyl in the stomach. As he
curled, he felt Averyl's knee slam into his gut. With a grunt of pain, Vance went
sailing into the ground not far from where he had started.
Quickly, Vance climbed back to his feet and whirled
*************
around. Azuka had just released two more psynergy blasts, but Eden had
no difficulty canceling them out with her own. The two women had been exchanging
blows without pause for about an hour, and neither showed any sign of weariness.
Eden was a natural, and Azuka seemed pleased with her progress.
Eden let loose another onslaught, and a dazzling array of light exploded
across the ground. As the smoke cleared, she could see that her mentor was unscathed,
and the wooden blade was merely singed.
She was weak. It poured through Eden's soul, paralyzing her. She was
just as helpless now as she had been yesterday when she sent Cliff wandering into
the wasteland. She had done that to him. She made the choice, which broke her heart.
Did I do the right thing? Should I have tried harder to love him? Do I need
to learn to love? What am
I missing? Questions kept assaulting Eden’s mind. Where does strength
come from?
Azuka's blade sizzled down on to Eden's arms. The Knight Captain pushed
hard, and Eden's small body went careening across the wasteland. Skidding through
the dust, Eden tried to stop herself and catch a breather, but her master had
no mercy to spare. Azuka was behind the girl in an instant, and Eden felt a
sharp pain across her back as the woman's blade cracked down on her bones.
Growling, Eden spun around and felt frustration overtake the pain. Azuka
saw fury in the girl's eyes and smiled.
Eden sprung up in a wide arc, swinging her legs and nearly landing her
heel right on Azuka's forehead. Wasting no time, the Knight Captain struck out at
one of Eden's many openings, knocking the glowing teen to the ground once more.
Refusing to stay down, Eden unleashed brilliant orange rays of psynergy
at Azuka, who slid through the barrage with expert precision. In a split-second,
Azuka's blade was centimeters from the girl's heart.
"You're getting sloppy," Azuka said.
"My arms feel really tired," Eden sighed. "That's why I slowed
down at the end."
"I noticed." Azuka retracted her blade. "It's fine,
though, Eden. You're doing wonderfully."
"I still want to actually hit you, though." Eden paused.
"No offense or anything."
"None taken." Azuka chuckled, moved over to their encampment and
picked up a water jug. "Are you ready to turn in for the night?"
Eden and Azuka moved to stream nestled within a wide crevasse near another
plateau, washed their bodies, and then returned to the campsite. Cliff had
taken all his things with him, which made the site look a bit bare and empty.
"Are you going back to the Guild tonight?" Eden asked Azuka.
"I don't think there's anything for me to do today," Azuka
sighed, slipping on a lighter sleeping yukata. "Mind if I sleep over tonight?"
Eden smiled. "Just as long as you don't make me train in my sleep."
"Actually, there is an exercise I'd like you to do."
After some preparations, the two women tucked themselves in at the foot
of the mountain. Azuka taught Eden how to focus her mind so that she could continue
channeling psynergy even as she slept, and then the two slowly drifted into
slumber. Although she didn't realize it, through the night, Eden's body drifted
closer and closer to Azuka's warmth. And when she woke up in the morning, she found
the captain's arm fastened around her, cradling her like a child.
Next: In Death We Tryst
