It took half an hour, all through which Avere, trapped within the marble and blissfully unaware of the excruciating pain he would've been under had he not been pressed into it was cursing his own decision, feeling that the gap between himself and the other Cades, this Leyk, had just widened further and further, to the point where it felt as if Leyk was at another rank all together.
Perhaps that was the case because he had always been fighting, perhaps because he had used his authority right away, perhaps because of that interesting earring of his, but there was something he felt he needed to do.
He felt that he had to give Leyk the blade that could not kill.
Not because he was worried that he might take it by killing, with him not even knowing of it in the first place, he felt that he should better give it to him so he would be a bit more powerful.
Avere was not stupid.
He felt envious and a bit greedy at the power and ridiculous strength wielded by Leyk when compared to his own but he more so realized that that power and strength belonged to him as well, that all that information and knowledge could be his to gain, perhaps even the intent he had spoken about his to command once the Sekaria finally came out of his mind, and he had to strengthen himself even more.
The last part might not have seemed as if it belonged to the first part if he was honest to himself, finally able to talk again, but choosing to lay down, hearing mumbling voices in the background, as if from beyond a waterfall, his ears not entirely able to catch sounds yet, but he knew that if he wanted to grow stronger, he had to be trained by someone much better than himself, someone much stronger, someone able to know much more about utilization and understanding than himself.
There was the need to be able to fight against Leyk using blades as well, so his gift would strike out two flies with one swatter if he was lucky enough for the guy to accept his proposal and the trade that he would propose soon after he finally woke up, perhaps even being able to finally get them all to start the journey to the next city, one that he felt was close, very close.
-
"Still, how am I supposed to see blood through walls? Does that even make any sense?" asked Leyk, his throat a bit dry, his stomach a bit rumbly after the short clash, a short sign of physical activity that he was confident would not hinder his abilities much should they be getting on the chains soon enough, Kehit seemingly a bit nervous as she was still in a defensive stance, though now she was also slightly bored, simply her footwork being so impeccable that he would've probably been envious of the technique had he not had the steadfast active.
"You don't see the blood itself, but blood carries mana, along with the mana veins and arteries, so the liquid we see is simply coloured by that magical energy in collection with the oxygen carried by the blood cells, a reason we actually don't need to breather as much" Kehit added in a matter-of-the-fact kind of voice as she explained it, still defensive but moving her arms strongly, the burly man standing behind the two and nodding his head as he had put his arms over each other, the aloof boy just standing there, looking in a completely different direction, talking to someone that was not there.
Leyk was about to answer, affirming the theory but wanting to ask about some more details that Kehit was probably not even aware off and had never even been thinking about, aside from in the shower, something that had probably already been a long time ago, until he heard rustling and a few rocks falling over, quickly wearing a fake smile and looking over to Avere who had just stood up, wearing a kind of thin armor, elastic but seemingly durable, so much so that he felt the intrigue of knowing how much it would hold out against him hitting it, his wings gone in exchange for that, perhaps because they had been ripped off so easily.
Actually, Leyk began to think, ehetrians were not really made to fight, their wings being far too easy to get rid of, their bones losing weight when in the air, becoming more fragile in the process, so he had been weirdly powerful as an apex and a lord, not that he had a real answer for that, only Avere having been told the truth by king Adelius during his trials, as well as many other secrets.
Still, he made a small gesture asking for the still heavily breathing man to come upwards, some fear in his eyes as he took a big gulp, pushed his chest out, tried to make himself bigger and actually grew an inch or two, that being noted by Leyk as what he had most likely gained through his trial, a shapeshifting body, a body made of silver... it would have been difficult to get rid off in a fight between equals, giving him a great advantage with his ridiculous regeneration after all...
There was even the possibility of smashing him to pieces, or him just turning into a marble for another person to let that marble, a single inch across after all, into tight spaces, or out of prison bars, something they might need very soon on another island, or perhaps even in that city if newcomers were detained... that was a possibility in this place... truly, a hellhole to reside within...
"Hey..." the tired-looking Avere began, feeling his heart grow slightly heavier than before as he finally exited the crater, fearing that he'd truly have died had there not been the marble to save him, something Leyk had not known of.
"I have something for you." he finished, gulping down that still visible displeasure as Leyk smiled in a fake way that was still annoyingly seductive and handsome, asking a follow-up question.
"What is it?"