Catalyst

Flamingos swam in total tranquility in an artificial lake (though most people of high rank simply called it a pond) larger than competition pools. The pond was surrounded by high, strange azure and violet grasses and a hundred shades of blooming flowers. Untainted white sakura petals danced in slow and fickle winds and collected in the water below. The water was pure and clean, reflecting the glimmer of moonlight, as it was constantly rejuvenated by a waterfall that flowed as if from nowhere, down from the artificial cliff ten meters above. There, a river flowed between dozens of trees that enclosed a small forest, complete with grazing deer and sleeping owls. This was the first of several of the king’s projects in creating an artificial environment - the Helios ‘Sky Garden’. It was a favored destination for tourists to come and take pictures. Its beauty made Xenron long for more, to see boundless nature, and he felt the panic of caged animal for a moment before shutting it away. Where did that come from? He had something more important to focus on - the sense of pressure coming from the Mana Transmission Terminal several feet away. He had come to challenge it - to put Johan’s Kinetic Evolution Theory to the test. It had worked once in Bruce’s test - and today, stronger than ever and with his brace off, he needed to discover his strength once and for all.

Xenron quickly laid his things out in the tall grasses, invisible to the various officers and other visitors taking a leisurely stroll. From his bag he pulled a sheathed saber, admiring for a moment the golden trim of the elaborate mythril guard. Picking up and fastening the belt holding that sheath, he came back to the main path and went through some basic stretches. Scanning the area as he did, he caught sight of Leo and gave him a wave, plastering on a jovial grin. His friend jogged over quickly, bow in one hand and quiver visible over his shoulder. He donned his black and gold KEY uniform with his utilitarian black gloves, so no one would mistake him for a mere child mishandling a weapon. His expression was sheepish as he approached.

“I’m sorry to have made you wait,” he said. “I’m grateful to you for setting this up.”

“Forget it,” Xenron said, waving dismissively. “It’s having maintenance done, so I was just limbering up anyway.” He tried to make both the statement and his tone casual, but the heavily tatooed mechanic gave Xenron an grin and mouthed ‘just a minute’ regardless, hurrying along in his tinkering. Leo waited politely, following Xenron in his stretches as he resumed them, and the burly man stepped away minutes later, gesturing emphatically with his massive arms.

“Thanks for your work,” Xenron said as the man went, with Leo giving him a polite nod.

“There’s no need to worry.” Leo said, hand on Xenron’s shoulder. Xexherre above, were his nerves that obvious? “Since they’ve perfected the safety, we just need to focus on doing our best. Let’s take it slowly - this was originally balanced around the King’s strength, so even though they’ve retuned it, there’s no shame in failing something like this.”

Xenron sighed, but gave a small nod. The King’s strength was the benchmark he needed to aspire to, but of course Leo was right. One step at a time. Xenron set his hesitation aside and walked across the hard clay-like courtyard to reach the terminal in the center of a large clearing. At the moment, no one was waiting to use it - it was generally booked up during Deepnight hours, due to the odd hours many elites kept. While he approached, the terminal scanned Xenron’s retina.

His identity confirmed, the black machine that seemed like a living cube came alive, lines of bluish light appearing as if cobalt blood began to flow through its veins. The hard, translucent lucidium screen requested a 32 digit personal password, which the prince promptly provided via touchscreen to prevent the machine from locking. At this point, the panel displayed options for standard mode, survival mode, and round select. The word “survival” burned in the center of Xenron’s vision, and he froze, images floating just outside his peripheral vision. It was Leo’s concerned expression, out of place as he stood at attention, that pulled him out of it. Xenron shook his head and glanced at the console, then selected standard.

Then, at the voiceover’s prompt, Xenron and Leo walked onto the center of a circular panel of darker stone. Fluorescent blue lights made the area more visible in the same vein-like pattern. Once they entered, a viscous fluid formed a translucent morphite dome around the fighting area with a radius of 25 meters, shutting out the outside world. It was hard for Xenron to believe that he would soon be fighting realistic opponents based on the same morphite. He’d seen the stuff outside of complicated systems, and it seemed little more than glorified jelly - and likely much less palatable. It seemed to him like nothing should make that goo so strong, but appearances often deceived.

Refocusing, Xenron noted his immediate threat - the laser projectors embedded in the fluid surrounding them. And moments later, he would have to watch them very carefully. A voice boomed which, like everything else, was limited to the enclosed dome. Xenron forcefully calmed his breathing as his tutor has taught him.

“Round one will now commence. If a laser targets you for a full second, it will fire a 5 femtosecond pulse. Avoid lasers to progress.”

