Rising Shards

Caeda stabbed her bloodsaber into the ground, slaying her fifteenth spider void monster of the day. She was supremely creeped out by the way their legs twitched and curled up before they turned to goop, but the more she defeated the easier it got.

“How was that?” Caeda asked, wiping sweat from her brow.

Her new mentor Octa Kathron watched on, stoic as always.

“Adequate for your experience level.” Octa said.

“Wow.” Caeda said. That felt like high praise from Octa.

Octa brought them back from the void, back into the Taramin Labs office. 

“Put your bloodsaber in the receptacle.” Octa said, gesturing to a bin that looked like an umbrella holder. When the sword was placed inside, a pleasant tone rang out as LED lights lit up around the base of the receptacle.

Caeda felt a bit woozy for a minute, still not used to void leaps despite her big visit right when her fangs came in.

“Have you had your memory trial yet?” Octa asked.

“No,” Caeda said. “That’s where you have to watch your bad memories to get more in tune with the void or something?”

“That’s a rudimentary description of the event, yes.” Octa said.

“I can guess what it’s gonna be about.” Caeda said.

“I can walk you through it if you’d rather not do it through the school.” Octa said. “As you’ve seen, our facilities here are of a very high standard.”

“That’s for sure,” Caeda said. She wasn’t sure if she should. Clover would probably be mad if she went through her memory trial this way instead of at school. “I’ll definitely consider it.”