Shape Of Neba

Dune's eyes blinked open, blurry shapes sharpening into focus. His body ached. Cold metal bars rattled beneath his back. He was in a cage, thick and twisted, its material pulsing faintly with a green Neba. 

Damn it.

Above him, tree canopies whispered as they passed beneath. The cage rocked slightly, he was being carried, dragged maybe, through unfamiliar terrain.

He groaned, shifting his neck. Around him moved masked figures, familiar now. The same robes, the same animal masks. 

To his left walked the one with the yellow fox mask, the woman. Still completely silent. 

Ahead of her walked the largest figure, the black wolf. Another strode at his side, marked by a vivid blue wolf mask. Others surrounded them, flanking, trailing, moving in silent formation.

Dune's eyes narrowed. Then he kicked hard.

"Wake up," he muttered.

Syras stirred with a sudden yelp. "AH—!" He groaned. "My head is spinning… No way, did we actually get caught?"

The cage jolted as one of the wolves slammed a heavy boot against it, snarling something unintelligible. The growl was low, guttural. A language neither of them knew.

"I think that one just swore at us," Syras mumbled.

Dune sighed. "The cage is forged from Neba," he said under his breath. "Trying to break out is useless."

"Well, that's great," Syras muttered. "We're gonna get boiled alive. Eaten or maybe even roasted. This is the end. We are shame to bloodrose academy." 

"We don't know that," Dune replied. "They could've killed us already, but they didn't. That means something."

"Yeah," Syras scoffed. "Probably nothing good."

Then he raised his voice, slamming his foot into the bars. "HEY! You pieces of shit! Let us go!"

Another loud thud as the cage was kicked again, harder this time.

"Quiet," growled a deep voice, Rehan. The black wolf. He turned to the yellow fox walking beside him. "See how violent they are? Filthy animals."

"What did you just say? He said something bad didn't he? Syras snapped, trying to crane his head toward the voice. "You bastard, when I get out of here, you're dying first!"

Dune swung his leg sideways, kicking Syras sharply in the knee.

"Shut up," he hissed. "Don't provoke them. We need to stay calm and think this through."

Syras grumbled, rubbing his leg. "Sorry." 

Dune leaned back again, breathing slowly. His eyes wandered, to her. The yellow fox. She hadn't spoken once. Just stared.

She was still staring now.

And the moment their gazes met, she looked away, quickly, her posture stiffening like she'd been caught doing something wrong.

Dune rubbed the side of his head, groaning softly. A memory was clawing its way back.

That moment before he blacked out…

The mask, splitting.

The face behind it.

Or… the absence of one.

"Was I imagining that?" he whispered to himself. "Or did she really… not have a face?"

He swallowed. That couldn't be possible. How would she speak? How would any of them?

His gaze drifted again, this time lingering.

Is that why they all wear masks?

Dune's eyes traced the masked figures around them, watching with quiet calculation. Every now and then, when one of them spoke, he noticed it, an almost imperceptible green glow flickering at their necks. It shimmered briefly, then vanished like a trick of light.

He narrowed his eyes. What was that?

Again, another voice, another glow.

It's their Neba… they're speaking through it?

His thoughts quickened. Is that even possible?

If someone could enhance their vocal cords with Neba… then release that sound into the air as a wave of Neba, and guide it through their own spread… maybe it could be carried to a target. 

Maybe the words could ride along the current. It's possible… but to do that, your Neba would have to spread. You'd need to know how to use Nebawave.

He swallowed the thought.

But in this Trial… we're forbidden from spreading our Neba outside of our bodies. 

Why? Could this be the reason? So we can't communicate with them?

He stared again at the glowing necks, at their muffled voices, at the eerie elegance of it all.

These people… who are they really? The only way to find out is to speak with them. But how? There's no link. No bridge between our Neba and theirs…

A heavy sigh left his lips.

Then a mumble drew his attention. Syras was kicking the cage again and again. Damn it i can't think straight with this guy. 

"I could break this if…." Syras mumbled. 

Dune turned. "What did you say?"

Syras shrugged, frustration in his voice. "I said… I could've broken this cage easy if it wasn't made from damn Neba."