Xenron looked around rapidly, finding all of the red beams scanning along the ground. Four traced in his direction, and he ran hard to his left, watching the positions of other beams. One near Leo meant that if he kept his head high, he would be zapped without noticing. But a more horizontal posture would make him clumsy, and an easy target for other beams. Thus Xenron ran, staggering and ducking below and around beams. Then, aligning briefly with Leo, he noticed a red dot on his skin. He lunged hard, hearing the hiss of the beam’s heat in the stone where he was a moment ago. However, he had made his way out of the situation, giving in to exhilaration of the run.

Figuring the trajectory of a laser based on its projector and the dot on the ground, he leapt and rotated his body, arching his back like a high jumper, to clear it. But when he landed, red dots closed in from all sides. Xenron sidestepped into a hard sprint, running along the perimeter of the arena and ducking low beneath the projectors that rotated near his head all around. And then, he noticed the series of red dots scanning the ground in front of him, swearing under his breath. He landed hard into backward leaning stance, cutting his momentum and stopping just short of getting zapped. At that point his vision looked beyond the lasers again, and relaxed for a moment. Leo was several meters away with sweat beading up on his face, which made Xenron take stock of his own state. Skin was glistening with sweat, heavy breathing that bordered on hyperventilation, and muscles whining at the exertion. This was normal. Xenron’s surprise came at the smile involuntarily on his face despite it. Perhaps he could hold out?

“This round is more team oriented, Leo, so I’ll stay in front. Cover me?”

Leo grinned, dark eyes sparkling, perhaps with relief, as he readied his bow.

“You can count on me.”

Xenron stood ready, gripping the cold brass windings of his sabre’s handle with anticipation. A terrific metallic sound rung out as he pulled the reflective steel blade from its duller scabbard. He stared with irritation at a place where the basket hilt’s golden enamel was chipped, but he didn’t have time to obsess now. The curved blade, which was several inches longer than Xenron’s arm, glimmered in the fluorescent light. He turned the weapon upright, filled with anxious anticipation.

Suddenly, liquid morphite rose and took on humanoid forms. Dark power formed what looked like puffy shadows on the ground and enveloped these shapes immediately, and in a mere moment, a pair of ebon soldiers stood before the duo wielding dark-as-night longswords. As they extended their front legs into a stance, Xenron’s anxiety spiked, but he looked to Leo and found reassurance in his nod. He extended his own right leg and held the blade at an angle as if it could extend through the foes 10 meters away.

“Round two will now commence,” a woman’s voice said, syllables flowing like verbal cursive. “Kill all of the soldiers to progress.”

Xenron pushed off hard with his back leg and closed the gap. The one on the right fell to Leo’s arrow. Xenron turned to the left soldier and, shouting his fear away, met its blade head on and forced it back. Pain ran up his tired arm – he gritted his teeth through it. The spawn came in again with a downward swing as Xenron noted three more spawning several meters away. He sidestepped and held his blade overhead at an angle. As the foes’ blade slid down Xenron’s like rain down a rooftop, he spun and drove his curved blade through the spawn’s leg, splattering dark liquid morphite to the ground, before striking the falling body once more. Pivoting quickly, he rushed to face the other enemies.

Leo picked off one of the three before he reached the group, but the other two guarded their crouched stances with rounded shields, keeping his arrows from them. Things got more complicated when the last four soldiers of the round spawned to Xenron right. They were on the edge of his field of view, but their presence was threatening.

“Deal with the two in front of you, Xenron! I’ve got these.”

“Got it,” Xenron said shakily.

Xenron didn’t like the situation one bit. He didn’t have support, and Leo had to fight without cover. However, there was no way out of it.

I’ll defeat this pair quickly, then help Leo out!

Xenron drove forward to meet them and swung, locking with incoming blade. He stepped back when the right-soldier swung but quickly retaliated with a shallow cut to force it back. He kept trying to step in from there, slicing wherever he saw an opening, only to meet a ready buckler. Then, Xenron remembered the weapon drills they’d recently started in Bruce’s section. He needed to step outside his comfort zone.

He stepped briefly out of range and took a deep, shaking breath. Then, with renewed vigor, Xenron rushed at the soldier on the left, swinging from the same hip. And then it was all fast. A blocking blade; his front kick launching the enemy away. An attack from the side; his pivot and block. Xenron burned, a bluish glow flashing across his vision, and lunged with unnatural speed, grabbing the shadow’s blade hand and cutting across its neck. Immediately, the other approached from behind. Looking back, he ducked the overhead swing and retorted with a back-kick. Then, rotating over his shoulder, he cut through the spawn’s blade arm before smoothly cutting down the center for the finish. He could hear the sound of more shadows forming up, but Xenron wasn’t ready to meet them.

