Chapter 474 (2/2)
Caera shot htly panicked look “I’rona turned with a flourish, his hands extended out to his side “But of course you don’t! How could you The Legacy is beyond your co Soon, you will understand perfectly”
My eyes twitched to Nico’s at Agrona’s acy Our expressions were so identical, it was al into a mirror
Cecilia…
Cold fury like hot coals settled into the bottom of my stomach as I finally understood I looked away, unable to meet Caera’s eyes, unable to accept what I had done to her I didn’t really listen as Agrona continued, and when he disht back to my own roo later I couldn’t face her I didn’t want to hold her hand and look into her eyes and know I had killed her
Instead, I threw ression, the power it provided I’d never felt powerless in this life until I learned what Agrona had in store for Caera I hated that feeling , and so I decided not to be powerless One day, I would be stronger than theainst steel in rapid succession Thearound them Nico was on the defensive, all his effort exhausted just in keeping h, and he was forced to retreat back a half-step with each blow
I varieddirections while continuing to press forward, waiting
He , and his blade twisted out of position The charwood—shaved down to a deadly sharp edge—struck hi to his exposed flesh and the outer surface of his armor sundered, carved open by h the mana beast leather beneath it Nico twitched in pain ashis upper ar, he drove his shoulder forward, pushi+ng the edge of the blade deeper and forcinghi until it was too late
Nico’s fist, wrapped in flaainst my cheek My ownacrossto a knee, then laid down n of surrender to end the bout “What the hell, Nico…” I gru and iht side “This was supposed to be infusion only No mana arts”
“Especially not Vritra-based spells,” Melzri drawled, aood tactic Sacrifice a sainst a different opponent—fatal attack Nicely done, Nico”
I turned to glare at Melzri “It was hardly ‘nicely done’ Nico took advantage of ht to strike an unfair blow”
“Following rules of engage me carefully “Slavish adherence to such rules only serves your ene beside Melzri, Caera’s face looked pensively between Nico andthat, I thought, frustrated with the situation and myself Somehow, it was still so hard to think of the person beneath that navy hair, those ruby red eyes, and her crown of horns as not Caera And yet it was impossible to view her as Caera, either, because the tere so different And so I thought of Caera’s hands, her face, her arms now covered in runic tattoos that ran up her neck, instead of thinking of her by na slowly Her name is Cecilia
“You…okay?” Nico asked, finally, if fleetingly,into the side of his head until he cleared his throat andas if he were si the battlefield
Melzri chuckled as she tossed her snohite hair back, settling it around her horns “I think that’s enough swordplay for the moment Grey, Cecilia Spells only No movement”
Nico sent his blade into an extradie device around his wrist and hurried away from me I looked down at the charwood sword inweapon, even if it lookedeach other with since ere children Its edge had been carved down to be sharp as a razor, and the flat was i it difficult and painful for anyone else to use, but also fortified the charwood In the end, it still wasn’t as durable as a steel sword, but the charwood channeled mana h application of er than the siretfully, I too reached for the , then stored the blade away I kneas co forward to it
As Nico and Cecilia passed each other, she reached out and squeezed his hand, then pulled hiaze fell to the ground
“Hey, none of that shi+t on acy, not soirl I don’t care if you have been dead and separated for however long”
“Sorry, Scythe Melzri Vritra,” Cecilia said, blushi+ng and offering the Scythe a quick bow before hurrying into place oppositein the side of my face only intensified as I watched Cecilia approach Channeling wind-attribute mana, she conjured a cushi+on of air beneath herself, carefully crossed her legs, and settled atop it, hovering about two feet off the ground
I couldn’t help but grind my teeth A fewlike that
The rapid purification of her core and expansion of her abilities had been far beyond anything I could have expected It seeic I had learned in this world Ime aptitude with three of the four traditional ele on bile water and void wind to compliment—or counter—Nico’s specialization of soulfire and blood iron
But Cecilia had only needed tirow acquainted with the body she now inhabited before al affinity with all four elements and each of their possible deviants, and without any additional runes bestowed after her reincarnation
This was another thing I found e the full truth of Cecilia’s presence in this world with us Because it hadn’t simply been her reincarnation; she hadn’t randomly inhabited a body, or been reborn into her own No Her spirit had required a vessel And Caera’s had to be displaced in the process, I thought with a building anger Agrona killed her Cecilia killed her
Melzri said so that I didn’t catch, and then mana swirled into a visible spell around Cecilia
Jerking out of my stupor, I formed a barrier around myself, already on the back foot due to ainst my shi+eld, followed by the crack of concentrated thunder The sound-attribute deviant h the barrier protectingoutward, like a stone thrown into a pond
I leaned into the barrier, reinforcing it with all theinto the center of the ripple with her will, not casting a spell but si my control over it
The shi+eld melted away suddenly, and a concentrated fist of wind struck round only to sla
“Grey, you moved” Melzri’s voice was folloith the flare of mana, then a whip of black flames licked across my back
My vision hite for several seconds as pain overwhelmed me
“I think that was a new record, Cecilia,” Melzri continued, disregarding round “But your use of mana is lazy While it is impressive that you were able to burst his shi+eld al his control over the mana, that ability is a crutch If you learn only to overwhelm your opponents by sheer force of mana, then you will fail to foster the creativity necessary to e in Alacrya who can control all attributes of ic Make use of that”
“Yes, Scythe Melzri Vritra!”
