Rael found Mira behind the inn.
Mira stood in front of the crooked wooden post Kael had named Gerald. She wasn't striking it. She simply stood there breathing slowly, the calm rhythm she always used before training.
Rael watched for a moment.
Then she spoke.
"I have a question."
Mira turned slightly.
"Yes?"
"Yesterday," Rael said. "The bandit you cut."
Mira nodded.
"There was blood," Rael continued. "But when he collapsed… the wound was gone."
"Yes."
Rael frowned.
"That makes no sense."
Mira looked at her needle blade.
"I am the only healer with Root affinity," she said.
Rael gestured for her to continue.
"Normal healers use Current affinity. They project Vein energy outward into a wound."
"And you can't."
"I cannot."
"So you stab people instead."
Mira blinked once.
"…Technically."
Rael sighed.
"Explain."
Mira raised the blade.
"My Vein energy flows inward. But the sword allows it to pass through me and into another body."
Rael narrowed her eyes.
"So when you cut someone…"
"The energy immediately begins repairing the damage."
Rael paused.
"…That's horrifying."
Mira continued calmly.
"They feel the pain of the injury."
"And at the same time," she added, "the pain of the wound regenerating."
Rael stared.
"Regeneration hurts more than injury."
"How much more?"
"Approximately ten times."
Rael was silent for a second.
"…That explains the screaming."
Mira nodded.
"Kael's Ki training also improved my combat speed."
"How."
"It sharpens reaction and strengthens the body."
Rael folded her arms.
"…Out of everyone in the party, you might be the most dangerous."
Mira tilted her head slightly.
"I had not thought about it that way."
Rael studied her.
"What happens if you strike a vital point?"
Mira considered the question.
"The brain receives the pain of injury and regeneration simultaneously."
"And?"
"The shock can force the brain to shut down."
Rael blinked.
"They pass out?"
"Yes."
"They survive, but the mental impact can be severe."
Rael stared at her.
"You're saying that like you're describing weather."
"It is simply how the technique works."
Rael shook her head.
"You're a mystery."
She stretched.
"That's all I wanted to ask."
She started walking back toward the inn.
"Lunch?"
"Yes."
Rael glanced around.
"Where's Kael?"
"He's training."
Rael groaned.
"Still trying to make that lightning attack work."
"Yes."
Rael smirked.
"Good."
"Why?"
"So we can watch him fail."
Mira laughed softly.
"Let's go."
Meanwhile I was in the field trying not to electrocute myself.
Again.
The sword hummed faintly in my hand.
I stared at it.
"You did this yesterday."
Rai landed on my shoulder.
"Krrt."
"Don't judge me."
I lifted the blade.
"Alright."
"Focus."
"Resonate."
"Lightning slash."
I swung.
ZAP.
A spark popped out and vanished instantly.
I stared at the sword.
"…Amazing."
Rai leaned closer.
"Krrrt?"
"Yes, I know it worked yesterday."
I tried again.
This time the blade vibrated harder.
Energy gathered along the edge.
For a second my focus slipped.
The lightning snapped backward.
BZZZT!!
The shock raced up my arm.
"AAAHH—!"
My hand spasmed.
The sword slipped and hit the ground.
CLANG.
I staggered two steps before dropping into the dirt.
The sky spun slightly above me.
"…Okay."
"…That almost killed me."
Rai hopped down beside my head.
"Krrt?"
"Don't."
I lifted a finger weakly.
"Don't say anything."
Smoke curled off my sleeve.
Behind me Senna sat on the ground with her notebook open.
She hadn't moved.
She was staring at the sword like a scholar studying a strange insect.
I sat up slowly and shook my arm.
Pins and needles ran through my fingers.
"New rule," I muttered.
"That thing punishes hesitation."
Rai tilted his head.
"Krrt."
"Yes," I said.
"I learned that the painful way."
I picked up the sword again.
"Alright."
"One more time."
I concentrated.
The blade vibrated violently.
Energy surged.
ZAAAAAP!!
Lightning blasted forward and obliterated a tree.
Wood exploded across the field.
Rai shot into the sparks like it was a celebration.
"KRRRT!!"
"GET OUT OF THE LIGHTNING!"
The dragon ignored me.
Behind us Senna finally stood.
Her eyes never left the blade.
"…That's impossible."
I turned.
"What is?"
"The lightning."
"Yes."
"You're not producing it."
I frowned.
"…Excuse me?"
She pointed at the sword.
"The sword is."
I looked down.
"That sounds like cheating."
"There's no Vein trace inside the blade."
"…Is that bad?"
"That should be impossible."
She stepped closer.
Then something clicked.
"The crest."
I blinked.
"What crest?"
"When you first activated the attack."
"A symbol appeared on the blade."
I remembered that.
"…Yeah."
"If the sword has no Vein signature," she continued, "but releases Vein energy when you resonate with it…"
She stopped.
Thinking.
Hard.
"What if it isn't a normal weapon."
I scratched my head.
"…What kind of weapon is it then?"
She stared at the blade.
"What if this isn't steel at all…"
"…but Vein energy given shape."
I stared.
"That sounds extremely illegal."
She ignored me.
"To forge Vein energy into physical form would require control over the world's flow itself."
Rai tilted his head.
"Krrt?"
Senna whispered.
"…A celestial being."
The wind moved through the field.
I looked at the sword.
Then the sky.
Then the sword again.
"…Fantastic."
"So a goddess hands me a mysterious weapon."
"And now you're saying something even worse made it."
Senna nodded slowly.
"If Veyra gave it to you…"
"…then someone else forged it."
I stared at the blade.
A thought formed slowly.
"…Okay."
"So new question."
I lifted the sword slightly.
"If the goddess didn't create this…"
"…then who did?"
The blade hummed quietly in my hand.
Like it already knew.
And wasn't planning to answer anytime soon.