Part 1
Lloyd woke up with a sore body. He had been taken to the forty-second-floor infirmary. A male obsidian in his early forties was tending to him. He looked around and saw the three more beds; Philena, Maurol, and Gonzaroc were resting, while Argy and Jhossan were missing.
The memory of the duel rushed through his mind; how he went from having control to being cornered and confused; he remembered his arms being cut off and his belly burst from the inside out. He should be dead.
"What the hell happened?" His head was spinning.
The Restorer, who was tending to Lloyd, yawned loudly.
"You gave us quite the scare, young man!" Said the Obsidian. He was perky if a bit tired-looking. "Looks like Junny got you good. Don't worry." The Restorer pulled a stool next to the bed and sat down. "I'm sure you´ll get him next time."
The Amberite was afraid to look under the sheets; he didn't want to see the stumps, but his limbs didn't feel severed; instead, they felt crushed. The Restorer walked up to him nonchalantly and removed the sheets, only to find his left and right arms intact. Lloyd tried to question the healer, but his head was pounding, and he quickly dropped back on the pillow. He was exhausted; why? He had pushed his magical power during the duel, but this pain... no, it was different.
"Ah! No, mister, no efforts or strains for a while now." Said the Obsidian. "They may have been only illusions, but they pack quite the punch."
"Only illusions? What the---" Lloyd got dizzy again.
"Yeah... it sucks. Sounds like he got your visual cortex fine and good..." The Restorer said as he reached out to Lloyd.
The amberite flinched like a singed cat.
The healer tried to touch Lloyd again. "Come on..." But the mage kept flinching. "Mother..."
The Obsidian snapped his tongue and rubbed his bloodshot eyes before he flicked Lloyd's nose with his left hand. Almost instantly, the amberite felt his body freeze, and a sudden electric shock locked him in place.
"Hah! Got'cha!"
"What...did... you...?" Lloyd could barely move his mouth, but his tongue tasted like burnt copper.
"Don't worry about it." The medic said quickly as he placed his hand on Lloyd's head and began patting carefully, performing an exam. Lloyd felt sharp electric shocks shooting into his brain, spreading like cobwebs. He started writing something down on a clipboard. "Did you also hear stuff? Steps and the like? I mean other than seeing crap he wanted you to see." Lloyd didn't respond; he could barely mouth a few words, but it was a rhetorical question. "Heh, forget it. Your pupils twitched. So he also nailed the temporal lobe? He's gotten better!" He scribbled again. "First time Junny messed with more than one brain region at a time, he got this man clucking like a hen for a week. But this? Clean work."
Lloyd breathed in deeply and finally got to rest his head on the pillow.
"Everything felt so... real... I could've... he had... my arms..."
"The mind makes it real; he tricked your brain into turning a visual input into pain. Unless he also got into your thalamus or parietal lobe... ah... That's worrying..." He scribbled once more. "My name's Romero Maldus, by the by! Been taking care of you and the squirrels over there for the last nine hours. Easy now." Romero grabbed a glass of water and handed it over to Lloyd.
"Squirrels?" Lloyd struggled to ask.
Romero chuckled. "It's just that, when someone's been 'awe-shocked' by illusions, they start tweaking and shivering... You know, like squirrels! Hah!" He sighed gleefully. For a second, Lloyd thought Romero was being sadistic, remembering previous patients, but it wasn't; he was simply numb to situations as these. "Hadn't seen a case like this in a while. Even here, we don't have a lot of Miragees, you know. Actually," he snorted between giggles, "I have this funny story about some teens who---"
"What happened to them?" Lloyd looked at Philena and the kids.
"Ah, the squirrels. They were so shaky from the duel that Lari and Junny had to sedate them. Happens, you know. Broad illusions that hit 'weak-minded' people may leave them like that for a bit." Romero yawned and stretched. "Sedation... heh... Classy move. I taught them that, you know."
Romero Maldus, the Restorer of the fiftieth floor. He had a beer belly and a balding head; he wore round glasses and a thick beard. He seemed tired, but had an overall pleasant attitude, if a bit morbid at times.
