True to his words, Rai taught Sin how to use Windstep. She managed to get it down a lot faster than he’d expected, though it wasn’t exactly a difficult technique to use. After all, Rai came up with it on a whim, and was able to use it effectively soon after that. For Sin to learn it so quickly, it wasn’t surprising.
After she did so, Sin went and continued practicing her Dance.
Rai spent some more time trying to figure out a way to fight in the air that was a bit smoother than Windstep.
Though, no matter what he tried, Rai couldn’t find anything that worked better than what he’d already found.
He was patient though. It might not make itself clear to him right now, but Rai knew that there had to be some way that he could manoeuvre through the air better than just using wind magic like he was. Stormflow took him a long time to learn, so Rai was fine to be resigned to taking a while to figure this out.
For the time being, Rai worked on his other techniques.
He found a way to use Hellfire instead of normal fire for his inferno cage, which improved its effectiveness in two huge ways.
First, Rai was no longer in danger using that technique, since Hellfire couldn’t hurt him. Second, the cage walls were exponentially more powerful than they were previously.
Using this technique afforded Rai a favourable one on one against anyone he was fighting, which he preferred. The only problem was that the technique drew a bit more mana than normal, since Hellfire was more mana-intensive than basic fire. But Rai was fine with it, since Hellfire gave him way more power and versatility for the amount of extra mana it used.
The last technique that Rai worked on was... not really a technique.
He called forth Ghost.
And imbued it with Hellfire.
Ghost’s cracks filled with vibrant purple energy. Viscous violet flames exuded from Ghost’s blade, burning the air around it.
He took a focused posture and looked up.
Rai powerfully sliced towards a cloud in the sky.
An arc of wild Hellfire shot out of Ghost and soared towards the cloud.
As it passed through, the cloud split into two. Hellfire spread throughout the cloud, burning it to nothingness.
With a smile, Rai withdrew Ghost.
The more that Rai thought about it, the more his curiosity ran wild. He had no idea what materials were used to make Ghost, but he knew they must’ve been some of the strongest materials on Zenith. Otherwise, Rai couldn’t figure out how Ghost so easily handled channelling Hellfire.
“Wait... Jin knows about Ghost, doesn’t he? I’ll just ask him when I see him.”
As if he’d manifested Jin to appear, Rai saw him.
He ran up to Jin, to ask was just on his mind.
“Jin!” He called out.
Jin was returning to the house after tending to his fields.
“Hey.” He replied, with a smile.
“I got a question! You sounded like you recognised Ghost when mum first gave it to me so... do you know much about it?”
“Hmm...” Jin pondered. “I recognised it from when your dad first used it in a fight against me. But he lost... every time.”
“Well, yeah, duh. Who could actually beat you? No, that’s not really the point here... I want to know what Ghost is made out of. The materials seem insane! I imbued Ghost with Hellfire, and it handled it like nothing.”
“That’s no surprise. If I remember correctly... Ghost’s make was always an unknown for me, but there was something about the channels inside the blade being so incredible that it warranted being named. I don’t know much about that story... unfortunately.”
“Damn... that’s too bad.”
“Why? Were you planning on having a blade made?”
“Not exactly... well. Not yet, anyway.”
Jin eyed Rai curiously, prompting Rai to explain further.
“You know my goal is to dual wield, to Dance like you. I just thought that when I get there, I’ll need a pair of blades like Ghost, but made for dual wielding combat.”
“It’s a good thing that you’re thinking resourcefully like this, Rai. I’ll say one thing, and that’s that your blades are not mine. You may find yourself one day finally understanding Balance, but its manifestation in your soul will not be the same as my own. Don’t be afraid to chase your own soul when the time is right.”
“... Right. Thanks, Jin. But... uh. I really appreciate your guidance... but to get back to the point, do you really not know what Ghost’s made of?” Rai asked, hoping that Jin was just hiding the info.
“No, I do not.”
“Okay then.”
Jin patted Rai on the shoulder a couple times, before looking over Rai’s shoulder at Sin. She was still practicing her Dance.
Jin seemed to give her a silent nod of affirmation, unbeknownst to her. After doing so, he went back inside the house.
Rai called forth Ghost one more time.
