Unblockables

"Huh? My strands can't block your attacks...? Why?" I asked Umbra.

This threw a wrench into everything I knew. Barely anything could stop my strands, so why is Umbra something that can? Is it her weapon? Does she have Mahina Metal in her?

"Use your thinking to find out. I'll throw more attacks at you, just try to piece it together," Umbra started. She threw punches back and forth while I dodged them, and thought of a solution.

I pushed my head to the right and deflected her strikes, looking at her body all over.

Usually, powering up in strength or speed meant a physical change of some kind. Nothing was changing in Umbra's body as of right now. She simply threw light punches that I could block and I couldn't feel a protrusion of strands coming from her body.

I pushed her fist to the left and stepped backward while watching her eyes start to glance toward my side once more.

She's going to punish me again... but not if I block it!

Just as I assumed, Umbra's tough strike came in and I placed my hand in front of her punch. I felt a tingle in my hands and they went numb as I blocked the strike, and was soon hit by the opposite fist of hers on the opposite side of my body.

I bounced off the floor and reclaimed my footing.

A tingle... my strands can't block her attacks still... there has to be something she's doing! Why can't I locate it...?

She hit a combo off of me, punching me three times in the chest, and then once right under my chin.

I absorbed the attacks with Shike's ability out of pure instinct, not even thinking about wasting my life away with lifespan reduction, and immediately stopped before I could seal the deal and remove more minutes from my life.

Umbra stopped in confusion.

"Sorry... I didn't get the chance to tell you, but using abilities like Shike's reduces my lifespan. My System reminds me every time it almost happens," I explained to Umbra.

"Who's Shike? Are you talking about The First Trial's Abilities?" She asked. So, she caught on.

"Yes... maybe you can tell me... why can't I use those abilities without risk?" I asked her.

"I'm guessing you'd like an actual answer here, and you don't want to be tested... but I can't help it. I'll help you through it. So, these abilities reduce your lifespan... what's your initial thought?" She asked me.

"My initial thought is because I'm bringing properties from that world into this one, and to do that I must need a plethora of strands, which is why it takes so much out of me, including my own lifespan," I suggested.

"Meh, that's an alright explanation... I wonder why your lifespan is being reduced specifically... what's unique about that world that doesn't exist in this one?" Umbra asked, enticing me to come to a conclusion.

"Rubeki? Abilities? I'm confused here... the world itself? What isn't unique about it? They are both two different places," I told her. Umbra shrugged.

Huh...?

"Are they... not two different places?" I asked her. Again, she shrugged.

"Then... that doesn't make any sense. Why is my lifespan being reduced? I'm wasting myself away without knowing the root cause..." I muttered.

"What does that world have that this world doesn't? Let me narrow the question down a little more... both worlds have similarities, maybe they're even in the same place... but what's unique... or rather, who is unique?" She asked.

Who...?

"Providence? Mom? Dad? Shike? Belle? Alexia? Boo?!" I yelled out to her, but she shook her head and pointed dead at my chest.

"The Sky Asterio you have become consists of two main things. Your wiped memory and personality. The answer to the question... is you. You are what is unique. This world does not have your memories from The First Trial, yet you still hold onto them. Part of your memories includes those abilities. When you exert those memories into a physical form, the only thing your brain can do is expend those memories permanently to pull them into a physical state," Umbra explained.

What? I didn't understand... and Umbra seemed to understand that.

"What I'm saying is those abilities can be thought of as your memories. When you use those abilities, you are using your memories and turning them into something physical, which is lowering your total capacity for memories, and thus, your lifespan. It's all connected. So long as you do not use those abilities, you will not reduce your lifespan," She reiterated. Now I understood.

"Then, I'll have to return these abilities back to the others. Thanks, Umbra." I told her.

"But wait... how the hell was I supposed to come up with that on my own? I'm not as smart as you think, you know?" I teased Umbra, but she shook her head.

"I've taught you a way to perceive certain things about this world, and I hope you'll take that and apply it elsewhere. I've built your foundation, you must now build on it," She said.

She dispersed us for the day and I returned to the entrance of the main streets, lost and confused. She had explained a lot to me, but I felt like I didn't understand a single thing she was saying.

My memories, being turned into physical objects? Is that even possible? I guess so, with everything I've learned so far, it's not impossible...

I'm not sure why, but I was thinking about that move that Mom and Dad pulled off near the end...

"System Synchronization..." Avie mumbled. It seems like she can tell what I'm thinking.

"What is that, Avie?" I asked her.

"A process in which a User and their A.I. synchronize their bodies together to become an ultimate being. It results in death after it ends and is only used in last-case scenarios," Avie explained to me.

"Synchronize their bodies together...? Wait, did you say a User and their A.I.? Was one of my parents an A.I.?" I asked her in confusion.

"Ali Asterio? That's correct," Avie told me.