Lloyd couldn't stop shaking and struggled to hold back his tears. He'd look at his arms and belly, and the reality would flicker and show him that nightmarish scene once more. He'd breathe deeply, trying to convince himself it was not real, but it was not easy. Romero picked up on this quickly; he had seen it many times through the years.
"Here." Romero held Lloyd's right arm and pinched it with his nails. Lloyd flinched. "See? It's here. You're whole." Romero's gaze shifted; he seemed warm and caring for a second. "Every time you see that image again... prick, pinch or bite your hand to remember your body is complete. Okay? It's like phantom pain; you need to make your body remember its condition. Okay?"
It hurt a bit, but that pain was a sweet reminder that he was safe and fine. He just needed to remember that.
Slowly, Romero got Lloyd up and took him through some exams to see if he was better. He then provided Lloyd with a list of symptoms he would likely experience during the next few days. Romero also explained Philena, Gonzaroc, and Maurol were out of danger and how the impression of the illusions would fade over the next two days. Still, Lloyd decided to roam around the infirmary, checking on the others. But as he walked by Maurol's bed...
"Don't let him get me..." Maurol whispered.
Lloyd's blood froze. Those words slithered into his ear like a slimy leech.
Part 2
Jun and Larika took Clemence, Rina, Jhossan and Argy to another floor for a meal; the forty-seventh floor had an ample cafeteria where they sat down to relax. After a short wait, a waiter took their order.
Rina was a messy eater; there was sauce spilling out of her plate, and she made noise while drinking her pomegranate juice. Larika would glance at her with a smile while eating, and Jun would chuckle at times. Argy and Jhossan were not hungry but ate after Larika's insistence. Clemence just sat there with an empty bowl. He was still in shock and would space out; he wasn't used to what had happened to his friend.
"You should drink." Jun pushed a glass of cherry juice closer to Clemence, causing him to straighten up and flinch. "The sugar will help with the shock."
Jhossan didn't get it; Jun's duplicity was upsetting. Clemence tried to hold the glass, but his fingers could barely stop shaking, and when he tried to take the glass to his lips, he spilt the juice.
"Fuck..." Clemence whispered in frustration as he picked up the glass. "H-how?" He needed to know as he put his hand over his stomach, as if trying to keep his guts from bursting.
Larika lifted her sight to look at him.
"H-he had you, your Vitaspira spin should have been null. You couldn't have cast those illusions in that moment!" Clemence leaned on the table and rested his head. "It makes no sense... Lloyd should've won..."
"An illusion so complex..." Jhossan was still eating, but rather, he was playing with his food, taking a few bites every so often, unknowingly drawing vitaspira twirls, spins, and patterns with the sauce from his cheese and egg-steak. "... needs a lot of Vitaspira and at high and stable speed; that takes time unless he has high reserves of amrita in his body, which he doesn't. Or so he says." He took a bite, nearly nothing. "Something does not make sense."
Jhossan knew almost everything there was to learn about the topic; he studied it during his days back in the Amber Pyramid. 'Vitaspira' is the particle discovered when Amrita interacts long enough with running blood; it is what allows magic to be performed, and its potency is described by the spinning of the particles and their stability. It was a whole area of study; previous to Jhossan's discovery of the Obsidian's method of spellcasting, this was the topic of his thesis.
Jhossan's fork screeched as it scratched the plate. "You were casting them from before..." Jhossan muttered. He looked up to see Larika giggling and Rina blushing as she drowned her laughter. "Back when you said you were a Miragee... you started casting!"
"Even before the duel started..." Argy whispered, his fists tight under the table; Jun had made Lloyd look like a buffon. "And then you released it... when your finger twitched..."
"Of course he did, dummy!" Rina slapped Jhossan's shoulder. "You can't just sling spells like a cowboy, you have to think one, two, ten steps ahead!" She took another bite, sauce falling off her lips. "You're not in the Amber Pyramid anymore. You have to work smarter, not harder."
Jhossan didn't mind Rina behaving more casually with him, but he didn't enjoy being in the unknown. However, it was Argy who called Larika's attention; his eyes were fixed on Jun at all times, not always on the same part, but always on him; he wasn't just paying attention, he was seeing right through Jun.
There was so much the amberites didn't grasp about this new place, and at every turn, every day, there was a reason to embrace the change. There was no way to avoid it, and while overwhelming at times, it was a chance at a new life. At least for now.
