A little thrown off by the sudden attention from both Akira and Chieno, Yuma stumbled over his thoughts for a second. He paused in silence, feeling the weight of their gazes pressing down on him, before finally speaking.
"Why do you two look alike?" he asked. "And how is he out here?"
Akira glanced briefly at Chieno before returning his attention to Yuma. Chieno, however, didn't return the look at all. His pale blue eyes remained fixed on Yuma, unblinking.
"Resonance," Chieno replied simply, as if that single word explained everything.
Yuma stared at him, clearly unsatisfied, before turning to Akira with a look that silently demanded an actual explanation. Thankfully, Akira obliged.
"The markings you see on Keisuke and me," Akira began, "those represent our connection to our Ikons. Building trust and understanding, alongside being open and vulnerable with them, strengthens that connection. That process is called Resonance."
Yuma instinctively glanced down at his own chest. There wasn't a single mark in sight.
"So… since I just got mine," he said slowly, "is that why I have nothing?"
Akira shook his head almost immediately.
"Not possible. You should have a symbol somewhere, where it resonates with you the most. That's usually where it first manifests, and the rest grows from there." He tilted his head slightly. "Have you actually checked your body?"
Normally, Yuma would've already done exactly that. But the emotional exhaustion from the night before weighed heavily on him, leaving him uninterested in anything he deemed unnecessary. Still, he lifted his shirt and checked his torso, then turned his back to them and raised it higher.
"Is there anything?" he asked.
Akira shook his head, even though Yuma couldn't see him, while Keisuke verbalized the answer.
"Nope."
Pulling his shirt back down, Yuma frowned. Then he looked at his hands, flipping them over slowly, searching for anything out of place. As his palms faced upward, something caught his eye, a faint red glow peeking from beneath his sleeve.
His breath hitched.
Lifting his right sleeve, he exposed the inside of his wrist.
There it was.
A dark blue snowflake, intricate and sharp, was surrounded by a faint outline of fire glowing softly around it. The symbol of Serpheria, and his resonance with her. It wasn't bold or blazing, but it was visible enough to draw immediate attention.
Akira's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Your resonance is low," he said flatly. "Percentage-wise, I'd say less than nine percent. Looks more like five, if I had to guess."
There was no admiration in his tone. If anything, he sounded unimpressed.
Yuma looked up, unease creeping into his chest.
"Is that bad?" he asked, worry bleeding into his voice.
Akira shook his head. "No. It just means you didn't make a soul bind." His gaze sharpened. "I'm guessing she offered you a soul promise?"
"What's the difference?" Yuma asked immediately.
Akira sighed. "You didn't pay any attention, did you?"
Yuma glared. "Not my fault, she was rambling on."
That earned a quiet sigh from Chieno, one that suggested he knew exactly what kind of woman Serpheria was.
Pulling Yuma's attention back, Akira continued.
"A soul bind is contractual. Both sides agree to specific terms, which helps establish a stronger initial resonance. You'd usually sit somewhere between ten and thirteen percent, fourteen or fifteen if you're unusually in tune." He paused briefly. "Which is rare."
He continued, "A soul promise, on the other hand, only gives you around four to nine percent. As a bonus, it's more trust-reliant than a soul bind. But that also means growing your resonance requires more effort."
Yuma nodded slowly until Akira added the next part.
"And more risk."
Yuma's eyes widened.
"Risk?" His voice sharpened instantly. "Explain."
"The risk?" Akira repeated.
"What else, man?" Yuma snapped.
"The risk is suffering the Deserters' Price," Akira replied calmly. "Your Ikon can separate from you without your consent, and you're done."
Yuma's blood ran cold.
"The worst they'll suffer is prolonged, unbearable pain until they find a new conduit," Akira continued. "You, on the other hand, experience complete mental collapse." He glanced at Yuma's wrist. "Severity depends on your resonance. A soul bind requires both sides to agree to split, and if separation is forced, it depends on who's doing the forcing."
Yuma's jaw dropped.
What the hell did he agree to?
And worse, he'd done it while barely thinking straight.
Nervously, he asked, "So… hypothetically… let's say you didn't mean to agree. Like, you had no clue what you were agreeing to?"
"You'd be a total idiot," Akira replied without hesitation.
"Yeah…" Yuma chuckled weakly. "Totally. Not me."
Akira ignored him.
"Regardless of how you became one," he said, standing up, "you need to learn about yourself, and about Serpheria. Expand your understanding. Otherwise, you'll stagnate." His eyes hardened. "Or worse, lose resonance."
Before Yuma could respond, the cold presence beside him shifted.
Chieno dissolved into a sharp breeze, fading away as if he'd never been there at all.
Keisuke buttoned his shirt quickly and hurried after Akira, stopping him near the door.
"Your shirt's still open," Keisuke pointed out.
"Sorry," Akira sighed, buttoning it properly. "I can't feel temperatures well."
He glanced back briefly. "You guys should head to class. We've got five minutes before first period."
With that, he unlocked the door and left the lab, Keisuke following close behind.
Yuma remained alone.
He stared down at his wrist, at the faint glow of frost and fire intertwined. His life had changed irrevocably.
Whether it was for better or for worse… only time would tell.