The sound of flowing shadow moved to the back of Xenron’s mind, as so many other things occupied it, the Silent Dread suddenly loud. Images flashing across his vision. An unfamiliar land, covered in snow. No, blood. Blood everywhere. Seeping down. Focus, Xenron told himself. The burn of mana was still a fresh sensation. Xenron dropped his sword, but he didn’t hear it hit the ground. Screams ripped through his ears as his head pounded. Focus!

Then, a flash of light brought reality back. Xenron turned shakily, palms slick with sweat, as he saw the hissing forms of several destroyed shadows. Leo rushed over, looking concerned.

“Are you alright?! I can get Ms. Vale - she’ll know what to do.”

A shameful part of Xenron wondered for a moment if Leo was more worried about Xenron or about the possible punishment of being involved in a prince’s meltdown. Even if the latter was Leo’s concern, though, could Xenron really blame him? Not helpful thoughts. More importantly…

“I’m fine,” Xenron said shakily, convincing himself.

Only you can save yourself. Xenron remembered Ms. Vale’s words, pulling his trembling hands into his chest as if to hold the words close, as if to pray on their significance. He took deep, slow breaths as he had been taught. Mana is fire, but it is a flame you need to control. Feel its ebb and flow, and bring it to heel. If Xenron was an average kid, he could be fine with beating a small handful of shadows at his age. He would eventually be as strong as a professional soldier - if he could just get his Dread under control. But average was not an option for Xenron. And not just because of his responsibilities. Looking around at wisps of shadow rising into the air, it was clear: Leo had dispatched over twenty of the dark soldiers, and his breath was even. Xenron was jealous on a personal level. He wanted Leo’s grace, his magical power, his confidence. Things that lay beyond the boundaries in front of him.

“We’re in this together,” Xenron said, psyching himself up, and the system chimed shortly thereafter, cutting off Leo’s reply.

“Round three will now commence,” boomed the recorded voice. “Kill the armored bull to progress.”

A lesser version of the Khalkotauroi father would fight, Xenron contemplated. I have to start here. I can’t back down. I can’t…

Leo grimaced, stepping to Xenron’s side as the shadow welled up. “I’ll draw it off - find an opening,” he said, and Xenron gave him a grateful look. It wasn’t the proper role for the archer, but Leo was a Tier II student with full control of his mana, so he would excel at any role compared to Xenron.

***

Leo watched as morphite balled up from the ground before extending into four sturdy legs, a long head, and a stiff armor-like hide all around. Darkness immersed the figure as sharp horns extended on either side. The armored bull as it was crudely called, this was a beast commanded by Lucerna elites in the war on Garom. Before he could knock his first arrow, Leo was furious. Before anything, he mouthed a spell’s name, mana burning through the converters in his arm as he projected a shaft of light.

Mirror Shot!

The blast of light connected with the bull’s head, burning into it a short ways - before the technique faded, and the wound started to close. Breath hissed out from Leo’s teeth as he ran sideways from Xenron. He’d gotten the beast’s attention, at least. He planned to tear it to pieces, shot by shot, and so he let loose an arrow. As the bull charged for him, its aura of darkness rising to fill the expanse of the dome above it, he fired off two more shots, hitting the side and leg. No purchase - and the bull was upon him with blurring speed. Flaring mana through his body with a curse, Leo rushed barely to the side of the horns, kicking off the side of it. The move cost a ridiculous amount of mana compared to structured spells, and Leo was feeling the tingling soreness already as he knocked another arrow. Still, he drew further on his soul.

The last time Leo had tried the MTT with Xenron, he’d watched the prince break down in this same battle. That time, it had been his fault. He’d goaded Xenron into this most intense form of training - into making a reservation on the MTT Leo didn’t have the personal authority to make. Coming to train against the same enemies as kings and saints was a dream for Leo- but that dream shattered when he saw the harm it brought Xenron. He didn’t know the source of his friend’s suffering. Diseases of the body were trivial to diagnose, but Leo could tell that what Xenron suffered ran deeper. This time, once again, he was seduced by the allure of power. Of reaching his own goals. He told himself that Xenron needed this also. Leo spared the prince a glance amid his narrow dodge. A strained smile adored the prince’s face. A fake smile. It’s always like this. I always hurt them in the end. Leo swore, determined to push away the prince’s pain and his own grim thoughts. He rushed a complex incantation.

Open Spellcast: Mirror Shot. Create tether - type: contact. Close.