“Grey, get your ass up Let’s go again And focus this time!”
I closedarms
Life becaap between Cecilia, Nico, and I greider My sense of powerlessness only deepened, a dark and empty well that yawned beneath ht fall and never recover If not for Agrona’s continuing push for us to live, study, and train as a group, I couldn’t have bared it
“You’re angry, Grey Good”
My jaw clenched until it ached, and I tried not to glare at the High Sovereign
“Use it, boy Don’t hold back Your rage is a survival mechanism, meant to push you past the threshold of your abilities To reign it in is to hobble yourself If you make less of yourself than you could be, then you are silowered at Nico across froht settled overI saw her rona would ever ainst her without our ainst her
I shook off the thought, focusing
“Begin”
This tiressively His blade thunked against mine I stepped into the attack, forced his blade out of the way, and planted e had been a feint, and he pirouetted aroundbackwards at my stomach
I struck the flat of his weapon with ain stepped into his attack, too close for swords to be fully effective My elbow snapped up toward his mouth, but he twisted and took the blow on the jaw as he pulled his sword back toward hi acrossthe cutting edge fro the charwood, I felt the steel bite into the razor thin edge ofa step back, as if I were correcting my stance, I unleashed a forward kick at the side of his knee Too late, Nico tried to correct his footing, butsideith an aard pop
Nico gri a barrier between us, but there was blood in the water now, and I could sed forward and struck directly at his sword’s handguard His attempted block was clumsy, and the blade was jolted out of position I thrust forward, pushi+ng the edge of my charwood sword across his ribs
He tucked in toward the wound, bringing his head down into e
Nico stu across the floor with a dull scraping noise
I turned angrily toward Agrona “We all know I’m the better swordsrona's sain”
My mana came back in a rush as Cecilia released the suppression in order to aid Nico’s healing Nico was silent as the healer eased the swelling in his knee, set his nose, and stopped the bleeding fro Cecilia watched everything nervously She kept trying to catch nored her
When Nico was back on his feet, we returned to our starting positions and fell into our opening stances, waiting for Agrona’s word
“Begin”
Nico cah stance I opened with an overhead block, h the strike and behind Nico, where I would deliver a slash to the back of his legs
Our teapons e of the charwood The weapons caught each other with the expected resistance, jerked, then continued forward through each other
A bright line of pain ran across my shoulder and down the outside of my arm
The last two feet of black wood clattered to the ground, bouncing In my hands, I held only the handle with a foot of blade, sliced cleanly off on the end
I kept withthe back of Nico’s legs, which h to reach, I spun and released the hilt
Nico had stepped through his swing and half turned, hesitating as he looked down at the charwood blade as it bounced a second ti length of blade struck his unprotected sternu into the hilt Nico’s eyes ith surprise, hisa soundless, “Oh” He stu charwood blade, and fell to the ground with a crash
There was a moment where no one moved, then Cecilia’s scream of, “Nico!” split the air like a thunderclap
She ran to his side and reached for the hilt, but her hands hovered over it fearfully “Help!” she called, casting about a frightened look for the healer, but he atching Agrona, waiting for the High Sovereign’s coed with tur down onat its prey “Releaseat the High Sovereign with a sort of pleading confusion
“Cecilia, releaseinside of s,at my sternum The mana, previously constrained todim Outside my body, the warrew cold I gasped, unable to breathe, choking onin my fear
“Healer, see if Nico can be saved”
My eyes closed My ears rang so loud that the words becah Sovereign?”
“The boy’s purpose is coers went nu into my skin, desperate to reach the pain inside my sternum Bile filled the back of my throat
“Don’t worry, Cecilia dearest Reive you stability, it will also hold you back I think you have reached the point where the weight of such relationshi+ps must be cut loose It is ti was the last thing I heard before the world went black
And then, within the black, a faint bit of distant light
The light grew closer, brighter, and then turned into a bright blur, forcing me to shut my eyes Indiscernible sounds assaulted my ears When I tried to speak, the words caratulations, sir andca back in, and I re The context of the life I had just lived fit into place, as did the previous attempts It all felt like a horrid dream, but it didn’t fade as I woke
Because I’m not really awake
I forcedon around me as I turned my focus to the puzzle of the keystone I can’t lose ht in frustration How can I solve a puzzle if I forget what I’ every time I pick up a piece?
Full of the chill of that sad, unwanted existence in Alacrya, a shi+ver ran through ht truly be trapped in the keystone forever I clung to enuine need but couldn’t escape the feeling of s In otten what it was like to feel alone, to be by myself in my own head I wished I could take comfort from mother and father, but in that moment, with the life of Grey in Alacrya still so fresh in my mind, I couldn’t entirely accept theis, where the hell are you?