The first hint of gray crept along the edge of the barricaded window.
Aren hadn’t slept at all. He sat upright against the wall, eyes half-closed but fully aware, listening to any sounds from beyond the nurse’s office.
Though, other than the occasional Blight Dog getting closer, nothing had happened throughout most of the night, which he was thankful for.
Throughout the night he was ditating, trying to refine Ether and honing his inner energy. The entire night he had a thought:
They were still Novice Mystics...
If even a single Defiler appeared, not even ntioning high-ranking mbers like Rinrin. If even a single Defiler that confronts them who was at least a Practitioner, they wouldn’t even stand a chance.
Yet, the entire ti, he’d been stuck at a bottleneck. Aren simply didn’t have enough resources to break through and advance to an Adept.
Well, resources weren’t sothing they lacked...
Constantly, his eyes would drift over to the dical bag, to the priceless relic that had been inside it. The temptation to unseal it and cultivate next to it was imnse, he’d easily be able to progress to his Second Line—hell, maybe even his third.
But he had to hold himself back, unsealing it would a death sentence...and he really didn’t want to die again so soon.
A faint rustle broke the silence.
Luna started to stir beside him. Her breathing changed first, slower and uneven as sleep loosened its hold. Then her head shifted slightly against his shoulder before she finally straightened and yawned.
Yet, as soon as she did, her face flushed red.
"...How long was I—"
"Not long," he replied calmly.
Well that wasn’t entirely true, she’d slept a full six hours but Aren thought there wasn’t any point ntioning that.
She backed away slowly, becoming aware of the position they had been in, of how close they were, of the fact that she’d completely let her guard down around him.
"I didn’t an to—" she began, then stopped.
"It’s fine," Aren tilted his head slightly. "You were exhausted."
She seed to give him a slight nod before quickly reaching inside her pocket, producing her phone a mont later. The dim glow lit up her face.
"...Four," she muttered. "It’s 4AM."
"It’s still early," he replied. "We’ll move in around two hours."
She lowered the phone slowly, avoiding his eyes for a second longer than necessary before finally glancing toward the dical bag.
"Anything happened?"
Aren shook his head, to which she sighed softly. The silence stretched for a mont longer before Aren finally spoke.
"Luna."
"We’re still in trouble."
She frowned slightly at what he said. "Didn’t you say we’d move at dawn?"
He leaned back against the wall before finally speaking.
"We are, but it’s not foolproof," he said softly. "Even if the Blight Dogs and other Demonic Beast thin out in daylight—"
"We’re still only Novice Mystics."
Luna bit down on her teeth. It was an unspoken fact that both of them had to accept.
"If we run into a Defiler sweep, no..." Aren continued. "Just one Defiler, we’ll die."
"You think they’re still searching?"
"I think they don’t need to search," Aren replied. "They can afford to sweep slowly. We’re the ones on a tir."
His gaze slowly drifted back to the dical bag once more.
"Though we’re carrying the most valuable object in the city."
Luna followed his eyes imdiately.
"...You’re thinking about using it?"
"Rember the small protrusion I showed you, right on the side of the cube?"
She nodded instantly, before her eyes widened in understanding.
"There’s no way..." she said under her breath. "Are you trying to control the ether that cos out from the valve manually?"
Aren nodded slowly.
"That’s..." Luna hesitated, choosing her words carefully, "...like trying to control a dam with your bare hands."
She studied both him and the cube carefully.
"You’d have to match the output perfectly," she said slowly. "The mont more ether escapes than you can absorb—"
"Everyone will be able to sense it," he finished. "I know."
Aren held her gaze for a mont longer.
"I won’t attempt it without a failsafe."
Luna’s brows knit slightly. "What failsafe?"
Instead of answering imdiately, Aren reached into the inner lining of his coat and withdrew a small piece of paper.
A small, yellow piece of paper, perfectly cut, a bit worn at the edges but Aren didn’t mind. On it, few engravings written in so kind of old script that he’d never seen before.
But throughout the night, Aren was able to examine its properties. The talisman was given to him by the old Barrier Master before he left.
Luna’s eyes narrowed slightly as she recognized it.
"That’s a sealing talisman."
"It’s designed to anchor and contain ether," Aren continued. "The old Barrier Master gave it to ."
"Elder Thane? The one who was supervising our tournant matches?"
He nodded briefly before continuing. "He probably gave it to as a precaution, probably to seal a Demonic Beast I couldn’t defeat."
"So what are you planning to do with it?" she tilted her head.
"If the current exceeds what I can absorb," he said evenly, "I’ll divert the excess into this."
"And then?"
"I throw it."
She blinked once.
"Out the window. Off the roof. Anywhere away from us."
Understanding dawned quickly on her face as she shifted slightly in her seat.
"So for a brief mont...it becos a concentrated life beacon—"
"Which gives us ti to run," Aren nodded.
"It won’t be long, just two or three minutes," he continued. "But it’s better than nothing."
Luna didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, her gaze fell to the talisman resting in Aren’s hand before shifting to the dical bag.
"You’re sure you can control it?" she asked at last, her voice low but steady.
Aren did not rush his answer. Even at his peak in his previous life, even with flawless control, there were always variables: environntal shifts, external interference, and the unpredictable nature of condensed ether.
Perfection didn’t exist.
"Yes," he said finally. "But that doesn’t an things can’t go wrong."
"However, I’m confident I can react fast enough."
Her fingers tightened slightly against her sleeve as she studied him, searching his expression for recklessness, only to find resolve.
After a mont, Luna gave a slow, quiet nod. Aren held her gaze for one breath longer, then finally reached for the dical bag.
For a mont, neither of them touched it before Aren finally lifted it out. The air in the room shifted almost instantly, being dominated just by sheer pressure alone.
He adjusted his grip and held it between them.
"Both of us," he said quietly.
Luna nodded and stepped closer.
She placed her hands against the opposite side of the cube, fingers steady despite the bit of warmth pressing faintly against her palms.
The ether inside responded imdiately, slow ripples forming where their touch t the surface.
Aren’s expression hardened slightly.
"If anything happens," he said calmly, "you take it and run."
Hesitation filled her eyes instantly. Aren knew that she’d be unwilling to leave once more, not after what had happened.
"And you?" she whispered softly.
"I’ll be right behind you."
Luna studied him for another second before giving a small nod.
"I understand."
She closed her eyes first, letting her feelings drift inward. Aren studied her once more before doing the sa.
He let the world fall away...the room, the beasts outside, and the coming light. All of it receded as he drew his senses inward, toward the compressed core of ether resting between their hands.
And with one final steady breath—
Aren closed his eyes.
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