These two duels reignited Jhossan's desire to learn everything about the Obsidian's way of magic, the old ways of magic and the forsaken dogmas.
After a while, Clemence managed to calm down; there was something in Larika's presence that relaxed him.
"Calm down, darling." Larika caressed Clemence's shoulder. "Trust me, this will all be a bad memory in a couple of days, okay? The Impression of illusions like these doesn't last long. And the kids will be fine, too." Once more, she was using that motherly charm of hers.
"Teach me." Jhossan's words broke the awkward silence.
Jun and Argy turned to look at the Jhossan; Argy seemed awestruck while Jun had gently closed his eyes and his eyelids fluttered for half a heartbeat before replaying that practised smile. Argy caught this, a crack in Jun's performance. However, Jun was fascinated with this, like a surgeon who had found a new tumour, or a biologist with a new species.
"Teach me!" Jhossan unknowingly raised his voice, anxious and demanding at the same time, his sauce-written vitaspira patterns now splattered over the tablecloth. Jun noticed Jhossan's pupils dilated.
It didn't seem like a request, but rather a challenge. For himself? For Jun? Who cared?
Clemence looked up at Jhossan in disbelief.
"Jhossan, how can you ask that?" Clemence seemed more disappointed than angry or upset. "Did you not see that? What HE did to Lloyd!?"
Clemence couldn't be older than twenty-two years, but Larika couldn't help seeing him as a small child; she put her hand on his short brown hair and patted him tenderly, with a delicate mechanical precision, as if she knew what to do to get Clemence under control.
"There, there... I'm sure Jhossan misspoke... He wants to be better, doesn't he?" Larika kept caressing Clemence's hair. "He's a nice boy. He'll be good, and Jun won't teach him bad stuff."
Argy was watching these two magi handle his friends and comrades, but his eyes were tracing everything, as if he could almost see the intention behind every action out loud. It was like before the duel; he knew where to be at the right time, and now he knew where to look at the right moment, like a chess master watching his opponent move his pawns while figuring out his thought process. Argy would be lying if he said he didn't find it intriguing at the very least.
After a few moments of tension, Larika managed to defuse Clemence, and so they managed to relax, albeit while the others recovered in the infirmary.
Twelve hours after the duel, Lloyd, Maurol, Philena and Gonzaroc were discharged with a prescription of mild sedatives and some small rituals that would help dispel the residual memories of the illusions. However, Lloyd decided to return to Romero's infirmary periodically for checkups and conversation.
The root of the duel between Lloyd and Jun, however, had a bittersweet result; Mathias was taken as blood-cattle, but Jun did agree to an arrangement; Mathias would have his blood harvested once per month, but would have to make up to Cecilia for the remaining money owed. It worked to some degree, although neither Cecilia nor Mathias was thrilled with this. However, this newfound source of income propelled Cecilia to a new level of status within the Pyramid.
Following Jhossan's decision to study under Jun's mentorship, Argy decided to sign the library's contract just so he could keep an eye on Jhossan; Jun's new apprentice was so focused on his studies, he did not notice Argy was keeping watch whenever possible. Still, it was not easy; Jun told Jhossan that he needed to adjust to his new life, including the people and surroundings. So, Rina was asked to show Jhossan around the city and how to work as an Engineer, in hopes that it could develop an affinity for both the community and the dogma.
Part 3
It was a sunny day; after two weeks, the ships carrying amberites and their belongings finally stopped coming in. At the same time, the newcomers had now begun to assimilate into the Obsidian Pyramid uneasily, and some even ventured down into Xafar for shopping or strolling. Some took this well, while others resented losing the privileges they had once taken for granted. I was not to say Xafar lacked charm, but it did lack the sophistication the amberites were accustomed to back in the city of Aultrubia, in the west.
This particular day, Rina took Jhossan down into Xafar for some work, but also to see him out of the Pyramid; she knew how deep an obsession could take a person, and didn't want Jhossan to live through that.
"You sore?" Rina asked, handing Jhossan a gourd full of water.
"How do you do it?" Jhossan collapsed on a bench. He dropped Rina's toolbag on the ground. He was sweating. "I think... the city's uphill. Between this and training... Oh, gods. My legs...!"
