—---—------

  ~fifteen hours later

  —-----------------------

  “Erec!” A voice called out from behind me.

  “Huh?” I wondered audibly as I realized where I was.

  The hilt, pommel and crossguard of the claymore were in my hands, the blade, nowhere to be found.

  I turned around, the claymore no more, falling to my side in my hand as I looked for who had called my name.

  “Cerys?” I asked with a raspy voice.

  “Erec, can you hear me now?” She said as she moved closer, eyeing my body.

  Wondering what she was looking at, I glanced downwards.

  Tomato red skin aside from my metal plated chest greeted my eyes. Sparks of electricity danced off my body. Little nodes of shocks bloomed out of my ligaments and tendons.

  I breathed.

  “Erec, you didn't show up at the suite for hours past supper, so I went to look for you.” She said, reaching out and taking my left hand for a moment.

  She quickly regretted that decision. Cerys stepped back. Staring at her hand.

  “What is happening to you, Erec?” She demanded, looking worried and slightly offended.

  I looked into myself. Really paying attention for the first time in what felt like a while.

  “How long- Erec, how long were you training in the power for?” Cerys asked, her voice gaining a tone of worry.

  “I'm not sure- what time is it now?” I asked as I let my physical vision grow outwards, taking in the training room.

  The reinforced, enchanted magi-crete meant for beings of far greater power than I was diced and slashed. Hundreds if not thousands of millimeter thick, meter deep gashes and gouges.

  “It is nearly morning.” She said, her slender right hand moving towards my chest.

  I willed my shock wave form to move back into my cogs.

  Her warm fingers touched my steel plated torso and stayed for a second. Her emerald eyes, ever dancing, looked into mine with expectation.

  “A new power?” She asked.

  I nodded. “I'm truly sorry I shocked you, I don't quite feel myself.” I confessed. My right eye brow twitching.

  “The last thing I remember was walking into this room and picking up this claymore, then focusing on myself.” I said, wondering where all the time went.

  Cerys gasped, “does this mean you will tear apart like that one night?” Her voice quivering. “We must get a heal-”

  “Don't worry, Cerys, the new power the headmaster taught me allows me to heal myself at a passive rate.” I reassured her. “Mostly about sending a specific electrical pulse of extremely weak but regular shocks.” I explained, “I had to adjust the electrical frequency, but it works.” I said, sure of myself. “Sorry for not telling you, but I learned it roughly three months ago.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  She seemed to calm, but got closer, interested. “Such an advanced technique, learned in a day?” Cerys audibly wondered, slightly taken aback.

  “It was like the Headmaster was reminding me how to use the spell, rather than teaching me a new one.” I said, slightly unable to put the feeling into words. “It felt- instinctual.” I amended.

  Cerys shook her head, tracing my sunburn red skin that was usually pale with her pale but warm pointer finger. “It's like you have been exercising so excessively that you have been re-tearing your skin over again,” she shuddered, “only to re-heal it instantly.”

  Her eyes looked into mine with a renewed intensity, “how do you feel?” I felt zero room for deflection in the tone she asked her question in.

  “I feel like I just woke up from a restful sleep.” I observed, cracking my neck with an audible pop.

  “Fool, do you mean to say you were sleeping as you trained?” An angry tone mixed in with disbelief, those emerald eyes started glowing slightly red.

  “I guess so?” I said, somewhat unsure if that was the proper way to put it.

  I looked back at all the serrations and insertions in the previously thought unbreakable material -for my power- as of this moment, at least.

  ‘Did I do this?’ I wondered. ‘how?’

  Cerys, likely reading my body language, asked the question I had just thought.

  “You awoke something, you must have, these marks in the walls and floor look like sword marks.” She observed with interest.

  I then realized she likely hadn't slept a wink. Darker shades of grey were formed under her eyes. I shook my head, cussing myself out for worrying her like this.

  “Let's make our way to the suite,” I said as two metal cups of water floated through the severed magi-steel doors. “I would like to spend a few hours or so with you, before I make my way to class.”

  She snickered, her head shaking in a humored manner, “how will you be able to do anything today?” Her eyes bored into mine, “you haven't slept a wink.”

  I took a drink from one of the cups as I thought. “I feel perfectly rested, actually, I feel more rested than I ever have, besides that night.” A grin formed on my face, which seemed to be returning to normal, as I remembered the best day I have ever had.

