Victor watched Darius's ability space as he trained, making multiple deductions in the process. There were two types of interaction that affected the shards. The two types of interactions were when the hands shifted colors and when the metal plane vibrated. While watching, he was able to tell which phenomenon signaled the activation of each ability component.
For Victor, that part was easy to guess. But what he really found intriguing was that each component seemed to pull the shards at differing rates. Presumably, if Darius wanted to absorb them at the greatest speed, he should constantly activate and deactivate the hand component of his ability. Of course, Darius also had the option to passively absorb shards by maintaining his steel skin. Perhaps that might be a training option for him when focusing on other tasks or even while sleeping.
As these thoughts swirled through his mind, Victor made a mental note to discuss them with Darius later. He then turned his attention back to the metal shards and symbols in his ability space. His first component had to do with the black hole, so that left this strange mess as his second component. Or at least, that was the only option left. He could tell that both components were currently activated, so as an experiment, Victor deactivated it.
Instantly Victor noticed some changes. The metal shards started spinning more erratically, and the glow of those strange symbols seemed more random than before. Before he could react, Darius's ability space was taken back into the darkness, beyond the reach of Victor's awareness.
Victor experimentally activated the second component again, causing the spinning metal debris to spin with less chaos, while the glow of the strange symbols began to form a subtle pattern that he couldn't decipher. Just as he expected, a metal plane with a multicolor palm appeared at the edge of his awareness once more.
'This component enables me to connect with another person's abilities. Perhaps that means I could affect the ability space of Darius.'
Victor then focused his awareness on the shards moving across the metal plane. As he focused on his connection to the black hole, Victor was met with...
No response.
If Victor had a face at the moment, he would frown. In he truly expected to be able to do it. It just felt right. However, he had no idea why nothing was happening.
'Maybe I just need to train more with my ability.'
Victor turned his attention back toward his second component, and as he observed the strange symbols, he had a feeling there were countless secrets he had yet to learn from them. Despite his best efforts, Victor didn't know what he was missing, so he could only reluctantly give up, going back to absorbing the ability shards.
Time passed, and with every star he absorbed, he could feel his first component growing stronger and its rate of absorption increasing. Watching it granted him a rudimentary level of satisfaction. Even so, he couldn't shake off his curiosity about his second component.
His awareness then returned to reality, leaving one lone spark in the dark space of his abilities. When he opened his eyes, he found Rosa with a hand on his shoulder and saw that his palms were still on Darius's back. He was not surprised to discover that Darius continued to practice his ability until it was almost time for them to leave the training room. One of Darius's most admirable traits was his ability to easily dedicate his mind to something. However, very often he went overboard, even forgetting to eat or sleep in service of his new obsession.
"Guys, it's time to go. We still have more time to practice tomorrow." Rosa reminded softly with a worn look on her face.
With a quick glance, Victor discovered the three of them were the only ones left in the room.
As if reading his thoughts, Rose spoke again. "Jax and Elaine left around an hour and a half ago. Apparently some of the teachers have time slots where they help students experiment with their abilities."
Victor gave an understanding nod. He had heard that was an option, but he wasn't too sure any of them could help him with his situation given how invisible its interaction was. At that Darius had stopped his training and stood up with a worn look in his eyes. Victor then seized the opportunity to recount his experience observing Darius's training from his perspective.
A thoughtful look appeared on Darius's face. "Thanks, man. I'll try that next time."
Not even bothering with a conversation, he walked out the door, leaving a quick goodbye, still wearing that dazed look on his face. Victor exchanged a glance with Rosa before sighing.
"Looks like he found his latest new obsession. How has your training been?"
Rosa gave a wry smile before responding. "My improvements in power and control have been marginal, but I have figured out how to activate my abilities more safely. If I create small gusts of wind, I can turn them into one or two wind blades rather than a swarm, significantly lowering the chance of injuring myself. Even so, I still have no control over their direction, so sometimes they may still spin in my direction."
"It looks like I'm not the only one having problems with my ability." Victor commented before standing up.
"Well, at least I get more practice dodging." Rosa joked with a smile. "Who knows, maybe all this practice will pay off when I face an invisible enemy."
Victor gave a light chuckle. "Sure, such an opponent would be unlucky to face you. The girl who can dodge even wind."
He then checked the time before continuing. "It's getting late, and I definitely know you are drained, so let's go home. We can train more tomorrow."
Rosa nodded, and the pair left the training room, and each headed back to their dorm. When Victor reached his dorm, he paused for a moment, looking down the hallway to where Angie had appeared the day before. Aware of her uncanny stealth ability, he then looked over his shoulder with a strange sense of expectation. In the past he might have found her standing right behind him, yet all he found was more empty hallway.
As he turned and unlocked his door, a wave of sadness washed over him, giving him a bleak reminder. Victor then reached into his pocket, finding a small bag fitting within the palm of his hand. He opened the bag carefully, exposing the dark metal ring lying at the bottom. Victor quickly entered his dorm before removing the ring from the bag.
The dark metal ring sat inconspicuously in his palm with almost no markings on the surface. Victor got the feeling it was designed to attract as little attention as possible. Finding nothing of note during his inspection, he then carefully slid the ring on his pinky finger.
A strange but subtle sensation ran through Victor, surprising him enough for him to quickly remove the ring, allowing it to disappear just as swiftly as it appeared.
Although it was unexpected, Victor trusted the ring wouldn't do him any harm. It was from Angie after all. So Victor slipped the ring back on his finger, allowing himself to feel the strange sensation again. Curiously enough, he couldn't quite pinpoint the exact location he felt it in his body. He got the sense it was at a particular point, yet no matter where he focused his attention, nowhere seemed quite right. Victor made a few more unsuccessful attempts at figuring it out before he gave up and lay down in his sim-pod.
He knew he had around an hour of time left before he had to fall asleep, so he contemplated either entering the simulation or sleeping. However, as he lay there, he didn't feel in the mood to do either, so he ended up lying on his back staring up at the ceiling and losing himself in his thoughts.
Victor's mind drifted as he reflected on all the things he had learned since the morning. Given how long today felt, it would be entirely reasonable to feel confused or overwhelmed. There were strange and possibly threatening powers bestowed on the entire student population. The threatening new students who knew how to make use of their innate abilities. Finally, the most unsettling revelation was that somewhere in the galaxy, he had parents, and perhaps a year from now, he would be among those stars with them as well.
A sense of longing and sadness appeared in his heart as he thought about the donors who had not even bothered to give him a template of their ability.
'I wish I had someone to help me figure out my ability.' He thought.
Not a moment passed before he abruptly sat. 'Perhaps there was someone can help me.'
He then quickly navigated his system functions to call his mentor. A small moment of silence passed before he received a system notification.
[Mentor link established]