We made our way out to the main floor. Luckily, none of the damage made it out here.
Asher walked behind the counter to brew us both a cup of coffee. "Grab a seat, anywhere. And try not to blow up this room while yur at it."
I sat at the table closest to the fire pit, hoping it would warm me up.
It didn't, the chill was still there.
"What time is it? Where is everyone?"
"It's half past midday. The cafe's been closed for the past couple'a days, in expectation of your awakening and the Long Night."
When Asher was done brewing the coffee, he sat across from me, placing the two cups down. I grabbed a cup and took a large gulp in an attempt to quench my thirst.
When the freezing cold coffee touched my lips, I nearly spat it out, but my need for liquid held me back. When I had my fill, I put the cup to the side forgoing the need to drink from it again.
Asher looked at the cup cradled in my hands with confusion, then to me, then back to the cup. A chuckle escaped his mouth.
When he got settled in his seat, his face turned serious. "Straight to it then. I don' wanna to know how you got yurself into this sitch. But you clearly need some info, so I'll provide it. You were gone for about a week, which I assume was because of the Beast's Domain, and due to yur Integration, you were out for another week."
While I was shocked by this news, and concerned for my family. I stayed quiet to let him finish as fast as possible and gestured for him to continue.
"Remind me again what age you dropped out of school. I need to know how much you don't know."
"13" I replied.
"Hmm, not old enough to learn about higher Ranked Will's. And you clearly never got a Mid-Will, so your control is a joke." Looking at the cup on the table. "Okay, first things first. I mentioned yu're only at half the power of a Mid-Will Holder. That is because you jumped from a Low-Will to a Lord-Will. While you have the potential to get stronger, your insight and control over it is non-existent…"
Asher spent the next 30 minutes talking about Wills. The most important being that I have to build strength by using and straining my Will, like any muscle. Usually, the strength of one's Will grows linearly by Bonding with higher Ranks over time. While the Integration jumped me up to a Mid-Will Holder, my Low-Will stopped me from going right to Lord Rank because I didn't grow over time. Just because I attained a Lord-Will, that doesn't mean I'm at the strength of one. The upside is that because I don't have to Bond to higher Ranks one at a time from Beasts, my progress can be faster than someone who does.
The strength of my body has grown exponentially, but the strength of my Will is still somewhat the same. The more insight into my Will I gain, and the more I train it, the more I can control its potential.
The more I use my Will, the stronger and more potent my abilities will become, with my body strengthening with it. The hardest part is learning those abilities. As a Low-Will only gives basic physical enhancements to their Holder with zero aptitudes to any element or attribute, my understanding of the Frost element is non-existent.
There are two ways to track the progress of my Will.
The first and best way to track the progress of my Will is through its Tiers. As a Holder uses their Will, they will break through Tiers. These Tiers are a symbol of the effort the Holder has put into refining their Will and the strength of it. My potential is hindered by the Tier of my Will, dictating the types of things I can do and its potency of power.
There are five Tiers in total: Initial Integration, which is what I'm at from just Bonding with my Will; Partial Integration; Secure Integration, which is where most non-combat Holders are at, and also when High-Will Holders and up gain their transformation ability; Nigh Integration, where Holders can take on a Sub-Attribute; and lastly Full Integration, when the growth of their Will is complete.
The amount of time it takes to break through to higher Tiers increases with each step. So, while it could take about a year to reach Partial Integration with modest training, reaching Secure Integration could take about 3. Rigorous training could increase the speed at which the Integration takes place.
I never learned of this before because a Low-Will Holder is incapable of breaking through into the higher Tiers of Integration. And the instructors in the Lower District have no drive to teach anything more than the required material.
The second way to track progress is Ranks. However, because I skipped all other previous Ranks, the strength of my Will is weaker. I may have a Lord-Will, but as of right now, it's in name only. The actual strength of it that's emitted is between Low- and Mid-Will.
When Asher was finished with his lesson, I contemplated telling him about what the Beast told me, and that it could talk in general, but I decided against it. I have no need to make this more complicated than it needs to be. Considering I'm now one of the few Lord-Will Holders in the Kingdom, I need to be careful with what I say and to whom.
Asher let out a long sigh, his voice a bit ragged from all the talking. "Anyway, I think I've talked long enough. There will be more time for that later. For now, get yurself cleaned up and head home for the weekend. You look like you crawled out of a coffin."
I looked at him, unamused. "Thanks, I'll be back on Monday. Looking like I just crawled out of the Royal Palace."
Asher waved my comment away with a grunt. "Sure, sure. Just get outta my face. The cafe should be fixed by then."
"Mind if I use your bathroom before I go?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just be sure not to blow it up. Two weeks of backlog, and you will not like what you see."
Despite his grotesque comment, I wasn't going to the bathroom to relieve myself. My body felt different, so I wanted to see if I looked different. Maybe a bulging muscle or two? At the very least, hopefully, I look less bony.
As I made my way to the bathroom, I took more notice of the way my body felt while moving around. Everything felt fluid. The movements of my muscles expanding and contracting with each step felt smooth and empowered, and my joints no longer felt stiff.
The strength and the durability of my skin, muscles, and bones multiplied from before. The difference between Low- and Lord- is remarkable, and I'm not even at full strength yet.