Dune nodded. "Yeah… that would be too easy."

Syras snorted. "Heh.You're right."

Dune was about to respond,'then froze.

A realization hit him like a jolt.

Wait… this cage. It's made from Neba. That means… it carries Neba. That means I can channel my own through it.

His breath caught.

If I channel my Neba through this cage… and someone touches the same part of it… they could receive it. But how do I guide it? How do I make it reach them clearly?

His mind spun.

"Syras," he said. "I have an idea. Listen. Put your hand on the cage."

Syras raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just do it."

After a moment, Syras obeyed, resting his palm against one of the thick, sharp bars.

"Now?"

"Just wait."

Dune placed his own hand opposite his, both of them pressing against the same metal vein of the cage. He shut his eyes. Focused.

How do I do this…?

He tried to speak. Syras… can you hear me? But it was just a thought. Nothing happened.

He cupped his hand over his mouth, trying to direct the vibration inward. Focus, damn it… He concentrated his Neba into his throat. A sharp burn followed, his voice box flared with pressure. His neck tensed.

"Wait Dune!" Syras interrupted.

Dune broke into a coughing fit, his breath ragged.

"Shit, it hurts…" he hissed, still coughing.

Syras lowered his voice and leaned forward. "I don't know what you're trying to do… but if you want to focus your Neba into a specific part of your body, you have to change its shape first."

Dune raised an eyebrow. "Shape?"

Syras nodded. "Yeah. Think about it. When you focus your Neba on your legs, its flow becomes sharp, aggressive, boosting your strength, making your muscles explode past their limits. But when you enhance your senses, your ears, nose, or eyes, you have to change the nature of it."

Dune listened, focused.

"You can't make it aggressive," Syras continued. "It has to become smooth. Liquid. Flowing inside you. Only then can it pass through softer parts without damaging them. 

It's all about how you use your Neba… what kind of nature you give it."

Dune's eyes widened.

That makes sense… If I want to speak through Neba, I have to soften it first. Not force it, flow it.

Syras kept going, calmly now. "To change your Neba's nature, all you need is to feel its flow. Calm your mind. Let it listen to you."

Dune stared at him for a long moment.

He smiled faintly. "…Thanks, Syras."

Syras chuckled, leaning back. "Glad I helped."

Night approached.

And with it, a low rumble trembled through the earth beneath them. It was deep and ominous, like something enormous shifting far below the surface. Trees in the distance swayed unnaturally. The air thickened.

Dune and Syras jolted upright, their bodies alert.

Syras exhaled sharply. "Ah… It's time."

He clenched his fists against the cold metal floor. "It's going to fall, right? That thing again? We've got no fragments… nothing…"

The masked figures around them stirred as if in sync with the tremor. Without panic or words, they began to move, fast, precise, coordinated.

One by one, they started forming barriers around themselves.

The Yellow Fox, standing closest to Dune, did same. She pressed blue core between her palms, and a glow lit up her fingers. Then the light flared, and a transparent dome rose up around both her and Dune.

On the other side, the Blue Wolf and Black Wolf repeated the motion, surrounding themselves with circular barriers. Soon, more of the masked villagers followed suit, creating overlapping protective domes all across the clearing.

It was mesmerizing, a dance of glowing fragments and careful lines etched into dirt or air. But what caught Dune's eye was the way the cores behaved.

In the center of each barrier, a floating, bluish-white core hovered midair, the result of the fused fragments. It pulsed softly, like a heartbeat. 

And when any of the villagers moved the core, barrier would shift as well, gliding smoothly through the air like a magnet pulling the barrier along with it.

The barrier didn't move on its own, it followed the core.

They were moving their barriers just by moving the cores, dragging that shielded circle of safety along with them as if the barrier was a bubble, and the core was the center of its gravity.

"Woah…" Syras whispered, eyes wide. "So that's how it works. The barrier doesn't need to be broken and reformed… it follows the core inside of it. You just carry your safety with you."

Dune nodded slowly, amazed.

These people had mastered barrier mobility, something most Neba users probably couldn't barely. And they did it without a single wasted movement.