Instead of firing off his Mirror Shot alone like previously, he used a complex chant to silently guide his mana, focusing his mind as he bound the form of the light to a knocked arrow. The result was a projectile that gleamed with spectral light, and combined his physical and magical strength into a focused point. As the bull moved, he let it loose. However, in his frustration, he didn’t properly anticipate his target’s movement. With the same blurring speed, the bull pivoted, the arrow dropping just below its abdomen, and rushed at Leo. The ground tore apart with its approach, too fast for Leo to prepare another technique. He’d been forced to use too much mana on the previous round, and was running low. He’d burned out like an over-clocked processor, giving up his level head - the one damn thing he was good for. And he meant to protect the prince?

Xenron didn’t know that Leo had a temper. No one, so far as he knew, did. He kept it locked inside, but Leo felt angry more often than he felt calm. The cockiness of idiots like Johan who thought their rank didn’t reflect how good they really were. Stupid questions asking about a point the professor had clearly explained minutes ago. Even Xenron’s timidity bothered him, the way he danced around everything. He knew it wasn’t fair. That was why the person he was most angry with… was himself. It had long been that way.

***

Xenron could hardly keep up with Leo and the bull’s battle, the flashing of casting against the bull’s rush filling him with anxious excitement. As the bull closed on Leo again and again, Xenron stayed close as best he could. He watched intently. They hadn’t found a weakness last time, but he had to this time. Just as critically, he needed to master that power he had just tasted for a moment. He sank into a smooth breathing pattern, then transitioned to another, more staccato and sharp, and it was as though the jumps and starts drew on some reserve, like water from a well. Adrenaline pumping, he could feel it start to build as his concentration intensified and he remembered Johan’s descriptions. People use all kinds of analogies. Fire, magma. What you need to get is the idea of it. Heat. Flow. Intensity. And something more… deep? It’s natural. It’s perfect. It’s us. Xenron would keep his word this time. Leo’s casting had gotten faster, and the arrow-bound mirror shot went off faster than a normal cast could’ve been conjured. Even that attack probably wouldn’t do much, but if they could find a weak point…

Xenron’s heart sank as the arrow passed low. However, moments later, he saw it. The telltale dripping of violet-black liquid morphite from the bull’s underside. That telegraphed only one thing - serious damage. A weak point.

Now or never! Xenron summoned his mounting power, intent on casting the spell he most wished for. Just like when Johan had coached him that day, Xenron’s mana flared miraculously to life.

“Open Spellcast. Flame Lance. Close Spellcast.”

The blood. The bitter cold. Hands on his throat. Xenron mentally pushed the illusions aside, seizing the power they held inside them. Mana flowed out of his hands - but did not take shape as flame, and wisped away in a single moment of faint blue light.

Leo dodged narrowly, his own face a mask of frustration. The bull drew a bloody line across his chest with a scratch, and Xenron knew he couldn’t waste time, trying another spell.

“Open Spellcast. Electro Ball! Close Spellcast.”

His mana almost took shape as an orb. But it was took weak, too formless. He collapsed to his knees, holding his head. The visions hurt. Not… now… He remembered what Johan had told him about Kinetic Evolution Theory. A Xexen could be as strong as he needed to be. Don’t just want it. Need it. Will your strength into reality!

Xenron forced himself to his feet, pushing out another cast. Another. He swayed on his feet. Neither wind nor earth responded to his call. One more spell! As he cast, the images returned, faster this time. Tears. So many tears. The images all around in a panorama, it was like Xenron ran through a tunnel of lost memories. Teeth grinding, he ran through it all and came back to himself, swaying on his feet. Still, no spell had taken effect.

Now, the sensible thing to do at this point would be to manually terminate the battle. Xenron was too delirious from adrenaline, anguish, and ambition to see this option. To Xenron, in that moment, the danger was real. But while Xenron wasn’t fully logical, he wasn’t a fool either. He could face reality. He had never had any talent. So when none of the elements responded to his flowing mana at all,there was a simple conclusion - he didn’t have an affinity for any of them. He couldn’t cast any elemental spells - locking him out of the most powerful and efficient spells known to man.

His eyes rushed up to Leo. The bull had already almost closed distance, and Leo barely evaded the attack of a gleaming horn, still taking a headbutt indirectly and sliding across the ground, his shirt and chest shredded by the beast’s carapace.

The bull started to turn to pursue, and Xenron burned, running his hardest to protect his only friend. He heard voices, saw impossible visions, but ignored it all. He needed every ounce of focus, because there was no more room to screw up a spellcast. Xenron’s mana flared out in a wispy cloud that shattered the delusions surrounding him. He crossed the remaining several feet in a single stride, his surroundings passing him unbelievably quickly, landing with a harsh shock to his legs and planting his feet.

