11. The thirteen power
What happened?
She answered herself immediately as soon as she woke up.
«I drowned ...»
She was in her bed, something was shaking her hand, someone: Fera.
The girl was badly leaning on the bed, sitting on the ground.
The thing that surprised Name the most, however, was to find Kein beside Fera, turned from behind. He too slept on the floor.
Name stood up, being careful not to wake Kein, Fera was practically impossible to wake up.
It's night...
Name went to the bathroom to freshen up, her image in her mirror was terrible.
It was dirty, tired and full of scratches. Who knows where she was injured, probably the sharp ice as she fell.
Her three leaves of fate were still there, they moved for a moment, as if to ask Name if she was okay.
«I'm ok.» she told herself.
«You don't look like it.» Kein was in the door jamb, with tousled hair and crumpled shirt. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, it was the first time she had seen clothes other than uniforms. He had probably taken it in the village downstream.
Name was silent.
Are you trying to play the friendly again? Is it to be neutral? What do you want from me?
«Can you follow me for a moment?»
Name followed him, without saying a word.
They left the room and then down into the main room, the one with the large rugs and armchairs.
Name didn't know what his plan was, but she wasn't going to ask any questions for now.
Kein walked out the front door, Name stiffened.
It was snowing, as always, outside; a gust of cold wind came to her.
«Ugh, come on.» Kein took off his sweatshirt, wrapping Name frantically.
What was the hurry?
He yanked her out, it was very cold, Name began to worry.
Why is he taking me out?
Name took an awkward step forward.
Not far from the door, where the descent began, the village could be seen in the distance, without fog.
And behind the village the lake, the stars of the sky shone.
It was a truly beautiful landscape.
Everything seemed to sparkle, even without the sun.
«Look, everything inside is controlled, you don't know, well-»
Despite the long sleeves, Kein seemed to be cold, not only that: he seemed incredibly sensitive at the time.
It only confused Name more.
«I'm sorry… for what I said. I'm sincere. That's all.»
He ... what?
Name stared at him dumbfounded for several seconds.
«Okay, can I go now?»
Kein opened his mouth, stunned.
«Sure.» he said after a while.
Name began to back away.
He didn't convince her, he didn't convince her at all.
One moment he treated her badly, then apologized.
He's just a cruel killer, using people.
Yup.
«So we're friends?»
Her mouth had moved of its own accord.
Huh?
She was conflicted, she had other things to think about, she was tired, and yet ...
But yet...
«No, not friends, I still hate you.» Kein declared.
«But allies.» he held out his hand.
Name wasn't sure what she was getting herself into.
Maybe...
Name shook his hand, it seemed to her that she had just formed a contract.
Maybe it's better allies than enemies.
Maybe we will be friends one day.
Kein remained a mystery, but Name preferred him to treat her well rather than badly.
«You shouldn't have thrown yourself into a lake for what I said, anyway.»
Oh...
«No no, I-»
«I already said sorry.» he stopped her.
Ah ... that's why he behaved well, he thinks I fell because of him.
«Name!» a familiar voice came behind her.
Fera, in tears, ran towards her.
She almost jumped on Name, hugging her and knocking her over to Kein.
«Hey, get up.» Kein muttered, but remained still.
«It was my fault ... I shouldn't have let you go alone ...» Fera whispered, Name held her tight, her eyes full of tears.
«Get up.»
«Hey» Fera ignored him «Now we are all more than allies and friends right? Being embraced in the snow is the next step.»
«Die.»
All three stayed there until dawn.
-
«It was your fault, damn it. Rules are rules! You didn't have to leave the track!»
Name the next morning ended up in the secret study again and told what had happened to Mr. Xulio.
«Do not do it again.» he said with his hand on his forehead. The annoying ticking was no longer present.
«What ... shall I do? I broke a rule ..»
Name was scared, especially since she had actually smashed two of them, coming out last night.
«Huh? Nothing. These are far-fetched rules, I wouldn't really care if a guy went off the path and went to kill himself, it's not the physical consequences you need to worry about, but your psychological consequences.» Mr. Xulio looked at her, as if waiting for an answer.
