Strand Control

"When controlling strands, the most important thing to know is that they're limited. You do not have an infinite supply of strands in your body. Sure, you can replicate your organs with them, sometimes even your limbs in advanced cases. You need to take time to channel them throughout your body. Making the saber was the easy part, maintaining it is the hard part." Cynthia explained to me.

She sat down in the grass after clashing against my saber, swaying back and forth on her butt. Cynthia seemed rather serious right now, compared to how she usually was so upbeat and relaxed, so the entire shift in her attitude threw me off and I could only see her as a teacher.

"Like this. I can summon the saber, but all strands disappear after a while if you don't focus on them. I can regenerate my limbs because of how advanced of a user I am. However, you can only pull the saber out briefly and attack with it before it disappears. The main purpose of learning strands is to master this control. Luckily, there's a pretty easy way to master control. I'm about to amaze you." Cynthia said, lifting herself to her feet and looking down at me.

She jumped upwards while staying silent. Repeatedly, she jumped up and down. It was so silent I could hear her baggy clothing move with the wind.

"See how far I jump?" Cynthia asked me while continuing to jump. I nodded. Cynthia placed her left hand up against the lower part of her stomach. The purple strands wrapped around her thighs and settled into her skin, disappearing underneath her clothing. Cynthia jumped again, multiplying her height by about ten times the original.

"Hey! How are you supposed to land?!" I yelled up to her. The sun was blinding while I stared upward, but Cynthia landed on the ground with bent knees and a smile.

"You don't need to worry about such meaningless injuries. I'm supporting my muscles, I can take more of a beating because of it. Punches, slashes, impact, anything." Cynthia clarified.

"They seem all-powerful... why are they like that?" I asked her. Cynthia shrugged as the strands dissipated from her thighs.

"I'm sure there's a reason... but why do you care? Strands are like the next step in evolution, you should just learn to use them as second nature and not think about why it works. Alright, you try. Put your hand right under your belly." Cynthia told me. I followed her lesson and rested my hand against the very bottom of my shirt and the beginning of my pants.

"Now, use those strands. Imagine yourself summoning a saber, the same instinct you felt, but instead, wrap the blade of the saber around your thighs. The 'blade' of your saber is the fluid strands, while the handle is the solid strands. You want to move the fluid strands and turn them into solid strands. Think you can do something so complicated?" Cynthia asked with a smug smile. There was her old personality.

Like summoning the saber, I imagined the fluid strands wrapping around my body, letting them climb downwards on my thighs. I couldn't tell them when to stop, so the entirety of my legs was coated in the white strands.

"Hey... how do I stop it?" I asked Cynthia. I looked back up at her and she was covering a smile and laugh from me.

"Hey! Don't laugh at me! Seriously! Tell me how I stop them!" I yelled out to her. Cynthia shook her head and pushed me forward. I tried to stabilize myself, but I accidentally pushed my leg muscles upward into a jump.

"Wow! You already got to my height!" I heard from the ground. I screamed on my way down and hit the grass with my back while the strands were wrapped around my legs. Once I hit the ground, the dreaded headache shot all over my temples and climbed down my neck.

"Cynthia! My head! Holy shit!" I screamed out. Cynthia immediately ran over to me and placed her palms on my temples, lifting me by my head, and pulling outwards from my head like there was a string going through it.

"You okay?! Shit, I didn't think that would happen, I'm sorry..." Cynthia told me. I fell to the ground, feeling the fatigue shoot across my body. That headache was no joke... it felt like I was being stabbed over and over again in the back of my head.

"Woah... Sky... this is impressive..." Cynthia told me. I opened my eyes against the insanely bright sun to see even brighter strands in her hands like a mess of webs.

"You don't have my strands, that's for sure. Hey, can you walk?" Cynthia asked me. I shook my head, so Cynthia picked me up and placed me on her back.

"Remember when we used to do this? Back when we were younger?" She asked me. I kept silent, it was embarrassing...

"Mom! Get over here please!" Cynthia asked. She walked in our backdoor and set me down at the kitchen table. Mom ran in and felt my forehead, then turned to Cynthia with an angry stare.

"How fast were you in curing his headache?" My mom asked, pulling out a small vial of something weird and forcing me to drink it.

"Faster than you. Look." Cynthia spread out her hands to reveal strands with a... golden color? No way... Mom's golden strands?!

"Sky... get up and walk over to me." Mom told me. I tried to move, but my legs felt like jelly and I fell out of the seat, unable to even push my body up. That headache destroyed all strength left in my body and left me helpless.

"Sky. Get up." Mom told me again. I stayed on the kitchen floor as Cynthia and she remained completely silent.

"My body isn't working. I'm trying." I mumbled to the ground.

"Sky. I need you to put everything into getting up on your feet. You used Golden Strands for the first time, your brain is being eaten alive by those strands right now and if you don't reestablish control, you won't ever get up from that floor again." Mom told me.

"Geez Mom, you could be a little easier on him, it was his first time using strands," Cynthia commented, but my mom showed no signs of letting up.

"Easier on him? You have Deity DNA, I can't go easy on you anymore." Mom told me.

"Deity DNA? Holy shit... nice job Sky!" Cynthia chanted for me, but Mom still had a straight face.

"Sorry, I'm just worried. Hearing my son has Deity DNA is just... amazing, but also awful for me at the same time." Mom said. She paused as I finally stood on my feet in the kitchen. I got my strength back and the headache completely disappeared.

"I can keep training, the headache is gone... Mom, what does it mean to be a Deity?" I asked her. Mom looked at the floor with a sullen appearance, staying in silence while leaning against one of the chairs.