Jhossan saw a small group of locals walk past them in glee, navigating the inclines with ease.
"Amber, Obsidian... men and leg workout don't get along..." Rina jested, basking in the sunlight. "For what it's worth, you're doing well; physical reconditioning with Jun and Gloria is tough. Many quit midway, IF not earlier. It takes months... even years!" Rina unknowingly rubbed her forearms, recalling how she had been trained beyond exhaustion over many years. "Quitting just means you're smart enough to know your limits."
"It's not so ba---" Jhossa's voice cracked. "Did you say YEARS!?" He tried to get up, but his calves didn't let him. The idea of undergoing ever-increasing physical training felt like a death sentence. "Gods. That woman's gonna kill me..."
Rina remembered her training all too well; the long days of studying and the even longer hours of physical training; Gloria was the self-appointed Vitalist of the Pyramid, and her, alongside her crew, made sure to keep other Obsidians in tip-top shape, all the way from physical training, to inner body reconfiguration, to combat training.
"Did your Aultrubian Vitalist just stroke beards while you atrophied?" Rina asked. "No wonder you had budgetary issues..."
"We did... we just never used his services... I... I never truly paid it much mind to my body."
Rina looked at him from top to bottom; Jhossan was scrawny. "Yeah, I figured when you wheezed climbing stairs last week."
"Be honest with me... What does Jun expect me to learn from this?" Some sweat had slithered into Jhossan's eyes, and some further irritated his skin. "I know I have to be healthy so I can cast spells better, but this---"
"Okay, this," Rina pointed at Jhossan's entire body, "has to stop. That's what he wants you to get: progress hurts, living hurts, and it all takes time. You must understand that. It's not all about being a bookworm, but also about being capable of taking a punch... literally and figuratively." She sat down next to Jhossan and dropped some of the gourd's water on his head, watering him like a plant. "Right now... It's just running laps, sit-ups, push-ups, and a healthy diet. You know, the works. But..." her face seemed concerned, her lips pursed, and her eyes occasionally locked on Jhossan's. "It will get tougher: Gloria will break every bone and tear every muscle. She has to. She's not preparing you. She's dismantling the weak parts to see what's left, and maybe, that will endure the process. She will destroy bone and tissue just so with the hope -just the hope- of maybe making you stronger."
There was a silence. For a moment, Jhossan could've sworn Rina was about to hug him. But she didn't; she stood still, her fists tight.
"Are you willing to put up with that?" She asked. "Obsidians, Xafarians... we are prepared for this since childhood. You're coming into it at sixteen. Think about that."
"Can I... ask you something?" Jhossan asked. His eyes connected with Rina's. She smiled tenderly and nodded. "Is this... personal? What he's asking of me, I mean."
"No, it's not. Jun... has had it rough. And he just... wants us to be the best we can be. To achieve our dreams and goals. And to... keep this place safe. He doesn't want to bury us. He also had his dream."
"And what happened?"
Rina wanted to speak, but her mouth froze. She looked around, awkward.
"It... is not my place to say." She breathed in deeply and licked her lips. "He wasn't always so... well... You know him. A lot has happened. "
"Is it... related to why everyone tiptoes around him?"
"He's my... He was first my friend." Rina stretched her back as she stood up. "Listen, why are you doing this?"
Jhossan stood still. He seemed aback, and the water slid down his back. Everything stood still. He had told himself he "had to know," but... what was underneath all of it? The whole city seemed to mute itself; even the water dripping from Jhossan's nose seemed too loud.
"I... I wanted to..."
He remembered the first time he peeked into the Yocan on his own; Hueco's presence and the Realm of Possibilities. He wanted to see that again; every time, Jhossan felt he discovered a little bit more about that place and himself; he could feel his mind grasping around the essence of magic and the dogmas themselves.
"You've seen how it is; Gloria's training is brutal, and Jun's studying sessions are dreadful. After that... it will get even worse. And you'll only blame yourself. If you're doing this out of a whim... Just for the sake of it... You will break, like many others."
"I think I'm going nowhere..."
Jhossan's mouth dried up. He looked at his feet. Rina wanted to comfort him, but... she couldn't, she wasn't sure how.
