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“How do you feel?” Catherine asked as she matched James’ stride. He smiled at her and snickered as he rubbed his cheek.
“There’s a boo-boo right here,” he said. “And I don’t know where it came from.”
“I do,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “I slapped your ass.”
“No, no,” he said. “See that’s right here,” he said, pointing to his butt. “I said that my face hurt.”
“Technically, you didn’t say it. You said you had a boo-boo, whatever the heck that is.”
“It’s a wound. A bruise. An ouchie.”
“Is that the full definition?”
“I don’t know. It’s so foreign to me. I mean, I’ve never been slapped by my wife before. At least to my knowledge. I mean, who knows at this point? I didn’t know she had so much violence within her. She might have slapped me in the past and it was so hard that I can’t even remember the altercation.”
“And if you absorb someone again, you’ll lose even more of that ability to keep a short-term memory.”
“I won’t,” he said. “I promise.”
Catherine smiled and put her head down as they walked. She could hear the rest of the group walking behind them a considerable distance away. They still weren’t sure what to say. She knew that Arimus was just as furious as she had been. He was bringing up the rear.
“I’m sorry I slapped you.”
“No, you aren’t,” James scoffed. “You know you liked it.”
“A little,” she blushed. “Sometimes you’re so annoying.”
“It’s part of my charm,” he said, looking out over the vast expanse. The meadow had barely changed since they had started their journey, and he wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to reach whatever they were looking for. It was entirely possible that they would end up where they started out from.
“Do you feel any different?” she asked, afraid of the answer.
“I’m grateful that you gave me some space to sort through it,” he said, glancing at her. “I think I’ve gotten a grasp on what came from Gavin and what is part of me personality wise. He was a pretty bitter individual.”
“Does he talk at all?”
“No, I don’t think it works like that. It’s like...I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like we’re a giant store, and on the shelves are a bunch of objects that define us. Personality traits, emotions, abilities, etc. And when I absorbed him, it’s like I was given all of the items on the shelf but the store itself disappeared. It feels like I got everything but his soul.”
“If we have one,” she muttered.
“I do have his memories though. But they’re coming in slow. I think it’s a Quietus defense so that I’m not bombarded. My mind is still sharp...and it’s starting out at the beginning of his life. Baby stuff right now.”
“What about his abilities?”
“I can heal,” he frowned. “But it’s weird. He can only do it a couple of times before a reset counter starts. Takes a few days to recharge.”
“Anything else?”
“Strength boost. Major speed increase. So extreme that I’ve been thinking of another technique I might be able to implement. Nothing terrible though.”
“I’d love to hear about it.”
“Well, I can tap into both sides of my heritage. Quietus and Allayan. I can summon two eidolons, and I think that with this speed increase, I might be able to create an afterimage of myself in battle. It wouldn’t last long, but it might be enough to throw someone off. I think if I pour enough energy into it, I might even be able to get a blow or two in before it disappears.”
“That’s the kind of thinking I need to be doing right now,” Catherine muttered.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re already figuring out ways to increase your power, and thought I don’t want to admit it, you might not have beaten Gavin if you didn’t use that Quietus technique. I...I died because I relied on my Sage abilities. I can’t do that anymore.”
“Once I decided that I’m no longer a Sage, it started getting easier.”
“Then what are you now?”
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I really don’t. But at least I’m trying to expand my mind, and not be confined by the shell of an eidolon. Watch this.”
She looked at his outstretched left hand and his Quietus skin appeared, black and fluid. It went from his shoulder down to his fingertips and it bubbled. Before her eyes, she saw his arm slowly transform into a black blade that looked exactly like his black eidolon. The difference was that there was no hilt. His arm had literally become the sword, and then in an instantly, it turned back into James’ arm. The Quietus skin receded until it disappeared into the pores of James’ shoulder.
“I feel like that’s more efficient,” he said. “I can summon my eidolon on the fly, but since it’s literally attached to me, my movements aren’t as confined.”
“That’s interesting and all, but that kind of move is exclusive to you. What about someone like me that is all Allayan?”
“We’re all the same,” he said, repeating her words from earlier. “We’ve talked about adopting techniques we’ve seen others perform even before the Great Collision, but we were lazy. Now’s the time to start doing it.”
“Right,” she said, falling deeply into thought. James left her alone to think, but he still walked by her side. He felt it. He was changing, and it felt like it was for the better. He was finally taking time out to grow, and there were no outside forces to stop him. He was going to...
“No,” he whispered, stopping in his tracks. He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I...” he turned around and faced the crowd. Catherine continued walking for a few yards before she noticed that everyone had stopped. She ran back to where they were all watching James.