«It was horrible ... That boy was so ... desperate, alone, empty ... For a moment ... I understood: what's the point of living, if you have nothing?» Name trembled at every word she said, that event had deeply shaken her, Mr. Xulio was right.
«The future must not be founded on the basis of
past, you know that right?» the man sat down behind the desk.
He was tired.
«Nobody who enters Deorum does. In this case, you can say that no one here has a past, maybe not like you, they have memories and ... feelings. They were formed from their past, but they go on without being engulfed by it.»
Mr. Xulio cursed at Name's confused face.
«What I'm trying to tell you is that you're being formed thanks to the present, even in this moment. Is it difficult, tiring and too much? Yes, you are doing what people have done in a lifetime. Don't think too much about what you have lost, but about what you can achieve from now on.»
Mr. Xulio stood up.
«Besides ... if by a miracle you become a God, you could recover your memories, there is nothing a God cannot do.»
«With this, I'm not saying to run into the future with your eyes closed, one can do it, but sooner or later he will stumble and fall. Take it one step at a time, but go on.»
Mr. Xulio pointed to her heart with a finger.
To Name it seemed a sincere and honest advice.
A step at a time.
«What's my first step?» she asked, convinced.
Mr. Xulio nodded slightly, going to look for some books in the dusty bookcase.
«Check that power of yours first, you have to find out what or where it comes from.» Mr. Xulio grinned, pulling a book, then opening another secret door, dropping some books.
Wow!
«All these places ..." Name began, those places weren't marked anywhere and were not visible to others, how many were there?
«In every four of the seasons mansion, they've been here for hundreds of years. The gods played with it, creating hidden places, alleys and rooms. This is manual though. Around the mansion we're controlled.» he pointed to the bookcases and motioned for her to follow him down other stairs.
Kein said the same. Who is controlling us?
«What magic creates passages in the walls?» she continued, curious. They were going down some rotten stairs, with little light.
«… The gods are the only ones who possess magic capable of changing the world as we know it… of changing it. Magic of Time, Space, Reality, Life and Death. Once upon a time there was only Life and Death. They are spells with very wide possibilities of use. Of the six gods. The other spells are very natural, like fire, wind ... yes in short.»
They reached the end of the staircase.
«But mind magic ...» Name remembered when the pink lady had read her mind, it had been an eerie and horrible feeling.
Is it natural magic?
«Ah, I see you have studied.» the lights went on.
They found themselves in a large room, made entirely of stones, full of cobwebs and without a window.
There were some tables covered with dusty white sheets on the sides, the center was bare.
«Yes, in fact mind magic was born less than a hundred years ago. Of course, people are born with it, but ... Its origins are unknown to everyone except the gods and the people of the Kingdom of Mind. They are people ... you have to stay away from.» he warned her, before uncovering one of the tables, raising a fuss.
«Your power… it could be something similar… Natural, built with your body, but… nothing known. A thirteenth power. Now.»
Mr. Xulio, who was limping, took something on the table and placed it in his hand.
It was a simple gray pitted cube.
«Try to make it float. It is made on purpose to transform the magic and take away the gravity of the object. Helps concentration.»
Name stared at him for a few seconds.
How ... how should I do it?
Mr. Xulio meanwhile had sat down in an old chair, he seemed about to collapse.
Name closed her eyes, her power only showed up while she was angry at Kein and scared of Aldien.
Now it didn't seem to want to get out.
«I ... I don't know how to do it.»
Mr. Xulio did not move.
«Just let it out.» he just said.
Name understood that this was something she had to solve for herself.
She tried again, closed her eyes, concentrated.
Out. Out. Out.
Nothing happened.
«Don't think you have to find something. It's there, you are full of it. Don't search, unlock. Let it go.»
Full, not empty.
Don't search, let go.
Not empty.
Not empty.
She closed his eyes.
She felt a little tickle in her hands, opened one eye.
It was there. Its magic. Those dense threads that were coiled in her hands, up to her forearm.
«Now move it into the cube.» Mr. Xulio was now staring intently.
Her hands were full of it, she had to pick it up in the cube.
Name also opened the other eye: she tried to concentrate, to accumulate the magic in the cube.
Move away!
Gradually, it began to enter the pitted cube.