Reaching for the door to the bathroom, I turned the knob to open the door… not used to my newfound strength, I accidentally broke the handle, and the whole mechanism with it. Already feeling guilty about blowing up the staff room, I kept quiet to let Asher find the damage later.
Now, only having to push open the door, I made my way inside and went right to the sink. The sinks in the Middle District were made with a Water-Will artifact. All I had to do was turn a knob and warm water came pouring out.
I splashed water over my face and through my hair. Despite being warm water, when it flowed over my skin, it felt chilly. Like the moment it touched my hand, it turned cold, or perhaps my hands could only feel the water as cold?
I watched as the water washed the dirt and blood off my face and hair and rinsed it down the drain. Getting lost in the swirl of brown and crimson, my thoughts wandered. I'm alive, but it barely felt real. The way the Kieriki acted… Did it really try to kill me? It said what sent it, but by what or whom?
"Guess it doesn't matter now. It's dead, and I don't have answers." Whispering to myself, I became more dejected with each word, "What now? I have a Lord-Will but can't train it. Asher used to be a Voyager, maybe he'd feel inclined to help out?"
Does any of this even matter? It's not like I'm looking to become a Voyager myself. I can't risk dying… My thoughts trailed off, the idea of dying making me think about the Domain and how close I came to fulfilling that reality.
Before I could stop myself, I hunched over the sink, regurgitating. With nothing in my stomach, I gagged from the feeling of stomach acid rising up the back of my throat. Tears welled in my eyes from the burn… the burn… I chuckled between gags for no other reason than for the first time since I woke up, something actually felt hot.
When I stopped gagging, I turned the tap back on and washed my mouth and the sink. Wiping my mouth with my torn sleeve, I took a few deep breaths.
Taking my eyes off the sink, I rolled up my right sleeve and checked my arm. The once-broken arm was now together and whole again. Bearing a scar that coiled around my forearm like a snake. The injury left my arm barely whole - practically in two - and now it's better. Only a scar to bear the pain of what happened.
When looking at my arm, I noticed it looked pale. I've always been pale, but now more so. I looked up from my arm, staring at myself in the mirror. Taken aback by what I saw, I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. My eyes were now a deep crimson-red that seemed to glow. And my face was lighter, becoming a light grey like ash. Which now matched my hair, having also turned into a white, light-grey colour.
Why didn't Asher say anything about this?
Looking deeply into my eyes, getting lost in the glow of them, curiosity got the better of me. I went over to the light switch and flicked it off. Staring back at the mirror, it was too dark to see myself, my skin probably helping with that. The only attributes viewable, looking like they were floating there, were two glowing red eyes. While creepy, I admired them for a second before I saw my hand on my cheek stretching the skin below my eyes. My vision was veiled in a hazy red hue. Spotted red dots outlining shapes allowed me to see their rough form. However, details were a little blurry.
Surprised by my ability to see again, I hurriedly turned the lights back on.
It seemed that my eyes were able to adjust to the darkness quickly and with some added vision.
Utterly confused, I dashed out of the bathroom and headed for the main floor. Before I even got there, I was yelling, "Asher! What in the Monarchs is wrong with me?" Rounding the corner, Asher was sitting in the same spot.
I pointed at my eyes.
He lets out a crackling laugh while slapping his knee.
Between gasping laughs, struggling to speak, "I… was… wonderin' when… you'd notice that!"
"Why are my eyes red, and my skin pale? And why am I always cold?"
Sobering up, Asher looks at me confused. He spoke slowly like he's feeling out the word, "Cold?"
"Yes, ever since I broke out of the ice, I've been endlessly cold. Is it a result of my Will?"
"That's strange. I've never heard of someone with a side effect to their Will." He begins mumbling to himself, "Could it be due to the Integration? No, that doesn't make any sense. If there was an issue, he'd be dead. I know he can't control it, but is it really that bad?" Speaking louder, "Boy! Stop."
Hearing his not-so-subtle mumbling, I understood what he meant and attempted to 'stop'.
Sensing my Will, I'm hit with an overbearing sense of power. Getting lightheaded from the torrent of energy I felt, I was reluctantly forced to stop. All this seemed to do was make the perpetual cold worse.
Asher lets out a chilled shudder and moves his chair closer to the fire. "Brrrr. Is'at you? Quit it."
Unsure of how to 'stop', I refrain from trying again.
Once Asher warmed up, he smiled again. "As for the… cosmetic changes - looks great, by the way - they are the result of yur Bond. The changes were made durin' the Integration. And before you ask, no, not all Bonds cause this. Yur body has changed because of the strength of the Will. In order for yur body to accommodate the power of a Lord-Will, it had to change and take on more features of the original Beast.
"Does this mean I'll grow horns?" I ask hesitantly.
"Maybe, if the Will gets strong enough."
While shocked, I was unsurprised.
"Enough of this. You've bothered me long enough. It is time for you to go home." He waved me towards the door.
I quickly run to the staff room, carefully stepping over all the debris, and grab a spare, non-ripped coat to wear. As I exit the room, Asher stops me at the doorframe and asks for my ripped coat.
"I'll repair it for you. It'll be good as new."
"Thanks."
Without skipping a beat, Asher stares right into my eyes. "Alright. Now, get out of my face. You've caused enough damage." He spoke bluntly.
Heading for the front door, Asher calls out as I open it, "My door knob! Rin! Little Shi- "
I cut him off, closing the door behind me.