“What is it?” Arimus asked, placing a hand on his son-in-law’s shoulder. “James, tell us.”
“It was quick. A flash. I...” he turned around and scanned the environment. “This is a manifestation.”
“What is?” Ronan frowned. “We’re in one right now?”
“Yeah, I think so,” James said, refusing to move. “I think...if this wasn’t real...if we’re not in the meadow then how would we break this? How do we tear through a manifestation?”
“No one’s been able to do manifestations since the Great Collision,” Midori replied.
“We would have to attack the one creating it,” Ronan said, answering James’ question. “But if the manifestation is this big...I don’t think that’s possible.”
“It’s not like walking in any one direction would stop it,” Catherine said.
“I got this,” Gwen said. “But I will need a little time.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll be searching for the one creating it,” she replied. “But that will require going underground, past whatever our foundation is made of. And then I’ll have to search for the culprit.”
“Do it,” James said as she closed her eyes and sat on the ground. She placed the palms of her hands on the soil and he saw small vines erupting from the pores of her hands and burrowing slowly into the ground.
“And what about the rest of us?” Ronan asked. “We just wait?”
“Enjoy it while you can,” Arimus said with a smile. “It won’t be long now.”
“Whoever is causing this will know something is up,” Midori said. “Especially since we’re standing here and doing nothing.”
“Got him,” Gwen whispered.
“What? So soon?” James asked in concern.
“He’s standing right next to us!” she shouted as her eyes snapped open. A young man suddenly appeared right behind them with a large vine wrapped around his boots. The teenager slashed at the vines with his dagger and then back-flipped away from them as they watched him in surprise. James couldn’t believe how close he had gotten. He could have hurt them whenever he wanted!
When he felt safe, the stranger stopped and faced them from a distance. He couldn’t be older than fifteen, and he wore baggy clothes that were two sizes too big for him. He had a jagged dagger in his left hand and he had another dagger hanging from a ponytail in the back of his head. His long orange hair swayed back and forth in the breeze as he glared at them with no emotion in his face.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” James said, but the boy sneered.
“You mean like you didn’t with Gavin?”
“We had no choice,” Arimus said. James was surprised to hear Arimus speak for him. Though he probably didn’t agree with how Gavin was defeated, he still sided with his group.
“You could have killed him,” he sniffed. “That would have been better than what you did.”
“We’re still in the meadow,” Ronan observed. “He’s not the one causing the manifestation.”
James looked at Gwen out of the corner of his eye and noticed that she was concentrating on finding the real source. He averted his gaze so that he wouldn’t draw attention to her.
“Were you close to him?” James asked in concern.
“He was my mentor,” the stranger replied. “And now he’s never coming back.”
“Listen, we’re seriously not here to fight. Gavin attacked first and he said that if we passed his test, then we would be able to know more about the Ancient Knights.”
“You’ll never know about them,” he seethed.
“Cease,” an elderly man replied as he appeared out of thin air into the meadow. Leaning onto a cane, and looking as fragile and brittle as ice, he placed a shaking hand upon the young man’s arm and nodded at him. The young boy took a deep breath and then vanished from their collective view. Only the elderly man remained.
“Hello,” he said. “I am Ten. It is a pleasure to meet those that have passed Gavin’s test.”
“I didn’t mean to take his life,” James said. “It was the only way.”
“There is no need to explain,” Ten replied. “I have seen it all, including your true colors. There is no need to elaborate on who you are and what your intentions involve. I know that you are seeking us—the Ancient Knights.”
“So you do exist,” Pascal said in awe.
The old man narrowed his eyes. “The only reason we have revealed ourselves to you is because you passed Gavin’s test, and because we have determined that you won’t give up on looking for us. Not to mention that you have noticed that this is a façade.” Ten glanced down and saw a vine begin to reach up from a crack in the ground and wrap around his left leg.
“There is no need,” he said, waving a hand in the air. “I am the one doing this.”
The meadow disappeared.
And they found themselves in a castle, surrounded by high grey stone walls and colossal statues holding shields and swords. Emblems and coats of arms hung on banners high above, and there was no ceiling. The night sky was clear and the full moon illuminated them. The old man stood before them, observing them closely as they examined their surroundings. There were no doors and the open room that they were in seemed as if it went on for miles. They couldn’t see the end.
“You have been walking through our home,” Ten said. James felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
“And yet you reveal yourself now. Why?”
“Because you will now receive your answers. And then...you will more than likely be killed.”
“We’re here to learn from you,” Catherine said. “Not go out and tell the world where you are and who you are.”
“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not worried about that. See, we are giving you the opportunity to become Ancient Knights and of joining our order. But you have to pass the trial first. And no one has passed it in over a century.”