Name cheered as she looked away from her hands, towards Mr. Xulio, who immediately opened his eyes wide.
Being distracted for a moment had caused the magic to fill the whole cube, causing it to explode into a thousand pieces.
Mr. Xulio sighed, Name took the pieces out of her hands, luckily not hurt.
«You need to have a lot of concentration. A lot.» he said, he was sweating and out of energy again.
He threw another equal cube at her.
«Enough for today, try it alone, tomorrow come back here, you know how to get in, don't you?» Mr. Xulio got up and went back upstairs.
Name followed him, halfway up the stairs he heard the ticking begin again.
The man was behind the desk, holding his watch to his chest, taking big breaths.
He is sick every time he doesn't have his watch. He is better off when he starts ticking again.
Name decided not to say anything and left when he motioned for her to leave.
My thirteenth power ...
There was never anyone in that corridor, the doors to the hall were always closed.
Name had seen Sky enter the library and heard other noises coming from the classroom and arena, everyone was practicing.
She had her exercise too, but walking past the classroom, seeing Leo burn and stab one mannequin after another left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Do not rush. Just a step.
«Hi.» Name went into the library, it had only been two days and it already looked cleaner.
«Hi.» an overly sugary masculine tone answered her.
Not only was Sky in the library, but Aldien too, who had greeted her with a fake smile.
«Are you okay?!» Sky ran towards her, after all as soon as she woke up she was greeted only by Fera and Kein, she didn't see nor Sky nor Dia.
Name hid her cube behind her back, letting Sky embrace him.
«I wanted to see you at breakfast, but you weren't there, Fera said you were fine.»
«Yeah, I'm fine ...» Name answered guilty.
I slept all morning.
«I'm happy that you're fine.» Aldien had approached.
Both Name and Sky looked at him dazed.
Aldien is a weird guy, he seems to be organizing something but ...
«What do you want from me?» even with quivering lips, she asked.
She felt safer next to Sky, but Aldien intimidated her.
«Sky, do you mind?» he said with a smile.
Sky opened his eyes wide, his face clouded, removing all expression.
«See you later Name ...» he whispered, before hurrying out of the room.
What just happened?
Name took a step back, suddenly too close to Aldien.
«What did you do to Sky?» the air had grown heavy.
«Sky? Shouldn't you worry about yourself?» Aldien took another step forward.
Name, under pressure, stepped back and tried to snap the door open, but it was closed.
Sky ... locked me in?
She turned to Aldien, who was smiling happily at her with his eyes closed.
Oh no.
He was getting closer, what did he want from her?
He had been acting strange and now ...
«Now, shut up ...»
Name widened her eyes.
«... I just want to talk.»
Aldien turned to sit in one of the armchairs.
He didn't even need to say that Name had to do the same, his look, now cold, was enough.
She obeyed.
«You caught my attention, as you may have noticed.» he relaxed.
«Do you know what I want?»
How should I respond?
Name felt uncomfortable, did she had to leave? Should she scream?
She was silent, Aldien staring at something besides the glass.
«I want to have fun.»
His voice hung in the air.
What does this have to do with me?
«To have fun I need something interesting, in this case, it's you.» he turned, pointing at her.
«We can take advantage of both, I'm sure.»
Name stared at his outstretched hand. Another deal?
«I will help you, you will help me.»
Name held out her hand too.
«What do I have to help you with?» another time, she had spoken not of her own accord. It was strange.
He chuckled.
«You're not as naive as you seem.»
No, I am.
«You've already helped me. You gave me something to think about, to be exact you. I rarely think about other people, unless it's for a strategy or less than ten seconds. You're interesting, you don't even know how much…» He got up from his chair, approaching her face and whispering in her ear.
«... You have a thirteenth power after all.»
Name froze, frightened.
How do you know?
What do I have to do now?
What do you want to do to me? Who do you want to tell?
«But-» he sat down again «-the point is not that. The final examination of the winter regime is approaching, I will need your cooperation and you mine.»
He doesn't want to ask about my power, but about the exam?
Seeing that he expected something in return, Name nodded, accepting his help and giving it.
Cooperation...
«I'm not your enemy.» with that he got up and walked away from the now open library.
Name stood there, heart pounding and a deep fear.