"Just... take it easy in the meanwhile, okay? Let's get you busy. We still have fifteen houses that requested maintenance."
Jhossan couldn't stop thinking about what would happen later; Jun would continue to administer written exams and require Jhossan to memorise entire arcane and archaic theorems, rituals, and practices, and then Gloria would subject Jhossan to exhausting physical drills. But right now... Rina's presence felt like a rope stretching down into the depths of the Yocan, like the tide receding for a moment, a break in the storm. She was there with him, and that was enough, even if only for the morning, even if only for now.
Rina took Jhossan on her rounds around the city for the next six hours; by the sixteenth hour of the day, Jhossan was spent from walking the city up and down. However, his mind had cleared up a bit, and he was allowed not to think of Jun or Gloria for a while. Later that same day, he prepared himself and went up to the Library. Philena, Gonzaroc and Maurol seemed to have forgotten the worst part of the duel, but even then Philena still resented Jhossan for his outburst weeks ago. Argy wasn't in the room that day.
Part 4
Jhossan had grown accustomed to the Library's atmosphere and had a designated study area just for his books; it featured a hendecagram carved into the black floor. Over twenty books lay piled on the tables over the carving.
"How are you feeling today?"
Jun's calm question spooked Jhossan, causing him to jump in his seat.
"I'm fine, I think. My legs and my... everything hurt a bit."
"That's the way it is at times." Jun smiled. "But... you've been a good student, so I was thinking, today we could take a bit of a different lesson. Something more practical, I'd say."
Jhossan's eyes got wide open; Jun had not taught him a single spell in weeks.
"Practical?"
Meanwhile, Argy was peeking from behind a bookshelf, his keen eyes looking at the interaction, his ears pricked and listening to everything.
"You're gonna teach me a spell?"
"Oh, no. Heavens, no." Jun quickly corrected with a mocking smile and a wink. "But... I'll give you a small exercise that will help you use your amrita, yes? Not a spell in of itself."
"YES!" Jhossan slammed the table. "Victory!"
"Calm down, please." Jun tried not to chuckle. "I have some matters to attend to, however..."
"Damn..."
"No, no. Don't be so disappointed. I've called in an old student of mine who is willing to help you out, okay? She'll aid you in your studies from now on."
"She?"
"Yes. She'll be in soon. In the meantime, keep studying. How about... 'Fire Dynamics'?"
Jun enjoyed Jhossan's presence; ever since a week prior, other Amberites decided to visit the Library after they found out Jhossan had found one. The Obsidians guessed Jun would not let them in, but he did after they signed the waivers. Then, the very Obsidians managed to get in. No one knew why he did it. Even Jun couldn't say for sure. But... a part of him was glad of it.
Argy followed Jun back to the front desk without him knowing. Well, it was impossible to tell if Jun knew.
Then, the door opened, and a man and a slightly younger woman walked in. The male had short brown hair and a light tan complexion. The woman had somewhat long, curly hair and medium tan skin. The woman walked up to the desk, and Jun smiled, said hello, and pointed in Jhossan's general direction. The man, however, approached the desk. He wore an attire similar to the one Jun wore to the duel; a more formal and elegant version of the Obsidians' robes. His hair was well-groomed and had a shiny layer of styling gel.
"Good evening, Mr. Grau." Said the man with a stern expression.
Jun let out a sigh with a smile.
"Nilo," Jun stretched his back, "you needn't be so formal." He made a short bow with his head. "You're my superior, after all." Jun walked away from the desk and took a few steps. "It is good to see you back. You were gone longer than expected."
"If I drop the formalities, then you must as well," Nilo replied. His back was straight. "But it truly is good to see you."
Nilo gave Jun a short but sweet hug.
"Who is this man?" Wondered Argy. He saw the woman walk by with a smile on her face; Argy thought she had a gorgeous smile. A part of him envied her. He missed smiling like that.
"Listen. The Amberites here... I need to have a word with you." Nylo seemed concerned. "It's bad."
Jun shrugged and sighed.
"Oh goodness... Take a walk with me, then."
"I wouldn't bother you otherwise; the Board wants to meet, and we have a bit of a situation in our hands now."
