One night, Azazul pushed himself up from his bedroll and stepped outside to get some fresh air.
It had been five months now, and the trio was living on the second highest of the mountains. Akiko's leg had fully healed, and she'd joined Azazul and Matthew in training. But because training always ended late, Matthew decided she should stay with them and visit her sister only when she was free. And since she was a girl, Azazul had to give up his bed and settle for a bedroll—which is exactly why he was out here right now, cooling off in the night air.
My back hurts… I want my bed back.
Over the past five months, he'd made progress with his lightning attribute, but none with his fire. His uncle had said the fire attribute was the "doorway to the flames of death," and that to control it, Azazul would eventually have to acquire the Eye of Darkness.
I have to admit… lightning feels more mine than fire does. Weird, considering my main affinity is fire.
Augmenting his body with lightning boosted his reaction speed, making him three times faster than when he used mana alone.
Akiko has two main elements and one branch element. Wind and fire are her mains—and her fire prowess is better than mine. She has more control, more accuracy… everything I lack.
Her branch element was light magic, which was the most interesting of the three. She'd even beaten him once when he was using lightning—his best element. Her dagger emitted a blinding light, so bright her opponents couldn't block properly. When she used it on him, he'd seen nothing but white and the faint shape of her silhouette. The light produced extreme heat, and his uncle said her elements would only continue to grow stronger.
He was kicked out of his thoughts when a familiar voice spoke behind him.
"Why are you up so late, weirdo?"
"I couldn't sleep. What about you?"
"Same… so what were you thinking about?"
The one question she shouldn't have asked.
"Nothing, really…"
"You're still bummed out that your uncle told you not to use your fire attribute? What did he mean about needing 'the eye' to control it better?"
Just tell her already. She'll find out sooner or later.
"Well… I have a special kind of eye that was passed down through my… uh… through my…"
Akiko cut him off.
"Your deity lineage?"
Azazul scratched the back of his head, suddenly tense.
"Deity? What do you mean?" he laughed nervously. "I'm not a deity."
Akiko sat down to his left and leaned closer, turning her head toward him until she was staring directly into his heterochromic eyes. She was so close he could feel her breath on his face.
Too close for comfort…
She finally spoke.
"Why are you lying? Don't you trust me?"
"It's not that… It's just—if I tell you, you'll get dragged into a world you don't want anything to do with."
She fell silent, breaking eye contact and letting her gaze drift toward the moonlit horizon. After a moment, she placed her hand over his and said softly:
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. But when you do, I'll be here to listen."
She stood up to leave, but before she could turn away, she felt his hand reach out to hers.
"I'll tell you everything. And if you want to leave after that… I won't blame you."
And so he told her—everything. But Akiko didn't move to leave like he feared she would. Her demeanor didn't change at all. It was as if she'd already made her decision: to stay by his side no matter what happened. Truthfully, he wanted her to stay. Aside from Meira, Akiko was the closest thing to a friend he'd ever had. He didn't know what he'd do if she walked away… and he hoped she never would.
After a long conversation, the two of them returned to the cabin and went to sleep, ready for tomorrow's training.
The next morning, Matthew woke Akiko and Azazul for breakfast. He'd started cooking early so they could start training early.
As they ate, Matthew said:
"Today we're focusing on purifying your cores. It doesn't matter how strong you get physically—your cores are the most important part of your training."
"Right now, your cores are at the black stage. By the end of this year, we need you at orange or yellow.
"The stages are as follows: black, red, orange, yellow, silver, and finally white—the purest stage."
"You need to empty your cores of impurities. In other words, the mana you have now must be expelled and replaced with new mana you absorb—but you must remove the impurities from that mana as well. That's what advances your cores to the next level. But I won't lie… even top magicians and manipulators get stuck at the yellow stage."
Akiko and Azazul started walking away from the fire, but Matthew called after them:
"Azazul, need me to explain again?"
"Yeah, weirdo—you didn't listen, did you?" Akiko teased.
Azazul grimaced. "For your information, I actually did—for once. Don't be surprised when I reach white stage before you."
"In your dreams, weirdo! I'm not getting surpassed by you."
"We'll see about that."
By the time the day ended and Matthew called them for dinner, both of them were so exhausted that Azazul collapsed in the doorway and Akiko only made it as far as his bedroll before dropping as well. Neither of them touched their food—they went straight to sleep, leaving Matthew alone with the meal.
With a sigh, Matthew placed Akiko on the bed and Azazul in his bedroll. After tucking them in, he picked up his sword sharpener, stepped back outside to the fading coals, summoned a dull greatsword, and began sharpening it in the quiet night.