Resonance.
That was what had allowed Uriel to spellcast, and what had allowed him to easily blitz through the rest of the little witch's waves.
But with a core void of any aether, and a body on the verge of collapse, he was helpless.
There was nothing he could do.
All he had was his mind, which remained awake, tortured under Lirik's cruel devices, and his spark, powerless without any aether to fuel it.
All he had was his spark and his mind.
Spark and his mind.
'Resonance.'
What would happen if he used his mind to resonate his spark with the atmospheric aether around him?
What if, instead of his core, it was his spark that resonated?
Resonance allowed Uriel to spellcast, but its most advantageous boon was that it offloaded all pressure from his core, meaning he could cast as many spells as he wanted without truly needing to burn any aether.
All the load would be on the world around him.
The only reason his core was empty after the trial was because he was still extremely unfamiliar with the method; still crude and inefficient.
So what would happen if he opened up his spark to the world?
If he allowed it to bloom, not pulling upon his own reserves, but upon those of the world itself?
Uriel didn't know.
But whatever happened, it was great enough to make Lirik undo his bindings and kill all his men.
Somehow.
"Hello."
Lirik hyperventilated, wheezing almost as loudly as Uriel was coughing.
He didn't realize that his core had suddenly gone empty, all the aether within it dissipating without rhyme or reason. It hadn't been drained, not exactly, it had simply…vanished.
He trembled, fear gripping his heart.
Uriel stood to his feet, his vision darkening. And though his body was intact, whatever Lirik had done seemed to have worsened his disease to a point bordering on no return.
"My name is Uriel."
He flicked a hand, and a set of clothes appeared from his abode mark. He put them on.
He was slow. His movements were sloppy and inaccurate, each piece of clothing taking minutes to be pulled into place.
But Lirik didn't even dare move.
At some point, he even stopped breathing altogether, his pounding heart sending tremors through his small body.
"Hopefully," Uriel said calmly, "I look forward to our next meeting."
SHAH!
Uriel vanished, thrown out of the dimensional space.
Lirik gasped for air, his chest heaving and pupils shaking violently.
During the entire time, he'd been forcefully trying to throw Uriel out of his space—but nothing had worked. His very aether had refused to listen, and his core seemed to have become incapable of responding to his commands.
Until Uriel decided otherwise.
He hadn't been able to throw him out until Uriel allowed it. His aether hadn't listened to him.
It had listened to Uriel.
'…I made a mistake.'
…
Uriel reappeared in the exact same alleyway where they'd originally kidnapped him.
The light of day still permeated the space, and the light drizzle still fell from the skies above.
Instantly, Uriel leaned against a wall, kneeling as he vomited a mouthful of blood.
Usually, his vomiting would be accompanied by stomach contents or spit.
This time, it was just blood. A lot of it.
'That bastard really messed me up.'
His mind was still foggy, delirious and unfocused. His core was empty, just as it had been before, but the resonance he'd forged between his spark and the world seemed to have taken something out of him that went deeper than mere aether.
He felt like he was…less.
It was only an estimate, but if he'd had a year left to live before, he doubted he now had more than a few weeks.
He chuckled softly and shook his head.
'Let's go sleep.'
He stood to his feet, wiping the blood from his jaw, an entirely vain effort, considering his pristine set was now drenched in it anyway.
He re-entered the busy streets of the settlement, unbothered by the horrified gazes and sneers thrown his way.
For some reason, none of them recognized him.
But he didn't mind.
He didn't even spare a single glance toward Enoch's still-ongoing trial, projected high in the skies.
Peeling through crowds that bumped and shoved him around, knocking him off his feet and onto his back more than once, he made his way toward the emporium.
Step by step.
As he did, his delirious mind spun aimlessly.
'I need to get a bit stronger. And a tiny bit smarter.'
He chuckled.
'Maybe also learn to shut up sometimes. But if I'm strong, will I really need to shut up?'
'I also need to beat up Enoch. Maybe cut his hand off. Or his leg. What did they do to Judas again…did they hang him?'
'Or did he hang himself? I forgot. Wait—if he hung himself, which one was the one that got stoned to death?'
His thoughts drifted, tangling together as he inched closer to the emporium.
'I also probably need to kill that small guy.'
'Ah, man. I should've threatened him or something. Made him scared.'
He giggled quietly, and immediately forgot what he'd just been thinking about.
…
"Uriel?!"
Lady Ayah rushed out of the emporium's hall, dozens of eyes snapping toward the scene.
Who could warrant such a reaction from the ruthless Emporium Lady?
Uncaring of the attention, she peeled through the crowd, pushing everyone aside.
"What's going on?! Where's Enoch?!"
She reached him and immediately supported his exhausted body, worry painted openly across her face.
Her eyes widened at how cold Uriel's body was, and at the weakness she could feel coursing through him.
"Could you…" he muttered weakly, half-awake, half-unconscious, "give me a pill for healing and aether recovery… I don't want to be in a coma…for too long…"
"I'll pay when I wake up. Promise."
Without hesitating even a moment, she looked up and waved a hand, barking orders as several workers rushed over.
Just as she handed him off to them, she leaned close and whispered in his ear, gently caressing his face.
"Okay. Okay. Don't speak anymore. We'll talk when you wake up. If there's anything, don't hesitate."
"Mm."
She pushed a dozen pills she summoned from her mark into his mouth just as he finally fell asleep.
"…thank yo—"
His mind went blank.