He had a moment before the beast tore him - no time for a detailed incantation. Thing is, everything but the spell’s name was fluff on a simple spellcast. Just training wheels for the inexperienced. For those who didn’t spend hours every day for years bleeding for the chance to be someone. For those who didn’t practice verbal and somatic components of dozens of spells fruitlessly, for hours, in hopes that one might work if only the mana came. And as Xenron’s mana heeded his call, he spoke the name of the simplest spell he knew.

“Knock.”

It was a worthless spell. A simple telekinetic push meant to open doors, it was no more than an inconvenience when cast normally. But Xenron overcharged it with all the mana he could muster. In an extravagantly inefficient spellcast, Xenron blasted the bull back. The hulking beast took to the air for a moment before crashing down, cracking the ground beneath it. Xenron swayed, but kept his balance and hissed out “attack the underside”. That was all Xenron had in him as he sank down with fading vision. Apparently this ‘Kinetic Evolution’ had a limit. But the expression on Leo’s face was calm again, and Xenron grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. Leo was in control. Checkmate.

***

Leo was still processing what had just happened. The size of that aura cloud, a brilliant azure aurora, was immense - either Xenron had used an absurd amount of mana, or the flow of it was incredibly turbulent. Not a question for the time. Xenron had impossibly awakened through that torment, so now he had a role to play. He narrowed his eyes on the target. Analytical. He could be that way. He’d recovered his footing while the beast was knocked away, and as it rose, he threw a knife into the ground to its right. Forcing sluggish mana into his arm, Leo aimed at the blade. A three-step plan, then. Either too easy, or he didn’t have the strength to win.

Aiming for a perfect bounce in a tense situation would be lunacy for most marksmen. But Mirror Shot’s name was accurate, and Leo trained for exactly this kind of limiting situation. The beam of blinding light streamed from his hand almost the moment the bull focused on him, instantly reflecting off the blade and burning into the bull’s side. The creature roared and spun on the source of the attack - to Leo’s right. Immediately, Leo surged forward, mana boosting him into a slide that scraped his legs through his training pants. At the same time, he drew another knife from his hip, swinging upward. The blade tore the beast’s underbelly, which offered no resistance to his enhanced strength. Then, feeling raw inside, he put the last of his strength into another tethered Mirror Shot, this time on his knife.

Open Spellcast: Mirror Shot. Create tether -

Leo couldn’t even finish the internal chant. His body couldn’t take another spellcast - nor could it finish this one. Forcing any more would be dangerous. But mana built up incrementally as the chant continued, and he released the half-formed light blast from the knife, tearing straight up into the beast’s heart, piercing its spine.

Just like that, the armored bull vanished into a plume of purple-black haze, and Leo just lay there, calling out, “concede” through heavy panting, to stop another round from starting. He wasn’t even sure it was the standard codeword, but the system accepted, the dome around him dissipated.

***

Liquid streamed down all around Xenron, bringing him back to the real world. It was like a physical weight lifted from him. He hadn’t done much… and yet…

They’d won. And he’d helped.

It was almost enough to make him forget the severe burning and dizziness. He’d used way too much mana at once - even besides the horrible visions, going all-in like that would be impractical in any serious fight. But Xenron didn’t care. It was progress. Real, at will, tangible magic, and he’d gotten a sense of what had allowed him to use it. Crappy magic, sure. Would he ever taste the glory of sailing through the sky on jets of flame like his father? Perhaps not. But he would not be powerless

He was on his feet and running to Leo as soon as he’d caught his breath. Leo had seen better days, but beyond bruises and a few gazes, he seemed okay. Not knowing what to say, Xenron offered his hand.

After shaking himself from some reverie, Leo grinned, perhaps putting off questions for later, and returned the handshake.

“Greatsword of Glory?” Leo said simply, his hand trembling.

Xenron nodded. “I think we’ve earned it - though, let’s patch you up first. After this… I think I can face my father. I have a meeting coming up, and I’d like to show him what I can do.” Xenron said, trying not to sound too eager.

Leo clapped Xenron on the shoulder. “Remember to look him in the eye like he told you. You’ve worked really hard. He’ll see it.”

Xenron just smiled, giving a sheepish nod. He could have told him about what he’d seen, what he’d felt. But he didn’t really want to give those visions energy. This was the first time he’d run at them, and through them, intentionally. It would need to be the first of many. He’d thought this breakthrough would give him clarity, but sitting more deeply in his memories gave him more questions than answers. For now, he accepted the praise and enjoyed the win.