"Oh, perfect..." Jun continued walking, scratching the back of his head. "A situation of what sort?"
"Well, we finally know why the Amber Pyramid went bankrupt: a small series of coups d'etat along the Western continents."
"You're kidding..." Jun sounded worried as he stopped dead in his tracks.
"No. The Iron Tower and some other Obelisks and Pyramids have made a mess. And having the Amberites here... will drag us into this mess."
"Just what we needed..."
"And what you're doing down here... they noticed. And they don't like it."
"Suddenly they care about what I do..."
They continued walking. Argy kept his presence hidden using his wand as best he could, but he was improvising a lot and even with a wand, he was getting tired.
"What are they scheming... and what do they mean by 'coups d'etat'? I don't get it..." Argy's wand trembled. Spying on Jun was like tailing a skull-fish—every step risked drowning him deeper in the waters of dread.
Jun and Nilo continued walking.
"The Iron Tower targeted the sources that kept many Pyramids afloat and made them unprofitable. They even kidnapped some diplomats. At least, we think they keep them since no one's scrying has been able to find corpses." Nilo seemed nervous, and Jun patted him on the back. "And now, they want something from the Amberites: something or someone. But we don't know what! Smells like a witch-hunt if you ask me."
Argy's stomach sank.
"Take it easy, Nilo. Don't rush your thoughts. Do they know we took them in?"
"No... no one was paying us attention, so no one even suspected we could take the Amberites in. Lucky us, I guess. Still, the Iron Tower spent a lot of resources doing this, so they cannot afford to launch a large investigation. Damn. Everything is falling to pieces."
Meanwhile, the woman searched for Jhossan; her steps were loud, and she lacked the subtlety most Obsidians had. Despite this, Jhossan didn't hear her coming; the book on fire dynamics absorbed him.
The obsidian peeked from behind Jhossan's shoulder. "Dude," the woman said.
"Eep!" Jhossan lurched backwards on his seat; his knee hit the table and tumbled over an inkwell; his legs flailed like a startled cat and fell on his back, letting the book land on the ground with a loud thud.
She laughed out loud and picked up the book.
"If you're reading Fire Dynamics, then Jun must've gone soft. Hi!" she lent Jhossan a hand, "I'm Entila Kippen. Your study partner. Nice to meet you."
She was one or two years older than Philena and radiated confidence. Her slightly coiled hair was like a cascade of onyx. Even under those robes, Jhossan noticed her athletic body. Her face seemed familiar...
"Yeah... I've---" Entila grabbed Jhossan's hand after he hesitated a bit and pulled him up. Jhossan was a bit awestruck; she'd lifted him like a sack of flour. "Seen you at Gloria's arena."
"That's me!" Entila chuckled and feigned blushing, "I've seen you too! Scrawny, wheezy, kind of a bi--- ahem. Right. Jun did tell me about being nice... Sorry! Hag! Yeah, yeah." She corrected. "Jhossan, right?" Jhossan nodded, a bit shy. "Okay. If he has you reading that... I know what to do. Come, follow me."
Entila took Jhossan further inside the library, away from the bookshelves, but closer to the Practice Polygons. Those were rooms shaped based on polygons of different sides.
"What is this place?" Jhossan asked as he noticed the closest room was based on a triangle.
"Oh, we practice new spells on rooms like these; they are designed to make botched exercises less... catastrophic." Entila gestured an explosion, and just then, coloured sparks flew off her hands.
They walked into the room; it had only three walls. The floor, ceiling, and walls had encircled triangles carved with alchemical and algebraic formulae.
"Let's get started!"
Entila disrobed; Jhossan's face turned bright red, and his mouth dropped. While not naked, Jhossan had never seen that kind of clothing. Entila wore a snug, long-sleeved shirt made from ironsilk; it had a turtleneck and was olive green. She whore slightly baggy shorts adjusted to her knee and light boots. However, Jhossan managed to catch a glimpse of a scar under her right forearm as she rolled up her sleeves.
"Oh goodness..." Jhossan was awestruck. But duty came first. "H-hold on!"
Entila leaned in and put her robe around Jhossan; it was heavy.
