Sora Brontarion
I walked into the school's medbay to see Mira. A new habit of mine ever since we came back from break. Each time I went to visit her, I hoped that she would wake. I needed her to, otherwise I feared the anxiety I felt growing every day inside me would be too much for me to handle, because I didn't know how we would pass the rift exam with a member of our cluster missing.
When I walked into the white room, I saw her body lying stiff in one of the beds, IV's embedded in her arms.
Still sleeping.
I sat in a chair next to her bed and prayed for her speedy recovery. I knew she didn't share the same Pantheon as me, so there was a chance that mine wouldn't be as kind and grant her a blessing. But that was all I could do.
I wasn't a Vitalist, and even they said there was not much they could do for her, despite letting her rest and recover the large amount of cosmic energy she had lost.
But this whole situation was messed up. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Cyrus would attack her.
His emotions didn't match the accusations made against him.
Should I have said something? Probably. But why didn't I?
I sat and dug into those thoughts. Part of me felt this was retribution for what he did to me in the Totem Games, for the vandalism, and for his overall lack of cooperation. But I don't think he deserved expulsion. Even though I hate to admit it, he is talented and a valuable asset to this cluster.
The main reason I never told him about the vandalism.
My communicator rang in my pocket, signaling it was time to head to class. Today, we are going deeper into our astral affinities and their link to our cluster position.
But as I was headed out of Mira's room, I glanced at the tablet hanging on the wall to see who else had visited her while she'd been out of commission.
I really wanted to see if Cyrus showed up at all.
Milodara showed up, along with a few other students from their house.
Surprisingly, Voen and Nerena have made multiple visits, more than I have actually.
Why is that? I didn't think Nerena and Mira were the greatest of friends. She and Voen always had antagonistic banter.
Maybe they cared more than I thought?
Scrolling further down the list. I didn't see Cyrus's name.
If you aren't guilty, not showing up to visit sure doesn't help your case.
Then I left the medbay.
Today's arbiter class was scheduled to take place in the combat facility; our professors said we would need ample space for the activity.
When I walked inside, I was surprised that most of the members of my house were already here waiting.
"Sora over here," a soft and familiar voice called out to me.
It was Cendra, waving me over towards her and three other members of the house.
Just as I trotted over to that group, our professors called for our attention.
"Alright, Arbiters, today we are going over the astral affinity type known as Ego. If you want to become a great Arbiter, this is something you'll have to master. Now, can anyone tell me what this astral affinity allows someone to do?"
Bogdan raised his hand.
"Go ahead, young prince."
"The ego astral affinity type allows one to project the self outward, forcing one's will onto reality."
"Correct, and the main way Arbiters express that will is through what we call Command Arts. Here at the academy, you will learn the first two techniques that are essential for rift running. The first one is the ability to communicate with every member of your cluster through the tether link you share. And the second is the actual command," the professor said, scanning the large room.
"But can anyone tell me the drawback to the command arts?"
A girl next to me raised her hand; her name was Jossie, a branch member of the Araknos family.
"Is that you can only force a certain number of commands per member of your cluster, and once they are used up, the tether link you share weakens and begins to deteriorate. So abusing the Command and using them in a brash manner is unwise"
Obtaining the influence needed to become the head of Coterie is difficult, but with this technique combined with my constellation abilities, it might just be a little bit easier.
"Correct, Jossie. Now, today, you will all be linked by a tether created by a concordant staff member. I would like you to practice these two techniques. Take this seriously because communication devices are not reliable in a rift, and you never know when you will have to take matters into your own hands as a leader of your cluster. How well you use these techniques will determine a major part of your grade during your final rift exam."
Everyone in our class split into our groups in the combat facility and waited for a concordant to link us together. This was something I had never experienced before, and I often wondered how my ability to sense others' emotions would affect this process.
In my group were Cendra, Jossie, Scott, and Malik. Their excitement flooded into me as a concordant finally came around to our group.
"Alright, everyone, you are gonna feel a little jolt in your back; don't worry, it's normal, and the sensation shouldn't last long," the staff member said to us.
In his hand, a light blue orb formed in his palm. With his other hand, he stretched parts of the orb into five cordlike structures and attached them to each of our backs.
I felt a rush of foreign cosmic energy signatures flow in and out of me rapidly, almost as if each were fighting to find a state of equilibrium.
Is the concordant doing that?
Then, in a few seconds, the rush stopped, and everyone's signatures felt like a calm river.
"Alright, stabilization has been completed. Go ahead and walk throughout the facility and try communicating," the staff member said.
We all walked in varying directions. I could feel the tether growing taut, pulling slightly on my soul the further I went. But as I reached the other far end of the facility, I focused on performing the first technique.
We were taught to say something in our minds and visualize that message traveling through the tether to our desired target by tracing it back to a specific cosmic energy signature, acting almost like telephone lines.
The technique was an amazing application of two different astral affinities, further driving home the idea that they would have to depend on each other inside the rift and astral realms.
"Is it me, or is the staff member helping us with the dangling earring, staring hard at Professor Thorne?"
For a while, I heard nothing back, which made me wonder if I had performed the technique wrong.
Until I felt I had heard Malik's mental voice.
"Oh, you didn't hear? He apparently asked her out for a date and got brutally rejected."
"Yeah, it was almost as bad as when Cendra ditched that Bennu kid for someone else at the dance," Scott said through our connection.
I felt regret flow into my psyche, and through our tethered connection, it was amplified beyond normal levels.
It was Cendra.
I looked for her in the facility, walking through other groups to get to her, but then I got a personal mental message.
"I'm fine, Sora."
"You sure? You don't have to feel bad; Cyrus most likely deserved it."
"He didn't deserve that. He's going through a lot."
"How do you know?"
"I met up with him the other day and wanted to hear his side of the story."
I felt my skin crawl. She has no clue what type of person he really is.
"Cendra, you remember what he did during the Totem Games? Wouldn't you agree this is within his character to do?"
"I do remember. But he's working too hard to catch the thing that attacked him, Mira, and Curtis. Why would someone go to that extent to lie? "
"Then why hasn't he visited her?"
"I know you can sense emotions, Sora. Why do you think?"
Cendra's mental voice grew stern. I wasn't expecting that at all.
Does she really like Cyrus?
I paced around the perimeter of the facility, thinking about what she said. I couldn't find a reason to talk to him.
The very idea of talking to him alone almost made me gag.
"Sora, I see that look on your face." Cendra's mental voice said to me.
I scanned the combat facility again, trying to find her, but for some reason, I couldn't find her.
She's too good at this.
"Don't get upset at me for doing this, but it's for your cluster's own good. I command you to speak to Cyrus about the night of the dance and let him explain what happened."
Did she really just…