He’d do some Dance training of his own, now that there was nothing else on the list of things he felt he should be doing.
*Huff. Huff. Huff.*
After training his Dance for hours and hours, Rai was exhausted.
During the training, he took his shirt off because it was getting in his way, which turned out to be the right decision.
Rai laid in the grassy field with steam wafting off of his body. He panted in his exhaustion. But despite that, Rai felt good. He felt incredibly good.
He had a plan to move forward and improve his own skills, which Rai always appreciated having. It gave him a goal to work towards.
Excitement welled up within him. Though, it didn’t go anywhere, since he was knackered laying on the floor.
Eventually, Rai used as much energy as he could to get his heavy head to move and look over at Sin, who was on the floor just like him a bit further away in the same field.
She looked exhausted as well.
Though, that was because Jin came and sped up her training a bunch by whipping her wrong forms into shape.
After a little while, Rai managed to push himself up off the ground. It wasn’t easy, since his body felt heavier than the tree logs he used to carry from the nearby forest to the chopping block on the farm.
But he managed to get up... after a while.
Sin managed to get up all the same.
After a long day of training, the two of them hobbled into the bathhouse and cleaned up.
Their whole bodies ached, and were sore all over.
Thankfully, Reiki’s dinner kept them alive. For the first night since they’d been here, Rai and Sin had no energy for anything other than sleeping once they got to bed. The next day was Saturday, which they used to train a while in the morning to afternoon, and rest in the evening.
Rai and Sin were to return to Acies on the Sunday following.
It wasn’t even like they trained for weeks and weeks, but even just a day and a bit of training with the Dance made for an exhausted pair.
But Sin was happy. She was so incredibly excited to improve on her new fighting style.
At first, she was at odds with having to change her way of fighting. But she gave it a chance, only because Jin was the one to recommend the change. As she got used to it, the new style of fighting felt like it had a lot more potential for her. Of course, it wasn’t battle-ready yet, so Sin had to practice it a lot more, but there were promising signs that pointed towards it being a much more effective way of fighting than she’d been using previously. The whole thing only made her respect Jin even more, since he was able to recognise the best way for her to succeed with her physique and her strengths as a fighter.
During their evening of rest, Rai and Sin spent time with Reiki and Jin.
Sin found Reiki’s warmth to be... something she knew she’d miss back in the Secret. But, with Lilly’s portal network, Sin could probably spend more time here on the farm than she’d initially expected.
Reiki also seemed excited at the prospect of seeing her son a lot more often. And to see Sin more often, who she grew to enjoy spending time with, was a cherry on top.
For their return, however, Rai and Sin had to go back to Acies with Turner, Bort’s horse.
If they somehow ended up in Aurum without going through the portal and paying the toll, then there’d be a gap in their official information. Sin couldn’t afford to mess anything up for her dad now, so close to the Summit, so she chose not to risk it.
As the Sunday came, Rai and Sin found it difficult to leave. Simply because they loved being at the farm so much. But they had no choice, and left as they needed to.
Rai and Sin left the farm with hugs and kisses from Reiki, and a soft smile from Jin.
Reiki made sure that their knapsacks were packed with food, which was just another pang in the heart for Sin.
After this trip, Sin began to see just over the edge of the mountain.
The entire world that she’d missed out on.
More and more, Sin wanted to be with Reiki. Rai realised it quickly enough as well. Sin found a mother in Reiki, and he was happy for that.
But it still hurt that Sin had to leave, given how close Sin grew to Reiki in such a short time.
Rai wanted to make an effort to bring Sin to the farm through the portal network every week, and not just to train. But for his mum and Sin to spend time together.
After all, Sin wasn’t the only one who was sad to leave. When they left, Reiki hugged Sin tight, and for a lot longer than Rai expected. His mum was in a similar boat. She wasn’t exactly alone, since most of the time she had Jin, Elira, and Bort as well. But there was clearly something lacking. Sin being there managed to fill a part of that gap that seemed like it was slowly becoming more and more present.
It was a new reality for both of them. Rai was happy though, he got what he hoped for.
Sin and his mother met, and they seemed to get close to each other in a way that he loved.
Rai and Sin made it back to Acies by the afternoon, since they left Reiki’s farm early in the morning.