  Cerys quickly tapped me on the shoulder, “no more zoning out, no brushing this off either, we need to figure out what happened to you.” Her demeanor turned unwavering.

  “Well, the only person I know who may know, would be the Librarian.” I said, thinking about her memory magic.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Cerys asked incredulously, taking the floating cup and sipping from it.

  “You'll understand when you see her, she seems to be a memory bank.” I observed, slightly unsure.

  “Very well, Erec, but you owe me an explanation with all the details.” She said in a demanding tone. “Not- one- left- out.” She commanded as she turned around and stepped over debris and thin grooves.

  I started to follow her. As we stepped over the now shredded doors to the room, I turned around. I sent my magical sense out.

  “I don't sense the blade for the claymore.” I said, unclasping my hand from the hilt of the once useful sword.

  It turned to dust as I did so.

  Cerys turned around, staring in shock as she witnessed the rest of the sword turn to dust. Leather, wood, cork and metal.

  “Curious, that is nothing like your electrical charge.” Cerys observed, her right hand moving to slightly cover her red lips. “Just what have you unlocked that could unmake a weapon like that?” Her question, much the same as my own.

  —-----------

  ~Three hours later

  —----------------------

  Cerys had gone to the suite to sleep. I felt guilty as all get for making her lose sleep over me while I trained so hard I slept whilst doing so.

  All I did was get dressed into new clothes, ones that weren't tatters or stinking of hours of sweat and exertion.

  After a quick breakfast on the move, I made my way over to the library, only to not find the Librarian. Defeated, I moved onto my other task for the day.

  I made my way to the training room where Desmond told me to meet him, I wondered with anticipation what power this was. Hopefully, a useful one.

  As I turned the corner, Desmond was standing there, an amused and entertained look on his face as he tracked me as I rounded the corner.

  “Erec, my good man, what in the nine ever hot hells did you do to my state of the art training room!?” He said with no real hostility.

  “I myself would like to know the answer to that very question.” I then told him how everything went down.

  —

  ~ten minutes later

  —------_—---

  “Hahhhhh- Erec, you battle maniac, you just did something men and mer seek out for hundreds of years in a night.” He said with feigned exasperation, a grin playing on his face. “You just honed your body to the point of perfection by repeatedly injuring yourself and healing said injury until zero impurities remained.” He shook his head, a grin forming on his face, which then turned into a full smile.

  “You awakened as a sword master, who is now aura capable.” He said, holding his proud smile. “Most of the men I talked about never do so.” He shrugged, “must be the way you went about it, and how your family raised you.”

  He got serious all of a sudden. “The reason why most men seeking aura never acquire it is because the body cannot handle aura.” He said with a grim look. “You genuinely were so close to death, that even one moment of a lapse of healing with that form, that you would have crumbled to ash.”

  “I-” Desmond held up his hand, forestalling all attempts to defend myself. “You had no way of knowing, I know, it may have been my fault, I think I pushed you too hard.”

  “I saw many futures of you before you put that amulet on.” His strong but oldish arms folded into themselves. “Of you unlocking aura, just never so soon.” He laughed for a moment, “ahh, so amusing.”

  “You can never use this power until you are far stronger, strong enough to stand on your own.” He warned me.

  “If the wrong person discovers this power in you, you may be burned for being a heretic.” He further explained, a grin then reappeared on his face.

  “Well, let's go to another room, I have much to teach you.” He said as he turned around and moved further down the hallway.

  —-----------

  ~Seven hours later

  —-----------------------

  As I walked up to the suite door, I steeled myself to explain to Cerys about the situation.

  It had been a long and arduous day, but I felt relatively awake.

  As I opened the door with my magical will, silently as possible, I slipped into the dark room.

  It seemed she was still sleeping. Damn- I really shouldn't have given her such a fright last night- this morning? Bah, semantics.

  I walked over to the massive bed.

  Suddenly, feeling rather drowsy, I felt like simply climbing in and joining her.

  Maybe I wasn't as rested as I first thought.

  I felt my exhaustion multiplying as I took my shoes off.

  Something felt off.

  I barely got my workout shirt off when I basically collapsed onto the bed, drifting off to sleep.