The effect had been small… pathetically small, if I was being honest. But it was real. I had shaped energy with nothing but my mind and a visualized pattern. No Switch ability. No physical strain. Just thought, will and understanding.
I tried again, reconstructing the pattern more quickly this time, centering it on the yo-yo. Pulse. Another small jump, perhaps slightly higher than before.
By the fifth attempt, I could create the mental construct in seconds, and the yo-yo leaped nearly six inches into the air. But I also noticed something else, a familiar weariness creeping in at the edges of my mind. Not the sharp pain of yesterday's failure, but a mental fatigue, like a muscle being used past its normal capacity.
This magic had its own kind of backlash, it seemed. Different from the strain of using Switch, but real nonetheless.