They’d passed through the village again on their way back, but this time there were officials from the Life clan nearby. They were probably looking into the vexling that Jin killed, and its massacre of the village.
Rai couldn’t help but think that they were far too lax in their work. Officials like this should be present as soon as possible after a request is filed, or an SOS signal was fired... but they weren’t. The village, along with the people that Rai knew, were all gone now.
Instead of clearing it out and rebuilding, the Life clan’s officials decided to destroy what was left of it, from what Rai figured out after talking to them about what was going on there.
He fumed, but didn’t know what to do to stop them, or change their minds.
Clearly, this wasn’t the Life clan that Elira wanted to build.
“Aye, I feel for ya lad. The Life clan’s but a shadow of its former self.” Bort said, deflatingly.
“I just don’t understand how they’re so... inept...”
“Y’see lad, when the leader of a group is weak, the rest of the group suffers. That’s part of the problem. We got a leader with no spine, who’s unwilling to make tough decisions. He’d rather avoid his people than understand our strife.”
“... Aunt Elly would make a better Aspect.”
“Now now lad. Elly... ain’t built for that kinda pressure. She works better off in the shadows, where she ain’t gotta worry much about bureaucracy ‘n all of that.”
“You’re probably right. But still... I wish things were better here.”
“Who knows? After this Summit, maybe things’ll change for the better! Always gotta be lookin’ up lad. Keep your hopes high, or you’ll wallow with the world.”
“Haha. A funny way to put it, but I appreciate it. Thank you, Bort.”
“Any time, lad. Now then, how’s about you two head on through? Portal should be open for the evening right about now.”
“We will. Thank you again for everything Bort!”
“Always lad.”
“Oh, wait! There’s one thing I forgot. Some librarian from Draconis... Agatha! Agatha said hi!”
“...”
Bort developed a cold sweat.
He looked over at the doorway, terrified.
Sin popped her head into his view.
“You alright Bort?” She asked.
“Aye... though... you’ll do me a favour, right? You two?”
Rai and Sin looked at each other, before looking back at Bort and nodding.
“Then... just tell that witch that I’m dead, next time ya see her. That’ll do me good for a lifetime.”
“... huh?” Rai blurted out.
“Right... let’s see ya off then.” Bort said, clearly hoping to avoid talking anymore about Agatha.
“... Sure... Okay then.” Rai conceded. He wanted to know more but it definitely seemed like too sore of a topic for Bort to ask about.
“Was nice seeing you two again though! Be sure to come back through every now and then, aye?”
“We’ll try! See you next time Bort!” Rai said, before hugging the stocky old dwarf.
Sin gave Bort a hug as well, before they left through the portal with their knapsacks.
On the other side, Rai and Sin paid the portal toll.
They made their way back to the Secret.
Naam wasn’t at reception, just like when they left.
Sin was really excited to talk about her time at the farm with her... but she guessed that that’d have to wait.
Rai and Sin entered the elevator and went up to their floor.
Mr. Guard stood outside the door, on duty.
He nodded quietly in greeting, to welcome Rai and Sin back to the penthouse.
As they entered, Rai and Sin felt a wave of exhaustion hit them.
They wordlessly stumbled into Rai’s room, and fell flat on his bed.
For just a few minutes, Rai and Sin laid there, quietly resting.
Then they got up, and finished up writing their history assignments.
In other words, Sin told Rai everything he needed to write for his, since she took all the notes, while she wrote her own.
After they finished, they soon realised that night had fallen. Zenith’s twin suns were no longer in the sky, but they were blessed by the sight of Zenith’s huge moon outside Rai’s window.
Rai and Sin looked at each other and seemed to silently agree with one another.
It was time to sleep.
Their time in Udra was fruitful, in more ways than one. Sin began to learn her new Dance. Rai learned a lot about Hellfire, and shored up his own Dance. More than anything though, they both got to spend time with Rai’s family.
As they lay in bed together, Rai gently rested his hand on Sin’s.
He repeated the same three words that he said when they returned to the farm from Draconis.
“I love you.”
Sin stared deep into Rai’s electric blue eyes. Her lips involuntarily curled into a warm smile.
“I love you too.”
They kissed each other softly, before falling asleep.
The following day would bring about their first true test.
The dungeon expedition.