"We're gonna practice pyrokinesis, so you'll be using my robe until we get you your own. 'Kay? It's fire-resistant, so... cheer up!" She smiled every time. "Come here... no notebooks in the practice room! Everything should be in your head by now!"
They stood in the middle of the room, a few paces apart.
"Old-style magical practices part from the idea of using Vitaspira to substitute matter and energy to perform magic," Entila explained. "Right now, we want to make fire, so... we need to use vitaspira to make it. It depends on your understanding of how fire is done."
Fire is a rapid oxidation reaction that produces heat and light. Fuel, oxygen and heat are required to start that reaction, but vitaspira allowed them to circumvent those requirements. However, if at least a part of those elements already existed in place, the spent vitaspira would be less.
"We have oxygen," Entila raised her left index finger at the height of her chest, "now I just need to use the energy from my vitaspira to substitute the fuel and heat. Entila breathed deeply; Jhossan noticed small, nearly invisible red twirls around her finger. "First... we use it to substitute the fuel... I'm choosing cellulose because its chemical composition is simpler than that of petroleum. Now... heat... Since I'm creating the cellulose with vitaspira, it's dry because I made it so, so I don't need to wait, so I'll make the temperature 350 degrees Celsius."
Jhossan had a bit of luck, and he was able to look into the Yocan; she was standing in a sphere of her power, her other self drawing the chemical structure of cellulose and adding sparks of vitaspira; since vitaspira is pure energy that can be transformed into any energy or matter required, the transformation and addition was easy.
Suddenly, a small ball of fire began burning above Entila's index finger, orange and bright.
This was what Jhossan had wanted to experience once more: that fascinating process. He was only able to peek into the Yocan when someone made magic without using a wand. It was beautiful: the Realm of All Possibilities, where everything happened simultaneously until someone decided which event took place.
"Now... you give it a shot."
Jhossan was excited; it was his first time.
Carefully, Jhossan repeated everything Entelia did to perfection, even repeating everything she said. Still...
"*BOOM*"
Jhossan was thrown back onto the floor repeatedly for hours.
"No wonder Jun pawned you off on me. You're a walking fire hazard..." Entila muttered.
"What?" Jhossan was nearly deaf at this point.
"I said: you have some work ahead of yourself!" Entila tried hard not to laugh. "Come here." She got him to sit up and sat alongside him.
Jhossan seemed dejected; he kept looking around, running everything in his head over and over again.
"You don't see it, do you?" Entila asked with a yawn. "Your mistake, I mean."
"I... ah... lose focus?"
"No, dude! The opposite! Here..." Entila had Jhossan check his heartbeat. "Your heartbeat is 140! And you're so excited your vitaspira are spinning out of control; instead of creating a slow exothermic reaction, you're detonating nitroglycerin! You went from crawling to walking to jump off a damn cliff!" She stretched out and lay on the floor. "I was wondering who was Jun's latest project... Well, don't worry. Like some old dude said: 'This, too, shall pass.' So take it easy, 'kay?"
"You... went through this?"
It was maddening; Jhossan could see the magic being weaved inside the Yocan, the vitaspira arranged and rearranged on a whim, yet he could not do it. Why!? Jhossan could imagine him, Hueco, laughing at the distance after vanishing for weeks. But... maybe he was the key to making it work.
"This? You have it easy; I got the mean Jun back then! He was a nasty motherf--- ahem... He was strict. But... I do owe him a lot. And I learned even more." She stretched her arms, and the scar on her forearm showed again. She caught Jhossan looking at it. "What? Can't a woman have a scar or two?" She asked with a smirk. "I have others if you want to see. Gloria gauged me a chunk of flesh that time... I didn't get to duck in time."
"I'm not gonna make it, am I?"
"Not with that whinny-ass attitude! Come on! Break's over!" Entila jumped to her feet easily and pulled Jhossan up. "I'll get you to pull this crap even if it's the last thing you do."
Jhossan hadn´t felt that in a long while —blind support, like his parents' support. For a second there, he wanted to shed a tear. But instead, breathed in deeply and soothed himself, figuring there was no rush, no frantic chase and little by little, he managed to feel the heat accumulating at the tip of his finger.
There was no way to know what would happen. But he was eager to see where these new mentors would lead him.