Essence Strands

"Ever since the 2020 Calamity, all things on Earth have had Strands imbued into them. All living creatures, all living people, and all living things have had strands observed in them. However, the species of humans that can use them in a more efficient way are known as Arkians, or so we're taught in school. That's the difference between us and you. So, over these four hundred years that have passed, Humans learned to harness the strands inside of ourselves as well, and they're called Essence Strands." Alatus began her story.

"Essence Strands are not meant for battle but can be integrated into it. For example, my attack, where I grabbed onto Illya's saber with my bare hands, was an Essence Strand attack called Jertachi. My strands created atoms in front of her saber and blocked them by making an object with the Essence Strands, the direct counter to Illya's Strands. Just like how your strands construct weapons, ours construct shields." Alatus explained.

I see now... it's a complicated process, but the 'shields' Alatus discussed are not like the shields I can summon, it's more metaphorical. Those Essence Strands can summon up counters for our strands, which is why they're so powerful. If we have the sword, they have the shield.

"So, if I learn both, could I summon both?" Alex asked, to which Alatus nodded.

"You can, but they would be at half of their true strength because you utilize both types, and that would never change," Alatus explained, and then quickly started again.

"As I said before, that's only one form of attack. Jertachi is a sub-section of a bigger group called Katachi. I'll try to go slow here, but don't fall behind. First, we have Shangtachi, a sub-section of attack that uses the Essence Strands to block out nerve signals in your brain to cause hallucinations. This is the most dangerous to use, as it links to your brain and causes the attacker to see what you want them to see, how you plan to attack, and all strategies you have inside. It's only useful in small cases, but still hard to learn." She added again.

"And finally, there's Tultachi, a sub-section that allows the Essence Strands to materialize around you to change your surroundings. There's no downside to this one, but it is the hardest one to learn. In fact, I still barely know how to use it. All of these things compress into Katachi, which is an attack that negates the downsides of all three sub-sections, at the expense of your Essence Strand Capacity." She finished.

"So... like a 'last-resort' kind of attack?" Alex asked for clarification. His body language displayed his discomfort and he wobbled around while listening, as if his brain was fried.

"Yes, but you can willingly activate it, so it can't accidentally happen. This is what you want to learn, right?" Alatus asked one more time. Even if Alex's brain was fried, he agreed to her terms and showed off a bright smile.

"Of course! You will see me improve! Thanks for the opportunity!" Alex said, spilling out all of his gratitude.

"Don't be so formal! Anyway, with everybody else, I'd like to expand upon your strengths, and touch upon your weaknesses later... starting with you, Shike." Alatus pointed and walked up to Shike while he looked surprised, taking slight steps backward.

"In all honesty, you seemed to have depended on your ability to much. That one is like mine, where you can store the energy. I believe in your strength, but I don't believe that it's well refined." Alatus commented. I was absolutely sure Shike was going to prove her wrong, but he smiled and nodded.

"Yeah... I'd have to agree with you. This strength I have depended on that ability. In my world, I never would've heard of a person without an ability... but here, it seems nobody has them, and without mine, I'm just like everybody else." Shike said.

A good observation. I was just like that now as well, at leas t when I wasn't using my strands.

"Don't sweat it. For the time being, we'll train in all categories of strength, speed, offense, and defense, since your strategizing is good as is." Alatus said again.

"If his strategizing is so good as is, why isn't he with Ruby and her smart people?" I asked her this time around, finally speaking up after a decent while.

"Beats me, all I know is that I'm training him. Dani, Alex, and Boo, I would like you guys to just watch for today while I stretch out Shike's body. This is going to be the most important part, and how we start every day. Strength is directly linked to flexibility, so I'll have you all do that." Alatus said, but Boo shook her head, explaining that she stretches every morning already.

With everything going on right now, it was easy to forget what has been happening. It seems like this is just a fun get-together. No looming threats were on the horizon, and there was no reason to try to genuinely improve. Alatus's demeanor didn't speak of a calamity on the horizon, but of course, all places need an army. I was happy to work like this... but it felt weird, knowing that I could go to bed with my life tonight.

Is this how normal people feel?

Ah, I'm feeling overwhelmed right now. All that fighting has come to an end... for once in this life I've had.

"Hey, I'm kind of hungry... can we get food after this? Oh, how do we do that here? Do we have storage or something?" I asked, looking past the training barracks and to the middle of the city.

"...Oh, sorry, this is all probably new to you. Food is served to you depending on the house. Once you return to your group home, you'll be served dinner according to what they have there. Otherwise, you can use your money to go out and buy food at restaurants. You'll probably get some money within the next week." Alatus pondered, looking up at the sky.

...

Money?