Mastery of the Star

Cay whipped toward Theo, eyes huge. His throat convulsed and panic crashed through Theo, leaving him dizzy.

Okay, this was a terrible idea after all. Pretty soon Cay was going to ask just what the hell he was smoking and the whole jig would be up. 'Please, please, please,' Theo thought fervently, some ridiculous part of him hoping Cay might somehow read his mind.

Then Cay drew in a sharp breath and turned toward Ulrich. "Yes, he's right. I am a sage of Mount Neym. We have guarded the Star of Miriel for centuries, and only we understand its secrets."

'Oh, thank God!' Relief rushed over Theo like the coolest, sweetest water in the world. No time to celebrate, though.

Letting Cay's voice wash over his ears like soothing nonsense, he reached for the Levia blooming in his core. Slowly, he began to draw it out.

"I must warn you, normally it requires years of dedicated sage training to access the Star's power. Many train their entire lives and never manage to awaken it."

Ulrich scoffed. "Is that so? Look at what I've accomplished already."

"True, but you could accomplish so much more. If used properly, the Star of Miriel holds the power to level mountains, to enslave entire cities. You could hold all of Tielos under your thumb and none would be able to resist you. A fearsome power, isn't it? That's why we sages have kept it under such careful guard all these centuries."

"But now it is mine," Ulrich said, full of relish.

"Indeed, now it is yours. So I will teach you how to use it properly. Right now, you're trying to overwhelm it with brute force, and that will work to an extent, but in order to unlock its full potential, you must start from the very beginning. From the basics."

Slowly, steadily, Theo released a stream of his Levia. It couldn't be enough for Ulrich to notice, but it had to reach the Star. When his dawn light brushed harsh steel, he almost recoiled, but he forced himself to keep pushing through.

Ulrich hadn't overwhelmed the Star yet, after all. And Theo had the feeling the Star would try its hardest to refuse him. After all, he wasn't the one it had acknowledged.

Or so Theo hoped.

"The basics?" Ulrich was saying.

"Yes. It starts with your posture and breathing, the very foundation of using one's Levia. We sages have created forms and exercises than enable us to harness our Levia to its fullest. If you'd let me go, I can demonstrate."

"Master, he's lying," Rain said harshly.

"Do it," Ulrich snapped.

A rustling sound suggested Cay had indeed just stood up. Good, good. Theo bit his lip, concentrating harder.

The steel-gray light engulfed him, almost snuffing out his own feeble power. Theo let even more Levia flow, trying to find a weak point. As hard and unforgiving as Ulrich's Levia might be, it also felt oddly unstable.

There! A place where the steely light flickered, just a little bit. But it was enough. Gathering his own dawn light in a concentrated beam, Theo pushed his way through.

He almost cried for joy when a familiar night sky engulfed him, its stars twinkling like hundreds of crystals. But Ulrich's Levia still marred its beauty, flooding the cosmos with wave after wave of razor-edged power.

Time to fight back with everything he had. Theo released a surging wave of Levia, the dawn light arcing through the night sky like an aurora. Ulrich's steel-gray light rushed to meet it, and for a moment Theo felt it push him back, but he gathered all his strength and pushed forward.

"...that's right, straighten your back a little more. Focus on the rhythm of your breathing…."

Rain's sharp cry cut through Cay's droning. "Master!"

"What? What's going on – attack!"

Alarm sparked through Theo's Levia. 'Time's up.'

One final shove with everything he had. The pink light erupted, swallowing the entire cosmos and shattering Ulrich's Levia to useless shards in its wake.

Theo's eyes flew open just in time to see several soldiers rushing at Cay. Instantly Theo cast the first spell that came to his mind – the basic strengthening spell – and the pink diagram flared beneath Cay's feet.

Yet he could barely see it through the pink light already flooding the bridge. It glowed from the depths of the Star, shedding brilliant rays in every direction.

When the diagram appeared, Cay hesitated for a moment – but then Theo sensed his silvery Levia hardening with resolve, and he easily intercepted one of the soldiers, flinging up his cuffed hands to block. The soldier's sword sliced through the chain, and Cay took advantage of his newfound freedom to disarm the soldier and snatch his sword.

Before he could reach Ulrich, Rain jumped in his way. Cay barely managed to dodge, but Rain didn't let up her assault, sword flashing so fast it was a blur. Even with Ulrich's strengthening spell gone, she clearly outmatched Cay.

Hurry! As chaos raged around him, Theo ran toward the Star. Relief swooped through him when it floated his direction.

Though he didn't expect the thing to plunge straight down his shirt. Theo lurched, crying out, but its familiar warmth against his skin helped calm him down.

Anyway, no time to celebrate. With a gasp and thud, Cay hit the floor next to Theo. Scraps of cloth billowed around him.

As Rain rushed upon him, Theo tried to cast a speed spell. But before he could, he saw a flash of blue and Zenith flung himself in front of Cay.

Theo started toward him as well, only for a hand to tug on his shirt. Alarmed, he whipped around and met Cay's eyes. Nodding firmly, Cay yanked a bottle out of his pouch and flung it to the floor.

With a tinkle of shattering glass, clouds of purple smoke flooded the bridge. Theo lurched, blinded and choking for breath.

A hard yank on his shirt, dragging him backward. Cay's voice, short and sharp. "We're getting out of here."

Theo hurried after him. The warmth from the Star pulsed through his body, helping him breathe a little – and more importantly, augmenting his Levia. He reached out until he found a familiar stark light. Even weak and faded as it might be, his own Levia was drawn to it like a flower to the sun.

'Zenith,' he called through the contract.

That was all he needed. The next thing he knew, metallic footsteps clanked in his direction. Cay tugged harder on his wrist and dragged him out of the bridge doors. They spilled into the corridor, panting for breath. Some smoke billowed out with them, but the air was otherwise clear.

Not that Theo had time to enjoy it. Suddenly Cay spun him around, sword flashing. Theo yelped, but Cay only cut through his cuffs. Though pins and needles shot through his arms, he didn't waste any time reaching for the Star beneath his shirt. When his hands closed around solid crystal, he sighed in relief.

Cay cut Zenith free next before taking off down the hall, Nevy hot on his heels. Theo glanced at Zenith, who nodded. To his surprise, something that looked like a glowing bandage covered the wound on the knight's chest. Though Theo was relieved, he couldn't ignore Zenith's rough breathing, to say nothing of the sword still stuck in his shoulder.

Nothing they could do about it right now. As more smoke drifted from the bridge, Theo reached for Zenith's hand. Zenith's armored fingers wrapped around his, grip reassuringly tight, and together they took off down the corridor.